JP2878001B2 - Ink jet recording device - Google Patents

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 for performing recording by discharging ink from a recording means onto a recording material.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A recording device having functions such as a printer, a copying machine, and a facsimile, or a recording device used as an output device of a composite electronic device or a workstation including a computer and a word processor, etc., is based on image information. It is configured to record an image on a recording material (recording medium) such as a plastic thin plate. The recording apparatus can be classified into an ink jet type, a wire dot type, a thermal type, a laser beam type and the like according to a recording method.

In a serial type recording apparatus employing a serial scanning system in which a main scanning is performed in a direction crossing a conveying direction (sub-scanning direction) of a recording material, the recording material is set at a predetermined recording position, and then the recording is performed. An image is recorded (main scanning) by recording means (generally mounted on a carriage) moving along the material, and after a recording of one line is completed, a predetermined amount of paper is fed (conveyance of the recording material), Thereafter, the operation of recording (main scanning) the image of the next row on the recording material stopped again is repeated, so that the recording of the entire recording material is performed. On the other hand, in a line type recording apparatus that records only by sub-scanning in the transport direction of the recording material, the recording material is set at a predetermined recording position,
After the recording for the row is performed, a predetermined amount of paper feed (conveyance of the recording material) is performed, and further, the operation of collectively recording the next row is repeated, thereby recording the entire recording material. It is.

Among the above recording apparatuses, an ink jet recording apparatus (ink jet recording apparatus) performs recording by discharging ink from a recording means (recording head) onto a recording material. Easy,
High-definition images can be recorded at high speed, recording can be performed on plain paper without special processing, running costs are low, and the non-impact method reduces noise, and It has advantages such as easy recording of a color image using ink. Above all, a line-type apparatus using a line-type recording means in which a large number of ejection openings are arranged in the paper width direction can further increase the recording speed.

[0005] In particular, an ink jet type recording means (recording head) for discharging ink by using thermal energy,
Through a semiconductor manufacturing process such as etching, vapor deposition, sputtering, etc., an electrothermal converter, an electrode,
By forming the liquid path wall, the top plate, and the like, it is possible to easily manufacture a device having a high-density liquid path arrangement (discharge port arrangement), and to further reduce the size. On the other hand, there are various requirements for the material of the recording material,
In recent years, ordinary recording materials such as paper and resin thin plates (OHP
Etc.), thin paper and processed paper (paper with perforated holes for perforation, perforated paper, paper of any shape, etc.) have come to be required.

In the above ink jet recording apparatus,
Insufficient ejection (including non-ejection) if foreign matter such as paper dust or dust adheres to the ink ejection section of the recording means (recording head), or if the ink at the ejection port dries and thickens or sticks
As a means for preventing this, a capping means for sealing the ink discharge portion at the time of recording, a recovery means for sucking ink from the ink discharge portion, a wiping means for wiping the ink discharge portion, or the like is used.
The capping means and the recovery means generally comprise:
It is arranged at the home position of the recording means.

In the above-described serial type ink jet recording apparatus, when recording is not being performed, the carriage on which the recording head is mounted is stopped at a position (usually a home position) facing a cap provided outside the recording range. The caps seal the ink discharge portion (discharge port forming surface) of the recording head (hereinafter referred to as “capping”).
Then, a method of preventing drying or leakage of the ink in the discharge port of the recording head, and more positively sucking out the ink from the discharge port to recover the discharge performance has been adopted.

[0008]

However, in the conventional serial type ink jet recording apparatus,
Recovery means (suction pump, etc.) at the drive source of the recording material transport means
Is driven, the recording means is at the home position when performing the sub-scanning operation (recording material conveyance = paper feed), so that a small amount of ink is sucked from the ejection port of the recording means, and ink is wasted. In addition, the recording material and the inside of the apparatus may be contaminated by “wetting failure”. The wetting failure is a phenomenon in which the ejection port is blocked with ink, and the ejected ink adheres to the ejection port forming surface, and the attached ink eventually falls in a water droplet form from the ejection port forming surface. Become. In addition, when the recording material is manually inserted, the conveyance motor is rotated in the reverse direction, so that the suction pump (recovery means) also rotates in the reverse direction, which may cause bubbles and impurities to be fed into the capped discharge port, thereby causing a discharge failure. May cause.

In order to solve the above-mentioned inconveniences, a method has been adopted in which an independent motor is used as a drive source of a suction pump (recovery means) or a clutch is used to control transmission of unnecessary drive force. However, such a method has disadvantages that the cost is increased and the device size is increased.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above technical problem, and an object of the present invention is to provide a drive switching means such as a clutch for driving a recording material conveying means and a recovery means by the same drive source. Inexpensive and compact structure that does not require, the drive switching means can drive the recording material transporting means and the recovery means accurately without causing trouble when both means are not used. It is an object of the present invention to provide an ink jet recording apparatus which can solve the problems of non-discharge and poor discharge of the ink.

[0011]

According to the present invention, when the power source of the transport means is shared as the power source of the recovery means, when the recovery processing is performed, the recording means is moved to the recovery processing position to perform the recovery processing. If not, the recording means is moved to a retreat position other than the recovery processing position, so that the recovery means such as the absorption pump is driven unnecessarily with an inexpensive and compact configuration that does not require a drive switching means such as a clutch. Even
The above technical problem is solved by configuring so as not to affect the ejection port of the recording means.

That is, the present invention provides a recording means for recording on a recording material by moving relative to the recording material, a conveying means for feeding the recording material on paper, and a recording means for preventing the recording performance of the recording means from deteriorating. In the ink jet recording apparatus having the recovery means, the power source of the conveyance means is shared as the power source of the recovery means, and the recovery means is always driven when the power source is driven, and when the power source is started, Determine the necessity of the recovery process, based on the determination result, if the recovery process is necessary, move the recording unit to a recovery processing position, if the recovery process is unnecessary, the recording unit The above object is achieved by a configuration in which the robot is moved to a retreat position other than the recovery processing position.

[0013]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing one embodiment of an ink jet recording apparatus to which the present invention is applied. The ink jet recording apparatus shown in FIG. 1 intermittently feeds (conveys) a recording material 1 in a predetermined direction by a discharge roller mechanism, and performs recording while moving (main scanning) a recording unit 2 in a direction crossing the direction. It is configured as follows.

In FIG. 1, a recording material 1 made of paper or a thin plastic plate is conveyed in the direction of arrow A by a paper supply mechanism (not shown), and an upper guide 4 and a lower guide fixed to a bottom plate (sub-scanning table) 3. Guided between five. Further, the recording material 1 is guided in the traveling direction by both guides 4 and 5 and enters a contact portion between a transport roller (sub-scanning roller) 6 and a transport driven roller (sub-scanning driven roller) 7. Both guides 4, 5
Since the positional relationship between the rollers and the rollers 6 and 7 is precisely defined, the recording material 1 accurately reaches the contact portion between the rollers. The transport roller 6 and the transport driven roller 7 are
It is pivotally supported by left and right bearings 8 and 9.

When the transport roller 6 and the transport driven roller 7 are rotated by controlling the drive of the transport motor 10,
The recording material 1 is carried out onto a platen 11 fixed to the bottom plate 3, and further reaches a contact portion between the paper discharge roller 12 and the paper discharge driven roller 13 while being supported by the platen 11,
Here, the conveyance is temporarily stopped. The paper discharge roller 12 and the paper discharge driven roller 13 are supported by left and right bearings 14 and 15. Roller pairs 6 and 7 for sub-scanning
The height and the parallelism of the contact portion of the platen 11, the upper surface (platen surface) of the platen 11, and the contact portion of the pair of paper discharge rollers 12, 13 are precisely defined, so that the recording material 1 has a width In the direction, a uniform transport direction and a uniform transport speed are obtained, and the transport is performed accurately. Therefore, the recording material 1 is satisfactorily conveyed without slackening on the platen 11.

A discharge guide 16 is supported on the bottom plate 3, and includes the discharge roller 12 and the discharge driven roller 13.
Recording material 1 conveyed in the direction of arrow A by the rotation of
Is discharged out of the apparatus main body while being guided by the paper discharge guide 16. A left side plate 17 and a right side plate 18 having vertical surfaces are fixed to the left and right sides of the bottom plate 3. The bearings 8 and 14 are supported by the left side plate 17 and the bearings 9 and
15 is supported by the right side plate 18 and each roller 6, 7,
The positions of 12 and 13 are defined by the left side plate 17 and the right side plate 18.

The transport roller 6 and the discharge roller 1
2 has aluminum particles having a particle size of 1000 to 2000 adhered to its surface.
3, chloroprene rubber is baked. Therefore, the recording material 1 can be conveyed with a high conveying force and with high accuracy. The transport motor 10 for applying a rotational driving force to the discharge roller 6 and the discharge roller 12 is fixed to the left side plate 17 via a motor stopper 19.

A main scanning rail (guide rail) 20 is provided on the upper rear side of the platen 11 in parallel with the axial direction of the conveying roller 6.
Is arranged. The guide rail 20 is fixed to the main body side plate. The recording means 2 is mounted on a carriage 21. The carriage 21 has a bearing portion 22 through which the guide rail 20 is inserted.
It is movable along.

The recording means 2 mounted on the carriage 21 in this embodiment is a plurality (four) of which use different inks.
In the case of full-color printing, for example, four color inks of black, cyan, magenta, and yellow are used. Each recording means (recording head) 2 of the present embodiment is of a cartridge type in which an ink tank and a recording section (ink ejection section) are integrated, and is positioned and mounted on a carriage 21 respectively. An ink ejection unit (ejection port forming surface) is provided below each recording unit 2, and a plurality of ejection ports arranged in a direction perpendicular to the moving direction of the carriage 21 are formed in the ink ejection unit. . Then, the ink can be discharged toward the platen 11 through the opening at the lower portion of the carriage 21.

The recording means (recording head) 2 is an ink jet recording means for discharging ink using thermal energy, and is provided with an electrothermal converter for generating thermal energy. Further, the recording head 2 includes:
The recording is performed by discharging ink from the discharge ports by utilizing a pressure change generated by growth and shrinkage of bubbles caused by film boiling caused by the heat energy applied by the electrothermal transducer.

FIG. 2 is a partial perspective view schematically showing the structure of the ink ejection section of the recording means (recording head) 2.
In FIG. 2, a plurality of discharge ports 52 are formed at a predetermined pitch on a discharge port forming surface 51 facing a recording material 1 with a predetermined gap (for example, about 0.5 to 2.0 mm). And each liquid path 5 that communicates the common liquid chamber 53 and each discharge port 52.
An electrothermal converter (heat generating resistor or the like) 55 for generating energy for ink ejection is provided along the wall surface of No. 4. In this example, the recording head 2 is mounted on the carriage 21 in such a positional relationship that the ejection openings 52 are arranged in a direction crossing the scanning direction of the carriage 21. In this manner, the corresponding electrothermal transducer 55 is driven (energized) based on the image signal or the ejection signal to cause the ink in the liquid passage 54 to boil, and the ink is ejected from the ejection port 52 by the pressure generated at that time. Recording means (recording head) 2 is configured.

In FIG. 1, a carriage motor (main scanning motor) 23 as a driving source for reciprocating the carriage 21 is fixed to the left side plate 17. A motor pulley 24 is fixed to a rotation shaft of the carriage motor 23, and can rotate integrally with the rotation shaft. An idler pulley 25 is pivotally supported at a position facing the motor pulley 24. A main scanning belt (carriage drive belt) 26 hung between the motor pulley 24 and the idler pulley 25 is driven to rotate with the rotation of the carriage motor 23. You. The main scanning belt 26 and the carriage 21 are connected between the pulleys 24 and 25, and the carriage 21 is driven (moved) by rotating the carriage motor 23 in the main scanning.

A roller (not shown) is provided below the carriage 21.
Are rotatably supported, and the rollers roll on the upper surface of the recording material 1 on the platen 11, so that the space between the carriage 21 and the recording material 1 in the height direction (therefore, the discharge port forming surface) The distance between the recording material 1 and the recording material 1) is constantly regulated. On the other hand, since a cap 27 made of a rubber-like elastic material suction port described later is provided near the home position of the carriage 21, the platen 11 cannot be extended to the home position F (FIG. 3) or its vicinity. . Therefore, when the carriage 21 moves in the direction of the home position F, the roller under the carriage 21 comes off the platen 11. Therefore, platen 11
The carriage 21 rides on a guide plate (not shown) provided in a recovery device 28 to be described later via the rollers at the position outside the position.

At the time of the recording operation, the recording material 1 is fed one by one from a sheet feeding device (not shown), guided by upper and lower guides 4 and 5 and fed to a press-contact portion of the pair of conveying rollers 6 and 7.
Then, the recording material 1 is transported on the platen 11 by the rotation of the transport roller pairs 6 and 7, and the discharge roller pairs 12 and 13
, And temporarily stops here. Discharge roller 1
2 is set slightly higher than the conveying speed of the conveying roller 6, the recording material 1 is given a tension between the pair of rollers, and the recording material 1 has a flat surface on the platen 11 where there is no paper floating or skew. Kept in state.

By driving the main scanning motor (carriage motor) 23 while the recording material 1 is stopped,
The carriage 21 on which the recording means 2 is mounted is a guide rail 2
The moving scan (main scanning) is performed on the platen 11 along 0.
By driving each recording unit 2 in accordance with an image signal in synchronization with the main scanning of the carriage 21, ink is ejected from a predetermined ejection port 52, and an image for one line is recorded on the recording material 1. . This is called main scanning recording. When one reciprocation of the carriage 21 is completed, the recording material 1 is conveyed by a predetermined amount (for example, an amount corresponding to the height of one line) by the rotation of the conveying roller pairs 6 and 7 by a predetermined amount. This conveyance is called sub-scan conveyance (or simply sub-scan). Next, the main line of the carriage 21 is again scanned, so that the next line is recorded.

Hereinafter, an image is recorded on the entire recording material 1 by alternately repeating the above-described main scanning and sub-scanning. Then, when the trailing end of the recording material 1 is detected by a sensor (not shown) disposed near the recording area, the recording operation is terminated, and the recording material 1 is rotated by the rotation of the discharge roller pairs 12 and 13. The sheet is discharged out of the apparatus main body along the sheet discharge guide 16. When the trailing end of the recording material 1 is detected by a paper sensor (not shown) disposed in the vicinity of the recording area, the recording operation is terminated, and the recording material 1
By the rotation of 3, the sheet is discharged out of the apparatus main body along the sheet discharge guide 16.

Each recording means 2 has one or a plurality of ejection ports 5 based on an ink ejection signal (eg, an image signal).
2 has a function of discharging ink. Each of the four recording units 2 includes an ink tank unit storing yellow, magenta, cyan, and black inks and an ink ejection unit (recording head unit) that ejects these inks. It is connected to each ink ejection section. The four colors of ink are ejected from each ink ejection unit (recording head unit) in accordance with each color-separated image signal, and these four colors are overlapped to form a full-color image. Note that the recording material 1 is not only fed from the paper feeding device, but also the operator causes the recording material to enter the abutting portion of the pair of paper discharge rollers 12 and 13,
By rotating the paper in the reverse direction so that it is once conveyed from the paper discharge side into the paper feeder and then fed again from the paper feeder (manual feed)
Is also taken.

When the carriage 21 and the recording means 2 mounted thereon do not perform a recording operation, the carriage 21 is driven and controlled to control the carriage 21.
Is out of the recording area together with each recording means 2 (platen 1
1). The recording unit 2 and the carriage 21 indicated by a two-dot chain line in FIG. 1 are in the home position.

Each of the recording means 2 is located at the home position.
A suction port 27 made of a rubber-like elastic material cap for sealing the discharge port 52 is disposed. This suction port 27
Keeps the inside of the discharge port 52 of the recording means 2 in a wet state,
This is for preventing clogging of the discharge port 52 due to ink drying or ink fixation. A recovery device (recovery means) 28 is disposed behind each suction port 27. The recovery device 28 is for removing bubbles, fixed ink, impurities, and the like generated inside the discharge port 52 by suction to eliminate discharge failure. Inside the recovery device 28, the inside of each suction port 27 is decompressed while each suction port formation surface 51 is sealed by each suction port 27, and bubbles, fixed ink, impurities, etc. are discharged from the discharge ports 52 of each recording unit 2. Is provided with a suction pump (not shown) for sucking the ink and the ink out of the ejection port 52.

Here, the recovery operation of the recording means 2 will be described. The ejection port 5 of the recording unit 2 is increased due to the use of ink whose viscosity has increased due to non-use of the recording unit 2, a low-humidity environment, or a difference in recording frequency.
2 may be clogged. Therefore, the discharge port 52
The thickened ink is discharged under pressure, or the ink is sucked from the inside of the discharge port 52 through a cap for covering and protecting the discharge port forming surface 51 to suck and remove the foreign substances such as the thickened ink and dust. Recovery operation is performed. Further, even during printing, the ink ejection frequency of each ejection port 52 is not always uniform, so that an ejection port that is not used for a long period of time may occur, and the ejection port with little ink ejection may be clogged. is there. Since this clogging causes deterioration of image quality, a recovery process (ink discharge process) by ink discharge is generally performed at regular intervals. In the idle discharge process, an operation of discharging a fixed amount of ink toward the suction port (cap) 27 is performed.

The suction pump in the recovery device 28 has a mechanism for converting a rotational driving force into a negative pressure, and is driven by gears 29 and 30 by the rotational driving force of the conveying roller 6. That is, the suction pump of the recovery device 28 is driven using the drive source of the transport roller (sub-scanning roller) 6. Therefore, as described above, the ink jet recording apparatus uses the power source (transport motor) of the recording material transport means (transport roller) 6 as the power source of the recovery means (recovery device) 28.
10 to control the movement of the recording means 2 (carriage 21) by judging the necessity of driving the recovery means 28 (necessity of recovery processing) when starting up the power source 10. It is configured. In this case, if the recovery processing is not required, the recording means 2 is moved to a retreat position other than the recovery processing position (home position), and if the recovery processing is required, the recording means 2 is moved to the recovery processing position (home position). It is controlled to move to.

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram illustrating the home position and the retracted position of the carriage 21. The retracted position of the carriage 21 is set at a position outside the recording area other than the home position, and is between the home position and the edge of the recording material 1 or between the home position and the platen 11. It is set at an appropriate position. 3, a position D indicates an edge of the recording material 1 or an edge of the platen 11, a position E indicates a retreat position of the carriage 21, and a position F indicates a home position (capping position). In FIG. 3, the state where the carriage 21 is at the home position F is indicated by a solid line, and the state where the carriage 21 is at the retreat position E is indicated by a chain line. The retreat position E of the carriage 21 is selected so that the ejection port forming surface 51 is not capped and does not affect the conveyance of the recording material 1.

FIG. 4 is a front view schematically showing the positional relationship between the cap (suction port) 27 and the recording means 2. 1 and 4, the four caps (suction ports) 27 are attached to the capping unit 31. The capping unit 31 has a cam groove 32 as shown in the figure, and a shaft (or pin) 33 provided on the stationary side such as the apparatus main body or the recovery device 28 is fitted to the shaft 32. The capping unit 31 is mounted movably in the moving direction of the carriage 21 with respect to the apparatus main body, and is constantly urged toward the platen 11 (toward the recording material 1) by a spring 34 (FIG. 4). . further,
The capping unit 31 is provided with an engagement protrusion 35 that can contact the carriage 21 or the recording unit 2. The cam groove 32 is shaped such that the capping unit 31 moves up and down while sliding left and right in FIG.

In FIG. 1 and FIG.
When the carriage 21 moves to the home position F, the carriage 21 pushes the engagement protrusion 35, and the capping unit 31 moves rightward and upward, and each ejection port forming surface 51 of the recording unit 2 The cap 27 is closed (capped). When the carriage 21 starts to move from the home position F toward the platen 11 (main scanning direction), the capping unit 31 moves leftward and downward in FIG.
Is separated from the discharge port forming surface 51 to open the discharge port 52. At the retracted position E of the carriage 21 (FIG. 3), the capping unit 31 is moved by the spring 34 as shown in FIG.
It is held at a position moved leftward and downward in the middle (a position separated from the discharge port forming surface 51). A home position sensor (not shown) for detecting that the carriage 21 is at the home position F is disposed at the home position F (FIG. 3), and serves as a position reference for the main scanning of the recording unit 2. .

FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing a control sequence at the start of driving of the conveying motor (sub-scanning motor) 10 of the ink jet recording apparatus described above. In FIG. 5, when there is a rotation drive command for the transport roller 6, before starting the rotation of the transport motor 10, it is determined in step S1 whether or not the subsequent rotation is for a recovery operation (suction operation). . If it is for a purpose other than the recovery operation such as conveyance of the recording material 1, the carriage 21 is moved to the retreat position E (FIG. 3) in step S2, and the conveyance motor is moved in step S3 without capping the ejection port forming surface 51. 1
A necessary operation such as conveyance of the recording material 1 is performed by rotating 0, and after the operation is completed, the carriage 21 is returned to the home position F in step S4.

On the other hand, when it is determined in step S1 that the rotation of the transport motor 10 is for the recovery operation, the carriage 21 is positioned at the home position F in step S5, and the ejection port forming surface 51 is capped. In step S6, the suction pump of the recovery device 28 is driven by rotating the transport motor 10, and the recovery process of the discharge port 52 is performed.

According to the embodiment described above, the recovery means 2
When the drive source of the recording material 8 and the drive source of the recording material transport system 6 are the same, the retreat position E of the carriage 21 is set at a position other than the home position F so as not to hinder the transport of the recording material 1, and Before the rotation of the motor 10 is started, it is determined whether or not the rotation is for the recovery operation. If the rotation is not for the recovery operation, the carriage 21 is moved to the retracted position in advance. Even if the recovery unit such as the drive unit is driven unnecessarily, it is possible to effectively prevent the occurrence of non-wetting and ejection failure, and increase the cost and increase the size of the apparatus due to the addition of the drive source and the drive force switching unit. Was eliminated.

In the above-described embodiment, an ink-jet recording apparatus for color recording using a plurality of recording means 2 for recording with inks of different colors has been described as an example. The same applies regardless of the number of recording means, such as an ink jet recording apparatus for monochromatic recording, or an ink jet recording apparatus for gradation recording using a plurality of recording means for recording with the same color and different density inks. It is possible to achieve the same effect.

The recording means 2 is of a cartridge type in which an ink discharge section (recording head) and an ink tank section are integrated, and the ink discharge section (recording head section) and the ink tank section are formed separately. Regardless of the configuration of the recording means, such as a configuration connected with an ink supply tube or the like, the same can be applied and the same effect can be achieved.

The present invention can be applied to an ink jet recording apparatus using, for example, a recording means (recording head) using an electromechanical transducer such as a piezo element. The present invention brings about an excellent effect in an ink jet recording apparatus of a type in which ink is ejected. According to such a method, it is possible to achieve higher density and higher definition of recording.

The typical structure and principle are described in, for example, US Pat. Nos. 4,723,129 and 4,740.
Preferably, this is done using the basic principles disclosed in US Pat. This method can be applied to both the so-called on-demand type and the continuous type. In particular, in the case of the on-demand type, liquid (ink)
By applying at least one drive signal corresponding to the recorded information and providing a rapid temperature rise exceeding nucleate boiling to an electrothermal transducer arranged corresponding to the sheet or liquid path in which Then, heat energy is generated in the electrothermal transducer, and the film is boiled on the heat acting surface of the recording means (recording head). As a result, air bubbles in the liquid (ink) can be formed one-to-one corresponding to the driving signal. It is valid.

By discharging the liquid (ink) through the discharge opening by the growth and contraction of the bubble, at least one droplet is formed. When the drive signal is formed into a pulse shape, the growth and shrinkage of the bubble are performed immediately and appropriately, so that the ejection of a liquid (ink) having particularly excellent responsiveness can be achieved, which is more preferable. As the pulse-shaped drive signal, US Pat.
Those described in 463359 and 4345262 are suitable. In addition, US Pat. No. 4,431,131 of the invention relating to the rate of temperature rise of the heat acting surface.
If the conditions described in the specification of JP-A No. 24 are adopted, more excellent recording can be performed.

As the configuration of the recording head, in addition to the combination of the discharge port, the liquid path, and the electrothermal converter (a linear liquid flow path or a right-angled liquid flow path) as disclosed in the above-mentioned specifications, U.S. Pat. No. 4,558,333 and U.S. Pat. No. 4,558,333 which disclose a configuration in which a heat acting portion is arranged in a bending region.
A configuration using the specification of Japanese Patent No. 459600 is also included in the present invention. In addition, Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication (Kokai) No. 123670/1984 discloses a configuration in which a common slit is used as a discharge portion of an electrothermal converter for a plurality of electrothermal converters, and an aperture for absorbing pressure waves of thermal energy. The present invention is also effective as a configuration based on Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 59-138461, which discloses a configuration corresponding to a discharge unit. That is, according to the present invention, the recording can be reliably 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 material (recording medium) on which a recording apparatus can record. 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 integrally formed recording head. In addition, even with the serial type printer as in the above example, the recording head fixed to the main unit or attached to the main unit enables electrical connection with the main unit and supply of ink from the main unit. The present invention is also effective when a replaceable chip type print head or a cartridge type print head having an ink tank provided integrally with the print head itself is used.

It is preferable to add recovery means for the printhead, preliminary auxiliary means, and the like provided as a configuration of the printing apparatus in the present invention since the effects of the present invention can be further stabilized. If you list these specifically,
For the recording head, a capping unit, a cleaning unit, a pressurizing or suctioning unit, a preheating unit using an electrothermal transducer or another heating element or a combination thereof, and a discharge other than recording. Performing the preliminary ejection mode is also effective for performing stable printing.

The type and number of recording heads to be mounted are, for example, not only one provided for a single color ink but also a plurality of inks having different recording colors and densities. May be provided in plurality. That is, for example, as the recording mode of the recording apparatus, not only the recording mode of only the mainstream color such as black,
The recording head may be formed integrally or by a combination of a plurality of recording heads, but the present invention is also extremely effective for an apparatus provided with at least one of multiple colors of different colors or full color by mixing colors.

In addition, in the embodiments of the present invention described above, the ink is described as a liquid. However, an ink which solidifies at room temperature or below and which softens or liquefies at room temperature, or an ink jet ink In general, in the method, the temperature of the ink itself is adjusted within a range of 30 ° C. or more and 70 ° C. or less to control the temperature so that the viscosity of the ink is in a stable ejection range. What is necessary is just to be liquid. in addition,
Whether to positively prevent temperature rise due to thermal energy by using it as energy for changing the state of the ink from a solid state to a liquid state, or use ink that solidifies in a standing state to prevent evaporation of the ink In any case, the ink is liquefied by the application of the heat energy according to the recording signal, and the liquid ink is ejected,
The present invention is also applicable to a case where an ink having a property of being liquefied for the first time by thermal energy, such as one that starts to solidify when it reaches a recording medium, is used.

The ink in such a case is disclosed in
As described in JP-A-56847 or JP-A-60-71260, a form in which the liquid sheet or the solid sheet is opposed to the electrothermal converter while being held as a liquid or solid substance in the concave portion or through hole of the porous sheet. It may be. In the present invention, the most effective one for each of the above-mentioned inks is to execute the above-mentioned film boiling method.

In addition, the form of the ink jet recording apparatus according to the present invention is not only used as an image output terminal of an information processing apparatus such as a computer, but also a copying apparatus combined with a reader or the like, and further, a facsimile apparatus having a transmission / reception function. And the like.

[0050]

As is apparent from the above description, according to the present invention, a recording means for recording on a recording material by moving relative to the recording material, and a conveying means for feeding the recording material with paper are provided. An ink jet recording apparatus having a recovery unit for preventing a decrease in recording performance of a recording unit, wherein a power source of the transport unit is shared as a power source of the recovery unit, and the recovery unit is always driven when the power source is driven. Then, when the power source is started, the necessity of the recovery process is determined, and based on the determination result, if the recovery process is necessary, the recording unit is moved to a recovery process position, and the recovery process is performed. When unnecessary, the recording unit is moved to a retreat position other than the recovery processing position. Therefore, even when the recording material transporting unit and the recovery unit are driven by the same drive source, a drive switching unit is required. Inexpensive and compact configuration, drive switching means can drive both means accurately without problems when both means are not used, and records when recovery means such as absorption pumps are driven unnecessarily The present invention provides an ink jet recording apparatus capable of eliminating the problem of non-wetting and ejection failure by eliminating the adverse effect on the ejection port of the means.

[Brief description of the drawings]

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

FIG. 2 is a partial perspective view schematically illustrating a structure of an ink ejection unit of a recording unit in FIG.

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram illustrating a retracted position of a carriage, a home position, and a positional relationship between a recording material.

FIG. 4 is a schematic front view showing a mechanism for separating and contacting a capping unit with a recording unit on a carriage in the ink jet recording apparatus of FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating a control sequence at the time of starting driving of a transport motor of the inkjet recording apparatus of FIG. 1;

[Explanation of symbols]

 REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 1 recording material 2 recording means (recording head) 6 transport roller (sub-scanning roller) 10 transport motor (sub-scanning motor) 11 platen 12 paper discharge roller 20 guide rail 21 carriage 23 carriage motor (main scanning motor) 27 cap (suction) Mouth) 28 Recovery device (suction pump, etc.) 29 Gear 30 Gear 31 Capping unit 32 Cam groove 33 Shaft (pin) 34 Spring 35 Engagement projection A Transport direction of recording material (sub-scanning direction) D Edge of recording material E Retreat position of carriage (recording means) F Home position of carriage (recording means)

Claims (3)

(57) [Claims] A recording means for recording on the recording material by moving relative to the recording material; a conveying means for feeding the recording material on paper; and a recovery means for preventing a decrease in recording performance of the recording means. In the ink jet recording apparatus, the power source of the conveying means is shared as the power source of the recovery means, the recovery means is always driven when the power source is driven, and a recovery process is required when the power source is started. Gender,
Based on the determination result, if the recovery processing is necessary, move the recording means to the recovery processing position, and if the recovery processing is unnecessary, move the recording means to a retreat position other than the recovery processing position An ink jet recording apparatus characterized in that: 2. The ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said recording means is an ink jet recording means provided with an electrothermal converter for generating thermal energy used for discharging ink. 3. An ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 2, wherein said recording means discharges the ink from a discharge port using film boiling generated in the ink by thermal energy generated by the electrothermal transducer. .