JPH0591268A - Facsimile equipment - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] [Object] In a facsimile apparatus equipped with a cleaning unit for cleaning the nozzles of an inkjet head, an image received from the nozzles of the inkjet head is printed immediately before recording an image received by facsimile via a communication line on a recording sheet. Performs cleaning such as ejecting unrelated ink to prevent printing defects due to nozzle clogging and reduces the amount of ink consumed. A judging means 19 for judging facsimile reception from a command received via a communication line, and a cleaning instructing means 23 for instructing the cleaning means 24 to perform cleaning when the judgment means 19 judges facsimile reception. To provide.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a facsimile apparatus having a cleaning means for cleaning nozzles of an ink jet head.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, as a facsimile apparatus of this type, there is one disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 56-24875. 4 and 5 show a schematic configuration of the facsimile apparatus disclosed in the above publication, in which 1 is a recording sheet, 2 is a platen, 3 is a paper feed motor, and 4 is a position apart from the platen 2. The gutter 5 is a drain tank for collecting ink, 6 is an inkjet head located in front of the gutter 4, that is, at the home position, 7 is a carriage, and 8 is a carriage traveling rail.

In the facsimile apparatus configured as described above, when a clock signal is input to the frequency dividing counter 9 as shown in FIG. 6, a pulse signal output from the frequency dividing counter 9 at regular time intervals. Is input to the AND gate 10. To the AND gate 10, a home position signal output when the inkjet head 6 is located at the home position is input, and a facsimile reception signal is inverted and input. The inkjet trigger signal output from the AND gate 10 is input to the electrostrictive vibrator of the inkjet head 6.

While a facsimile reception signal is being sent to this facsimile apparatus, a signal is output from the frequency dividing counter 9 and an inkjet trigger signal is sent to the inkjet head 6 even when the inkjet head 6 is at the home position. The facsimile reception signal is inverted and input to the AND gate 10 so that it is not input to the AND gate 10.

After the end of the facsimile transmission / reception, when the inkjet head 6 is at the home position and a signal is output from the frequency dividing counter 9, an inkjet trigger signal is output from the AND gate 10. The ink corresponding to the trigger signal is output from the printer, and the ink is collected by the garter 4. Also, unless the inkjet head 6 is located at the home position and a facsimile reception signal is input, ink is ejected from the inkjet head 6 periodically, and it is possible to prevent clogging of nozzles due to ink drying.

[0006]

In such a conventional facsimile apparatus, in order to prevent clogging of the nozzles due to ink drying during the reception waiting time for waiting for facsimile transmission of an image, ink not related to the image is ejected from the inkjet head. There is a problem that ink is wasted because it is ejected periodically from the nozzle.

Therefore, according to the present invention, immediately before the image received by facsimile via a communication line is recorded on a recording sheet, cleaning such as ejecting ink not related to the image from the nozzle of the ink jet head is carried out. It is an object of the present invention to provide a facsimile apparatus that can prevent printing defects due to clogging and reduce the amount of ink consumed.

[0008]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION According to the present invention, in a facsimile apparatus having a cleaning means for cleaning the nozzles of an ink jet head, a judging means for judging whether or not the facsimile reception is made by a command received via a communication line. And a cleaning instructing means for instructing the cleaning means to perform cleaning when the determination means determines that the facsimile is received.

[0009]

According to the present invention, when the judging means judges by the command received through the communication line that the facsimile is received, the cleaning instructing means instructs the cleaning means to carry out the cleaning, and the cleaning means cleans the nozzles of the ink jet head. Be seen.

[0010]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a G3 facsimile apparatus according to the present invention. In the figure, reference numeral 11 denotes a terminal control unit that controls each unit of the facsimile apparatus. The terminal control unit 11 includes a ROM (read only memory) 12, a RAM (random access memory) 13, a key input unit 14, Display unit 15, line control unit 1
6, encoding unit 17, decoding unit 18, and receiving station determination unit 19
Are connected via the bus line 20.

The ROM 12 includes the terminal control unit 11
Stores programs for controlling each unit. The RAM 13 stores a destination telephone number and temporarily stores image data. The key input unit 14 is a numeric keypad for inputting a destination telephone number,
A start key for instructing the start of communication is provided.
The display unit 15 displays the destination telephone number input by the key input unit 14 and a message from the facsimile device to the operator. The line controller 16 controls the communication line connected to the facsimile machine.

A reading unit 21 for reading an image to be transmitted by facsimile is connected to the encoding unit 17, and the image read by the reading unit 21 is encoded for facsimile transmission via a communication line. A recording unit 22 for recording an image on a recording paper by ink ejection is connected to the decoding unit 18, and decodes encoded data (image data) of an image received by facsimile via a communication line. The recording unit 22 is an on-demand type inkjet head (not shown) that ejects ink from nozzles according to an electric signal input from the decoding unit 18 or the cleaning unit 22 as an image recording unit using ink ejection. Is equipped with.

Further, a cleaning instructing unit 23 is connected to the receiving station judging unit 19 and judges whether or not it is facsimile reception by a command received via a communication line. A cleaning unit 24 is connected to the cleaning instruction unit 23, and when the receiving station determination unit 19 determines that the reception is a facsimile, and the inkjet head of the recording unit 22 is located at the home position, The cleaning means 24 is instructed to clean the nozzle. Then, the cleaning means 24 inputs an electric signal not related to image recording to the inkjet head of the recording section 22 in response to a cleaning instruction from the cleaning instruction section 23,
Ink is ejected from the nozzle to perform cleaning.

FIG. 2 shows that the terminal control unit 11 uses CCITT.
It is a general communication sequence diagram performed according to Recommendation T.30 of (International Telegraph and Telephone Advisory Committee). Below, based on this figure, the exchange of communication commands will be described in which this machine is the called station and the facsimile receiving station, and the other machine is the calling station and the facsimile transmitting station.

First, when a line is connected by calling from a partner machine which is a calling station, this machine which is a called station
It responds to the call by transmitting CED (Called Station Identification), and then transmits DIS (Digital Identification Signal) to the partner device following the optional signals NSF (Nonstandard Function) and CSI (Called Terminal Identification). On the other hand, the partner device receiving this DIS sends a DCS (digital command signal) to the device, followed by an optional signal NSS (non-standard function setting) and TSI (transmitting terminal identification), and then a TCF (training). Check) for 1.5 seconds. Then, upon receiving this TCF, this machine transmits a CFR (reception preparation confirmation) to the partner machine, and waits for image data transmission from the partner machine.

On the other hand, the partner machine receiving this CFR starts transmitting image data to this machine, and when it finishes transmitting the image data to be transmitted, it transmits EOP (procedure end) to this machine. On the other hand, this machine is MCF (message confirmation)
To the other device. The other machine that received this MCF
DCN (line disconnection command) is sent to this machine, and the communication ends.

In the above-mentioned recommendation that is the basis of the communication sequence as described above, the relationship is established in which the station that transmitted the DCS is the facsimile transmission station and the received station is the facsimile reception station. .. Therefore, the receiving station determination unit 19 determines whether or not the facsimile reception is performed by using the determination reference whether or not the DCS is received.

FIG. 3 is a flow chart showing the cleaning processing procedure in the facsimile apparatus according to the present invention. When communication is started, the receiving station determination unit 19
First, the command received via the communication line is the DCS
Inquiry search is performed, and as a result, the received command is D
If it is CS, it is determined to be facsimile reception. Based on this determination, the cleaning instruction unit 23 instructs the cleaning unit 24 to clean the nozzles of the inkjet head of the recording unit 22. In response to this cleaning instruction, the cleaning unit 24 inputs an electric signal not related to image recording to the inkjet head of the recording unit 22 and ejects ink from the nozzle to perform cleaning.

In addition, in this machine which has become a facsimile receiving station, the recording section 22 by such cleaning means 24 is provided.
In parallel with the inkjet head cleaning process, the terminal control unit 11 exchanges commands after DCS reception and receives image data, the decoding unit 18 decodes image data, and transfers the image to the recording unit 22. And so on. Then, the nozzle of the inkjet head of the recording unit 22 ejects ink not related to the image to be cleaned, and then ejects the ink toward the recording paper based on the image received by the facsimile to record the image.

As described above, in the facsimile apparatus of this embodiment, the receiving station determination unit 19 determines DCS from the command received via the communication line and determines that the facsimile reception is performed. The cleaning instructing unit 23 causes the cleaning unit 24 to record the recording unit
2, the cleaning means 24 inputs an electric signal not related to image recording to the inkjet head of the recording unit 22, and the nozzle of the inkjet head of the recording unit 22 communicates with the communication line. Immediately before ejecting ink based on the image received by facsimile via, the ink not related to the image is ejected.

As a result, the recording unit 2 is provided immediately before the image received by the facsimile via the communication line is recorded on the recording paper.
Since the nozzles of the second inkjet head are cleaned, defective printing due to clogging of the nozzles is prevented, the amount of ink consumed is reduced, and the reliability and economy of the facsimile apparatus are improved.

Further, in the facsimile apparatus of this embodiment,
As a criterion for the receiving station determining unit 19 to determine that the facsimile reception is being performed, DCS, which determines the relationship between the facsimile transmitting station and the facsimile receiving station by transmitting and receiving among the commands of the facsimile communication, is used immediately before the facsimile reception. Since only the cleaning is performed, it is possible to avoid unnecessary cleaning, and D
The nozzle of the inkjet head of the recording unit 22 can be cleaned while exchanging other commands such as communication training time (1.5 seconds as described above) by TCF reception after CS reception and CFR transmission, Can be effectively cleaned.

In the present embodiment, the case has been described in which normal communication is performed in which this machine serves as the facsimile receiving station as the called station, but the present invention is not limited to this, and for example, this machine makes a call. Also in the polling communication in which the station becomes the facsimile receiving station, since the station transmitting the DCS becomes the facsimile transmitting station and the station receiving the DCS becomes the facsimile receiving station, the same effect can be obtained.

That is, in polling communication, this machine, which is a calling station but wants to be a facsimile receiving station, receives a DIS from the called station, and then receives a DTC (digital signal) instead of a DCS. The partner machine that has transmitted the transmission command) and received this DTC transmits DCS to this machine. Then, in the case of receiving this DCS, as in the case of normal communication, the receiving station determination unit 19 determines that the reception is facsimile reception, and the cleaning instructing unit 23 and the cleaning unit 24 transmit the DCS via the communication line. Immediately before recording the image received by facsimile, the nozzles of the inkjet head of the recording unit 22 are cleaned.

Further, in the receiving station judging section 19 of this embodiment,
Although the DCS is used as the command for determining whether or not it is a facsimile reception, the present invention is not limited to this, and NSS, TSI, which is transmitted from the facsimile transmission station to the facsimile reception station before the image data is transmitted. TC
A command such as F may be used as a criterion.

Further, the cleaning means 24 of the present embodiment.
In the above description, the ink jet head of the recording unit 22 receives an electric signal that is not related to image recording and ejects ink from the nozzles. However, in addition to this, for example, a cap that covers the nozzles of the ink jet head and this cap A pump to be connected is provided, and a pump for driving unnecessary ink or bubbles from the inside of the nozzle by driving this pump or a wiper for wiping the nozzle surface facing the inkjet head is provided. Various modifications are possible such as wiping off leaked ink and waste paper.

[0027]

According to the present invention, the judgment means for judging whether or not the facsimile reception is performed by the command received through the communication line, and the inkjet means for the cleaning means when the judgment is made as the facsimile reception. Since the cleaning instruction means for instructing the cleaning of the nozzles of the head is provided, the nozzles of the inkjet head are cleaned immediately before the image received by the facsimile via the communication line is recorded on the recording paper to prevent the defective printing and consume the ink. The amount of ink used can be reduced.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a G3 facsimile apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a general communication sequence diagram performed according to CCITT recommendation T.30.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing a cleaning processing procedure.

FIG. 4 is a schematic plan view showing a conventional facsimile apparatus.

FIG. 5 is a sectional side view showing a partial section of a conventional facsimile apparatus.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram of a conventional facsimile apparatus.

[Explanation of symbols]

 19 Judgment means 23 Cleaning instruction means 24 Cleaning means

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A facsimile apparatus comprising a cleaning means for cleaning the nozzles of an inkjet head, a judging means for judging whether or not a facsimile is received by a command received via a communication line, and a facsimile reception by this judging means. When it is determined that
A facsimile apparatus, wherein the cleaning means is provided with a cleaning instruction means for instructing cleaning.