JPH04250043A - Ink jet device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To provide a low-cost, compact ink jet device capable pf ensuring high-quality recording and high reliability by driving a device to transport a recorded material and an ink discharge state recovery device using a common drive source, and at the same time, causing the initial action of said devices to take place using a single sensor when a power supply for the device is turned ON. CONSTITUTION:A sheet transport guide part 23 consists of each sheet feed roller 23a, 23b, and guides a sheet 3 which is fed from a cassette 22 using a pickup roller 21, to a subscan roller 7. A printing part 8 prints the sheet by causing liquid droplets to be ejected by a printing head 9 which is movable in a sheet width direction due to each guide rail 9a, 9b. In the meantime, a cap is caused to come in contact with an ink jet head using a non-printing device, and at the same time, a tube is squashed using a guide roller through a pressure roller to perform a suction recovery action. In this case, the pickup roller 21 and the guide roller are driven by a common drive source. If a power supply for the device is turned ON, the initial action of the mentioned each roller is started by a single sensor.

Description

[Detailed description of the invention]

0001

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an inkjet device capable of ejecting ink from an ejection port to form a desired image.

0002

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION An inkjet device that forms a desired image by ejecting ink from an ejection port and depositing it on a recording member moves the recording member from a paper feed section, through a recording section, and to an ejection section, for example. A conveyance system for the recording material, a carriage system that mounts the inkjet head that discharges ink and moves it relative to the recording material, and a recovery system that maintains and recovers the inkjet state of the inkjet head. The configuration includes the following.

These conveyance systems, carriage systems, and recovery systems are each equipped with independent drive sources and independent position sensors, etc., and are capable of conveying the recording member with high precision, moving the carriage, and performing desired recovery operations. By doing so, they were able to achieve high quality records.

[0004] Furthermore, when the device is powered on, initialization operations (initial positioning operations) are performed independently.

[0005]

[Problem to be solved by the invention] However, in popular machines that aim to make devices smaller and cheaper, controlling all of these independently increases costs because the number of parts and sensors increases. This results in an increase in the size of the device since it is necessary to secure an installation location for each device, and it is not desirable to adopt the independent control configuration as is.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Therefore, an object of the present invention is to solve the above-mentioned problems and provide an inkjet device that is inexpensive, compact, capable of high-quality recording, and has high reliability.

[0007]The inventors of the present invention have made repeated studies to achieve the above-mentioned object, and as a result, by making one of the drive sources of each drive system such as the transport system, carriage system, and recovery system common, We have learned that it is possible to reduce the number of parts, thereby reducing costs, and further reducing the installation space. They also discovered that by using a common drive source, the operations of each drive system are related, and the number of sensors that sense the operation of each drive system can be reduced.

[0008]

[Means for Solving the Problems] The present invention has been made based on the above-mentioned findings, and provides an inkjet apparatus equipped with a support member equipped with an inkjet head that records on a recording material by ejecting ink. , comprising a recording material transporting means for transporting the recording material from a paper feeding position to a recording position to an ejection position, and a recovery means for maintaining and restoring the ink ejection state of the inkjet head, A drive source for driving the recording material conveyance means or the head support member and a drive source for the recovery means are common, and when the apparatus is powered on, at least the recording material conveyance means and the recovery means are driven. The initial operation of
It is characterized by being carried out by two sensors.

[0009] Furthermore, in an inkjet apparatus equipped with a support member having an inkjet head that performs recording on a recording material by discharging ink, a recovery means for maintaining and recovering the inkjet state of the inkjet head; The recording material is passed from the paper feeding position to the recording position,
A recording material transport means for transporting the recording material to the ejection position, a common drive means for driving the recovery means and the transport means, and the states of the recovery means and the transport means immediately before the power of the apparatus is turned off. The present invention is characterized by comprising a storage means and a control means for causing the recovery means to perform an initialization operation corresponding to the state stored in the storage means.

[0010]Furthermore, in an inkjet apparatus that records on a recording material by discharging ink from an inkjet head, the inkjet head is equipped with a recovery means for maintaining and recovering the inkjet state of the inkjet head. , a carriage means that enables desired recording by moving relative to the recording material, a common drive means for driving the recovery means and the carriage means, and a power supply of the apparatus is turned off. means for storing the state of the recovery means, the carriage means, or the conveyance means for conveying the recording material from the sheet feeding position to the ejection position immediately before the recovery means; The present invention is characterized by comprising a control means for performing an initialization operation.

[0011] By making the drive source of each drive system common,
Because the operations of the drive system are related, the number of sensors that detect the initial position, end of drive, stop position, etc. can be reduced.

[0012] Furthermore, since the operation of the drive system is related by using a common drive source, it may be inconvenient to use the same initialization operation at initial power-on or in the event of a jam. It is also possible to perform proper initialization by storing the operating positions of each drive system when the power is turned off.

[0013]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Examples of embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings.

(First Embodiment) The structure of the present invention is a paper feeding system,
The recovery operation system will be explained in order. The left side in FIG. 2 is the front side of this recording device. This figure shows the state when paper is fed from the cassette 22. The paper conveyance guide section 23 includes paper feed guides 23a and 23b, and guides the paper 3 fed from the cassette 22 by the pickup roller 21 to the sub-scanning roller 7. In the printing section 8, a print head 9 that is movable in the width direction of the paper by guide rails 9a and 9b sprays droplets to print on the paper.

Next, the operation of the pickup roller 21 will be explained with reference to FIGS. 3 and 4. The state shown in FIG. 2 is the initial state of the pickup roller.

The pickup roller rotates in the direction of arrow a when the sub-scanning motor rotates backward, and rotates in the direction of arrow b when the motor rotates forward.

The driving force of the sub-scanning motor 20 is transmitted through gears 33,
The signal is transmitted to gear 28 via idle gears 26 and 27. A spring clutch 29 is interposed between the gear 28 and the shaft of the pickup roller 21, and the driving force transmitted to the gear 28 is selectively transmitted via the spring clutch.

Reference numeral 30 denotes a plunger for switching the connection and disconnection of the spring clutch 29. When the plunger 30 is off, the plunger pawl 30a is engaged with the pawl 29a of the spring clutch 29, as shown in the figure, and the clutch 29 is turned off, causing no drive. No force is transferred to the spring clutch shaft. When the plunger 30 is on, the plunger pawl 30a moves to the left and disengages from the pawl 29a, and the driving force is transmitted to the shaft of the spring clutch.

[0019] The plunger is turned on only once in order to cause the pickup roller to rotate only once when the apparatus is in a paper feeding operation. Then, as shown in FIG. 3, the pickup roller 21 rotates in the direction of arrow a and feeds out the paper 1 from the cassette 22.

The device is constructed such that the pickup roller rotates in the direction of arrow a when the sub-scanning motor rotates backward, and rotates in the direction of arrow b when the motor rotates forward. If the motor rotates forward and backward after feeding out the paper, the pickup roller will be in the following state.

When the sub-scanning motor rotates forward, the pickup roller tries to rotate in the direction of arrow b, but if the cassette 22 is in the device as shown in the figure, it comes into contact with the top surface of the sheet 3 in the cassette 22 and stops. . The pickup roller remains in this state unless the motor rotates backwards. If the cassette 22 is not inside the device, if the motor rotates forward, it will simultaneously rotate in the direction of arrow b.

When the sub-scanning motor rotates backward, the pickup roller tries to rotate in the direction of arrow a, but normally the plunger described earlier is turned off, so as shown in FIG.
Stops in this state.

Next, the recovery operation system will be explained.

FIG. 5 is a sectional view of the tube pump.

[0025] Ejection port 10 of inkjet head 101
If clogging occurs in 1A, a suction recovery operation is performed at the non-printing position. I will briefly explain the configuration and functions of this tube pump.

During the suction recovery operation, the opening of the cap 102 is brought into contact with the inkjet head 101 at the non-printing position to form a sealed shape at the ejection port 101A. The other opening of the cap 102 is the tube 10
3 is connected. The tube 103 includes a guide roller 104, a pressure roller 105, and a pump base 106 to form a tube pump section. A discharge ink processing member 107 is arranged on one side of the tube 103 . This discharged ink processing member 107 functions to store ink drawn out from the ejection port 101A by a suction operation.

When the guide roller 104 rotates in the direction of arrow a1, the pressure roller 105 moves toward the tube 10 at the X position.
Pressure 3. The pressure roller compresses the tube until the space inside the tube in the part it is in contact with becomes zero. When the guide roller 104 is further opened in the direction of arrow a1 from the state of X, the pressure roller 105 rotates and moves in the direction of arrow b while crushing the tube 103. Then, it temporarily stops at the Y position. At this time, a negative pressure is generated due to a change in volume within the tube crushed by the pressure roller between X and Y, and a suction operation is performed.

Note that the home position of the tube pump is position B. This position is also the initial position of the tube pump. This position is where the pressure rollers are not crushing the tube.

In the configuration of this device, the guide roller 1
The drive source 04 is a sub-scan motor, which is the same drive source as the pickup roller, sub-scan roller, and discharge roller 10. Therefore, in this apparatus, for example, when the sub-scanning motor rotates forward, the pickup roller rotates backward, and at the same time, the guide roller rotates forward. When the pickup roller rotates once, the guide roller rotates 90 degrees.

Next, the initial operations of the paper feeding system and recovery operation system will be explained.

FIG. 1 is a diagram that best represents the features of the present invention. This figure is a flowchart of the initial operation when the power of the inkjet recording apparatus is turned on.

In step S1, the initial movement of the carriage is performed. Since this is not directly related to the present invention, the explanation will be omitted. After step S2, the initial operation of the pump pressurizing roller is performed. This is the key point of the present invention. In step S2, the sub-scanning motor is rotated forward by one rotation. The pressure roller is rotated idly in order to detect its position with the sensor 117.

The sensor is a photointerrupter, and a sensor flag 118 is provided on a part of the guide roller, and when the guide roller rotates, the flag also rotates in the same direction.

After starting idle rotation, it is checked in step S3 whether the sensor is turned on. If the sensor detects that it is on, the pump roller is rotated to position A in step S4. Like position B, this position A is also a position where the pressure roller does not crush the tube. In step S5, it is checked that the pressure roller finishes moving to position A. In step S6, the sub-scanning motor is rotated backward in order to move to the B position. It is checked in step S7 that the movement to position B is completed. When the pressure roller moves to position B, the initial operation is completed.

A description of positions A and B will be given below. Unless the initial operation of the pickup roller is considered, the initial position of the pressure roller is not limited to position A or position B, but may be any position that does not pressurize the tube.

The initial operation of the pickup roller is to rotate it to the initial position as shown in FIG. 2 when the sub-scanning motor rotates backward in step S6. The operating amount of the sub-scanning motor at this time is an amount that allows the pickup roller to rotate sufficiently to the initial position in any state, that is, an amount that allows the pickup roller to rotate once. Since the plunger is turned off, the pickup roller rotates to the initial position where the spring clutch pawl and the plunger pawl connect. Once the pickup roller has moved to its initial position, even if the sub-scanning motor continues to rotate, the shaft simply rotates idly due to the spring clutch. When the sub-scanning motor stops,
The guide roller has rotated 90 degrees in the direction of arrow a' and has stopped.

Therefore, in order to have the pickup roller also stop at the initial position when the guide roller stops at position B, first move the guide roller to position A where the angle formed by A-O and B-O is 90 degrees. move it. O is the axis of the guide roller.

FIG. 6 shows the configuration of the control system of the apparatus described above.

Reference numeral 200 denotes a control unit including a CPU 201 that executes the processing described in FIG. 1, a ROM 202 that stores fixed data such as programs corresponding to the processing means, and an R for work.
It has AM203.

(Second Embodiment) In this embodiment, control was explained in the case where the driving source for the tube pump and the driving source for the paper feeding means were common. Even when the drive source is common, it is possible to perform the initial operation of the paper feeding means and the head cleaning means with a single sensor when the power is turned on.

(Third Embodiment) Another structure of the present invention will be explained in the order of the paper conveyance system and the recovery operation system.

The left side in FIG. 2 is the front side of this recording apparatus. This figure shows the state when paper is fed from the cassette 22, which is the first paper feeding means. Paper conveyance guide section 23
is composed of paper feed guides 23a and 23b, and the paper 3 fed from the cassette 22 by the paper feed roller 21 is
is guided to the sub-scanning roller 7. In the printing section 8, a print head 9 that is movable in the width direction of the paper by guide rails 9a and 9b sprays droplets to print on the paper. The printed paper is discharged from a paper discharge port 11 to a paper discharge tray 34 by a paper discharge roller 10. The cassette 22 can be pulled out in the direction of arrow B in the figure to set the paper 3 therein.

FIGS. 7 and 8 show an overall diagram of manual paper feeding, which is the second paper feeding means, and FIG. 9 shows a detailed diagram thereof.

FIG. 7 shows the state in which the paper 18 is set for manual paper feeding. By pressing the manual feeding switch SW1, the electrical system is switched from the cassette paper feeding mode to the manual feeding mode, and at the same time, The plunger 20 is excited and the manual guide plate 24a rises. Next, when the operator inserts the paper along this guide plate, the leading edge 18a of the paper hits the nip of the paper discharge roller 10 and pushes the paper detection lever 29. When the lever 29 is pressed, an electric signal is input by the photo sensor (FT), and the paper ejection row 1
0 and the sub-scanning roller 7 rotate to the left, contrary to the normal rotation, and the inserted paper 18 is fed into the recording apparatus. The leading edge 18a of the fed paper is guided by the guide plate 23b to the paper feed roller 2.
1 and the top paper in the cassette 22.

FIG. 8 shows a state in which the fed paper is temporarily stopped within the recording apparatus. The stopping position is the position where the trailing edge 18b of the paper reaches the right side of the printing unit 8 after passing through the paper detection lever 29 in FIG. It is. Specifically, counting is started after the trailing edge of the paper leaves the lever 29, and the rollers are stopped after a predetermined count. From the state shown in FIG. 8, if the sub-scanning roller 7 and the paper ejection roller 10 are made to rotate forward (clockwise) again using the paper feed start (print start) signal, and at the same time the plunger 20 is de-energized, the manual guide 24a will move as shown in the figure. The state returns to step 3, and the manually fed paper 18 is printed and discharged in exactly the same state as when it is fed from the cassette 22.

In FIG. 9, the manual guide plate 24a is swingably attached to the paper discharge tray 24. As shown in FIG. When the plunger 20 is energized, the manual guide plate 24a rises to a position where its tip faces the nip of the paper discharge roller 10 as shown in the figure, and when the energization is turned off, it returns to the position shown in FIG. 2 due to its own weight.

Reference numeral 29 denotes a lever for detecting the presence or absence of paper, and regardless of whether the paper comes from the left or right side in the figure, if the paper is caught in the nip of the paper discharge roller 10, it is detected that paper is present.

Next, the recovery operation system will be explained.

FIG. 5 is a sectional view of the tube pump.

[0050] Ejection port 10 of inkjet head 101
If clogging occurs in 1A, a suction recovery operation is performed at the non-printing position. I will briefly explain the configuration and functions of this tube pump.

During the suction recovery operation, the opening of the cap 102 is brought into contact with the inkjet head 101 at the non-printing position to form a sealed shape at the ejection port 101A. The other opening of the cap 102 is the tube 10
3 is connected. The tube 103 includes a guide roller 104, a pressure roller 105, and a pump base 106 to form a tube pump section. A discharge ink processing section 107 is arranged on one side of the tube 103 . This discharged ink processing member 107 functions to store ink drawn out from the ejection port 101A by a suction operation.

A shaft portion 105A of a pressure roller 105 that pressurizes the tube is rotatably attached to a roller bearing 108. A force is applied to the pressure roller by a compression spring 110 in a direction to press the tube 103.

The shaft portion 104A of the guide roller 104 is rotatable with respect to the pump base 106 via a bearing 111 (not shown). When the guide roller 104 rotates, the pressure roller 105 presses the tube 103 at the X position. The pressure roller compresses the tube until the space inside the tube in the part it is in contact with becomes zero. Pressure roller 10
5, when the guide roller 104 is rotated in the direction of the arrow a from the state of X, the tube 103 is crushed and the direction of the arrow b
Rotates and moves directionally. Then, it temporarily stops at the Y position. At this time, a negative pressure is generated due to a change in volume within the tube crushed by the pressure roller between X and Y, and a suction operation is performed.

In the configuration of this device, the guide roller 1
The drive source 04 is the same drive source as that of the sub-scanning roller and the paper discharge roller 10. Therefore, the guide roller rotates at the same time as the sub-scanning roller rotates during paper feeding and paper ejection operations.

Furthermore, the relationship between the paper conveyance system and the recovery operation system will be explained.

During paper feeding from the cassette, paper feeding during printing, and paper ejection, the sub-scanning roller and paper ejection roller rotate forward. At this time, the opening of the cap 102 is not in contact with the inkjet head 101. Figure 2
When the guide roller rotates in the direction of arrow a, air enters the tube. Then, the ink or air within the tube moves toward the drain ink tank.

[0057] In the manual paper feeding operation, the sub-scanning roller and the paper ejection roller are rotated backward, but the opening of the cap 102 is not in contact with the inkjet head 101 at this time as well. Since the guide roller rotates to the left in FIG. 5, the ink and air inside the tube move from right to left toward the cap.

Regarding the copying operation using manual paper feeding, the movement of ink and air in the tube will cause the ink in the tube to be discharged if the manual paper feeding, recording operation, and paper ejection operation are performed normally without errors or jams. Move towards the ink tank.

Specifically, 3500 (2
97/8.128*96) Move to the cap side by pulses, 3500 pulses during recording operation, 4000 pulses during paper ejection operation
(200/8.128*96+1080+600) Each pulse moves toward the drain ink tank, so in a series of operations, 4000 pulses move toward the drain ink tank.

However, if you jam paper while manually feeding,
The guide roller stops while rotating to the left and does not perform any recording or ejecting operations, so as a result, more ink and air in the tube moves toward the cap than before manual paper feeding. It turns out.

FIG. 10 is a diagram that best represents the features of the present invention. This diagram shows the power of the inkjet recording device turned on.
This is the flow of the initial operation.

In step S11, the initial movement of the carriage is performed. Since this is not directly related to the present invention, the explanation will be omitted. After step S12, the initial operation of the pump pressurizing roller is performed. This is the key point of the present invention. Determine whether the power is turned off while the device is in a manual paper feed jam state.

[0063] If the power is turned off in the state of manual paper feed jam, the pump pressurizing roller will complete the previous idle rotation by 5 revolutions (
5400=1080*5 pulses), then move to position A (tube pump initial operation ■). In other conditions, for example, if the device is in standby mode and the power is turned off, the pump pressurizing roller checks the roller position with the roller detection sensor, rotates forward, and moves to position A (tube pump initial operation ■).

[0064] Even if the power is turned off when the ink moves towards the cap side by 3500 pulses due to a manual paper feed jam (in the case of A4 paper being fully fed and the jam occurs), the 5400 pulses of this tube pump initial operation With forward rotation,
The ink in the tube can be moved toward the ink discharge member by an extra 1900 (5400-3500) pulses, and backflow of ink can be prevented.

FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram of the control section of the present invention.

A CPU 200 that executes the processing of the flowchart shown in FIG. 10, a ROM 201 that stores fixed data such as programs corresponding to the processing procedure, and a working R
It has AM202 etc.

[0067] This RAM has a power backup, and the data in the RAM can be retained even when the main body is powered off.

(Fourth Embodiment) In this embodiment, we have described the case of a jam during manual paper feeding, but if the suction operation stops midway due to a mechanical failure or trouble during the recovery operation, or Even when the power is turned off, it is necessary to perform the initial operation.

To supplement the explanation of the suction operation in this embodiment, after the pressure roller 105 stops at the Y position, the opening of the cap 2 is separated from the inkjet head 1 to open the opening. Then, the pressure roller 105 is moved by the arrow a
Rotate in the direction. This rotation causes the sucked ink inside the tube to move toward the ink discharge member 107 .

However, if the power is turned off while ink is being sucked, for example, when the pressure roller is between position X and position X, ink will remain in the tube. In this case as well, there is a good possibility that ink will move toward the cap 102 due to the operation of the pressurizing roller of the pump during manual paper feeding and overflow from the cap.

For this reason, even if the recovery operation is in progress when the power is turned off, the pump roller is idled an extra amount in the initial operation when the power is turned on.

(Fifth Embodiment) In this embodiment, the amount of idling rotation when the power is turned on is kept constant (pre-rotation of 5400 pulses), but this amount of rotation is made variable in accordance with the amount of operation of the device. Good too.

For example, if a jam occurs during manual paper feeding, and if the jam occurs after 1000 pulses after starting manual paper feeding, reduce the idle rotation amount by 2 when the power is turned on.
Make it 900 pulses. Ink is 10 due to manual paper feed jam
It is considered that the ink has moved by 00 pulses, and the ink can be moved in the direction of the ink discharge member by an extra 1900 pulses, similar to the present embodiment.

[0074] In this way, by setting the idle rotation amount depending on the jam state and operating the machine, the initial operation time when the power is turned on can be shortened.

Similarly, depending on time conditions, the idle rotation amount may be shortened in the initial operation when the power is turned on.

In this embodiment, the amount of idle rotation is constant regardless of the length of time from when the power is turned off after a manual paper feed jam occurs until when the power is turned on (when a jam occurs and the power is turned off)
(The time from turning on the power to turning on the power is constant regardless of whether it is one minute or one year).

[0077] If there is a time measuring means in the device, if a jam occurs and the device is left unused for a long time (for example, one year), the ink inside the tube may be dry (the device may have a high temperature, high humidity, or a low temperature, low humidity). (depending on the environment in which it is left), the special idling operation is stopped in such cases as well.

(Sixth Embodiment) In this embodiment, the sub-scanning motor is a common driving source for the paper feeding means and the tube pump. Similarly, when the main scanning motor is a common driving source for the carriage and the tube pump, it is conceivable to perform similar initial operation control.

(Others) The present invention is particularly applicable to inkjet recording methods, including means for generating thermal energy as the energy used to eject ink.
For example, the present invention provides an excellent effect in a recording head or recording apparatus that is equipped with an electrothermal converter (for example, an electrothermal converter, a laser beam, etc.) and uses the thermal energy to cause a change in the state of the ink. This is because such a system can achieve higher recording density and higher definition.

For its typical configuration and principle, see, for example, US Pat. Nos. 4,723,129 and 4,740.
Preferably, it is carried out using the basic principles disclosed in the '796 specification. This method can be applied to both the so-called on-demand type and continuous type, but
In particular, in the case of the on-demand type, an electrothermal transducer is placed corresponding to the sheet holding the liquid (ink) or the liquid path, and the electrothermal transducer is placed at a temperature that rapidly exceeds nucleate boiling, corresponding to the recorded information. By applying at least one drive signal that provides a rise, the electrothermal transducer generates thermal energy that causes film boiling on the thermally active surface of the recording head, resulting in a liquid ( This is effective because it can form air bubbles within the ink. The growth and contraction of these bubbles causes the liquid (ink) to be ejected through the ejection opening.
Form at least one drop. It is more preferable to use this drive signal in a pulse form, since the growth and contraction of bubbles can be carried out immediately and appropriately, so that ejection of liquid (ink) with particularly excellent responsiveness can be achieved. This pulse-shaped drive signal is described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,463,359 and U.S. Pat.
262 is suitable. Further, if the conditions described in US Pat. No. 4,313,124 concerning the temperature increase rate of the heat acting surface are adopted, even more excellent recording can be achieved.

[0081] In addition to the configuration of the recording head that is a combination of ejection ports, liquid paths, and electrothermal converters (straight liquid flow path or right-angled liquid flow path) as disclosed in the above-mentioned specifications, U.S. Pat. No. 4,558,333 and U.S. Pat. No. 4 disclose a configuration in which a heat acting part is arranged in a bending region.
A configuration using the specification of No. 459600 is also included in the present invention. In addition, Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 123670 of 1982 discloses a configuration in which a common slit is used as a discharge part for a plurality of electrothermal converters, and a hole that absorbs pressure waves of thermal energy is disclosed. The present invention is also effective as a configuration based on Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 138461 of 1982, which discloses a configuration in which the discharge portion corresponds to the discharge portion.

Furthermore, a full-line type recording head having a length corresponding to the width of the maximum recording medium that can be recorded by the recording apparatus can be produced by combining a plurality of recording heads as disclosed in the above-mentioned specification. Either a configuration that satisfies the length or a configuration as a single recording head formed integrally may be used, but the present invention can more effectively exhibit the above-mentioned effects.

In addition, a replaceable chip-type recording head that is attached to the apparatus main body enables electrical connection with the apparatus main body and ink supply from the apparatus main body, or a print head that is integrated into the print head itself. The present invention is also effective when a cartridge type recording head is used.

Further, it is preferable to add recovery means, preliminary auxiliary means, etc. for the recording head, which are provided as a configuration of the recording apparatus of the present invention, because the effects of the present invention can be further stabilized. Specifically, these include capping means, cleaning means, pressure or suction means, preheating means for the recording head using an electrothermal transducer or another heating element, or a combination thereof. ,
It is also effective to perform a preliminary ejection mode in which ejection is performed separately from printing in order to perform stable printing.

Furthermore, the recording mode of the recording apparatus is not limited to a recording mode of only mainstream colors such as black, but may also include a recording head that is configured integrally or a combination of a plurality of recording heads, or multiple colors of different colors or The present invention is also extremely effective for devices equipped with at least one of the following: , full color by color mixing.

Although the embodiments of the present invention described above are explained using liquid ink, the present invention can be applied to inks that are solid at room temperature or inks that are soft at room temperature. Can be used. The above-mentioned inkjet device generally adjusts the temperature of the ink itself within the range of 30°C to 70°C to keep the viscosity of the ink within a stable ejection range. It is sufficient if the ink is liquid. In addition, the temperature rise caused by thermal energy can be actively prevented by using the energy to change the state of the ink from a solid state to a liquid state, or an ink that solidifies when left standing is used to prevent ink evaporation. In any case, the ink may be liquefied by application of thermal energy in accordance with the recording signal and ejected as liquid ink, or the ink may have already begun to solidify by the time it reaches the recording medium. The present invention is also applicable to the use of ink that is liquefied for the first time. In such a case, the ink is held in a liquid or solid state in the recesses or through holes of the porous sheet, as described in JP-A-54-56847 or JP-A-60-71260. It may also be in a form that faces the electrothermal converter. In the present invention, the most effective method for each of the above-mentioned inks is to implement the above-mentioned film boiling method.

[0087]

[Effects of the Invention] Since the tube pump means, which is applicable to inkjet recording devices and performs suction or pressurization by utilizing the deformation of the tube, and the drive source of the paper feeding and paper conveying means are common, these operations can be easily performed. Since they are mutually related in a constant state, it is possible to perform the initial operation of the paper feeding means and the tube pump when the power is turned on with a single sensor. This makes it possible to downsize the inkjet device, and by using a common drive source, the number of parts is reduced, leading to cost reductions.

Two or more types of paper feeding means such as a cassette or manual feed, a tube pump means that performs suction or pressurization using tube deformation applicable to recording paper inkjet recording devices, and paper feeding operation and paper ejection The driving source for the recording paper conveyance means for operation etc. is the tube pump means and the power source O.
A control means for initial operation of the tube pump when the power is turned off, a means for storing the state of the device when the power is turned off, and a means for turning the power on.
When the power is turned on, the control means that operates based on the state information of the device when the power was turned off, which was saved at the time of the power off, checks the state when the power was turned off, and if there is a manual paper feed jam, the initial operation is performed. It also performs an operation to prevent ink backflow in the recovery unit, and only performs the initial operation if there is no manual paper feed jam.

By this control, it is possible to prevent the ink in the tube pump from overflowing from the cap, which may occur if manual paper feeding jams occur continuously.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram showing a control flow of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a side view schematically showing the configuration of the device of the present invention, showing an initial state of the pickup roller.

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram showing an enlarged pickup roller section of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram showing a part of a recording material conveying means of the apparatus of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram of the configuration of a tube pump.

FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram showing a control section applied to the apparatus of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a schematic side view showing a state of another embodiment (hand-held mode) of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram when the manual mode of FIG. 7 is executed;

FIG. 9 is a schematic diagram when the manual mode of FIG. 7 is executed;

FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram showing a control flow of another embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

101 Inkjet head 102 Cap 103 Tube 104 Guide roller 105 Pressure roller 106 Pump base 107 Discharged ink processing member 10 Paper ejection roller 17 Sub-scanning roller 20 Sub-scanning motor 21 Pick up roller 201 CPU 202 ROM 203 RAM

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. An inkjet apparatus comprising a support member equipped with an inkjet head that performs recording on a recording material by ejecting ink, the recording material being conveyed from a paper feeding position to a recording position to an ejection position. and a recovery means for maintaining and recovering the ink ejection state of the inkjet head, and a drive source for driving the recording material transporting means or the head support member. An inkjet apparatus, wherein a drive source for the recovery means is common, and when the apparatus is powered on, at least the initial operation of the recording material conveying means and the recovery means is performed by one sensor. 2. An inkjet apparatus comprising a support member including an inkjet head that performs recording on a recording material by discharging ink, comprising: a recovery means for maintaining and recovering the inkjet state of the inkjet head; A recording material transport means for transporting the recording material from the paper feeding position through the recording position to the ejection position, a common driving means for driving the recovery means and the transport means, and a power source for the apparatus. means for storing the state of the recovery means and the transport means immediately before they were turned off; and a control means for causing the recovery means to perform an initialization operation corresponding to the state stored in the storage means. An inkjet device characterized by: 3. An inkjet apparatus that performs recording on a recording material by discharging ink from an inkjet head, the inkjet head being equipped with a recovery means for maintaining and recovering the inkjet state of the inkjet head, and the inkjet head. , a carriage means that enables desired recording by moving relative to the recording material;
A common driving means for driving the recovery means and the carriage means, and a conveyance means for conveying the recovery means, the carriage means, or the recording material from the paper feeding position to the ejection position immediately before the power of the apparatus is turned off. means for storing a state; and control means for causing the recovery means to perform an initialization operation corresponding to the state stored in the storage means;
An inkjet device characterized by comprising: 4. The inkjet head according to claim 1, wherein the inkjet head includes means for generating thermal energy that causes film boiling in the ink as energy used to eject the ink. Recorded on any inkjet device. 5. The recovery means includes a cap member for covering an ejection port surface of the head, and is connected to the cap,
4. The inkjet device according to claim 1, further comprising a tube pump for collecting ink discharged from the head.