JPH06143610A - Ink jet recorder and copying apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To detect a residual quantity of ink in an ink tank and properly execute the operation of a recorder on the basis of the detection result when the ink tank storing an ink supplied to an ink jet recording head is moving together with the recording head. CONSTITUTION:A lower ink absence sensor 82 is provided comparatively lower position of an ink tank 57 for detecting a residual quantity of ink when the scanning of a recording head is being executed and an upper ink absence sensor 81 is provided for detecting the residual quantity of ink when the scanning is stopped. When the surface of the ink is vibrated due to the scanning of the ink tank 57, the accurate detection of the residual quantity of ink corresponding to the real residual quantity thereof is carried out.

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 and a copying apparatus using the apparatus as a recording section.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Some ink jet type recording apparatuses have a structure for detecting the remaining amount of ink in a storage member such as an ink tank for storing ink. In this case, the remaining amount of ink indicates the case where there is almost no ink in the storage member, and by this detection, ink replenishment or replacement with a new storage member is performed. FIG. 1 shows an example of a conventional inkjet recording apparatus having a configuration for detecting the absence of ink.

In FIG. 1, four recording heads 156 are provided corresponding to the four color inks Y, M, C and K, and are mounted on a carriage 158. An ink tank 157 that stores ink to be supplied to these recording heads is also mounted on the carriage 158. Carriage 158
Is reciprocated in the left-right direction in the drawing by the scanning motor 162, and recording is performed by ejecting ink from each recording head during this period. The carriage 158 temporarily stops at a position where a part of the carriage 158 engages with the home position sensor 178 and reverses the moving direction.

FIG. 2 shows details of the ink tank 157 and the ink remaining amount sensor 170. This ink level sensor 1
70 may be composed of, for example, a pair of electrodes.
Then, this is schematically shown. The sensor 170 is arranged below the ink tank 157.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing the procedure of the ink out detection process in the above apparatus. As shown in the figure, in step S120, the detection process is awaited during scanning of the scanning carriage 158, and if it is determined that the carriage 158 is not performing scanning, it is determined in step S121 whether the ink out sensor 170 is active. . If it is active, it is determined that there is no ink and an error is displayed in step S122. If it is not active, the process returns to step S120.

That is, by detecting the absence of ink only when the carriage is stopped without detecting the absence of ink during scanning, erroneous detection due to the disturbance of the ink surface due to the vibration of the carriage during scanning is prevented. The state in which the carriage is not scanning as described above does not include the state in which the carriage is temporarily stopped for reversing the moving direction. This is because the ink disorder has not yet subsided in this state.

The ink jet recording apparatus described above is
It can be used as a recording unit of a copying machine. The copying apparatus includes, for example, a reading section as shown in FIG. 4, in which the original is placed on the original table 122 and the reading unit 121 reads the original information. At this time, the reading unit performs reading while moving in the main scanning direction and the sub scanning direction shown in FIG.

Based on the data read as described above, the above-mentioned ink jet recording apparatus records on a recording sheet, and thereby copying (hereinafter, also referred to as copying) is performed.

[0009]

However, in the above-mentioned conventional ink jet recording apparatus, since the remaining ink amount is not detected during the recording operation, the ink necessary for the recording to be performed in the future so that the ink will not be exhausted during the recording. It is necessary to determine the recordable size in consideration of the amount, so that the maximum recordable size in one recording operation is limited in advance.

Further, when the ink in the ink tank is exhausted during recording, the same recording operation as usual is continued except that the ink is not ejected. Record is made. For this reason,
For example, in a copying machine, copying had to be performed again. Further, if the above ink runs out during continuous copying, all the copies after the ink runs out are wasted, and especially in the case of a full-color recording device, the ink other than the ink-free color is wasted. Also, the recording paper is wasted.

The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned conventional problems, and an object of the present invention is to detect the absence of ink during a recording operation with a simple structure and to detect the absence of ink. An object of the present invention is to provide an ink jet recording apparatus that can appropriately perform the operation of the recording apparatus based on the recording apparatus, and a copying apparatus that uses the apparatus as a recording unit.

[0012]

Therefore, according to the present invention,
A recording head for ejecting ink and an ink storage member that stores ink to be supplied to the recording head are used.
In an inkjet recording apparatus for recording by ejecting ink onto a recording medium, a scanning unit for scanning the recording head and the ink storage member with respect to the recording medium, and an ink remaining amount of the ink storage member A first sensor for detecting according to the height of the ink surface, a second sensor for detecting the remaining ink amount according to the height of the ink surface lower than the first sensor; Control means for controlling scanning of the recording head and the ink storage member based on a detection output from the second sensor.

Further, according to the present invention, an ink jet recording apparatus for ejecting ink onto a recording medium for recording by using a recording head for ejecting ink and an ink storing member for storing ink to be supplied to the recording head. At
A scanning unit for causing the recording head to scan the recording medium, an ink remaining amount detecting unit for detecting an ink remaining amount of the ink storage member, and an ink remaining amount detected by the ink remaining amount detecting unit. A stopping means for stopping the recording operation by the recording head when the amount reaches a predetermined amount, a storing means for storing the scanning position of the recording head when the recording operation is stopped by the stopping means, and the storing means. Control means for resuming the recording operation from the scanning position of the recording head stored in 1.

Further, according to the present invention, an ink jet recording apparatus for ejecting ink onto a recording medium for recording by using a recording head for ejecting ink and an ink storing member for storing ink to be supplied to the recording head. In a copying apparatus using the recording means as a recording means, a scanning means for scanning the recording head and the ink storage member with respect to the recording medium, and an ink remaining amount of the ink storage member at a height of the ink surface. A first sensor for detecting the remaining amount of ink, a second sensor for detecting the remaining amount of ink according to the height of the ink surface lower than the first sensor, and detection outputs from the first and second sensors. Control means for controlling scanning of the recording head and the ink storage member based on the above.

In addition, in the present invention, an ink jet recording is performed by ejecting ink onto a recording medium using a recording head for ejecting ink and an ink storage member that stores ink to be supplied to the recording head. In a copying apparatus using a recording device as recording means, scanning means for causing the recording head to scan the recording medium,
Ink remaining amount detecting means for detecting the ink remaining amount of the ink storage member, and stop when the ink remaining amount detected by the ink remaining amount detecting means reaches a predetermined amount, stop the recording operation by the recording head Means, storage means for storing the scanning position of the recording head when the recording operation is stopped by the stopping means, and control means for restarting the recording operation from the scanning position of the recording head stored in the storage means It is characterized by having and.

[0016]

With the above arrangement, even if the ink storage member operates and the height of the ink surface changes due to the operation,
The second sensor can detect the remaining amount of ink corresponding to a position lower than the height of the water surface when the ink surface is stopped, and thus the second sensor is appropriate even when the ink storage member is operating with the recording head. It is possible to detect the remaining amount of ink.

Further, even when the recording is interrupted due to the lack of ink, the recording can be restarted from the position where the recording was interrupted.

[0018]

Embodiments of the present invention will now be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

First Embodiment FIG. 5 is an external view of a color copying machine according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

The color copying machine 10 is roughly composed of two elements.

That is, the copying machine 10 is, as a first major element, a color image scanner section (hereinafter abbreviated as "reader section") that reads an original image located above in color and outputs color image data. ) 12 is included. The reader unit 12 has a built-in controller unit, which will be described later, which performs various kinds of image processing of digital color image data and processes such as an interface with an external device.

The copying machine 10 is, as a second major element, positioned below the reader section 12 and records on a recording sheet based on a color digital image signal output from the controller section of the reader section 12. It comprises a printer unit 20 for performing.

The reader unit 12 also has a built-in mechanism for reading image information from a three-dimensional or sheet-shaped or large-sized sheet-shaped document placed on a document table (not shown) below the document pressing plate 16. There is.

Further, an operating section 18 connected to the controller section is provided on one side of the upper surface of the reader section 12. The operation unit 18 is used by the user to input various information and operation commands for the copying machine.

Further, the controller section is the operation section 1
It is configured to give an operation instruction to the reader unit 12 and the printer unit 20 in accordance with the information input via 8. When it is necessary to perform a complicated editing process, a digitizer or the like is attached instead of the document holding plate 16.
This can be connected to the controller unit, which enables more sophisticated image processing.

On the other hand, in the printer section 20 of this embodiment, a full-color ink jet printer using an ink jet type recording head as described in, for example, JP-A-54-59936 is used.

The above-mentioned two major elements are separable from each other, and are set so that they can be installed at locations separated from each other by extending the connection cable.

The above-mentioned major elements will be described in detail below.

FIG. 6 is a sectional view schematically showing the internal structure of the copying machine 10 shown in FIG. 5 as viewed from the side.

(Reader Unit 12) First, the structure of the reader unit 12 of the copying machine 10 will be described.

In the reader unit 12, the exposure lamp 2
2, an image of a document placed on the platen glass 28, a projected image by a projector, or a sheet by an image sensor 26 (a CCD sensor is used in this embodiment) capable of reading a line image of the lens 24 and the document. The image of the sheet-shaped document is read by the feeding mechanism 30.

Next, various kinds of image processing for the image information read by the reader unit 12 in this manner are performed by the reader unit 1.
2 and the controller unit 14, and then read,
The image-processed information is sent to the printer unit 20 where it is recorded on recording paper.

(Printer Unit 20) Next, the printer unit 20
In the above, the recording paper has a small standard size (A in this embodiment).
It is selectively supplied from a paper feed cassette 32 that stores cut sheets of 4 to A3 size) or a roll sheet 34 for recording large size (A2 to A1 size in this embodiment).

This paper feed is started by a print start instruction from the controller unit 14, and is first conveyed to the position of the first paper feed roller 44 as follows. In the present embodiment, it is also possible to manually feed the recording paper one by one along the paper feed unit cover 38 through the manual feed port 34 (paper feed from outside the apparatus). .

When the recording paper is fed from the paper feed cassette 32 mounted in the printer unit 20, the recording paper is taken out one by one by the pickup roller 40 arranged on the upper surface of the end portion of the paper feed cassette 32. The recording paper taken out is conveyed to the first paper feed roller 44 by the paper feed roller 42.

On the other hand, in the case of the roll paper 34, it is continuously sent out by the roll paper feed roller 46, and the cutter 4
After being cut into a standard length by 8, the sheet is conveyed to the position of the above-described first sheet feeding roller 44. Similarly, when the paper is fed manually from the manual feed port 36, the manually fed recording paper is fed by the manual feed roller 50 to the first feed roller 44.
Be transported to.

Here, the pickup roller 40, the cut paper feed roller 42, the roll paper feed roller 46, the paper feed first
The rollers 44 and the manual feed rollers 50 are driven by a paper feed motor (not shown) (a DC servo motor is used in this embodiment), and an on-off control of rotary drive is performed by an electromagnetic clutch provided on each roller. It is configured to do.

The recording paper thus selectively fed from any of the above-mentioned paper feed paths is conveyed to the first paper feed roller 44. In order to remove the skew (skew) of the recording paper, at the time of this paper feeding, after forming a predetermined amount of paper loop on the recording paper, the paper feeding first roller 44 is turned on to rotationally drive, and then the paper feeding is performed. The recording paper is conveyed to the paper second roller 52.

Further, between the first sheet feeding roller 44 and the second sheet feeding roller 52, a sheet feeding roller 64 disposed above the recording head 56 and a second sheet feeding roller disposed below the recording head 56. Roller 5
In order to perform an accurate paper feed operation between the two, the recording paper is slackened by a predetermined amount to form a buffer. A buffer amount detection sensor 54 for detecting the buffer amount as the slack amount of the recording paper is arranged in this buffer. As described above, by constantly forming the buffer on the recording paper during the transportation, it is possible to reduce the load applied to the paper feeding roller 64 and the second feeding roller 52 especially when the large-sized recording paper is transported. Various paper feeding operations are possible.

As described above, in the printer section 20 having the recording paper conveyance system, when printing by the recording head 56, the scanning carriage 58 on which the recording head 56 is mounted scans the carriage rail 60. The motor 62 is configured to reciprocate in the front and back directions in the drawing to scan the recording paper in the main scanning direction.
Then, in the forward scan, ink is ejected from the recording head 56 onto the recording paper based on the recording data, and document information such as characters and images is recorded. During the backward scan, the paper feed roller 64 performs a feeding operation in the sub-scanning direction to feed the recording paper by a predetermined amount.

Here, the feeding amount of the recording paper along the sub-scanning direction is defined as a constant moving amount described later, and here, it corresponds to the length of the ejection port array in the recording head 56 along the sub-scanning direction. It is set to the length. Although not shown, this length corresponds to the width of the suction holes formed over the surface of the platen 74 facing the recording head 56. The suction holes are for keeping the recording paper in close contact with the platen 74.

Further, in the recording paper drive control by the scanning motor 62 during the backward scanning, the buffer amount is detected by the buffer amount detection sensor 54, and the control is always performed so that the predetermined buffer amount is obtained.

Then, the printed recording paper is ejected to the paper ejection tray 66, and the series of printing operations described above is completed.

(Structure of Scanning Carriage System) Next, the structure around the scanning carriage 58 will be described in detail with reference to FIG.

In FIG. 7, reference numeral 68 denotes a paper feed motor as a drive source for intermittently feeding the recording paper in the sub-scanning direction. The paper feed motor 68 is capable of setting / changing its rotation amount arbitrarily.
The second sheet feeding roller 52 is configured to be driven via the second sheet feeding roller clutch 70.

The above-mentioned scanning motor 62 causes the scanning carriage 58 to move through the scanning belt 72 through the arrow A or B.
Are provided as drive sources for forward and backward scanning in the main scanning direction.

In this embodiment, a pulse motor is used as the paper feed motor 68 and the scanning motor 62 because accurate paper feed control with an arbitrary feed amount is required.

Further, a paper pressing member (not shown) is disposed at a position opposed to the lower end of the platen 74, and the paper pressing member fixes the recording paper to the platen during scanning of the scanning carriage 56, thereby recording paper. It is controlled so that the movement etc. does not occur.

Here, when the recording sheet reaches the second sheet feeding roller 52, the second sheet feeding roller clutch 70 and the sheet feeding motor 68 are respectively driven, and the leading edge of the recording sheet is a pair of sheet feeding rollers 64. Platen 7 until held by
4 is transported. Then, the conveyed recording paper is detected by the paper detection sensor 76 provided on the platen 74 after passing through the platen 74. This sensor information is used for position control of recording paper, jam control, and the like.

When the leading edge of the recording paper reaches the paper feed roller 64, the second paper feed roller clutch 70 and the paper feed motor 6
8 is turned off, and then the inner space of the platen 74 is made a negative pressure by starting a suction motor (not shown), and the suction operation is started. By such suction operation, the recording paper is brought into close contact with the platen 74. At this time, the above-mentioned paper pressing member also fixes the recording paper to the platen at the same time.

Here, prior to the image printing operation on the recording paper, the scanning carriage 58 is moved to the position where the home position sensor 78 is arranged, and then the forward scanning is performed in the direction of arrow A.

In this forward scan, cyan (C), center (M), yellow (Y), and black (K) inks are ejected from the recording head 56 as appropriate to record (print) an image or the like. Be seen. Then, when the image recording operation for a predetermined length along the main scanning direction is completed, the driving direction of the scanning motor 62 is reversed, and the scanning carriage 58 is moved in the reverse direction, that is, the direction indicated by the arrow B to return. Start scanning. The scanning motor 62 is used for the scanning carriage 5
8 is driven until it returns to the detection position of the home position sensor 78.

During this backward scan, the paper feed motor 6
By driving 8 to rotate the paper feed roller 64, the paper feed operation is performed by the length along the sub-scanning direction recorded by the recording head 56 (the ejection opening arrangement width of the recording head 56). . In the present embodiment, the paper feed amount, that is, the movement amount in the sub-scanning direction is not set only by the constant movement amount corresponding to the ejection port arrangement width of the recording head 56 described above, but the final line width. May be set to the one-sided movement amount specified by.

The recording head 56 is provided with 256 ink discharge ports for each of the Y, M, C and K heads.

On the other hand, when the scanning carriage 58 stops at the home position defined by the home position sensor 78, the recovery operation of the recording head 56 is performed. This recovery operation is a process for performing stable ink ejection,
This is a process for preventing ejection failure caused by an increase in the viscosity of ink in the ejection port of the recording head 56. In this process, the pressurizing operation to each ejection port of the recording head 56 is performed and ink is ejected from each ejection port according to pre-programmed conditions such as a sheet feeding time, a temperature inside the apparatus, and an ejection time.

By repeating the operation described above,
Image recording based on the original is performed over the entire surface of the recording paper.

(Structure of Ink Tank) Next, the structure around the ink tank 57 will be described in detail with reference to FIG.

In FIG. 8, reference numeral 81 is an upper ink-less sensor, which is used to detect the presence or absence of ink when the carriage 58 is stopped. Reference numeral 82 denotes a lower ink-less sensor, which is used to detect the presence or absence of ink during operation of the carriage 58. These remaining amount sensors 81 and 82
Can be configured, for example, by using a pair of electrodes, respectively, as described above. The distance between the upper ink-free sensor 81 and the lower ink-free sensor 82 is appropriately set due to factors such as vibration of the ink surface during carriage operation.

FIG. 9 is a flow chart showing the procedure of the ink out detection process executed by the CPU for controlling the apparatus of the present example (not shown) and using the sensors 81 and 82.

As shown in FIG. 9, in step S1, it is determined whether or not the scanning carriage 58 is scanning. If scanning is in progress, the process proceeds to step S2. If not, the process proceeds to step S3.

In step S2, the lower ink sensor 8
It is determined whether or not 2 is active. If it is active, the process proceeds to step S4 to interrupt the scanning and display an error in step S5. If not active, step S
Return to 1.

If the carriage 58 is not scanning, it is determined in step S3 whether or not the upper ink-free sensor 81 is active. If active, an error message is displayed in step S6. If not active, the process returns to step S1.

As described above, by disposing the upper ink-less sensor and the lower ink-free sensor as the ink remaining amount sensor in the ink tank, the height of the ink liquid level in the tank which changes according to the operation of the carriage. It is possible to detect the residual amount according to the height, and in particular, it is possible to detect the absence of ink during the recording operation, and it is possible to realize highly reliable detection of the absence of ink.

In the above embodiment, when the lower ink-free sensor 82 is active during carriage scanning, the carriage scanning is stopped, but in this case, ink may be replenished (exchanged) and recording may be restarted. FIG. 10 shows a flowchart of an example of the ink-free detection process in such a case.

In FIG. 10, if it is determined in step S11 that the carriage is being scanned, it is determined in step S12 whether the lower ink-less sensor 82 is active. If it is active, the process proceeds to step S15, and the scanning of the carriage 58 is stopped when the home position 78 is reached.

Next, in step S16, a message prompting ink replacement is displayed, and in step S17, the process waits until the upper ink empty sensor 81 becomes active, that is, until ink is replenished. If ink is replenished and the upper ink-less sensor 81 is no longer active, the process proceeds to step S18, a restart message is displayed, and then, in step S19, a restart key (not shown) is pressed and a restart message is displayed. Stand by in the state.
When the start key is pressed, scanning is started in step S20 and recording can be restarted.

As described above, by detecting the ink remaining amount during the recording operation and enabling the ink tank replacement for ink replenishment in accordance with this, the amount recorded in one recording operation is limited. In this way, endless continuous recording can be realized.

Although each of the above-described embodiments relates to the color copying machine for recording the image read by the scanner section, the invention is not limited to such a form. For example, it can be applied to a system for recording an image input from a host computer via an interface, and it is obvious that the inkjet recording apparatus of the present invention is not limited by the input form of recording data.

Further, in the above embodiment, the print head scanning system and the print medium carrying system are inseparable, but they can also be applied to a system having independent control systems and separable from each other.

Second Embodiment In this embodiment, the position of the recording head when recording is interrupted is stored so that recording can be restarted easily. FIG. 11 shows a flowchart of the procedure of this processing.

As shown in FIG. 11, in each step S31, when the absence of ink is detected and it is judged that the recording is to be interrupted, the positions of the reading unit and the recording head at that time are stored in the memory in step S31. Then, in step S33, the reading unit and the recording head are moved to their home positions. At this time, it is displayed in step S34 that the memory is in operation.

Next, in step S35, the ink is replenished, and when the ink is replenished and recording can be resumed, the reading unit and the recording head position at the time of interruption from the memory are called in step S36, and step S36 is executed.
At 37, the reading unit and recording head are moved to their original positions. Then, in step S38, the copy operation is restarted from that position. The above process
The process is repeated until it is determined in step S39 that the copying is completed.

The processing procedure shown in FIG. 12 shows a modification of the above-mentioned processing. Here, if the interruption of the copy operation is determined, the recording currently being scanned is performed to the end in step S42.

Of the plurality of recording heads, the recording may be interrupted only for the recording head of the ink for which the absence of ink is detected, and the position may be stored.

As a result, by recording from the position where the recording of the recording head without ink is interrupted, after the ink is replenished, the unrecorded portion can be recorded only with the recording head without the ink to complete the image. it can. In this case, since the image may be completed with only the three-color heads immediately after the ink is absent, the copying can be finished as it is.

Similarly, only for the ink recording head that has detected the absence of ink, the recording may be interrupted and the position thereof may be stored as soon as the recording in the main scanning direction during recording is completed.

(Others) The present invention is particularly provided with a means (for example, an electrothermal converter or a laser beam) for generating thermal energy as energy used for ejecting ink, even in the ink jet recording system. The present invention brings about excellent effects in a recording head and a recording apparatus of the type in which the state of ink is changed by the heat energy. This is because such a system can achieve high density recording and high definition recording.

Regarding its typical structure and principle, see, for example, US Pat. No. 4,723,129 and US Pat. No. 4,740.
What is done using the basic principles disclosed in 796 is preferred. This method is a so-called on-demand type,
It can be applied to any of the continuous type, but especially in the case of the on-demand type, it can be applied to the sheet holding the liquid (ink) or the electrothermal converter arranged corresponding to the liquid path. By applying at least one drive signal corresponding to the recording information and giving a rapid temperature rise exceeding nucleate boiling, heat energy is generated in the electrothermal converter, and film boiling is caused on the heat acting surface of the recording head. Liquid (ink) corresponding to this drive signal in a one-to-one correspondence
It is effective because bubbles can be formed inside. Due to the growth and contraction of the bubbles, the liquid (ink) is ejected through the ejection opening to form at least one droplet. It is more preferable to make this drive signal into a pulse shape, because the bubble growth and contraction are immediately and appropriately performed, so that the ejection of the liquid (ink) with excellent responsiveness can be achieved. As the pulse-shaped drive signal, those described in US Pat. Nos. 4,463,359 and 4,345,262 are suitable. If the conditions described in US Pat. No. 4,313,124 of the invention relating to the rate of temperature rise on the heat acting surface are adopted, more excellent recording can be performed.

As the constitution of the recording head, in addition to the combination constitution of the discharge port, the liquid passage, and the electrothermal converter (the linear liquid passage or the right-angled liquid passage) as disclosed in the above-mentioned specifications, US Pat. No. 4,558,333, US Pat. No. 4,558,333, which discloses a configuration in which a heat acting portion is arranged in a bending region.
The structure using the specification of No. 59600 is also included in the present invention. In addition, Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 59-123670 discloses a configuration in which a common slit is used as a discharge portion of the electrothermal converter for a plurality of electrothermal converters, and an opening for absorbing a pressure wave of thermal energy is provided. The effect of the present invention is effective even if the configuration corresponding to the ejection portion is disclosed in JP-A-59-138461. That is, according to the present invention, recording can be surely and efficiently performed regardless of the form of the recording head.

In addition, even in the case of the serial type as in the above example, the recording head fixed to the apparatus main body, or the electrical connection with the apparatus main body or the ink from the apparatus main body by being attached to the apparatus main body The present invention is also effective when a replaceable chip-type recording head that can be supplied or a cartridge-type recording head in which an ink tank is integrally provided in the recording head itself is used.

Further, as the constitution of the recording apparatus of the present invention, it is preferable to add ejection recovery means of the recording head, preliminary auxiliary means and the like because the effects of the present invention can be further stabilized. Specifically, heating is performed by using a capping unit, a cleaning unit, a pressure or suction unit for the recording head, an electrothermal converter or a heating element other than this, or a combination thereof. Examples thereof include a preliminary heating unit for performing the discharge and a preliminary discharge unit for performing discharge different from the recording.

Regarding the type and number of recording heads to be mounted, for example, only one is provided corresponding to a single color ink, or a plurality of inks having different recording colors and densities are supported. A plurality of pieces may be provided. That is, for example, the recording mode of the recording apparatus is not limited to the recording mode of only the mainstream color such as black, but it may be either the recording head is integrally formed or a plurality of combinations may be used. The present invention is also extremely effective for an apparatus provided with at least one of full-color recording modes by color mixing.

In addition, in the above-described embodiments of the present invention, the ink is described as a liquid, but an ink that solidifies at room temperature or lower and that softens or liquefies at room temperature may be used. Or, in the inkjet system, it is common to control the temperature of the ink itself within the range of 30 ° C. or higher and 70 ° C. or lower to control the temperature so that the viscosity of the ink is within the stable ejection range. Sometimes, a liquid ink may be used. In addition, the temperature rise due to thermal energy is positively prevented by using it as the energy of the state change of the ink from the solid state to the liquid state, or in order to prevent the evaporation of the ink, it is solidified and heated in the standing state. You may use the ink liquefied by. In any case, by applying thermal energy such as ink that is liquefied by applying thermal energy according to the recording signal and liquid ink is ejected, or that begins to solidify when it reaches the recording medium. The present invention can be applied to the case where an ink having a property of being liquefied for the first time is used. In this case, the ink is
JP-A-54-56847 or JP-A-60-7
As described in Japanese Patent No. 1260, it may be configured to face the electrothermal converter in a state of being held as a liquid or a solid in the concave portion or the through hole of the porous sheet. In the present invention, the most effective one for each of the above-mentioned inks is to execute the above-mentioned film boiling method.

In addition, as a form of the ink jet recording apparatus of the present invention, in addition to the one used as an image output terminal of information processing equipment such as a computer, a copying apparatus combined with a reader or the like, and a facsimile apparatus having a transmitting / receiving function can be used. It may be a form or the like.

[0085]

As is apparent from the above description, according to the present invention, even if the ink storage member operates and the height of the ink surface changes due to the operation, the second sensor stops the ink surface. It is possible to detect the remaining amount of ink corresponding to a position lower than the height of the water surface when the ink storage member is in operation, and thus it is possible to perform appropriate detection of the remaining amount of ink even when the ink storage member is operating with the recording head.

Further, even when the recording is interrupted due to the lack of ink, the recording can be restarted from the position where the recording was interrupted.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a conventional example of an inkjet recording apparatus.

FIG. 2 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing an ink tank and its residual detection sensor used in the apparatus shown in FIG.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing a procedure of ink residual detection processing executed in the apparatus shown in FIG.

FIG. 4 is a schematic perspective view showing a conventional example of a document reading unit in a copying apparatus.

FIG. 5 is an external view showing a copying apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

6 is a cross-sectional view seen from the side of the device shown in FIG.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of an ink jet recording apparatus used in the recording unit of the copying apparatus shown in FIGS. 1 and 2.

8 is a cross-sectional view schematically showing the ink tank and the remaining amount detection sensor thereof shown in the inkjet recording apparatus shown in FIG.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing a procedure of an ink remaining amount detecting process according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing a procedure of an ink remaining amount detecting process according to a modified example of the first embodiment.

FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing the procedure of a copy operation according to the second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 12 is a flowchart showing a procedure of a copy operation according to a modified example of the second embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

 14 Control Unit 56 Recording Head 57 Ink Tank 58 Carriage 62 Scanning Motor 81 Upper Ink Free Sensor 82 Lower Ink Free Sensor

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. An ink jet recording apparatus for ejecting ink onto a recording medium for recording by using a recording head for ejecting ink and an ink storage member for storing ink supplied to the recording head. A scanning unit for scanning the head and the ink storage member with respect to the recording medium; a first sensor for detecting the amount of ink remaining in the ink storage member according to the height of the ink water surface; A second sensor for detecting the remaining amount of ink according to the height of the ink surface lower than the first sensor, and scanning of the recording head and the ink storage member based on the detection output from the first and second sensors An ink jet recording apparatus comprising: a control unit for controlling the. 2. An ink jet recording apparatus for recording by ejecting ink onto a recording medium using a recording head for ejecting ink and an ink storage member for storing ink supplied to the recording head. The scanning means for scanning the head with respect to the recording medium, the ink remaining amount detecting means for detecting the ink remaining amount of the ink storage member, and the ink remaining amount detected by the ink remaining amount detecting means A stopping means for stopping the recording operation by the recording head when the predetermined amount is reached, a storage means for storing the scanning position of the recording head when the recording operation is stopped by the stopping means, and a storage means for storing the storage position in the storage means. An inkjet recording apparatus, comprising: a control unit that restarts the recording operation from the scanning position of the recording head. 3. The ink jet recording according to claim 1, wherein the recording head uses the thermal energy to generate bubbles in the ink and ejects the ink in association with the generation of the bubbles. apparatus. 4. An ink jet recording apparatus for ejecting ink to a recording medium for recording by using a recording head for ejecting ink and an ink storage member for storing ink supplied to the recording head. In the copying apparatus used, a scanning unit for scanning the recording head and the ink storage member with respect to the recording medium, and detecting the ink remaining amount of the ink storage member according to the height of the ink surface. A second sensor for detecting the remaining amount of ink according to the height of the ink surface lower than the first sensor, and the recording based on the detection outputs from the first and second sensors. A copying apparatus comprising: a control unit that controls scanning of a head and the ink storage member. 5. An ink jet recording apparatus for recording by ejecting ink onto a recording medium using a recording head for ejecting ink and an ink storage member for storing ink supplied to the recording head. In the copying apparatus used, a scanning unit for causing the recording head to scan the recording medium, an ink remaining amount detecting unit for detecting an ink remaining amount of the ink storage member, and an ink remaining amount detection unit. Stop means for stopping the recording operation by the recording head when the remaining amount of ink detected by the means reaches a predetermined amount, and storage for storing the scanning position of the recording head when the recording operation is stopped by the stopping means And a control unit for restarting the recording operation from the scanning position of the recording head stored in the storage unit. Place