JP2003063035A - Ink jet recorder and maintenance control method for the device at exchanging ink cartridge - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Problem] To provide a recording apparatus capable of reducing the influence of color mixing and the like accompanying an ink cartridge replacement operation and avoiding waste of ink due to a replacement maintenance operation. SOLUTION: When reading / writing means detects that any of the ink cartridges has been replaced,
Non-volatile memory (EEP) mounted on the cartridge
The replacement ink information is read out from the ROM), and the data is sent to the matching verification unit 74. The matching verification unit 74 extracts the ink information before replacement from the ink information storage unit and verifies the matching between the two. The maintenance control means 71
Replacement operations, such as when the color of the ink changes,
A command is sent to the cleaning control means 67 in accordance with the replacement operation in which the color of the ink does not change, and the negative pressure applied to the caving means 8 for sealing the nozzle forming surface of the recording head 8 is controlled.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an ink jet type ink jet recording apparatus having a plurality of ink cartridges detachably mounted and provided with a recording head capable of ejecting ink droplets when ink is supplied from each ink cartridge. The present invention relates to a maintenance control technique for a recording apparatus based on ink information before and after replacement of ink cartridges.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art For example, a serial printing type ink jet recording apparatus carries an ink jet type recording head mounted on a carriage and reciprocating in a main scanning direction, and a recording sheet in a sub scanning direction orthogonal to the main scanning direction. A paper feeding unit is provided, and printing is performed on the recording paper by ejecting ink droplets from the recording head based on the print data. Most of the recording apparatuses of this type are configured such that an ink cartridge for supplying ink to the recording head can be detachably mounted on a carriage on which the recording head is mounted.

In the recording apparatus having the above-mentioned structure, at least black, cyan, magenta, and yellow inks are used, and not only text printing with black ink but also full-color printing is possible by changing the ejection ratio of each ink. It is possible. In the conventional recording apparatus of this type, the mounting positions of the inks of the respective colors are predetermined, and the inks of the respective colors are supplied to the recording head based on the predetermined mounting positions. Then, for example, based on print data provided from a host computer, an actuator such as a piezo element arranged in the recording head is driven, and the ejection operation of ink of each color is controlled.

[0004]

By the way, most of the ink cartridges used in the recording apparatus having the above-described structure contain one black ink cartridge and at least one ink containing yellow, cyan, and magenta.
Two color ink cartridges are prepared, and a configuration is adopted in which these black and color ink cartridges are mounted on the carriage of the recording apparatus. With this configuration, the mounting position of each ink cartridge on the carriage is naturally determined, and the ink of each predetermined color is introduced into each nozzle row of the recording head.

On the other hand, in the case of considering a recording apparatus in which each ink cartridge in which the black ink and each color ink are individually accommodated individually is prepared and these can be mounted in parallel, for example, is considered. , The following operation methods can be considered. That is, when it is intended to execute only text printing with black ink by using the above-mentioned recording apparatus, in addition to the above-mentioned black ink cartridge, another black ink cartridge is further installed at the place where the color ink cartridge is mounted. By mounting, it is possible to actually increase the number of nozzle rows from which black ink is ejected, so that it is possible to perform text printing at a higher speed.

When such an operation is attempted,
The ink color of the cartridge that was installed before and the ink color of the replaced cartridge are different, and these inks are mixed in the ink flow path from the cartridge installation part to the recording head, and the state changes to the printing state. The problem that the color mixture continues for a while is caused. Therefore, in the case of considering the above operation, every time the ink cartridge is replaced in order to prevent color mixture, almost all of the ink from the previously mounted cartridge is discharged and replaced with the ink of the replaced cartridge. Need to run.

As the above-mentioned ink replacement operation,
Performing a cleaning sequence in which a relatively large amount of ink is sucked and discharged from the recording head by sealing the nozzle forming surface of the recording head with the capping means and introducing a negative pressure from the negative pressure generating means into the capping means. Is generally considered.

However, when the ink cartridge is programmed to execute a cleaning sequence for discharging a relatively large amount of ink that is uniformly set every time the ink cartridge is replaced, for example, the ink color after replacement is changed. Even in the case of the same as before, excess ink than necessary is ejected from the recording head, resulting in a burden on the running cost for the user. Further, it becomes necessary to prepare a waste liquid tank having a larger capacity in the recording device for storing the ink waste liquid, which makes it difficult to reduce the size of the recording device of this type.

The present invention has been made by paying attention to the above-mentioned point, and for example, in a recording apparatus which is operated such that the ink color of the cartridge previously mounted is different from the ink color of the replaced cartridge. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide an ink jet recording apparatus configured to always select an appropriate ink discharge operation and a maintenance control method at the time of ink cartridge replacement in the apparatus.

[0010]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION A recording apparatus according to the present invention made to achieve the above object has a plurality of ink cartridges detachably mounted and receives ink supply from each ink cartridge. An ink jet recording apparatus provided with a recording head capable of ejecting ink droplets, and when any one of the plurality of ink cartridges is replaced, the ink information stored in the ink cartridge before replacement and One of a predetermined ink discharge operation from the recording head based on the matching verification means for verifying the matching with the ink information stored in the replaced ink cartridge and the matching verification result by the matching verification means. And a maintenance control means configured to execute the selected ink discharge operation. Having the features.

In this case, preferably, the maintenance control unit, when the matching verification unit determines that the ink information is not matched, is compared with the recording head when the ink information is judged to be matched. An ink discharging operation having a larger amount of discharged ink is selected and executed.

In the first preferred embodiment, the ink discharging operation seals the nozzle forming surface of the recording head and receives the negative pressure from the negative pressure generating means to discharge the ink from the recording head. When the ink information is determined to be inconsistent by the matching verifying means, it is made by capping means capable of sucking and discharging, as compared with the case in which it is determined that they are matched,
An ink discharging operation that further increases the negative pressure applied to the capping means is selected and executed.

Further, in the second preferred embodiment, the ink discharging operation is a flushing operation in which a driving signal which is not related to the printing operation is supplied to the recording head, and an ink droplet is ejected from the recording head in an idle state. In the case where the matching verification means determines that the ink information does not match, the ink discharging operation for further increasing the idle discharge amount of the ink droplet as compared with the case where it is determined that the ink information matches. Is selected and executed.

Whichever of the first and second embodiments is adopted, after the ink discharging operation is performed when the matching verification means determines that the ink information does not match. It is desirable to have a maintenance timer that starts timing. Then, if the time measured by the maintenance timer at the time of receiving the command of the printing operation thereafter is a predetermined value or more,
It is desirable to supply a drive signal, which is not related to the printing operation, to the recording head before the start of the printing operation, and to execute a flushing operation in which the ink droplet is ejected from the recording head.

Further, when the above-described second embodiment is adopted, and the flushing operation executed with the above-mentioned timing of the maintenance timer, the flushing operation of the recording head ejecting the ink from the replaced ink cartridge is performed. It is desirable to configure the nozzle to be executed.

Further, in the recording apparatus configured so that the ink supplied from each ink cartridge is supplied to each nozzle row formed in the recording head, when the time measured by the maintenance timer is equal to or more than a predetermined value. It is desirable that the flushing operation to be performed be configured so as to be performed on the nozzles located at the ends of the nozzle row of the recording head from which the ink provided from the replaced ink cartridge is ejected.

Further, the above-mentioned ink information is preferably obtained from the identification means mounted in the ink cartridge. In this case, the identifying means can preferably use the non-volatile memory mounted in the ink cartridge, and preferably, when the ink cartridge is mounted in the recording device, the reading means mounted in the recording device side. Ink information is read from the non-volatile memory.

Further, the alignment verification means preferably includes an ink information storage means for storing ink information read from the non-volatile memory mounted on the ink cartridge before replacement, and the ink information storage means The ink information provided is configured to be compared with the ink information read from the nonvolatile memory mounted in the replaced ink cartridge.

In this case, in a preferred embodiment, the information indicating the color of the ink is used as the ink information, and the matching verification means includes the information indicating the color of the ink contained in the ink cartridge before replacement. It is configured to compare the information indicating the color of the ink contained in the replaced ink cartridge and determine whether they are the same.

On the other hand, in the maintenance control method for a recording apparatus according to the present invention, which has been made to achieve the above-mentioned object, a plurality of ink cartridges are detachably mounted, and ink is supplied from each ink cartridge. A maintenance control method for replacing an ink cartridge in an ink jet recording apparatus having a recording head capable of ejecting ink droplets, the cartridge detecting whether any one of the plurality of ink cartridges has been replaced. In the replacement detection step and the cartridge replacement detection step, when it is detected that one of the ink cartridges has been replaced, the ink information of the ink contained in the replaced ink cartridge is acquired, and the ink cartridge before the replacement is acquired. Ink information stored in the Based on the matching verification step of verifying the matching state with the ink information stored in the ink cartridge and the matching verification result in the matching verification step, one of the predetermined ink discharge operations from the print head is selected. Then, the maintenance control step for executing the selected ink discharging operation is executed.

In this case, in the first preferred embodiment of the maintenance control method described above, the maintenance control step seals the nozzle forming surface of the recording head and receives a negative pressure from the negative pressure generating means. If the ink information is determined to be inconsistent by executing the alignment verification step by the capping means capable of sucking and discharging the ink from the recording head, In comparison, the ink discharging operation for further increasing the negative pressure applied to the capping means is selected and executed.

In the second preferred embodiment of the maintenance control method described above, in the maintenance control step, a drive signal not related to the printing operation is supplied to the recording head, and an ink droplet is ejected from the recording head. In the case where it is determined that the ink information is not matched by the execution of the matching verification step in comparison with the case where it is determined that the ink information is matched, the ink droplets are discharged blank. The ink discharging operation for increasing the amount is selected and executed.

According to the ink jet type recording apparatus adopting the maintenance control method at the time of replacing the ink cartridge described above, the ink information of each ink contained in each ink cartridge mounted on the recording apparatus is grasped in advance, and It is monitored whether that cartridge has been replaced. Then, when the cartridge is replaced, the ink information contained in the replaced ink cartridge is acquired, and the consistency with the ink information before replacement is verified.

Here, for example, it is verified whether or not the ink colors before and after replacement are the same, and based on the verification result, one of the predetermined ink discharge operations from the recording head is performed. To be selected. In the case where the above-described ink discharging operation is performed by a capping unit capable of sealing the nozzle forming surface of the recording head and receiving negative pressure from the negative pressure generating unit to suck and discharge the ink from the recording head, In the case where it is determined that the information indicating the color of the ink after replacement does not match, the negative pressure applied to the capping means is further increased as compared with the case where it is determined that they match. Is done.

As a result, almost all of the ink from the previously mounted cartridge is discharged and replaced with the ink of the replaced cartridge. Therefore, in the subsequent printing operation, it is possible to avoid the inconvenience of printing with mixed ink. Also,
When it is determined that the information indicating the color of the replaced ink is the same, the negative pressure applied to the capping means is controlled to be relatively small. As a result, as the cartridge is replaced, a cleaning operation is performed in which the amount of discharged ink is relatively small, such as the amount of air bubbles that have entered the ink flow path. Therefore, in this case, waste of ink can be avoided.

On the other hand, as the above-mentioned ink discharging operation,
When a flushing operation is performed in which a drive signal that is not related to the printing operation is supplied to the recording head and the recording head ejects ink droplets idly, the information indicating the ink color after replacement does not match. When it is determined that the flushing operation is performed, the flushing operation that further increases the idle ejection amount of the ink droplet is performed as compared with the case where it is determined that they match.

Due to this large amount of flushing, almost all of the ink from the previously mounted cartridge is discharged and replaced with the ink of the replaced cartridge, and in the subsequent printing operation, printing with mixed color ink is performed. Inconvenience can be avoided. In addition, when it is determined that the information indicating the color of the ink after replacement is the same, for example, a small amount of flushing operation is performed to adjust the meniscus of the ink formed in the nozzle openings of the recording head. Is enough.

When the above-described ink discharge operation by flushing is adopted, the flushing operation can be performed only by the nozzle of the recording head corresponding to the replaced cartridge. Therefore, it is possible to avoid sucking and discharging the ink from all the nozzles as in the above-described cleaning operation in which a negative pressure is applied to the capping means, and it is possible to avoid wasting ink in the cartridge that has not been replaced.

Furthermore, after the cleaning operation or the flushing operation performed when it is determined that the information indicating the color of the ink after the replacement does not match that before the replacement, the time of the maintenance timer is measured. Be started. This timer continuously measures the time until the print command is input, and the elapsed time when the print command is input is referred to. As a result, when it is determined that the predetermined time or more has elapsed, the flushing operation is performed on the nozzles of the recording head corresponding to the replaced cartridge, and then the printing operation is executed.

As described above, when the printing is started after the lapse of a predetermined time or more, the ink from the cartridge before remaining in the complicated fine ink passage formed in the recording head is There is a problem that the cartridge dissolves in the ink and the color mixture is visually recognized in the result of printing. Therefore, by performing the flushing operation of the follow-up described above, it is possible to eject the ink having a slightly mixed color.

The following flushing operation is as follows:
Ideally, this is performed for the nozzles located at the ends of the nozzle row of the print head from which the ink provided from the replaced ink cartridge is ejected.
That is, the ink flow path leading to the nozzle located at the end of the nozzle row has a longer path as compared with the ink flow path reaching the nozzle located in the center, and a more complicated bent configuration must be adopted. I don't get.

As a result, the ink ejected from the nozzles located at the end of the nozzle row is more affected by the residual ink from the previous cartridge, and is more likely to dissolve into the ink from the subsequent cartridge. Therefore, by performing the flushing operation for the nozzles located at the end of the nozzle row as described above, the ink that causes a greater degree of color mixture due to the difference in the structure of the flow path described above is effectively used. Can be discharged.

[0033]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION An ink jet recording apparatus according to the present invention will be described below based on the embodiments shown in the drawings. FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the basic structure of a recording apparatus main body to which the present invention is applied. Figure 1
In FIG. 1, reference numeral 1 is a carriage, and this carriage 1
Is configured to be guided by a guide member 4 via a timing belt 3 driven by a carriage motor 2 to reciprocate in the main scanning direction along the longitudinal direction of the paper feed member 5.

A paper feed roller 6 is arranged on the paper feed member 5, and the recording paper 7 sandwiched by the paper feed roller 6 and a driven roller (not shown) is fed to the paper feed roller 6
It is configured to be conveyed in the sub-scanning direction orthogonal to the above-mentioned main scanning direction by the rotational drive of. in this case,
A large number of protrusions 5a are intermittently formed on the upper surface of the paper feed member 5 along the longitudinal direction, and the recording paper 7 is conveyed along the upper faces of the protrusions 5a, which will be described later. A predetermined gap is formed between the recording head and the recording head.

On the other hand, an ink jet type recording head 8 is mounted on the lower side surface of the carriage 1 facing the recording sheet 7 as shown by a broken line. Further, a black ink cartridge 9B for supplying ink to the recording head 8 and color ink cartridges 9C, 9M, 9Y enclosing the inks of cyan, magenta, and yellow, respectively, are adjacent to each other in the main scanning direction on the upper part thereof. It is detachably attached.

In the figure, reference numeral 11 is a capping means arranged in a non-printing area (home position). The capping means 11 moves upward when the recording head 8 is moved directly above, and moves upward. Nozzle formation surface (lower surface of the recording head 8 in this embodiment)
Is configured to be able to be sealed. The capping means 1 is provided below the capping means 11.
A suction pump 12 as a negative pressure generating means for applying a negative pressure to the internal space 1 is arranged.

The capping means 11 functions as a lid for sealing the nozzle forming surface of the recording head 8 to suppress the evaporation of the ink solvent from the nozzle openings during the rest period of the recording apparatus, and the suction pump. A negative pressure from 12 is applied to the recording head 8 to perform a cleaning operation for sucking and discharging the ink from the recording head. Also, this capping means 11
In the flushing operation to be described later, they face the recording head with a slight gap therebetween, and also function as an ink receiver for receiving ink droplets discharged in idle from the recording head.

As shown in FIG. 1, a wiping member 13 formed of a strip of an elastic material such as rubber is arranged on the side of the printing area adjacent to the capping means 11 so that the carriage 1 is on the side of the capping means 11. When reciprocating, the wiping operation of moving the recording head in the horizontal direction in the horizontal direction and wiping the nozzle forming surface of the recording head 8 for cleaning is performed as necessary.

As shown in FIG. 1, in the recording apparatus according to this embodiment, a black ink cartridge 9B and cyan, magenta, and yellow color ink cartridges 9C, 9M, and 9Y are detachably mounted on the carriage 1. Has been done. As shown in FIG. 1, the black ink cartridge 9B used in this embodiment is composed of the color ink cartridges 9C, 9M,
The width is slightly larger than that of 9Y.

FIG. 2 shows the structure of a color ink cartridge which is detachably mounted on the recording apparatus, and FIG. 2A is a perspective view showing the cartridge as viewed from one side. 2B is a perspective view of the cartridge as viewed from the other surface direction.
As described above, each color ink cartridge is
The outer shapes thereof are the same, and in FIG. 2, the reference numeral 21 represents each of these color ink cartridges.
Is shown as.

This color ink cartridge 21 has a rectangular box-shaped bottomed container body 22 having an opening on one side,
The main component is a flat plate-like lid 23 that seals the opening. An ink supply port 24 is formed at the front end side in the cartridge insertion direction, that is, in the present embodiment, near the one end in the longitudinal direction on the bottom surface of the cartridge. The ink supply port 24 is provided with an ink supply needle described later. A valve body (not shown) that opens by insertion is housed.

Further, locking members 25 and 26 are provided on the sides of the cartridge 21 in the longitudinal direction, respectively.
It is formed integrally with. The locking member 25 located on the ink supply port 24 side is formed such that the lower end side thereof serves as a rotation fulcrum and the upper part thereof is expanded outward. Is a single projection 25a
Is formed so that it can be locked in a recess for engagement formed in the carriage described later. Further, the other opposing locking member 26 is also formed in a state where the upper part thereof is similarly expanded outwardly, and a single protruding portion 26a is similarly formed on the outer side surface of this locking member 26. It can be locked in a recess for engagement formed in a carriage described later.

A slit-shaped space 27 is formed in the bottom of the container main body 22 which forms the outer shell of the cartridge. The slit 27 is formed in the carriage when it is mounted on the carriage. Positioning is performed by a positioning projection, which will be described later, relatively entering into the space 27.

Further, a circuit board 28 having a non-volatile memory functioning as an identifying means, eg, an EEPROM, is arranged below the locking member 25 arranged on the ink supply port 24 side. A plurality of terminals 28a are formed on the surface of the substrate so that they can be electrically contacted with electrode terminals, which will be described later, arranged on the carriage side when mounted on the carriage. In this embodiment, at least the color information of the ink contained in the cartridge is stored in the nonvolatile memory mounted on the substrate 28, and the cartridge is mounted on the carriage as described later. Thus, the color information can be read.

Next, FIG. 3 shows the construction of a black ink cartridge which is detachably mounted on the recording apparatus, and FIG. 3A is a perspective view of the cartridge as viewed from one side. 3B is a perspective view of the cartridge as viewed from the other surface direction. Note that the black ink cartridge is shown as reference numeral 31 here.

The black ink cartridge 31 has basically the same configuration as the color ink cartridge shown in FIG. However, the width W of this black ink cartridge is made slightly larger than the width of each color ink cartridge, and the amount of ink contained is increased. Therefore, in the black ink cartridge 31 shown in FIG. 3, parts corresponding to the respective parts of the color ink cartridge shown in FIG. 2 are indicated by the same reference numerals, and a reference numeral (') of a dash is added to the end of the reference numeral. ing. Therefore, the description of the configuration of each part in this black ink cartridge is omitted.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing the construction of the carriage on which the black ink cartridge and the three color ink cartridges are mounted. FIG. 5 is a sectional view of the carriage shown in FIG. 4 in a broken state in a region where any one of the color ink cartridges is mounted.
As shown in the drawing, the carriage 1 is provided with a slightly wider first mounting area 40 on one side thereof, and second to fourth mounting areas 41 to 43 having the same width are adjacent to the first mounting area 40. The ribs 44 to 46 and 57 to 49 are formed so as to face each other.

In this embodiment, the black ink cartridge is mounted in the slightly wider first mounting area 40. Further, in the second to fourth mounting areas 41 to 43, for example, cyan, magenta, and yellow color ink cartridges are mounted.

Hollow ink supply needles 52 are arranged in an upright state at the bottom of the back side in the mounting area of each cartridge, and the ink from each cartridge is transferred through these ink supply needles 52. It is configured so that it can be supplied to the recording head 8 shown in FIG. In addition, positioning protrusions 53 are formed so as to protrude from the substantially central portion of the lower bottom portion of the carriage 1 in the cartridge insertion / removal direction, and the front side of each protrusion 53 is as shown in FIG. One end of the leaf spring 54 is attached to the.

Further, electrode terminals 56 are arranged on the back side wall of the carriage 1 so as to face the respective mounting areas. When the cartridges are mounted, the circuit boards 28 mounted on the respective cartridges are mounted. The color information of the ink accommodated in the cartridge can be read from the non-volatile memory mounted on the circuit board 28 by contacting the terminal 28a.

On the other hand, above the electrode terminal 56, the locking member 25 (2) formed on one end face of each cartridge.
A concave portion 57 is formed with which the projection 25a (25a ') in 5') is engaged. Further, on the front side wall of the carriage 1, a protrusion 25a of a locking member 26 (26 ') formed on the other end surface of each cartridge is also provided.
A recess 59 with which (25a ') is engaged is formed.

FIG. 6 is a sectional view showing a state in which, for example, the color ink cartridge configured as described above is mounted from the upper surface side of the carriage 1. In FIG. 6, (A) shows a state where the cartridge is being mounted, and (B) shows a state where the cartridge is mounted. First, as shown in FIG. 6A, when the circuit board 28 mounted on the ink cartridge 21 is positioned inside the carriage 1 and the cartridge 21 is inserted into the carriage 1, the circuit board 28 is positioned at the bottom of the cartridge 21. for,
The free end side of the leaf spring 54 arranged at the inner bottom of the carriage 1 contacts. At this time, the tip end of the convex piece 53 standing up from the inner bottom of the carriage 1 is inserted into the slit-shaped space 27 formed in the cartridge 21.

In this state, when the cartridge is pushed against the urging force of the leaf spring 54, the cartridge 21
The convex piece 5 that relatively enters into the slit-shaped space 27
While being guided by 3, the carriage 1 is inserted toward the inner bottom portion. Then, the protrusions 25a and 26a of the pair of locking members 25 and 26 formed on the cartridge are formed.
Is fitted into the recesses 57 and 59 formed in the carriage 1, and the cartridge 21 is mounted on the carriage 1 as shown in FIG. At this time, a clear click feeling is transmitted to the fingertip that pushes in the cartridge, and the user can recognize that the cartridge is securely attached to the carriage 1.

In this state, the ink supply port 24 formed on the lower bottom portion of the cartridge is joined to the ink supply needle 52 arranged on the carriage 1 side so that the ink can be supplied from the cartridge to the recording head. Become. At this time, the circuit board 28 mounted on the side end of the cartridge
The terminal 28a in contact with the electrode terminal 56 arranged on the carriage 1 side, and the color information of the cartridge can be read from the non-volatile memory mounted on the circuit board 28.

On the other hand, when the cartridge is removed from the carriage 1 by exchanging the cartridge or the like, when the locking member 25 formed on the cartridge is pressed so as to be pulled back to the container body side, the protrusion 25a of the locking member 25 is formed.
Moves away from the concave portion 57 on the carriage 1 side. In this state, when the protrusion 26a of the other locking member 26 and the recess 59 on the carriage 1 side are disengaged from each other, the cartridge 1 moves to the leaf spring 54.
Is pushed upward by the urging force of. As a result, the cartridge can be taken out from the carriage.

Next, FIG. 7 is a block diagram showing an example of a control circuit mounted on the recording apparatus having the above-mentioned structure. Note that, in FIG. 7, parts corresponding to the parts already described are denoted by the same reference numerals, and therefore detailed description thereof will be omitted. In FIG. 7, the suction pump 12
Waste tank 15 for discharging the ink waste liquid sucked by
Is shown, and the ink waste liquid discharged to the waste liquid tank 15 is the waste liquid absorbing material 1 stored in the waste liquid tank 15.
It is configured to be held by 6.

Reference numeral 60 shown in FIG. 7 is a host computer, and a printer driver 61 is mounted on the host computer 60. Then, by using the input device 62 and the display 63 on the utility of the printer driver 61, it is possible to input known paper size, monochrome / color printing selection, recording mode selection, data such as font and print command, and the like. Is configured.

By inputting a print command from the input device 62, print data is sent from the printer driver 61 to the print control means 64 mounted on the recording device. The print control means 64 generates bitmap data based on the print data from the host computer 60 and causes the head drive means 65 to generate a drive signal based on the data, and the recording head mounted on the carriage 1. 8 has a function of ejecting ink droplets. The head drive means 65 is also configured to receive a flushing command signal from the flushing control means 66 and output a drive signal for a flushing operation to the recording head 8 in addition to the drive signal based on the print data.

Reference numeral 67 is a cleaning control means,
The cleaning control means 67 is a pump drive means 68.
Is started and the suction pump 12 is operated. Then, for example, the cleaning operation is executed in response to a command signal from the cleaning command detecting means 70 which has received an ON operation of the cleaning command switch 69 arranged on the operation panel. Further, the cleaning control means 67
Has a function of executing the cleaning operation in the same manner even when a cleaning command is received from the host computer via the maintenance control means 71.

A control signal is sent from the maintenance control means 71 to the carriage motor control means 72, whereby the carriage motor 2 is driven and the carriage 1 is moved according to the maintenance operation described later. Control to move to a predetermined position is performed.

A maintenance timer 73 is connected to the maintenance control means 71, and the maintenance control means 71 is constructed so as to be able to acquire time count data by the timer 73, as will be described later.
In addition, the maintenance control means 71 has a matching verification means 74.
It is configured to send and receive signals to and from
A control signal can be sent to the flushing control means 66 and the cleaning control means 67 based on the verification result by the matching verification means 74 and the time measurement data by the timer 73.

The matching verification means 74 is provided with an ink information storage means 75 for storing ink information read out from the non-volatile memory mounted on the ink cartridge before replacement, that is, ink color information, as described later. ing. Then, the ink color information provided from the ink information storage means 75 is compared with the ink color information read from the non-volatile memory mounted in the replaced ink cartridge, and the consistency (in this embodiment, the ink It has a function to verify whether the colors are the same). Incidentally, the ink information storage means 75 is constructed with a table capable of reading and writing ink color information corresponding to the mounting positions of the respective cartridges.

The matching verification means 74 is further configured to exchange data with the read / write means 76, and the read / write means 76 is provided.
Is configured so that the ink color information and the like stored in the EEPROM on the circuit board 28 of each ink cartridge can be electrically read out through the electrode terminals 56 and transmitted to the matching verification means 74. . The read / write means 76 also operates so that the data generated on the recording device side can be written to the EEPROM of each of the circuit boards 28 as needed.

The read / write means 76 is
In the mounted state of the cartridge, it is possible to detect the mounted state of the cartridge by detecting the electrical connection to the circuit board 28 on the cartridge side through the electrode terminal 56. Therefore, the read / write unit 76 can also function as a cartridge replacement detection unit that detects which of the ink cartridges has been replaced.

In the recording apparatus described above, not only text printing using black ink, but also full-color printing is realized by using cyan, magenta, and yellow inks and changing the ejection ratio of each ink. You can By the way, in the case of efficiently performing, for example, text printing with black ink, the black ink cartridge 9B described above is used, and a cartridge containing the same black ink is mounted at the mounting position of another color ink cartridge. As a result, the number of nozzles that eject the black ink can be substantially increased, and the printing speed can be improved.

For example, in the above-mentioned embodiment, at the mounting position of the cartridge 9C containing the cyan ink,
It is possible to install a cartridge containing black ink. In this case, the cyan ink from the previously mounted cartridge mixes with the black ink from the newly mounted cartridge. Also, when trying to realize full-color printing by returning the operation to the original, there is a problem that black ink from the previously installed cartridge mixes with cyan ink from the newly installed cartridge. Occur. On the other hand, when one of the ink cartridges becomes the ink end due to execution of the printing operation or the like and the ink cartridges of the same color are replaced, the problem of color mixture as described above does not occur.

FIGS. 8 to 10 automatically verify the case where a color mixing problem may occur and the case where a color mixing problem does not occur by the above-described operation, and each time when the cartridge is replaced, the optimum condition is obtained. 7 shows a control routine adapted to be able to perform maintenance operations.

8 and 9 show the first embodiment of the present invention.
The preferred maintenance operation will be described. First, FIG. 8 starts, for example, when the operating power of the recording apparatus is turned on. In step S11, an operation of reading ink information from each mounted cartridge is performed. This is performed by the reading / writing means 76 shown in FIG. 7 performing an operation of individually reading the ink color information from the EEPROM of the circuit board 28 mounted on each mounted cartridge.

Then, as shown in step S12, an operation of writing the ink information corresponding to the mounting position of each cartridge in the storage means is performed. This is performed by performing an operation of recording the ink color information of each cartridge read by the read / write unit 76 in the ink information storage unit 75 via the matching verification unit 74. If the ink information storage means 75 is a recording medium (having a non-volatile function) capable of holding the recording of ink information even when the operating power supply is cut off, steps S11 and S12 described above are performed. It is not necessary to execute this when the operating power is turned on.

Succeedingly, in a step S13, it is monitored whether or not any of the cartridges is replaced. This is the read / write means 76 as described above.
In the circuit board 2 where the electrode terminal 56 is on the cartridge side
It can be realized by detecting whether or not it is electrically connected to 8. If it is determined that one of the cartridges has been replaced (Yes), then step S1
In step 4, the ink information of the replaced cartridge is read. Then, as shown in step S15, it is verified whether or not the ink information before replacement and the ink information after replacement have consistency.

This is the read / write means 7 described above.
The ink information in the cartridge after the exchange acquired in 6 is sent to the matching verification means 74, and the matching verification means 74
Is performed by comparing with the ink information before replacement stored in the ink information storage means 75. In this embodiment, it is determined whether the ink color information before and after the cartridge replacement is the same.

If it is determined in step S15 that there is consistency (Yes), the process proceeds to step S16, and the first cleaning operation is executed. This first cleaning operation is an ink suction operation in which the negative pressure applied to the capping unit is controlled to be relatively small because it is not affected by color mixing, and this allows the suction operation of a relatively small volume of ink. Done. In this case, the maintenance control means 71 receiving the control signal from the alignment verification means 74 sends a control signal to the carriage motor control means 72 to move the carriage 1 to the home position, thereby capping the nozzle forming surface of the recording head. The operation of sealing by means 11 is performed.

The maintenance control means 71 sends a command signal to the cleaning control means 67, and the pump drive means 68 which receives an instruction from the cleaning control means 67 controls the suction pump 12 to rotate at a low speed, for example. As a result, a relatively light negative pressure is applied to the internal space of the capping means 11 that seals the nozzle formation surface of the recording head, and a corresponding amount of ink is sucked and discharged from the recording head.

After the suction operation is completed, the wiping operation is executed as shown in step S17. This is executed by sending a control signal from the maintenance control means 71 to the carriage motor control means 72 to move the carriage 1 from the home position to the printing area side, and nozzle formation by the wiping member 13 that has advanced to the movement path of the recording head. The ink adhering to the surface is scraped off, and the nozzle forming surface is cleaned.

Subsequently, as shown as step S18 in FIG. 9, a carriage return sequence is executed,
The carriage 1 is moved to the home position. As a result, the recording head is brought into a state of being sealed by the capping means 11. At the same time, step S19
As shown in, the ink information (ink color information) of the newly mounted cartridge is written in the ink information storage means 75 by the matching verification means 74. Then, in step S20, it is monitored whether or not there is a print command,
When it is determined that the print command has arrived (in the case of Yes)
In step S21, the printing operation is executed.

On the other hand, if it is determined in step S15 shown in FIG. 8 that there is no consistency (the ink color information is not the same), as shown in step S22, the second
The cleaning operation is executed. The second cleaning operation is an ink suction operation in which the negative pressure applied to the capping means is controlled to be larger, and thus a large volume of ink suction operation is performed. In this case, step S1
In the same manner as described in 6, the maintenance control means 71, which receives the control signal from the alignment verification means 74, sends a control signal to the carriage motor control means 72 to move the carriage 1 to the home position, thereby moving the print head. An operation of sealing the ristle forming surface by the capping means 11 is performed.

The maintenance control means 71 sends a command signal to the cleaning control means 67, and the pump drive means 68 which receives an instruction from the cleaning control means 67 controls the suction pump 12 to rotate at high speed, for example. As a result, a larger negative pressure is applied to the internal space of the capping means 11 that seals the nozzle forming surface of the recording head, and a relatively large amount of ink corresponding to that is sucked and discharged from the recording head. As a result, most of the ink from the cartridge before replacement existing in the ink flow path from the mounting port of the ink cartridge to the nozzle portion of the recording head is discharged, and the ink supplied from the cartridge after replacement is replaced.

Along with the execution of the second cleaning operation shown in step S22, the maintenance timer 73 starts timing as shown in step S23. Then, the wiping operation is executed as shown in step S24. This wiping operation is performed in step S already described.
This is similar to the wiping operation performed in 17. Subsequently, the carriage return sequence shown in step S25 in FIG. 9 is executed, which is similar to the control performed in step S19 already described.

Subsequently, as shown in step S26, the ink information (ink color information) of the newly mounted cartridge is written in the ink information storage means 75 by the matching verification means 74. Then, in step S27, it is monitored whether or not there is a print command.

If it is determined in step S27 that the print command has arrived (Yes), the time measured by the maintenance timer 73 is referred to as shown in step S28, and the measured value reaches a predetermined value or more. Is determined. That is, it is determined whether or not the time from the end of the cleaning operation executed in step S22 until the print command is issued has exceeded a predetermined time.

Here, the maintenance timer 7 described above is used.
When the time count of 3 is equal to or more than the predetermined value, as described above, the ink from the cartridge before remaining in the complicated and minute ink flow passage formed in the recording head melts into the ink from the subsequent cartridge. However, there may be a problem that the color mixture is visually recognized in the printing result. Therefore, as shown in step S29, the flushing operation is performed, and the operation of ejecting the ink whose degree of color mixing increases with the passage of time is performed.

Ideally, the flushing operation in this case is performed for the nozzles located at the ends of the nozzle row of the recording head. FIG. 11 illustrates the operation, and FIG. 11 shows a state in which the nozzle forming surface of the recording head 8 is viewed from the front. Codes K, C, M, Y
Indicates a nozzle row for ejecting ink supplied from each ink cartridge, K indicates a nozzle row for ejecting black ink, C for cyan, M for magenta, and Y for ejecting yellow ink, respectively. Then, a case where a black ink cartridge is newly installed instead of the cyan ink cartridge will be described as an example, and black ink is newly ejected from the nozzle row C that has ejected cyan ink.

In this case, as described above, the ink flow path leading to the nozzle located at the end of the nozzle row is longer than the ink flow path leading to the nozzle located in the center thereof, and more There is no choice but to have a complicatedly bent structure. As a result, with the passage of time, the influence of the cyan ink from the previous cartridge occurs more greatly, and the ink ejected from the nozzles located at the end of the nozzle row has a large degree of color mixing. Therefore, it is possible to effectively discharge the ink having a large degree of color mixing by performing the flushing operation on the nozzles located at the end of the nozzle row shown as “S” in FIG.

In step S29, the flushing operation is executed for the nozzles in the above-mentioned S area, but this means that all the nozzles in the nozzle row in which the ink color has been exchanged (that is, the nozzle row C). Ink may be controlled to be discharged from all the nozzles) by a flushing operation.

For the above reason, when it is determined in step S28 that the measured value of the maintenance timer 73 has not reached the predetermined value or more (No),
The flushing operation shown in step S29 is omitted.
Then, in step S30, the measured value of the maintenance timer 73 is reset, and the process proceeds to step S21 to execute the printing operation.

Next, FIG. 10 illustrates a second preferable maintenance operation according to the present invention. In this example, a large amount of ink droplets are discharged in stead of the above-described cleaning operation as the ink discharging operation. The flushing operation is performed. That is, FIG.
In step S11 to S15, the same sequence as the step code shown in FIG. 8 is executed.

If it is determined in step S15 that the ink information before replacement and the ink information after replacement have consistency (Yes), the process proceeds to step S31 and the first flushing operation is executed. It Since the first flushing operation is not affected by the color mixture, the idle ejection amount of ink droplets is controlled to be relatively small. After the execution of the first flushing operation, there is no need to execute the wiping operation in particular, so that the process proceeds to step S18 shown in FIG. 9 and the same sequence as described above is executed.

If it is determined in step S15 in FIG. 10 that the ink information before replacement and the ink information after replacement do not match (No), the process proceeds to step S32 and the second flushing operation is performed. Is executed. In the second flushing operation, a large amount of ink droplets are discharged in idle, whereby ink before replacement of the cartridge is replaced with ink after replacement of the cartridge. Then, as shown in step S23, the timing of the maintenance timer is started, the process proceeds to step S25 shown in FIG. 9, and the same sequence as described above is executed.

In the sequence shown in FIG. 10, the wiping operation is not executed after the second flushing operation shown in step S32, but if a large amount of flushing is executed, the nozzle A large amount of ink may adhere to the formation surface, and the wiping operation may be executed as necessary.

In the maintenance operation described above, the case where the cyan ink cartridge is replaced with the black ink cartridge in order to increase the efficiency of text printing with black ink is shown as an example, but color printing is performed. Therefore, the same sequence is executed when the black ink cartridge is replaced with the cyan ink cartridge again.

In the embodiment described above, the width of the black ink cartridge is slightly larger than that of the other color ink cartridges. However, the outer dimensions of the black ink cartridge and the color ink cartridges are the same. In this case, the present invention can be preferably used. Further, although the above-described embodiment is an on-carriage type in which each cartridge is mounted on the carriage, the present invention is a recording head mounted on the carriage by mounting each cartridge on the recording apparatus main body side. On the other hand, the present invention can be applied to an off-carriage type recording apparatus that supplies ink from each cartridge via an ink supply tube.

[0092]

As is apparent from the above description, according to the ink jet type recording apparatus which employs the maintenance control method according to the present invention, the consistency between the front ink and the rear ink is ensured with the replacement operation of the ink cartridge. As it is decided to select the most suitable maintenance control,
It is possible to provide a recording apparatus capable of avoiding waste of ink due to the maintenance operation while reducing the influence of color mixture or the like in the printing operation.

[Brief description of drawings]

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

2 is an external view showing an example of a color ink cartridge used in the recording apparatus shown in FIG.

3 is an external view showing an example of a black ink cartridge used in the recording apparatus shown in FIG.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing a configuration of a carriage on which each ink cartridge is mounted.

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of the carriage broken in a region where an ink cartridge is mounted.

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view showing a state where a cartridge is mounted on a carriage.

7 is a block diagram showing an example of a control circuit mounted in the recording apparatus shown in FIG.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart illustrating a first maintenance operation performed by the control circuit shown in FIG.

9 is a flowchart illustrating a maintenance operation subsequent to the flowchart shown in FIG.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart illustrating a second maintenance operation performed by the control circuit shown in FIG.

FIG. 11 is a front view showing an example of a nozzle forming surface of the recording head.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 Carriage 2 Carriage Motor 7 Recording Paper 8 Recording Heads 9B to 9Y Ink Cartridge 11 Capping Means 12 Suction Pump (Negative Pressure Generating Means) 13 Wiping Members 28, 28 'Circuit Board 52 Ink Supply Needle 56 Electrode Terminal 60 Host Computer 61 Printer Driver 62 input device 63 display 64 print control means 65 head drive means 66 flushing control means 67 cleaning control means 68 pump drive means 71 maintenance control means 72 carriage motor control means 73 maintenance timer 74 alignment verification means 75 ink information storage means 76 read / write means (Cartridge replacement detection means)

   ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continued front page    F-term (reference) 2C056 EA12 EA14 EA25 EA27 EB20                       EB38 EB44 EB47 EB59 EC22                       EC24 EC32 EC41 EC54 EC57                       JC06 JC20 JC23 KC01 KC22                       KC30

Claims (14)

[Claims] 1. An ink jet recording apparatus, comprising a plurality of ink cartridges detachably mounted, comprising a recording head capable of ejecting ink droplets by receiving ink supply from each ink cartridge, When any one of the plurality of ink cartridges is replaced, a matching verification means for verifying the matching between the ink information contained in the ink cartridge before replacement and the ink information contained in the ink cartridge after replacement. ,
Maintenance control means configured to select one of predetermined ink discharge operations from the recording head based on the match verification result in the match verification means and execute the selected ink discharge operation. An inkjet recording device provided. 2. The maintenance control unit, when the matching verification unit determines that the ink information does not match, compares the ink from the recording head with that when the matching verification unit determines that the ink information matches. The ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein an ink discharge operation having a larger discharge amount is selected and executed. 3. The ink discharging operation is performed by a capping unit that seals a nozzle forming surface of the recording head and that can suck and discharge the ink from the recording head by receiving a negative pressure from a negative pressure generating unit. When the matching verification means determines that the ink information does not match, the ink discharging operation for further increasing the negative pressure applied to the capping means is selected as compared with the case where the ink information is determined to match. The ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the ink jet recording apparatus is configured to be executed. 4. The ink discharging operation is a flushing operation of supplying a drive signal to the recording head, which is not related to the printing operation, and idly ejecting ink droplets from the recording head. When it is determined that the ink droplets do not match, the ink discharge operation that further increases the idle discharge amount of the ink droplets is selected and executed as compared with the case where it is determined that the ink droplets match. The ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 2. 5. A maintenance timer is provided for starting timing after execution of an ink discharging operation performed when the matching verifying unit determines that the ink information is not matched, and a maintenance timer is provided at the time of receiving a command for a printing operation. If the maintenance timer is over a predetermined time,
The flushing operation for supplying a drive signal unrelated to the printing operation to the recording head before starting the printing operation to execute a flushing operation for idling ink drops from the recording head. The ink jet recording apparatus according to any one of claims. 6. The ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the flushing operation is executed for a nozzle of a recording head that ejects ink from a replaced ink cartridge. . 7. A recording apparatus configured such that ink supplied from each ink cartridge is supplied to each nozzle row formed in a recording head, wherein the flushing operation is supplied from a replaced ink cartridge. The ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the ink is ejected to a nozzle located at an end of a nozzle row of a recording head from which the ejected ink is ejected. 8. The ink information is obtained from identification means mounted in an ink cartridge.
The inkjet recording apparatus according to claim 5. 9. The identifying means is a non-volatile memory mounted on an ink cartridge, and when the ink cartridge is mounted on a recording apparatus, the non-volatile memory is read by a reading means mounted on the recording apparatus side. 9. A structure in which ink information is read out more
The ink jet recording apparatus according to item 1. 10. The alignment verification means includes ink information storage means for storing ink information read from the non-volatile memory mounted on the ink cartridge before replacement, and provided by the ink information storage means. The ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 9, wherein the ink information that is read is compared with the ink information that is read from the non-volatile memory mounted on the replaced ink cartridge. 11. The ink information is information indicating the color of the ink, and the matching verification means stores the information indicating the color of the ink stored in the ink cartridge before the replacement and the ink cartridge stored in the ink cartridge after the replacement. The ink jet type according to any one of claims 1 to 5 or 8 to 10, which is configured to compare with the information indicating the color of the ink to determine whether they are the same. Recording device. 12. An ink cartridge exchange in an ink jet recording apparatus, wherein a plurality of ink cartridges are removably mounted, and ink is supplied from each ink cartridge and is provided with a recording head capable of ejecting ink droplets. And a cartridge replacement detecting step of detecting whether any one of the plurality of ink cartridges has been replaced, and any one of the ink cartridges being replaced in the cartridge replacement detecting step. When the ink is detected, the ink information of the ink contained in the replaced ink cartridge is acquired, and the ink information contained in the ink cartridge before the replacement matches the ink information contained in the ink cartridge after the replacement. A consistency verification step for verifying the state, A maintenance control step of selecting one of predetermined ink discharge operations from the print head based on the match verification result in the verification step, and executing the selected ink discharge operation. Maintenance control method when the ink cartridge is replaced. 13. The maintenance control step is performed by a capping unit that seals the nozzle forming surface of the recording head and that can suck and discharge ink from the recording head by receiving a negative pressure from a negative pressure generating unit. In the case where it is determined that the ink information does not match by the execution of the matching verification step, the ink discharging operation for further increasing the negative pressure applied to the capping means as compared with the case where it is determined that the ink information matches. 13. The maintenance control method for replacing an ink cartridge according to claim 12, wherein the method is selected and executed. 14. The maintenance control step is a flushing operation of supplying a drive signal, which is not related to a printing operation, to the recording head to eject ink droplets from the recording head in an idle manner. When it is determined that the ink information does not match, as compared with the case where it is determined that the ink information matches, the ink discharge operation that further increases the idle ejection amount of the ink droplet is selected and executed. The maintenance control method at the time of replacing the ink cartridge according to claim 12.