JP3492078B2 - Ink jet recording device - Google Patents

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention belongs to the technical field of an inkjet recording apparatus for recording by scanning an inkjet head while ejecting ink droplets. More specifically, the present invention relates to a head recovery device for removing dust on a nozzle portion of a head of an ink jet recording apparatus and thickened ink to obtain normal recording.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, the following techniques have been used.

The conventional ink jet recording apparatus has a capping means for protecting the nozzle portion of the head from drying, and if the ink in the nozzle portion adheres, the inside of the capping means is made to have a negative pressure so that the nozzles are not affected. There is a device in which normal ejection can be performed by sucking ink from. Further, there is an ink jet recording apparatus of a type that has a black cartridge and a color cartridge as an ink jet cartridge that can be mounted on a carriage, and that a user exchanges the cartridge according to print data for use.

Typical examples of means for making a negative pressure inside the capping means (hereinafter referred to as pumping means) in these ink jet recording apparatuses are as follows.
A piston pump with reciprocating motion of a piston as disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 3-5160,
There is a squeeze tube pump that seals an elastic tube with a pressing member such as a roller as disclosed in Japanese Patent No. 690558.

Although a piston pump can generally be miniaturized, there is a technical difficulty in maintaining airtightness by a sliding piston member, and it is necessary to use a seal member such as an O-ring to form a closed structure. Therefore, the number of parts tends to increase. On the other hand, in the tube pump, the airtightness is maintained by the tube itself, and the negative pressure can be generated only by moving the rollers, so that the pump means can be constructed at a lower cost, but it corresponds to the pump capacity. It is necessary to arrange a tube for content integration only,
The entire device tends to be large.

[0006]

However, the above-mentioned conventional example has the following drawbacks.

When the cartridge used in the ink jet recording apparatus is exchanged for use, if the cartridge has not been used for a long period of time, there is a high possibility that the ink in the nozzle will be stuck. A so-called recovery operation of sucking the ink inside is often performed. This recovery operation needs to be controlled according to the type of element mounted on the carriage.

For example, when the element mounted on the carriage is a scanner, the recovery operation is not necessary, and therefore the predetermined operation is not performed. When the element mounted on the carriage is a black cartridge, for example, the ink suction amount is 0.1.
3cc is required. Further, when the element mounted on the carriage is a color cartridge, for example, an ink suction amount of 0.27 cc is required.

When there are a plurality of elements mounted on the carriage as described above, it is necessary to control the operation of the pumping device in accordance with each element. In the piston pump as disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 3-5160, for example, when it is attempted to control the suction amount between 0.13 cc and 0.27 cc, it is necessary to change the reciprocating distance of the piston, that is, the stroke. . However, there is a drawback that the negative pressure generated in the pump at this time also changes according to the stroke.

Further, while the elastic tube as disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 5-690558 is sealed by a pressing member such as a roller, the suction amount of the squeeze tube pump should be controlled between 0.13 cc and 0.27 cc. If so, it is still necessary to squeeze the tube and change the distance. However, when trying to change the stroke with a tube pump, it is necessary to release the sealing of the tube at the position where the roller stops, so a roller opening mechanism is required, and the device becomes complicated.

The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned conventional problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide an ink jet recording apparatus capable of head recovery corresponding to plural kinds of ink jet heads.

[0012]

Therefore, the ink jet recording apparatus according to the present invention achieves the above object by the following constitution.

(1) Discriminating means for discriminating the type of an inkjet head mounted on a carriage, a tube pump for performing a recovery operation of the inkjet head by squeezing a tube with a roller, and a control means for controlling the tube pump. And an atmosphere temperature detecting means for detecting an atmosphere temperature, wherein the control means comprises the determining means.
By changing the stop time after the tube is squeezed in accordance with the type of inkjet head and the ambient temperature detected by the ambient temperature detecting means, the amount of ink sucked from the inkjet head due to the difference in ambient temperature An ink jet recording apparatus characterized by correcting a change.

[0014]

( 2 ) The ink jet recording apparatus according to (1 ) , further comprising a trailer capable of being combined with and separated from the carriage, wherein the roller squeezes the tube when the trailer moves.

[0016]

[0017]

In view of the above problems, the present invention uses a tube pump to control the time during which a recovery roller keeps the tube closed to prevent the suction amount corresponding to a plurality of types of inkjet heads. It is realized without causing the device to be complicated.

That is, when the element mounted on the carriage is a black cartridge, the time during which the recovery roller keeps the tube closed is set to 0.075 sec, for example. At this time, the suction amount sucked from the black cartridge is 0.
It becomes 13 cc. When the element mounted on the carriage is a color cartridge, the time during which the recovery roller keeps the tube closed is set to 0.750 sec, for example. At this time, the suction amount sucked from the black cartridge is 0.
It becomes 27 cc.

[0019]

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

(First Embodiment) FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the outline of the main body configuration of the first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is an explanatory view of the pump portion of the first embodiment. FIG. 3 is a flowchart for driving the pump according to the first embodiment.

In FIG. 1, 13 is an ink jet cartridge, 12 is a carriage, 78 is a trailer, 9 is recording paper, and 77 is a cap. Also, in FIG.
3 is a tube, 101 is a recovery roller, 150 is a trailer 7.
8, a recovery roller supporting portion integrally formed with 105, (a-
Reference numeral d) is a cam for switching the position of the recovery roller 101.

Next, the recovery operation will be described with reference to FIGS. The trailer 78 and the carriage 12 can be connected and disconnected at the home position by a mechanism (not shown). During a normal printing operation, the trailer 78 is coupled with the carriage 12 and then moved along the guide shaft 11,
Printing is performed on the recording paper 9. When the print signal is not sent for a predetermined time, the trailer 78 leaves the carriage 12 at the home position and caps.

Next, the recovery operation will be described. 4 to 5 are sectional explanatory views of only the tube 103 portion shown in FIG. 2, and FIG. 6 is an explanatory view of the scanning member.

When a recovery signal is sent from a control means (not shown), the trailer 78 shown in FIGS. 1 and 6 moves to determine whether the trailer 78 is connected to the carriage 12 or separated. This determination is made based on whether or not the flag provided on the trailer 78 and the flag provided on the carriage 12 pass through the home position sensor 74 provided on the main body. That is, when the flag passes the home position sensor 74 twice, the trailer 78 and the carriage 12 are in a coupled state, and when the flag passes once, the trailer 78 is in a detached state from the carriage 12.

After the carriage 12 is capped at the home position as described above, the trailer 78 moves leftward to a position beyond the recovery roller switching cam 105b as shown in FIG. At this time, the recovery roller 101 is held at the first position by the effect of the recovery roller spring 102 ((a) of FIG. 5 and FIG. 6). Next, as shown in FIG. 5B, the axis of the recovery roller 101 moves to the right to a position below the recovery roller switching cam 105b. At this time, the recovery roller 101 is held at the second position by the effect of the recovery roller spring 102.

When the trailer 78 is reversed to the left from the position shown in FIG. 5B, the recovery roller 101 is pushed down by the recovery roller switching cam 105a, and the tube 103 starts to be sealed. Furthermore, trailer 78 as it is to the left
Is moved, the inside of the tube 103 becomes negative pressure and the head 13
Ink is sucked from the ink (FIG. 5C). When a predetermined suction is performed, the trailer 78 further moves to the left.

At this time, the recovery roller 101 is lifted up by the recovery roller switching cam 105d, and is again held at the first position by the effect of the recovery roller spring 102. After the trailer 78 has moved alone in this way, it is connected to the carriage 12 at the home position and the above operation is repeated. Then, since the carriage 12 and the trailer 78 are connected to each other and the cap 77 is opened, the ink sucked into the tube 103 previously moves in the tube 103 in accordance with the movement of the trailer 78, and is discharged as shown in FIG. It is discharged from the outlet 106.

In this way, the ink is sucked from the head when the tube 103 is squeezed while hermetically sealed, and this amount of ink suction is obtained when the tube 103 is squeezed (see FIG. 5).
It has been experimentally found that it depends on the stop time of (c)) (Fig. 7). That is, if the suction stop time is short, the suction amount is small, and if the suction stop time is long, the suction amount is large. Moreover, the change of the suction amount is settled in about 2 seconds or more.

In the embodiment of the ink jet recording apparatus of the present invention, it is equipped with a discriminating means of the element mounted on the carriage 12 and a control means for controlling the recovery operation by the signal from the discriminating means. Since the recovery operation is controlled by the element, the ink suction amount can be controlled without changing the stroke of the tube pump.

According to the present invention, as shown in FIG. 3, the suction stop time is 0.075 sec when the black cartridge is mounted on the carriage 12, and the suction stop time is when the color cartridge is mounted on the carriage 12. With a stop time of 0.750 sec, the required suction amounts of 0.13 cc and 0.27 cc can be obtained.

(Second Embodiment) FIG. 8 is a control flowchart of pump driving when a color cartridge is mounted on a carriage in the second embodiment, and FIG. 9 is a second flowchart.
6 is a control flowchart of pump drive when a black cartridge is mounted in the embodiment of FIG. Both of these figures show the characteristic control of the second embodiment of the present invention, in which the apparatus has an ambient temperature detecting means and the suction stop time is controlled by a signal from the detecting means.

FIG. 10 is a graph showing the relationship between ink temperature and ink viscosity. According to FIG. 10, when the ink temperature changes from 5 ° C. to 35 ° C., the ink viscosity becomes 3.
It changes from 3 cp to 1.5 cp. That is, it can be seen that when the ink temperature is high, the viscosity of the ink decreases. Due to this effect, it was found that when the suction stop time in the tube pump is kept constant, the ink suction amount changes depending on the ambient temperature (FIG. 11). From FIG. 11, assuming that the suction stop time is 1 second, for example, when the ambient temperature is 35 ° C., the ink suction amount is about 0.33 cc, and when the ambient temperature is 5 ° C., the ink suction amount is about 0.22 cc. You can see that

Atmospheric temperature detecting means is provided to correct the change in suction amount due to the difference in atmospheric temperature. FIG. 8 shows a sequence when the color cartridge is mounted on the carriage 12. The ambient temperature detecting means is 20 ° C.
When the following signals are output, suction stop time is 1.500 s
ec, similarly 1.050sec at 30 ° C or lower, 4
When the temperature is 0 ° C. or lower, the control is 0.850 sec, and when the temperature is 40 ° C. or higher, the control is 0.650 sec.

FIG. 9 shows a sequence when the black cartridge is mounted on the carriage 12. When the ambient temperature detecting means outputs a signal of 20 ° C. or lower, the suction stop time is 0.200 sec.
The control is 0 sec, and 0.035 sec when the temperature is 40 ° C. or higher.

By performing the control as described above, it is possible to suck a stable amount of ink even if the ambient temperature changes.

[0036]

As described above, in the ink jet recording apparatus of the present invention, it has the discrimination means for the head element mounted on the carriage and the control means for controlling the recovery operation by the signal from the element discrimination means. Since the suction stop time of the recovery operation is controlled by the element mounted on the carriage, it is possible to control the ink suction amount without changing the stroke of the tube pump.

In the tube pump, since the suction amount can be controlled only by controlling the suction stop time,
There is no need to change the ironing stroke of the tube, which has the effect of simplifying the configuration and reducing the cost of the device. Further, since it is possible to obtain an optimum suction amount for the element, there is an effect that the running cost is reduced without wasting ink. In addition, in that it is determined in the determination means
By changing the stop time after the tube is squeezed according to the type of jet head and the ambient temperature detected by the ambient temperature detection means, it is possible to correct the change in the ink suction amount from the inkjet head due to the difference in ambient temperature. This makes it possible to suck a stable amount of ink even if the ambient temperature changes.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an outline of a main body configuration of a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram of a pump portion of the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing a pump driving method according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a schematic sectional view showing a pump portion of the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing the operation of the pump of the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram showing a scanning member according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a graph showing the relationship between the suction stop time and the ink suction amount according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a flow chart showing control of pump drive when a color cartridge is mounted on a carriage according to the second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a flow chart showing control of pump drive when a black cartridge is mounted on a carriage according to the second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 10 is a graph showing the relationship between ink temperature and viscosity.

FIG. 11 is a graph showing the relationship between the suction stop time, the ink suction amount, and the ambient temperature in the second embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

9 Recording paper 12 Scanning member (carriage) 13 Inkjet head as element 77 cap 78 Trailer 101 Recovery Roll 103 tubes 105 Recovery roller switching cam 150 recovery roller support

Continuation of the front page (56) Reference JP-A-7-329316 (JP, A) JP-A-8-25653 (JP, A) JP-A-7-112531 (JP, A) JP-A-8-267786 (JP , A) JP-A-7-323571 (JP, A) JP-A-7-256895 (JP, A) JP-A-6-31935 (JP, A) (58) Fields investigated (Int.Cl. ⁷ , DB) Name) B41J 2/18 B41J 2/125 B41J 2/175 B41J 2/185

Claims (2)

(57) [Claims] 1. A discriminating means for discriminating the type of an inkjet head mounted on a carriage, a tube pump for performing a recovery operation of the inkjet head by squeezing a tube with a roller, and a control means for controlling the tube pump. Atmospheric temperature detecting means for detecting the atmospheric temperature, and the control means is configured to detect the ink jet determined by the determining means.
A change in the amount of ink sucked from the inkjet head due to a difference in ambient temperature is corrected by changing the stop time after the tube is squeezed in accordance with the type of the head and the ambient temperature detected by the ambient temperature detection means. An ink jet recording apparatus characterized by the above. Wherein coupled to the carriage, according to claim wherein the rollers by separating comprises a trailer possible, the trailer is moved, characterized in that the squeezing of the tube 1
The ink-jet recording apparatus according to.