JPH11334110A - Ink jet recorder - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To execute or continue a printing operation even when a waste ink tank is full and to avoid contamination of an inner side of a device while the waste ink tank is replaced. SOLUTION: This recorder comprises a waste ink tank 105 which is detachably attached to a device for receiving ink, as waste ink, sucked by an ink suction mechanism 103 for cleaning a head, and a waste ink receiver 106 as a temporal receiving mechanism for temporally receiving the waste ink which is provided to a stage in front of the waste ink tank 105. The waste ink receiver 106 can be moved between a first position A where the waste ink is received and a second position B where the waste ink is not received. The waste ink reserved in the waste ink receiver 106 at the first position A is discharged to the waste ink tank 105 in a moving process to the second position B. The moving of the waste ink receiver 106 is controlled together with a driving means such as a motor or the detaching of the waste ink tank 105.

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 more particularly to an ink jet recording apparatus having a replaceable waste ink tank.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In an ink jet recording apparatus, it is necessary to clean nozzles in order to stably discharge ink. The cleaning of the nozzles is roughly classified into (1) suction of ink, (2) preliminary discharge, and (3) wiping of the face surface.
"Waste ink" not used for printing is generated. A “waste ink tank” for storing waste ink is provided for the generation of waste ink.

[0003]

Conventionally, when the waste ink tank is full (hereinafter referred to as FULL) or when the waste ink tank is not installed, the waste ink is prevented from being stained by the waste ink. Tank FUL
L "or" No waste ink tank "is displayed, and the printing operation (including the recovery operation) is prohibited.

[0004] However, when the waste ink tank is removed from the apparatus when the waste ink tank is replaced despite the permission of the printing operation, the waste ink adheres to a member (for example, a tube) for guiding the waste ink to the waste ink tank. Drops of waste ink that have fallen off often contaminate the inside of the apparatus. Also, if the "waste ink tank FULL" is reached during printing, the printing operation is interrupted, and the actual printing speed is significantly reduced. A difference occurs in the drying time of the ejected ink before and after, and the color changes, etc.).

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of such a conventional problem, and an object of the present invention is to provide an ink jet recording apparatus which does not need to interrupt a printing operation when a waste ink tank is full. .

Another object of the present invention is to provide an ink jet recording apparatus which does not stain the inside of the apparatus even when a waste ink tank is replaced.

[0007]

An ink jet recording apparatus according to the present invention is an ink jet recording apparatus having an ink ejection head, wherein an ink suction mechanism for cleaning the head, and the ink sucked by the ink suction mechanism is used as waste ink. A waste ink tank that is detachable from the apparatus for receiving ink, a waste ink flow path for guiding ink from the suction mechanism to the waste ink tank, and a waste ink path between the waste ink flow path and the waste ink tank. A temporary receiving mechanism for temporarily receiving ink is provided.

The provision of the waste ink temporary receiving mechanism enables the printing operation to be executed (continued) even when the waste ink tank is full or removed.

[0009] More specifically, the temporary receiving mechanism preferably has a waste ink receiver for temporarily receiving waste ink, and a first position for receiving waste ink instead of the waste ink tank; A process of moving the waste ink receiver between the second position not receiving ink and the waste ink stored in the waste ink receiver at the first position to the second position; To discharge to the waste ink tank.

[0010] With such a configuration, the temporary receiving mechanism of the waste ink can be easily incorporated into the conventional apparatus, and the processing of the waste ink stored in the waste ink receiver does not have to be burdensome.

When the waste ink tank is placed at a predetermined position, the temporary receiving mechanism receives the waste ink from the second ink tank.
And the waste ink tank is set to the first position when the waste ink tank is not placed at the predetermined position.
Thus, it is possible to prevent the inside of the apparatus from being contaminated by drops of the waste ink when the waste ink tank is removed.

The waste ink receiver is constantly urged to the first position, and when the user places the waste ink tank in a predetermined position, the waste ink tank comes into contact with the waste ink receiver and the waste ink tank contacts the waste ink receiver. A mechanism for moving the waste ink receiver to the second position against the urging force of the urging means may be provided. In this configuration, a driving unit such as a motor for moving the waste ink receiver is not required.

It is realistic that the temporary ink receiving capacity of the temporary receiving mechanism is smaller than the capacity of the waste ink tank. Thus, after the replacement of the waste ink tank, the waste ink stored in the temporary receiving mechanism can be discharged to the waste ink tank at a time.

Means for detecting whether or not the waste ink tank is mounted at a predetermined position; and warning to the user when the means detects that the waste ink tank is not mounted at the predetermined position. May be provided.
Thereby, it is possible to make the user recognize that the waste ink tank is not installed, and to prompt the user to install it.

A means for detecting whether or not the waste ink tank is placed at a predetermined position; and a means for detecting whether the waste ink tank is not placed at a predetermined position. Driving means for moving the receiver to the first position may be provided. This can prevent the inside of the apparatus from being contaminated due to the drop of the waste ink.

A means for detecting the amount of waste ink in the waste ink tank and a means for issuing a warning to a user when the means detects that the waste ink tank is full. This makes it possible to automatically detect that the waste ink tank is full and to notify the user.

Means for detecting the amount of waste ink in the waste ink tank, and driving means for moving the waste ink receiver to the first position when the means detects that the waste ink tank is full. It may be provided. Accordingly, it is possible to prevent the waste ink itself from overflowing from the waste ink tank due to further addition of the waste ink.

Further, a measuring means for measuring the amount of waste ink stored in the waste ink receiver may be provided. This measuring means measures the amount of waste ink by counting the number of ink suctions by the suction mechanism, for example.

Means for determining whether or not the free capacity of the waste ink tank is smaller than the amount of waste ink in the waste ink receiver; and determining that the free capacity is smaller than the waste ink amount in the waste ink receiver. The waste ink receiver is placed in the second
A means for prohibiting movement to the position may be provided. Accordingly, it is possible to prevent overflow of the waste ink caused by discharging the waste ink stored in the waste ink receiver to the waste ink tank.

Means for determining whether or not the free capacity of the waste ink tank is smaller than the capacity of the waste ink receiver;
When it is determined that the empty capacity is smaller than the capacity of the waste ink receiver, a means for inhibiting movement of the waste ink receiver to the second position may be provided. This is also one mode of preventing the waste ink tank from overflowing.

When the waste ink receiver is full and the movement of the waste ink receiver to the second position is prohibited, a means for inhibiting a printing operation and an ink suction operation may be provided. . This makes it possible to prevent the occurrence of new waste ink when the full waste ink receiver cannot be evacuated.

[0022]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings, using an ink-jet plotter as an example.

FIG. 1 is a schematic sectional view of a recovery system of an ink jet plotter according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

The recovery system 100 includes a cap 102 which comes into contact with the nozzles when cleaning the nozzles of the head 101 mounted on the carriage, and the head 1 via the cap 102.
01, a pump 103 for sucking ink from the pump 01, a piston 122 of the pump, a pump driving motor 201,
A mechanism 121 that converts the rotation of the motor 201 into a reciprocating motion of a piston 122, a waste ink tank 105 that receives the waste ink sucked by the pump 103, and an ink tube (waste ink) that guides the waste ink from the pump 103 to the waste ink tank 105 Flow path) 104. In the present embodiment,
A waste ink receiver 106 is newly provided between the ink tube 104 and the waste ink tank 105 as a temporary waste ink receiving mechanism.

The waste ink receiver 106 is a waste ink tank 1
05, and the ink tube 10
First position (set position) A for receiving waste ink from No. 4
And a second position (evacuated position) B evacuated from this position. In the illustrated example, the waste ink receiver 106 is swingably supported between a set position A and a retracted position B around a fulcrum 111 fixed to the apparatus.

In the example of FIG. 1, a motor 201 is used as an example of a driving means of the pump 102, and a waste ink tank detection sensor 202 for detecting whether the waste ink tank 105 is at a predetermined position is provided.

During operation of the plotter, a platen (not shown)
The carriage on which the head 101 is mounted reciprocates in a direction (Y direction) perpendicular to the sheet transport direction by driving a carriage motor (both not shown) with respect to the sheet set thereon, and is synchronized with the movement of the carriage. And head 10
Ink is ejected from 1 to a predetermined position on the paper at a predetermined timing. One band of the carriage (part of the band of the image)
Is completed, the paper held by the pinch roller and the paper transport roller is transported by one band in the paper transport direction (X direction) by driving the paper transport motor. By repeating such a printing operation in band units, an image is formed on paper.

At a predetermined timing, the carriage of the head 101 moves to the recovery system, and undergoes nozzle cleaning. The predetermined timing is, for example, a point after leaving the apparatus for a long time, or after repeating printing continuously.

When the carriage moves to the recovery system 100,
The nozzle surface of the head 101 is pressed against the cap 102 of the recovery system 100. When a CPU (described later) detects that the carriage has moved to the recovery system 100 by means of a sensor (not shown), the pump 201 is driven by the pump 201 and the pump 1 is driven via the piston 122.
By operating 03, ink is sucked from the nozzles of the head 101. The waste ink sucked by the pump 103 is discharged to the waste ink tank 105 via the ink tube 104. The waste ink tank 105 is set at a predetermined position of the recovery system 100, and the waste ink tank 105
When it becomes LL, it can be replaced.

When the waste ink receiver 106 is at the retract position B, the sucked waste ink is discharged directly to the waste ink tank 105 via the ink tube 104. The remaining amount of ink in the waste ink receiver 106 is grasped by software according to the number of times of ink suction. That is, after the waste ink receiver 106 moves to the set position A, the number of suction operations is counted by the counter 513. Since the amount of waste ink per suction operation is a known value V1 and the capacity of the waste ink receiver 106 is also a known value V2, the waste ink receiver 106 is suctioned V2 / V1 = n times. Operation is possible. Therefore, until the suction is performed n times, the CPU
Means that the ink suction operation and the normal printing operation can be permitted.

When the user removes the used waste ink tank 105 from the plotter for replacement of the waste ink tank 105, the waste ink receiver 106 located at the retracted position B is removed.
Moves to the lower part of the ink tube 104 and receives waste ink. Then, a new waste ink tank 105
Is set, the waste ink receiver 106 is moved to the retreat position B, and the waste ink received by the waste ink receiver 106 is discharged to the new waste ink tank 105 on the way to the retreat position B. .

The movement of the waste ink receiver 106 between the set position A and the retract position B is controlled by several methods. One of the methods is to provide a driving unit (not shown, for example, an actuator or a motor operated by electromagnetic force or air pressure) for driving the waste ink receiver 106. Such a driving means is usually provided in the waste ink receiver 106.
In the retracted position B, and the waste ink tank detection sensor 20
When the output of No. 2 indicates that there is no waste ink tank, the waste ink receiver 106 is moved to the set position A. Another possible method is to mechanically move the waste ink receiver 106 in conjunction with the user's attachment and detachment of the waste ink tank 105. This specific configuration will be described later in detail with reference to FIG.

FIG. 2 shows a schematic configuration of control hardware of the apparatus according to the present embodiment. The CPU 501 uses the RO
The operation of the entire apparatus is controlled according to a control program stored in M (not shown). In the present embodiment, the CP
The U501 has a function as the recovery motor control unit 50.
3. It has a comparison unit 502. Recovery motor control unit 503
Controls the recovery motor 201 via the motor driver 515. The CPU 501 has a non-volatile rewritable memory such as a memory backed up by a battery or a flash memory.
13 may be used.

An example of the operation of the recovery system 100 of FIG. 1 will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. The process of FIG. 3 is executed each time a recovery operation is required.

First, based on the output of the waste ink tank detection sensor 202, the CPU 501
It is checked whether or not 5 exists at a predetermined position (S301).
If there is, a normal recovery operation is performed (S30).
3), end this processing.

If the waste ink tank 105 does not exist at the predetermined position, the CPU 501 displays "no waste ink tank" on the display unit 517 (S302) to prompt the user to replace the waste ink tank 105. Next, the waste ink receiver 106 is moved to the set position A by the method described above (S304).

Then, it is checked whether the waste ink receiver 106 is FULL (305). This is performed by comparing a value of a waste ink count described later with a predetermined value. As a result, if the waste ink receiver 106 is FULL, if the waste ink is further discharged to the waste ink receiver 106, the ink overflows. Therefore, the user replaces (installs) the waste ink tank 105 on the display unit 517. (S
308).

If the waste ink receiver 106 is not FULL, a recovery operation is performed (S306), and the waste ink count of the counter 513 is incremented by a predetermined amount (S307).

Thereafter, if the waste ink tank 105 is replaced (installed) (S309), the waste ink receiver 106 is returned to the retract position B (S310), and the waste ink count is cleared (S311).

When a drive mechanism for the waste ink receiver 106 as shown in FIG.
The processing of 304 and S310 is automatically performed in conjunction with the attachment / detachment of the waste ink tank 105 without depending on the CPU processing.

FIG. 4 is a schematic sectional view of a recovery system of an ink jet plotter according to a second embodiment of the present invention. 4, the same elements as those in FIG. 1 are denoted by the same reference numerals. In the first embodiment, the waste ink receiver 1
06 has been detected, but the waste ink tank 1
The remaining amount of ink of 05 is not detected. Therefore, the waste ink may be discharged to the waste ink tank 105 beyond the FULL state. In particular, when the waste ink is received by the waste ink receiver 106 and returned to the retracted position B, the waste ink accumulated in the waste ink receiver 106 is discharged to the waste ink tank 105 at a time. Can be a problem.

Therefore, in the configuration of FIG. 4 according to the second embodiment, a window 402 for detecting the remaining amount of waste ink is provided on the side of the waste ink tank 105, and the remaining amount of waste ink is detected along the window 402. By causing the sensor 401 to scan, the amount of waste ink is detected. A reflection type sensor is used as the waste ink remaining amount detection sensor 401, and an absorber (not shown) for absorbing waste ink is provided in the waste ink tank 105 for easy detection. I have. This is to take advantage of the fact that the reflectance of the absorber before absorbing waste ink is different from the reflectance after absorption. That is, the absorption band portion not absorbing the waste ink reflects light, but the absorber portion absorbing the waste ink does not reflect light. If the waste ink tank itself does not exist, no light is reflected. Therefore, when light reflection is not obtained, it can be understood that the waste ink tank is in the FULL state or that the waste ink tank itself does not exist.

In this configuration, the waste ink receiver 106
Is moved between the set position A and the standby position B, a waste ink receiving drive motor 403 is provided. That is, this example corresponds to a case where a motor is used as a driving unit of the waste ink receiver 106. It should be noted that the waste ink remaining amount detection sensor 401 is shown on the waste ink tank 105 in the figure, but is actually provided on the apparatus side.

FIG. 5 shows a schematic configuration of control hardware corresponding to the configuration of FIG. The configuration in FIG. 5 is obtained by adding a waste ink remaining amount detection sensor 401, a waste ink receiving motor 403, a motor driver 518 thereof, and a waste ink receiving motor control unit 504 to the configuration in FIG. The waste ink receiving motor control unit 504 includes a motor driver 518.
And controls the waste ink receiving motor 403 via the.

The recovery operation in the second embodiment shown in FIGS. 4 and 5 will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

First, the CPU 501 checks whether or not the waste ink tank 105 has been removed from the plotter based on the waste ink tank detection sensor 202 (S20).
0). If the waste ink tank 105 is detected, it is determined whether the waste ink tank 105 is full based on the output of the waste ink remaining amount detection sensor 401 (S202). F
If not, the waste ink receiver 106 is set at the set position A.
Is checked (S203). If it is at the set position A, the process proceeds to step S211 described later. Set position A
If not, a normal recovery operation is performed, and this processing ends (S204).

In step S202, the waste ink tank 105
Is determined to be FULL, the display unit 517 displays "waste ink tank FULL" to warn the user (S205).

Following step S201 or S205,
The CPU 501 controls the waste ink receiver drive motor 403 to move the waste ink receiver 106 to the set position A (S206). If it is already at the set position A, it is left as it is.

Next, the waste ink tank detection sensor 202
It is determined whether or not the waste ink tank 105 has been replaced based on the output (S207). If it has not been replaced yet, the counter 5 determines whether the waste ink receiver 106 is FULL or not.
13 based on the waste ink count value (S20).
8). If it is not the waste ink receiving FULL, a recovery operation is performed (S209), the waste ink count of the counter 513 is incremented by a predetermined amount (S210), and this processing is ended. F
If it is UL, there is no time for delay, so the user is instructed to change the waste ink tank 105 on the display unit 517 without evacuating the waste ink receiver 106, and the operation of the apparatus is stopped (S214). That is, the ink suction operation and the normal printing operation are prohibited.

If it is determined in step S207 that the waste ink tank 105 has been replaced, the comparing section 50
In step 1, the waste ink count value of the counter 513 is illuminated with the output of the waste ink remaining amount detection sensor 401 to determine whether or not the waste ink tank 105 can receive the waste ink (amount V2) accumulated in the waste ink receiver 106. A determination is made (S211). If unacceptable, waste ink receiver 106
The process proceeds to the previous step S208 without saving.

If acceptable, the waste ink receiving motor 4
03 is driven to return the waste ink receiver 106 to the standby position (S212). As a result, the waste ink stored in the waste ink receiver 106 is discharged to the waste ink tank 105, so that the waste ink count of the counter 513 is cleared (S213), and this processing ends.

According to this embodiment, when the waste ink tank 105 which is not new is set, and when the waste ink tank 105 is replaced by the number of suctions less than the full capacity of the waste ink receiver 106, the waste ink tank 105 is replaced. , Waste ink tank 1
By comparing the waste ink remaining amount detection value of 05 with the waste ink amount in the waste ink receiver 106 based on the count value of the number of times of suction, it is possible to determine whether the waste ink receiver 106 can be evacuated.

Next, FIG. 7 is a schematic sectional view of a recovery system 100 of an ink jet plotter according to a third embodiment of the present invention. 7, the same elements as those in FIG. 4 are denoted by the same reference numerals. The configuration of this embodiment is shown in FIG.
As shown in the figure, the second embodiment is almost the same as the second embodiment,
The waste ink tank detection sensor 202 is deleted, and the function of the waste ink tank detection sensor is substituted for the waste ink remaining amount detection sensor 401.

The recovery operation in the third embodiment will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

First, it is checked whether the waste ink tank 105 is FULL or the waste ink tank itself does not exist based on the output of the waste ink remaining amount detection sensor 401 (S300). Waste ink tank is present and non-FUL
In the L state (S300, NO), the waste ink receiver 106
It is checked whether or not is at the set position A (S301). If it is at the set position A, the process proceeds to step S310 described later. If it is not at the set position A, a normal recovery operation is performed (S302), and this processing ends.

If the waste ink tank does not exist or exists but is full (S301, YES), the display unit 517 displays "no waste ink tank FULLor".
Is displayed to warn the user (S303).

Next, the waste ink receiver 106 is moved to the set position A by driving the waste ink receiver motor 403 (S304). If the waste ink receiver 106 is already at the set position A, it is left as it is. Therefore, a recovery operation is performed (S305), and the waste ink count of the counter 513 is incremented by a predetermined amount (S306).

Therefore, the waste ink remaining amount detecting sensor 4
01, the waste ink tank 105 becomes FUL
L or whether the waste ink tank itself exists (S307).

If the waste ink tank does not exist, or if the waste ink tank is present but FULL (S307, YES), it is determined whether or not the waste ink tank is the waste ink receiving FULL based on the waste ink count (S308). If it is not the waste ink receiver FULL, the process is terminated with the waste ink provisional reception state. If it is the waste ink receiver FULL, the display unit 517 instructs replacement of the waste ink tank (S309), and this processing ends.

In step S 307, when the waste ink tank exists and is in the non-FULL state, the comparator 501 compares the waste ink count value of the counter 513 with the output of the waste ink remaining amount detection sensor 401, and It is determined whether the waste ink tank 105 can receive the waste ink amount (V2) accumulated in the receiver 106 (S
310). If it is not acceptable, the process proceeds to step S308 without evacuating the waste ink receiver 106.

If acceptable, the waste ink receiving motor 4
03 is driven to return the waste ink receiver 106 to the standby position (S311). As a result, the waste ink stored in the waste ink receiver 106 becomes 0, so the waste ink count of the counter 513 is cleared (S312), and this processing ends.

According to the third embodiment, the same effects as those of the second embodiment can be obtained, and the cost of the apparatus can be reduced because the waste ink tank detection sensor 202 is not required.

In the above embodiment, the waste ink receiver 10
Although a motor was used to move 6 between set position A and retracted position B, FIG. 10 shows a mechanism for moving waste ink receiver 106 without using a motor.

FIG. 10A is a schematic side view of the waste ink tank 105 and its associated parts.
(B) is a schematic front sectional view thereof (FIG. 10 (a) is a view seen from the left side of FIG. 10 (b).) In the waste ink tank 105, a substantially arc-shaped groove is formed in a side plate 906 thereof. Is provided. On the other hand, a handle 908 of the waste ink receiver 106 is attached to a horizontally protruding rotary shaft 901 on the apparatus side on which the waste ink tank 105 is set. The rotating shaft 901 is constantly urged clockwise in FIG. 10B by a torsion coil spring 902. Therefore, when the waste ink tank 105 is not inserted, the handle 908 of the waste ink receiver 106 comes into contact with the stopper 907 fixed to the apparatus, and the waste ink receiver 106 stops at this position.

An arm 903 projects horizontally from the handle 908 of the waste ink receiver 106. This arm 903
When the waste ink tank 105 is inserted into a predetermined position by the user, the free end of the arm 903 is guided in the groove of the guide 904 of the waste ink tank 105, whereby the elastic force of the torsion coil spring 902 is Set position A
Is rotated around the rotation shaft 901. As a result, the waste ink receiver 106 is retracted to the retract position B. In this process, the waste ink in the waste ink receiver 106 is discharged into the waste ink tank 105.

In the embodiment using the motor for moving the waste ink receiver 106, as described above, the waste ink tank 10
Even when the waste ink tank 5 is installed at a predetermined position, when the waste ink tank FULL is detected,
6 can be moved to the set position. On the other hand, in the method not using a motor shown in FIG.
When the ink tube 05 is removed, the waste ink receiver 106 can be moved to the set position A.
Even if there is dripping of the ink droplets from 4, the inside of the apparatus will not be stained.

The embodiment described above is merely an example for describing the present invention, and various changes can be made. For example, in the above embodiment, a “window” is provided on the side of the waste ink tank as a means for detecting the amount of waste ink in the waste ink tank, and the side of the “window” is scanned by a reflective sensor to detect linearly. However, as another method, the remaining amount of the waste ink may be detected by providing a “window” and a sensor on the opposite surface only at the position of FULL of the waste ink tank. Alternatively, by providing a sensor on the “window” and a surface opposite to the “FULL” position of the waste ink tank by the capacity of the waste ink receiver, the waste ink capacity in the waste ink receiver can be tolerated. It can also be determined whether or not.

[0068]

According to the present invention, the provision of the provisional receiving mechanism for the waste ink allows the printing operation to be executed (continued) even when the waste ink tank is full. Further, even when the waste ink tank is replaced, the inside of the apparatus is not stained.

[0069]

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic sectional view of a recovery system of an inkjet plotter according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a schematic configuration of control hardware of the device according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating an operation example of a recovery system of the apparatus according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a schematic sectional view of a recovery system of an ink jet plotter according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram illustrating a schematic configuration of control hardware of an apparatus according to a second embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating an operation example of a recovery system of the device according to the second embodiment.

FIG. 7 is a schematic sectional view of a recovery system of an inkjet plotter according to a third embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a block diagram illustrating a schematic configuration of control hardware of a device according to a third embodiment.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart illustrating an operation example of a recovery system of the device according to the third embodiment.

FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram of a mechanism for moving a waste ink receiver without using a motor in the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

100: recovery system, 101: head, 102: cap,
103: pump, 104: ink tube, 105: waste ink tank, 106: waste ink receiver, 121: mechanism,
201: recovery motor, 401: waste ink remaining amount detection sensor, 402: window, 403: waste ink receiving motor.

Claims (14)

[Claims] An ink jet recording apparatus having an ink discharge head, an ink suction mechanism for cleaning the head, and a waste ink detachable to the apparatus for receiving the ink sucked by the ink suction mechanism as waste ink. A tank, a waste ink flow path for guiding ink from the suction mechanism to the waste ink tank, and a provisional receiving mechanism for temporarily receiving waste ink between the waste ink flow path and the waste ink tank. An ink jet recording apparatus characterized by the above-mentioned. 2. The temporary receiving mechanism has a waste ink receiver for temporarily receiving waste ink, a first position for receiving waste ink instead of the waste ink tank, and a second position for receiving no waste ink. The waste ink receiver can be moved between positions, and the waste ink stored in the waste ink receiver at the first position is discharged to the waste ink tank in the process of moving to the second position. The ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein 3. The temporary receiving mechanism, when the waste ink tank is placed at a predetermined position, receives the waste ink container from the second ink tank.
3. The ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the waste ink tank is retracted to the first position when the waste ink tank is not placed at the predetermined position. 4. The waste ink receiver is constantly urged to the first position, and the waste ink tank contacts the waste ink receiver when the user places the waste ink tank at a predetermined position. 4. The ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 3, further comprising a mechanism for moving the waste ink receiver to a second position against the urging force of the urging means. 5. A waste ink receiving capacity of said temporary receiving mechanism is smaller than a receiving ink capacity of said waste ink tank.
5. The ink jet recording apparatus according to any one of 4. 6. A means for detecting whether or not the waste ink tank is placed at a predetermined position, and when the means detects that the waste ink tank is not placed at a predetermined position, 6. An ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising: means for issuing a warning. 7. A means for detecting whether or not a waste ink tank is placed at a predetermined position, and when the means detects that the waste ink tank is not placed at a predetermined position, 4. An ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 2, further comprising a driving unit for moving a receiver to said first position. 8. The apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising: means for detecting the amount of waste ink in the waste ink tank, and means for issuing a warning to a user when the means detects that the waste ink tank is full. The inkjet recording apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 5, 9. A means for detecting the amount of waste ink in the waste ink tank, and a drive for moving the waste ink receiver to the first position when the means detects that the waste ink tank is full. The ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 2 or 3, further comprising means. 10. An ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 2, further comprising a measuring means for measuring an amount of waste ink stored in said waste ink receiver. 11. An ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 10, wherein said measuring means measures the amount of waste ink by counting the number of ink suctions by said suction mechanism. 12. A means for judging whether the empty capacity of the waste ink tank is smaller than the waste ink amount of the waste ink receiver, and it is determined that the empty capacity is smaller than the waste ink amount of the waste ink receiver. 12. The ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 10, further comprising means for inhibiting movement of the waste ink receiver to the second position. 13. A means for judging whether or not the free capacity of the waste ink tank is smaller than the capacity of the waste ink receiver, and when it is determined that the free capacity is smaller than the capacity of the waste ink receiver, 4. The ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 2, further comprising means for prohibiting the waste ink receiver from being moved to the second position. 14. The waste ink receiver is full, and
14. The ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 12, further comprising means for prohibiting a printing operation and an ink suction operation when the movement of the waste ink receiver to the second position is prohibited.