JPH0825652A - Inkjet recording device and information processing system - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] [Purpose] The amount of gas in the liquid chamber buffer can always be kept below a specified amount without increasing ink consumption by unnecessary suction operation, and it is always of high quality and stable. An inkjet recording apparatus and an information processing system capable of forming the above image are provided. An inkjet recording apparatus according to the present invention is configured such that a carriage on which a recording unit having a plurality of nozzles, a pressure buffer chamber, and a gas permeable portion is mounted, a suction unit, and a gas volume existing in the pressure buffer chamber. And a control means for controlling the suction operation of the suction means.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an ink jet recording apparatus and an information processing system using the apparatus as an output means. In particular, a bubble jet type ink jet recording head is used. In addition to the one used as an image output terminal of the system, a copying apparatus combined with a reader or the like, a form of a facsimile apparatus having a transmission / reception function, or a systemized printing apparatus such as a textile printing system for directly printing a pattern on cloth The present invention relates to an inkjet recording device having a form.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, paper, cloth, plastic sheet, O
A recording apparatus for recording on a recording medium such as a HP sheet (hereinafter, also simply referred to as recording paper) has been proposed in a form in which recording heads of various recording systems are mounted. , A wire dot method, a heat sensitive method, a thermal transfer method, an ink jet method and the like are known.

Among such recording apparatuses, an ink jet type recording head for recording on recording paper by ejecting ink from ejection ports (nozzles) arranged on a recording element for low-noise non-impact recording. Since the recording device provided is capable of high-density and high-speed recording operation, output means of the information processing system, for example, a printer as an output terminal such as a copying machine, a facsimile, an electronic typewriter, a word processor, a workstation, or the like, or It is used and commercialized as a handy or portable printer provided in a personal computer, a host computer, an optical disk device, a video device, and the like. In this case, the inkjet recording apparatus has a configuration corresponding to the function, usage pattern, etc. peculiar to these apparatuses. Generally, an inkjet recording apparatus includes a recording head and a carriage on which an ink tank that supplies ink to the recording head is mounted, a conveying unit that conveys a recording sheet, and a control unit that controls these. Then, the recording head that ejects ink droplets from the plurality of ejection openings is in a direction (main scanning direction) orthogonal to the recording paper conveyance direction (sub scanning direction).
On the other hand, the recording sheet is intermittently conveyed in an amount equal to the recording width during non-recording. In this recording method, ink is ejected onto a recording sheet in accordance with a recording signal to perform recording, and the running cost is low,
Widely used as a quiet recording method. Further, by using a recording head in which a large number of nozzles for ejecting ink are arranged in a straight line in the sub-scanning direction, the recording head scans the recording paper once to perform recording with a width corresponding to the number of nozzles. It Therefore, it is possible to speed up the recording operation.

In recent years, inkjet recording apparatuses, especially recording heads, have been manufactured by film forming technology and micro-processing technology in semiconductor devices, and a smaller and cheaper recording head is being realized. is there. Along with this, the configuration of the recording device and the information processing system device itself including the recording device is also small and simple.

Further, in the case of a color ink jet recording apparatus, a color image is formed by superposing ink droplets ejected by recording heads of a plurality of colors. Generally, when performing color recording, yellow (Y),
There are required four types of recording heads and ink cartridges corresponding to the three primary colors of magenta (M) and cyan (C) or the four primary colors including black (B).

FIG. 10 and FIG. 11 show a configuration example of a printer which is an example of a conventional ink jet recording apparatus. In this figure, IJH is an ink jet head (recording head) of a method of ejecting ink onto recording paper using a bubble generated by thermal energy, IJC (102).
1) is a freely attachable inkjet cartridge equipped with an inkjet head IJH (1020) and a tank IT (1010) for supplying ink to the inkjet head IJH (1020);
JRA is the main body of the inkjet recording apparatus. As can be seen from the perspective view of FIG. 10, the ink jet cartridge IJC in this example has a shape in which the tip of the ink jet head IJH is slightly discharged from the front surface of the ink tank IT. This inkjet head cartridge IJ
C is a disposable type that is fixedly supported by a carriage HC mounted on an inkjet recording apparatus main body IJRA, which will be described later, and detachable from the carriage HC.

The ink tank IT (1010) storing the ink supplied to the ink jet head IJH has an ink absorber, a container into which the ink absorber is inserted, and a lid member for sealing the ink absorber. (Illustration) and. The ink tank IT (1010) is filled with ink, and the ink is sequentially supplied to the inkjet head side according to the ejection of the ink.

The ink jet cartridge IJC configured as described above is detachably mounted on the carriage HC of the ink jet recording apparatus IJRA described below by a predetermined method, and the carriage HC and the recording target are recorded by inputting a predetermined recording signal. A desired recorded image is formed by controlling the relative movement with respect to the member.

FIG. 11 is an external perspective view showing an example of an ink jet recording apparatus IJRA having a mechanism for the above processing.

In the figure, reference numeral 1020 is an ink jet head (recording head) of an ink jet head cartridge IJC having a nozzle group for ejecting ink so as to face the recording surface of the recording paper fed onto the platen 1024. is there. Reference numeral 1016 is the recording head 102.
Carriage HC for holding 0, drive motor 101
Two guide shafts 10 connected to a part of a drive belt 1018 that transmits the driving force of
By making it slidable with 19A and 1019B,
The reciprocating movement of the recording head 1020 over the entire width of the recording paper becomes possible. During this reciprocating movement, the recording head 1020 records an image according to the received data on the recording paper. Each time this main scanning is completed, the recording paper is conveyed by a predetermined amount and sub-scanning is performed.

Reference numeral 1026 is a head recovery device, which is disposed at one end of the movement path of the recording head 1020, for example, at a position facing the home position. Transmission mechanism 1
The head recovery device 1026 is operated by the driving force of the motor 1022 via the recording head 1020.
Capping. In association with the capping portion for the recording head 1020 by the cap portion 1026A of the head recovery device 1026, ink absorption (suction recovery) is performed by an appropriate suction means (for example, a suction pump) provided in the head recovery device 1026, As a result, the ink is forcibly ejected from the ejection port, thereby performing the ejection recovery process such as removing the thickened ink in the ejection port. Further, the recording head is protected by capping at the end of recording. Such an ejection recovery process is performed when the power is turned on, when the recording head is replaced, or when the recording operation is not performed for a certain period of time.

Reference numeral 1031 is a head recovery device 102.
6 is a blade serving as a wiping member which is disposed on the side surface of 6 and is made of silicon rubber. The blade 1031 is held by the blade holding member 1031A in the form of a cantilever, and like the head recovery device 1026, the motor 1022
And the recording head 1 operated by the transmission mechanism 1023.
It becomes possible to engage with the ejection surface of 020. As a result, the blade 1031 is projected into the movement path of the recording head 1020 at an appropriate timing in the recording operation of the recording head 1020 or after the ejection recovery process using the head recovery device 1026, and the movement operation of the head 1020 is accompanied. To wipe off dew condensation, wetting, dust, or the like on the ejection surface of the head 1020.

The conventional ink jet recording apparatus having the above structure meets the requirements of the recording apparatus required by the user, that is, high speed recording, high resolution, high image quality, low noise, and the like. It is possible and therefore a very stable recorded image can be obtained.

However, in the ink jet recording system, since fluid ink is handled, various inconvenient hydrodynamic phenomena occur when the ink is used at or above the limit printing speed of the recording head. Further, since the ink is a liquid, its physical state such as its viscosity and surface tension always fluctuates greatly depending on the environmental temperature and the standing time of the ink. Therefore, even if printing is possible in a certain state, printing may become difficult due to an increase in negative pressure due to a decrease in the environmental temperature or the remaining amount of ink in the ink tank.

Therefore, in the conventional example, an attempt has been made to eject the ink from all the plurality of nozzles in the shortest possible time so that the vertical ruled lines can be printed in a linear shape as much as possible. Therefore, dozens of nozzles are collectively ejected from several nozzles to about 10 nozzles at the same time, and the ejection time is relatively shortened. However, when the ink is used in the vicinity of the limit ejection cycle, the ink may not be refilled in the nozzles in time. as a result,
The next ejection starts before refilling, resulting in ejection failure or an extremely reduced ejection amount. Particularly, when ink is ejected from a large number of nozzles in a short time, the negative pressure level in the common liquid chamber becomes very high temporarily and refilling cannot be completed in time. Further, in such a case, a larger vibration is generated due to resonance, and the next ejection is started in a state where the ink is raised from the nozzle surface, resulting in a splash ejection or various vibration problems in the conventional system. Was often caused.

Several proposals have already been made to solve this liquid vibration problem. One of them is a method of causing bubbles to exist in the common liquid chamber or the ink flow path in the recording head. The problem of fluid vibration is to be solved by the vibration absorption effect of the bubbles. Basically, it is most effective to arrange bubbles in the vicinity of the discharge nozzle, which is a vibration source.
As it goes to the tank side, the effect is weakened, and the effect of suppressing high-frequency vibration generated by discharge becomes almost null. Therefore, it is general to put bubbles in a common liquid chamber or the like to obtain this vibration suppressing effect. However, in these methods there is a major problem with the persistence of the presence of the bubbles. That is, in the method of simply introducing air bubbles into the common liquid chamber or the like, the air bubbles may be removed by the suction operation by the pump, or the bubbles may move to the vicinity of the nozzles in the common liquid chamber and cause ejection failure. Further, even if a bubble reservoir is simply provided, there is a drawback that the bubble is replaced with ink due to depressurization, heat cycle, standing posture, change in wettability, and the like.

Therefore, an attempt has been made to provide a structure for absorbing a pressure wave in an ink jet recording head by providing a pressure buffer portion consisting of a gas space in a portion where the vibration energy of ink is transmitted. Further, a portion for introducing gas from the outside is provided in the pressure buffer chamber so that the gas is always present in the pressure buffer, and the gas may be exhausted by replacing the ink in the pressure buffer chamber with time. A self-recovering pressure buffer was devised to eliminate it. Specifically, by using a material and structure with high gas permeability at the deepest side of the pressure buffer chamber, the negative pressure inside the recording head is used to gradually gas from the outside during long-term storage etc. Is permeated to push out the ink that has entered the pressure buffer chamber so that gas is always present in the pressure buffer chamber.

FIG. 12 shows an example of an ink jet recording head to which a self-recovery type pressure buffer is applied. Reference numeral 1 is a base plate made of aluminum, 2 is a heater board, 3 is a discharge heater formed on a silicon substrate, which is a heater board of 2, by using a semiconductor process, 4 is a grooved top plate, which is a nozzle 81 or a common liquid. The chamber 9 and the like are integrally formed by molding. As a material, a material having high chemical resistance, high heat resistance, and relatively high hardness is generally used as a molding material such as polysulfone. Further, reference numeral 5 is a nozzle port, 6 is a bubble formed by film boiling by the discharge heater 3, 7 is a chip tank for supplying ink from an ink tank behind the common liquid chamber 9, and Reference numeral 8 is the flow path. Further, reference numeral 10 is a filter for preventing fine dust in the ink tank from clogging the fine nozzle 81, and reference numeral 13 is a buffer chamber for holding gas. As a structure, an opening is formed between the grooved top plate 4 and a portion near the heater board 2 and communicates with the ink in the common liquid chamber 9. Furthermore, reference numeral 11 is a hole formed in the buffer chamber 13, and 12 is a sealing material having a certain gas permeability for sealing the hole of the 11th.

FIG. 13 shows a disposable type ink jet cartridge in which the ink jet recording head and the ink tank shown in FIG. 12 are integrated.

Reference numeral 20 is a sponge, 21 is an ink tank, and 22 is a printed circuit board having an electrical contact with a printer or the like. A specified pulse or the like is given to the three heaters in the recording head through the electrical contacts of this substrate to perform ejection.

Next, the recording operation control system will be described in order with reference to FIG. When a print signal enters the interface of reference numeral 100, the signal is converted into a print signal between the gate array 104 and the micro processor MPU 101, and the motor driver 106 and the motor driver 107 are driven. As a result, the head driver 10
The recording head is driven in accordance with the signal sent to 5, and printing is performed. At that time, since the head side has a diode matrix as shown in FIG. 15, the common signal COM.
And segment signal SEG. A pulse current flows through the ejection heater (for example, H1 to H64) at which the inks match, and the ink is heated and ejected.

At this time, like the heaters H1 to H64 of FIG. 15, the common side and the segment side are connected by 8 bits each, and the segment signal SEG. 16A and 16B simultaneously, the timing charts (to be described later) as shown in FIGS. 1 rises and SEG. The nozzle for which the signal has risen will start ejection. That is COM. 2, COM. 3 to CO
M. It is repeated up to 8 in a short time, and the discharge of 64 nozzles is completed.

FIG. 17 is an enlarged view of a portion of the buffer chamber 13 of the recording head (FIG. 12) described above. In this state, the buffer chamber 13 is filled with gas, and the normal pressure wave absorption operation is possible.

FIG. 18 shows a state in which the gas in the pressure buffer chamber 13 has been considerably replaced with ink. Even in such a state, the function is maintained for the time being.

FIG. 19 shows a state in which the gas in the pressure buffer chamber 13 is mostly replaced with ink, leaving only the bubbles 14. In such a state, the pressure wave in the common liquid chamber 9 is no longer absorbed.

The pressure buffer chamber is not limited to the above structure, and various modifications can be adopted.

FIG. 20 is a diagram for explaining the generation of vibration due to the ejection reaction pressure in the recording head. Reference numeral 8
5 is the ejected ink droplet, 87 is the ejection reaction pressure generated by ejection, 88 is the ink flow in the common liquid chamber for refilling into the nozzle after ejection at the next moment, for refilling, Reference numeral 90 indicates an ink flow flowing from the chip tank 7 for refilling.

FIG. 21 shows the state of the meniscus during ejection. (A) shows the shape of the normal meniscus 84a.
(B) shows the meniscus 84a immediately before the ejection timing.
The position of is greatly retracted from the discharge port 83a, and (C) is, on the contrary, the meniscus 84c due to vibration.
Shows that he is on a business trip. If both (B) and (C) of FIG. 21 become excessive, good ejection cannot be obtained.

<Effect of Recording Head with Self-Recovery Type Pressure Buffer> There are three principles of vibration generation in the common liquid chamber. One is the vibration mainly caused by the refill motion of the nozzle itself that is generated in the common liquid chamber, and the other is the high frequency due to the crosstalk between nozzles that is generated due to the phase difference of the discharge reaction pressure wave due to block drive between nozzles. Vibration in the area. Furthermore, it is vibration in a low frequency region in a large inertial system including the supply path and the inside of the tank. In practice, these three vibrations act on the nozzle while interacting with each other, and appear as a final vibration phenomenon of the meniscus position.

First, the vibration in the common liquid chamber is determined by the refill characteristic of the nozzle. This is vibration that is determined by the inertial force when the ink is refilled in the nozzle, and actually vibrates due to movement of the ink between the nozzle portion and the ink in the common liquid chamber. The other vibration in the common liquid chamber is generated by the block drive. When block driving is performed, the common liquid chamber temporarily becomes a positive pressure state due to the discharge reaction pressure wave at that time. If the discharge is performed up to the final block, the negative pressure level will increase at once, and the refill speed of each nozzle will actually slow down. In reality, the nozzles that ejected in the first half of block drive are refilled considerably before the final block ejects, so the refill speed is unlikely to slow down, but the nozzles that have completed ejection in the latter half of the block have the aforementioned sudden negative pressure. Will be greatly affected by the rise in. In short, a phenomenon called second dot shobo occurs in which refill is hindered because the ink is not supplied to the common liquid chamber in time due to the inertial force of the ink flow path and the ink tank system. After a few milliseconds, the supply from the ink tank overcomes the inertial force of the ink and becomes completely in time, so this phenomenon is alleviated. However, this time, conversely, when the print signal suddenly becomes a space and the ejection is stopped, a positive pressure is applied to the nozzle due to the inertial force of the ink in the tank system that attempts to move forward, and the meniscus pops out. At this time, if the next ejection signal is input, printing is done on the splash. When the space becomes a little longer and the damping vibration cycle of the tank system and a periodic repeating pattern are printed, the vibration cycle of the discharge reaction pressure wave due to the discharge pattern is the damping vibration cycle of the tank system, which is a so-called resonance phenomenon. May cause a catastrophic pressure vibration wave, resulting in ejection failure.

In order to absorb such a resonance phenomenon most effectively, there is a conventional method of providing a dummy nozzle in the common liquid chamber of the recording head to absorb the vibration. However, under the present circumstances, this method can ensure the responsiveness only at a low frequency and a small amplitude. This is because basically only the response frequency of the nozzle can be obtained. Still another method is to provide a bubble reservoir in the flow path leading to the common liquid chamber to absorb the vibration. In this method, the vibration of the tank system can be absorbed, but the high frequency vibration generated in the common liquid chamber causes the impedance to increase because the distance to the position of the bubble reservoir increases. The sex becomes worse. As a result, vibration is not absorbed, resulting in crosstalk between nozzles having low impedance in the common liquid chamber. Further, there is also a problem with durability, and once ink is replaced, it is difficult to completely restore it unless a special recovery operation is performed on the main body side. It has also been proposed to generate bubbles in the common liquid chamber and absorb the vibration of the nozzle in the common liquid chamber closest to the nozzle. In this method, the vibration absorption effect is perfect for each frequency band, but there is a problem with durability. That is, there is a defect that air bubbles are removed by the suction operation of the main body, or ink is substituted for the place where it should be, and the function is lost. Therefore, it is necessary to incorporate a sequence or the like for generating bubbles on the main device side. This puts a heavy load on the battery and heater, and had a problem. Further, if bubbles are formed in an unspecified place, the bubbles may move to the vicinity of the nozzle to cause a problem such as non-ejection of bubbles. Therefore, in the recording head with self-recovery type pressure buffer,
The position of the bubbles is fixed, and the bubbles are permanently present near the common liquid chamber. Specifically, the gas is allowed to permeate from the outside to a necessary portion of the bubble so that it is always present.

<Characteristics of self-recovery type pressure buffer> As described above, the recording head with the self-recovery type pressure buffer has the shape in which the buffer chamber 13 is provided in the portion behind the common liquid chamber where vibration is most likely to be transmitted. In addition, 11 holes are made at the innermost part of the buffer chamber and sealed with 12 gas-permeable sealing materials (see FIG. 12).
As a basic design, it is important to obtain practical properties by controlling the gas permeation rate of this sealing material. Generally, the gas permeability of a substance has a high affinity with the target gas, and the higher the molecular structure, the higher the gas permeability. In addition, those that are easily deformed in terms of molecular structure or that are not easily oriented or crystallized and are more easily deformed generally have high gas permeability. Therefore, molecules such as oxygen, carbon dioxide, and nitrogen, and conversely those having different polar strengths, such as water vapor, show different characteristics. However, in the present invention, it is an important parameter to determine how much gas volume permeates upon contact with air, regardless of which gas permeates selectively to air. There is.
The results of testing the parameters for controlling the gas permeation amount are described below.

FIG. 22 shows the temperature dependence of the gas permeation amount of the silicone sealant, where the value of the gas permeation amount of polysulfone under the environment of 5 ° C. is 1. Temperature on the horizontal axis,
The vertical axis represents the gas permeation amount on a logarithmic axis. As can be seen from this figure, the amount of gas permeation changes at an accelerating rate depending on the environmental temperature. Further, it can be seen that there is a difference of several hundred times to several thousand times in absolute amount.

FIG. 23 shows the relationship between the thickness of the sealing material which is the gas permeable layer and the gas permeation amount. The width is about the range tested and is almost inversely proportional to the thickness.

FIG. 24 shows the relationship between the pressure difference before and after the gas permeable layer and the gas permeation amount. Again, it can be seen that the gas permeation rate increases in proportion to the differential pressure in the range tested.

FIG. 25 shows the relationship between the cross-sectional area of the gas permeable portion and the gas permeation amount.

From these results, the recording head with a self-recovery type pressure buffer applied to the conventional ink jet recording apparatus is determined by design in consideration of the size of the buffer chamber 13 and the air permeability. Become.
For example, the volume of the buffer chamber 13 is set to 0.38 mm 2 and the gas permeability is set to 0.01 mm 2 / day (5 ° C.). As a result, the ink in the 13 buffer chambers can be removed in about 38 days even when the sound is low. Ink is removed in about 5 days at room temperature. In general, no test will remove ink from 13 buffer chambers at a time. It is the decompression test that is most likely to cause a sudden change in a normal test. When the pressure is rapidly reduced, the air in the 13 buffer chamber expands and overflows from the 13 buffer chamber. When contracting from that state, it is usually 0.
It is carried out assuming 5 to 0.7 atm. Therefore, normally, if the permeation speed is at this level, a sufficient function can be guaranteed.

The parameters for controlling the permeation rate can of course be controlled by the diameter and length of the hole 11 as well, and in practice, several combinations can be made by combining all such conditions. . Also in the manufacturing process, for example, by making the gas permeable member and the material for originally sealing the respective parts of the recording head the same member, it is possible to simultaneously create a member for controlling the overall sealing and gas permeability. is there. Further, in order to control the thickness and area of the gas permeable part, the gas permeable material is
It is desirable to provide an embankment-like shape so that a certain amount of water can be collected on the hole.

[0039]

However, as described above, in the conventional self-recovering type liquid chamber buffer, since the negative pressure is applied from the common liquid chamber, the gas is constantly supplied from the atmosphere permeable port and left for a long time. Then, the gas of the buffer enters the common liquid chamber, and the supply of ink to the discharge nozzle is cut off. Therefore, the main body of the recording apparatus needs to periodically perform suction recovery of the recording head so that the amount of gas in the liquid chamber buffer is always less than or equal to a specified amount. Further, the method in which the main body of the recording apparatus periodically performs suction recovery of the recording head by timer control is also implemented in the conventional inkjet recording apparatus. This is a sequence for automatically performing the suction recovery operation when the suction operation is not performed for a predetermined time or more in order to prevent the ink from being fixed to the ejection port and the nozzle due to being left for a long time. However, the rate of increase of the amount of gas in the liquid chamber buffer varies depending on the negative pressure applied to the head common liquid chamber and other parameters of the transmittance at the atmosphere passage port. Therefore, the conventional timer control method cannot perform effective timer control. For example, if the time interval of the suction operation is unduly shortened, there will be a problem that the ink consumption amount will be increased. On the contrary, if the time interval of the suction operation is lengthened, a problem due to long-term storage will occur.

In view of the above, the present invention solves the above problems and makes it possible to always keep the amount of gas in the liquid chamber buffer below a specified amount without increasing the consumption of ink by an unnecessary suction operation. It is an object to provide a recording device.

[0041]

In order to solve the above problems, an ink jet recording apparatus according to the present invention is an ink jet recording apparatus for recording input image information by ejecting ink droplets onto a recording medium, A plurality of nozzles for ejecting the ink droplets, a pressure buffer chamber for allowing a gas space to exist in a predetermined portion communicating with the nozzle through which the pressure wave propagates when ejecting the ink droplets, and the pressure buffer chamber and the external atmosphere. And a carriage on which a recording unit having a gas permeable portion that communicates with each other is detachably or fixedly mounted, a suction unit for performing a suction operation with respect to the plurality of nozzles, and a gas volume existing in the pressure buffer chamber. And a control unit for controlling the suction operation of the suction unit.

Preferably, the control means uses a nozzle sticking countermeasure timer for judging the amount of change in the gas volume based on the elapsed time after the start of a predetermined operation.

Preferably, the predetermined operation is a previous suction operation by the suction means. Preferably, the control means, when obtaining the gas volume, makes a correction by a factor that changes the gas permeation amount per unit time.

Preferably, the factor is the water cylinder pressure of the ink tank for supplying the ink to the recording means, the temperature of the recording means, or the thickness of the gas permeable portion.

Preferably, the recording means is compatible with color recording.

Preferably, the recording means comprises an ink jet recording head, and the head serves as an element for generating energy used for ejecting ink to generate thermal energy for causing film boiling in the ink. It has an electrothermal converter.

Next, the information processing system according to the present invention is characterized in that the ink jet recording apparatus having the above construction is used as an output means.

[0048]

The control means performs the suction operation by the suction means in accordance with the volume of the gas existing in the pressure buffer chamber to prevent the ejection failure of the recording means. Further, by using a nozzle sticking countermeasure timer that determines the amount of change in the gas volume based on the elapsed time after the start of a predetermined operation, and by further adding a correction amount based on the detection of the remaining amount of ink in the head tank to the timer, It is possible to take measures against the excessive amount of gas in the self-resetting type liquid chamber buffer, which corresponds to the remaining amount of ink in the head tank, which is a factor that changes the transmittance of the atmosphere passage port.

Regarding the type or number of recording heads to be mounted, for example, only one is provided corresponding to a single color ink, or a plurality of inks having different recording colors and densities are supported. A plurality of pieces may be provided. That is, for example, the recording mode of the image forming apparatus is not limited to the recording mode only for mainstream colors such as black,
The recording head may be integrally formed or may be a combination of a plurality of recording heads, but may be an apparatus having at least one of recording modes of full-color by mixed colors of different colors or mixed colors. In addition, the recording head of the inkjet recording apparatus of the present invention is an electrothermal converter (heat generating element) that generates heat energy that causes film boiling in the ink as an element that generates energy used to eject ink. ) Has. That is, film boiling is caused in the ink, and the ink is ejected by the pressure of bubbles generated at that time. Therefore, the ink jet recording apparatus of the present invention has an extremely wide range of applicability and applicability because the type of recording medium on which an image is recorded is not selected.

The form of the ink jet recording apparatus of the present invention is not only used as an image output terminal of information processing equipment such as a computer, but also a form of a copying machine combined with a reader or the like, and a facsimile machine having a transmitting / receiving function. It may be one or the like. Alternatively, it can be practically used as a systematic printing device such as a textile printing system for directly printing a pattern on a cloth.

[0051]

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

(First Embodiment) The general construction of an ink jet recording apparatus of the present invention is the same as that of the conventional recording apparatus shown in FIGS. 10 and 11, except for the points described below. It is characterized in that the conventional timer control of the automatic suction operation as a countermeasure against nozzle sticking corresponds to the countermeasure against the excessive gas amount of the self-resetting type liquid chamber buffer.
The recording head of this embodiment is an inkjet recording unit that ejects ink by using thermal energy,
It is provided with an electrothermal converter for generating heat energy. Further, these heads utilize the pressure change caused by the growth and contraction of bubbles due to film boiling caused by the thermal energy applied by the electrothermal converter,
Ink is ejected from the ejection port to perform printing. Therefore, since the ink droplet ejection ports can be arranged at a high density, it is possible to perform high resolution recording. For example, the number of nozzles of the recording head of this embodiment is 25.
6. The recording density is 400 dots / inch, and the print width in the sub-scanning direction is 16.256 mm. That is, 16.2
One image is output by serial scanning in which image recording is repeated for each 56 mm.

Here, a brief description will be given of a bubble jet type ink drop forming process performed by such a head.

First, when the heating resistor (heater) reaches a predetermined temperature, film bubbles covering the heater surface are generated. The internal pressure of this bubble is very high and pushes out the ink in the nozzle. The ink is moved toward the common liquid chamber outside the nozzle and in the opposite direction by the inertial force due to this extrusion. As the movement of the ink progresses, the internal pressure of the bubble becomes a negative pressure, and the flow path resistance is added, so that the speed of the ink inside the nozzle becomes slow. Nozzle port (also called discharge port or orifice)
Since the ink ejected from the outside is faster than inside the nozzle, the ink is separated due to inertial force, flow path resistance, bubble contraction, and ink surface tension variation, resulting in separation and droplet formation. And
At the same time when the bubbles contract, ink is supplied from the common liquid chamber into the nozzle by the capillary force and waits for the next pulse.

As described above, the recording head using the electrothermal converting element as the energy generating means can generate bubbles in the ink of the liquid path in one unit in response to the drive electric pulse signal, and can be immediately and appropriately used. Since it is possible to cause the bubbles to grow and contract, it is possible to achieve ink droplet ejection with excellent responsiveness. In addition, the recording head can be easily made compact, and the advantages of IC technology and microfabrication technology, which have been significantly improved in technology and reliability in the recent semiconductor field, can be fully utilized, and high-density mounting is easy. This is advantageous because the manufacturing cost is low.

The timer control sequence of the automatic suction operation as a countermeasure for nozzle sticking will be described with reference to FIG.

When the recording apparatus is powered on, a suction check is started (S2100). It is determined whether the elapsed time t from the previous suction operation has passed a predetermined time Tk (S2101). The value of this time Tk allows the ink to be normally ejected by the ejection force of the recording head under the condition that the nozzle is most likely to be ejected and is left in the home position of the recording apparatus under the most difficult condition to eject the ink. That is the limit time to leave.
The ink used in a general inkjet recording device is
The lower the humidity, the more likely it is to stick and the lower the temperature, the more difficult it is to eject. That is, the determination as to whether or not the time T _k has passed in step S2101 is a determination as to whether or not ink can be ejected normally at the start of printing. If the time T _k has passed, there is a possibility of nozzle sticking, so the flow advances to step S2102, and a suction recovery operation sequence is performed. After the end, the timer is reset and the elapsed time is set to zero (t = 0) (S2103).

Next, referring to FIGS. 2 and 3, the above timer control can be applied to the recording head with the self-recovering liquid chamber buffer in consideration of the factor of varying the transmittance at the air passage according to the present embodiment. The timer recovery sequence will be described.

The present embodiment is a sequence in consideration of the change in the gas permeation amount due to the differential pressure between the external air pressure at the air passage port and the liquid chamber buffer internal pressure. The above-mentioned differential pressure is equal to the negative pressure applied to the common liquid chamber and is generated by the absorber of the ink tank. Therefore, this negative pressure is determined by the amount of ink contained in the absorber, and the relationship between the ink remaining amount in the ink tank and the negative pressure is shown in the graph of FIG. Also takes a linearly decreasing relationship. Therefore, the negative pressure can be known by detecting the remaining ink amount.

Several methods have been devised as a method for detecting the remaining amount of ink, and an example is given here. As shown in FIG. 5, the ink absorber 26 of the recording head ink tank 26
The surfaces at both ends of are sandwiched between metal plates 24 and 25, and a voltage is applied between the metal plates to measure the electric capacity thereof. The electric capacity varies depending on the ink content of the absorber. Therefore, the value of the ink remaining amount in the ink tank can be obtained by measuring this electric capacity.

The factors for varying the transmittance of the atmosphere passage port will be dealt with in the following sequence. When the power of the recording apparatus is turned on, the suction check is started (S2100). First, in step S1001 of FIG. 2, a sequence (FIG. 3) in which the amount of gas in the buffer is associated with the amount of correction of the timer is entered. In step S2201 of FIG. 3, the elapsed time t-t _c from the previous check is _calculated from the timer time t and the timer time t _{c of the} previous timer check. Next, the remaining ink amount value V is obtained by the above-described remaining ink amount detection of the head tank (S2202). Request timer correction amount t _b to be next described from this value. FIG. 6 shows the relationship between the cumulative amount of gas permeation through the atmosphere passage port and the time when each amount of ink remains. First, the reference ink remaining amount is set to V _max when the ink tank is fully filled.
Next, if the previous period elapsed time t-t _c is now T ₁ and the remaining ink amount is V _a by the remaining amount detection, the cumulative gas permeation amount during the time T ₁ can be found to be Q _a from FIG. The time required for the remaining ink amount to reach V _{max at the} same amount as this cumulative gas permeation amount Q _a is T ₁ ′, as is apparent from FIG. In this way, the cumulative gas permeation amount based on the remaining ink amount at the time of detection is converted into the elapsed time when the remaining ink amount is the reference. Then, the difference between the original elapsed time and the converted elapsed time is Δt (V = V _a , t−t _c =
At T ₁ , Δt = T ₁ −T ₁ ′). Then step S
At 2204, the timer correction amount t _b is added to the correction amount at the time of the previous check by adding Δt (t _b = t _b + Δt).
In step S2205, the current time is stored from the timer time (t _c = t). Then, in step S2206, the process returns to the recovery operation timer control sequence (FIG. 2).
In this sequence, first, the conventional nozzle sticking check S1002 is performed, and then the gas amount of the self-recovering type liquid chamber buffer is checked S1003. Since the amount of gas in the buffer is calculated to be equal to the cumulative amount of gas permeation when the time t + Δt has elapsed when the amount of reference ink remains, the amount of gas in the buffer reaches the allowable limit value when the amount of reference ink remains. It is possible to determine whether the gas amount in the self-recovering type liquid chamber buffer is excessive by determining whether t + Δt exceeds T _kk with time being T _kk . If the self-recovering liquid chamber buffer has an excessive amount of gas, step S10 of the suction operation
Move to 04. When the suction operation is performed, the timer time t is reset (S1005), and the timer correction amount t _b is reset (S1005).
1006) and the timer check time t _c is reset (S1007).

As described above, the nozzle for fixing the nozzle is used, and the correction amount based on the detection of the ink amount in the head tank is added to the timer, so that the head tank which is the factor of the variation in the transmittance of the air passage port can be obtained. It is possible to take measures against the excessive amount of gas in the self-resetting type liquid chamber buffer corresponding to the remaining amount of ink.

(Second Embodiment) A second embodiment of the ink jet recording apparatus according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. This device is designed so that the span of time when the self-recovering liquid chamber buffer has an excessive amount of gas is on the order of several days. Therefore, the change in the transmittance of the atmosphere passage opening due to the temperature does not change so much due to the daily change in the air temperature, and the time during which the temperature rises with respect to the change due to the temperature rise of the recording head accompanying printing. Since it is on the order of minutes, a large error does not occur when the gas amount in the buffer is obtained.

However, in the case of a recording apparatus in which the recording head is kept at a temperature higher than room temperature in order to stabilize the ink ejection amount during recording, the change in the transmittance of the atmosphere passage opening due to the temperature cannot be ignored.

The present embodiment is characterized in that the timer control for the recovery operation is adapted to the above-mentioned recording head heat retaining type recording apparatus. Suction check sequence at regular intervals during power-on and during print standby, that is, while keeping the print head warm (Fig. 2,
Enter S1001). At this time, a timer correction function or table corresponding to the heat retention temperature is used instead of the timer correction function or table when the power is turned on. That is, the elapsed time from the previous check is calculated (S230
While performing 1), the head temperature recognition (S2302) and the head tank ink remaining amount detection (S2303) are performed. Subsequently, the gas permeation amount is converted into a correction time corresponding to the head temperature (S2304). Then, the timer correction time is changed (S2305) and the timer time is stored (S230).
After performing 6), the process returns to the original sequence (FIG. 2) at step S2327.

As described above, when the power is turned on and when the printing is standby,
By using a timer correction function or table corresponding to each printhead temperature, it becomes possible to apply timer control of the suction operation of the printhead with a self-recovering type liquid chamber buffer to a printhead heat retention type printing apparatus. .

(Third Embodiment) Next, a third embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 8 and 9.

As described above, the factor of the transmittance variation of the air passage port is the thickness of the sealing material of the air passage port. There is no problem with this variation factor if the recording head manufacturing process is strictly controlled. However, in the case of an exchangeable recording head, etc., it is treated as a consumable item, and therefore its low cost is required, and it is desired to eliminate as much as possible a defect from the product due to the standard of the thickness of the sealing material in the process.

The present embodiment is characterized in that the above problems are solved. In this embodiment, the sealing material is attached to the air passage opening in the manufacturing process, and its thickness is measured in the subsequent steps. Nowadays, it is easy to measure the thickness and the like with various sensors with high accuracy. For example, as shown in FIG. 9, a laser is applied to the object to be measured to measure the position of the object to be measured with a reflection port, and the sealing material part at the ceiling and the atmosphere passage port of the self-recovering type liquid chamber buffer is irradiated with the laser. Measuring instrument LP
1 and LP2, and the thickness can be determined from the difference. This thickness is stored in the recording head so that the recording apparatus can read it. Although various recording methods have been devised from the past, the most common method of recording information from the recording head is as follows: This is a method in which a resistor having a resistance value corresponding to one to one is attached and a connector for reading the resistance value is newly added.
By reading this resistance value with the main body of the recording apparatus, the main body side can obtain the thickness of the target sealing material.

A sequence for making the recovery operation under the control of the timer correspond to the change in the transmittance of the atmosphere passage opening due to the thickness of the sealing material will be described below. The change in the transmittance of the air passage due to the thickness of the sealing material can also be treated as an independent parameter. Therefore, in step S2403 in which the timer correction is performed by the remaining ink in the above-described embodiment, the comparison function or table for performing this correction is considered as the reference thickness of the sealing material. Further, the thickness of the recording head being used is read by the recording apparatus main body by the above method (S2404), and the function or table is used so that the thickness of the sealing material can be handled as a standard sealing material. By adding step S2405 for performing the conversion, it is possible to cope with the variation in the thickness of the sealing material of the air passage port.

As described above, it becomes possible to cope with the variation in the thickness of the sealing material of the atmosphere passage port in the main body of the recording apparatus, and it is possible to increase the efficiency of manufacturing the recording head with the self-recovering liquid chamber buffer. Become.

Although the above-described Examples 1 to 3 are intended for single-color image recording, the present invention is not limited to this, and an ink jet recording apparatus compatible with color recording can be used. In this case, the recording head unit is, for example, four of yellow, magenta, cyan, and black.
Composed of colored heads. Therefore, four color heads of yellow, magenta, cyan, and black are mounted on the carriage, and four color ink tanks are arranged on this head.

(Others) As described above, the present invention, particularly in the ink jet recording system, is a means for generating heat energy as energy used for ejecting ink (for example, an electrothermal converter or a laser beam). Etc.), and brings about an excellent effect in a recording head and a recording apparatus of a system that causes a change in the state of ink by the thermal energy. This is because such a system can achieve high density recording and high definition recording.

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

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

Further, the present invention can be effectively applied to a full line type recording head having a length corresponding to the maximum width of a recording medium which can be recorded by the recording apparatus. Such a recording head may have a configuration that satisfies the length by a combination of a plurality of recording heads or a configuration as one recording head integrally formed.

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

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

Furthermore, in the above-described embodiments of the present invention, the ink is described as a liquid, but an ink that solidifies at room temperature or lower and that softens or liquefies at room temperature may be used. Alternatively, in the inkjet method, the temperature of the ink itself is generally adjusted within the range of 30 ° C. or higher and 70 ° C. or lower to control the temperature of the ink so that the viscosity of the ink is within a stable ejection range. A liquid ink may be used. In addition, the temperature rise due to thermal energy is positively prevented by using it as the energy of the state change from the solid state of the ink to the liquid state, or in order to prevent the evaporation of the ink, it is solidified and heated in the standing state. You may use the ink liquefied by. In any case, by applying heat energy such as ink that is liquefied by applying heat energy according to the recording signal and liquid ink is ejected or that begins to solidify when it reaches the recording medium. The present invention can be applied to the case where an ink having a property of being liquefied for the first time is used. The ink in such a case is disclosed in JP-A-54-56847 or JP-A-60-7126.
It is also possible to adopt a form as opposed to the electrothermal converter in a state of being held as a liquid or a solid in the recessed portions or through holes of the porous sheet as described in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. In the present invention, the most effective one for each of the above-mentioned inks is to execute the above-mentioned film boiling method.

[0080]

As described above, according to the present invention, in an ink jet recording apparatus for recording input image information by ejecting ink droplets on a recording medium, a plurality of ink droplets for ejecting the ink droplets are recorded. A nozzle, a pressure buffer chamber for allowing a gas space to exist in a predetermined portion that communicates with the nozzle through which a pressure wave propagates when ejecting the ink droplet, and a gas permeable portion that communicates the pressure buffer chamber with the external atmosphere are formed. A carriage on which recording means is detachably or fixedly mounted, a suction means for performing a suction operation on the plurality of nozzles, and a suction operation of the suction means according to a gas volume existing in the pressure buffer chamber. It is characterized in that a control means for controlling is provided. Therefore, the amount of gas in the liquid chamber buffer can always be kept below the specified amount without increasing the consumption of ink by an unnecessary suction operation, and it is possible to always form a high-quality and stable image. Become.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a flowchart for explaining a timer control sequence of an automatic suction operation as a countermeasure against nozzle sticking in an inkjet recording apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart for explaining a timer recovery sequence in which the timer control of the automatic suction operation as a countermeasure against nozzle sticking in the inkjet recording apparatus according to the present invention can be applied to the recording head with the self-recovering type liquid chamber buffer. .

FIG. 3 is a flowchart for explaining a timer recovery sequence in which the timer control of the automatic suction operation as a countermeasure against nozzle sticking in the inkjet recording apparatus according to the present invention can be applied to the recording head with the self-recovering liquid chamber buffer. .

FIG. 4 is a graph showing the relationship between the tank negative pressure of an ink tank applicable to the inkjet recording apparatus according to the present invention and the remaining ink amount.

FIG. 5 is a sectional view of a disposable type ink jet cartridge in which an ink jet recording head and an ink tank which are applied to the ink jet recording apparatus according to the present invention are integrated.

FIG. 6 is a graph showing the relationship between the cumulative amount of gas permeation through the air passage opening and the time when the amount of each ink remains in the inkjet recording apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart for explaining a timer recovery sequence in which the timer control of the automatic suction operation as a countermeasure against nozzle sticking in the inkjet recording apparatus according to the present invention can be applied to the recording head with the self-recovering type liquid chamber buffer. .

FIG. 8 is a flowchart for explaining a timer recovery sequence in which the timer control of the automatic suction operation as a countermeasure against nozzle sticking in the inkjet recording apparatus according to the present invention can be applied to the recording head with the self-recovering liquid chamber buffer. .

FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view for explaining a configuration in the case where a laser measuring instrument measures a sealing material portion in a ceiling portion and an atmosphere passage opening of a self-resetting type liquid chamber buffer applied to an inkjet recording apparatus according to the present invention. Is.

FIG. 10 is a perspective view for explaining a schematic configuration of a recording head mounted in a conventional inkjet recording device.

FIG. 11 is a perspective view showing a configuration example of a printer which is an example of a conventional inkjet recording apparatus.

FIG. 12 is mounted on a conventional inkjet recording device,
FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view for explaining a schematic configuration of an example of an inkjet recording head to which a self-recovery type pressure buffer is applied.

FIG. 13 is a cross-sectional view of a disposable type ink jet cartridge in which an ink jet recording head and an ink tank that are applied to a conventional ink jet recording apparatus are integrated.

FIG. 14 is a block diagram of a control system applied to a conventional inkjet recording apparatus.

FIG. 15 is a block diagram of a control system applied to a conventional inkjet recording apparatus.

FIG. 16 is a timing chart of a recording operation based on a control system applied to a conventional inkjet recording apparatus, in which (A) is a driving cycle and (B) is an allowable amount of backward movement of the meniscus. Is.

FIG. 17 is an enlarged view of a buffer chamber portion of a recording head applied to a conventional inkjet recording apparatus, and is a cross-sectional view in a case where a normal pressure wave absorbing operation is possible by being filled with gas.

FIG. 18 is an enlarged view of a buffer chamber portion of a recording head applied to a conventional inkjet recording apparatus, and is a cross-sectional view in a case where gas is considerably replaced with ink.

FIG. 19 is an enlarged view of a buffer chamber portion of a recording head applied to a conventional ink jet recording apparatus, showing a state in which gas is mostly replaced with ink and only bubbles are left. .

FIG. 20 is a schematic diagram for explaining the occurrence of vibration due to a reaction pressure of ejection in a recording head applied to a conventional inkjet recording apparatus.

21A and 21B show a meniscus state in ink ejection of a recording head applied to a conventional inkjet recording apparatus. FIG. 21A shows a normal meniscus shape, and FIG. 21B shows a meniscus position immediately before ejection timing. FIG. 6C is a schematic diagram showing a state in which the meniscus is traveling on the contrary due to vibration, and FIG.

FIG. 22 is a graph showing the temperature dependence of the gas permeation amount in the gas permeation section in the recording head applied to the conventional inkjet recording apparatus.

FIG. 23 is a graph showing a relationship between the thickness of a sealing material, which is a gas permeable layer in a gas permeable portion in a recording head applied to a conventional inkjet recording apparatus, and a gas permeation amount.

FIG. 24 is a graph showing a relationship between a differential pressure and a gas permeation amount in a gas permeation section in a recording head applied to a conventional inkjet recording apparatus.

FIG. 25 is a graph showing a relationship between a cross-sectional area of a gas permeable portion hole and a gas permeation amount in a recording head applied to a conventional inkjet recording apparatus.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Base Plate 2 Heater Board 3 Heater for Discharge 4 Top Plate 5 Discharge Port 6 Bubble 7 Chip Tank 8 Flow Path 9 Common Liquid Chamber 10 Filter 11 Hole 12 Sealant 20 Sponge 21 Ink Tank 22 Electrical Contact 81 Nozzle 100 Interface 101 MPU 102 ROM 103 DROM 104 Gate array 105 Head driver 106 Motor driver 107 Motor driver 108 Recording head 109 Conveyor motor 110 Carrier motor

─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁶ Identification code Internal reference number FI Technical display location B41J 2/175 H04N 1/23 101 Z B41J 3/04 102 Z (72) Inventor Kentaro Yano Tokyo 3-30-2 Shimomaruko, Ota-ku Canon Inc. (72) Inventor Kiichiro Takahashi 3-30-2 Shimomaruko, Ota-ku, Tokyo Within Canon Inc. (72) Inventor Hitoshi Nishikori 3 Shimomaruko, Ota-ku, Tokyo Chome 30-2 Canon Inc.

Claims (10)

[Claims] 1. An inkjet recording apparatus for recording input image information by ejecting ink droplets onto a recording medium, comprising: a plurality of nozzles for ejecting the ink droplets; A pressure buffer chamber for allowing a gas space to exist in a predetermined portion communicating with the propagating nozzle.
And a carriage on which a recording unit having a gas permeable portion that communicates the pressure buffer chamber with the external atmosphere is detachably or fixedly mounted, and a suction unit for performing a suction operation on the plurality of nozzles. An inkjet recording apparatus comprising: a control unit for controlling the suction operation of the suction unit according to the volume of gas existing in the pressure buffer chamber. 2. The ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the control unit uses a nozzle sticking countermeasure timer that determines the amount of change in the gas volume based on the elapsed time after the start of a predetermined operation. 3. The ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the predetermined operation is a previous suction operation by the suction unit. 4. The ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the control means, when obtaining the gas volume, makes a correction by a factor that changes a gas permeation amount per unit time. 5. The ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the factor is a cylinder pressure of an ink tank that supplies ink to the recording unit. 6. The inkjet recording apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the factor is a temperature of the recording unit. 7. The ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the factor is a thickness of the gas permeable portion. 8. The ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the recording unit is compatible with color recording. 9. The recording means comprises an inkjet recording head, and the head is a device for generating energy used for ejecting ink, and generates thermal energy for causing film boiling in the ink. It has an electrothermal converter, It is characterized by the above-mentioned.
7. The inkjet recording device according to any one of 1. 10. An information processing system using the inkjet recording apparatus according to claim 1 as an output unit.