JPS59207259A - Recorder - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To eliminate the needs for piping from a main tank to a head by a method in which a subtank is provided to the head unit, recording is made on given numbers of papers by ink in the subtank, the head unit is restored to its initial position, and then ink is supplied from the main tank. CONSTITUTION:In an ink jet recorder, a main ink tank 16 is provided on the recorder side, and an ink subtank 31 is provided to a head unit 2. The amount of ink to be stored in the subtank 31 is controlled to an amount enough to record given numbers of papers. After given numbers of papers are recorded, the head unit 2 is restored to its initial position, a capping device 7 is contacted with the head unit 2, and the pressure of the subtank 31 is reduced by the pump 8. The ink can thus be supplied through the pipe 18 and the capping device 7 from the main tank 16.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a recording device such as an inkjet recording device, and particularly to a recording material supplying means thereof.
An object of the present invention is to provide a means for accurately supplying a recording material to a recording head with a simple configuration.

BACKGROUND ART A so-called ink jet recording apparatus, which is a preferred application example of the recording apparatus of the present invention, has advantages such as direct recording, easy colorization, and negligible noise. It is attracting attention as a new recording technology.

In particular, on-demand inkjet recording devices are inexpensive and can be miniaturized, and are becoming central to the full-color printer technology that has been attracting attention recently.

However, conventionally, this type of recording device has a complicated ink supply system to the Infusiera I head, and the viscosity of the ink increases due to the evaporation of volatile substances in the ink at the light end of the head, making it difficult to eject ink. The drawback was that it was difficult to maintain stability.

In other words, various means have been proposed for the ink supply system, but one typical one is a configuration in which the ink tank and the head are connected with a highly flexible tube, and the other is a configuration in which the ink tank and the head are connected with a flexible tube. is arranged on the head carriage to directly connect the ink tank and the head. However, the former method causes problems with the durability of the tube itself because the tube is pulled as the head moves during recording, and instability of the carriage feed due to load fluctuations due to tube movement. i) Misalignment of recording points, (11) Instability of ink ejection caused by variations in tube flow path resistance and incomplete ink supply due to air bubbles entering the tube, and the relationship M between the 6-width head and the ink tank. There are many design constraints to maintain this, and there are drawbacks such as difficulty in optimally designing equipment. On the other hand, the latter method increases the load on the carriage motor due to loading enough ink on the head carriage for printing, which increases the size and cost of the entire device, and also causes ink leakage when replacing the ink cartridge. etc., which has the disadvantage of staining the user's hands and equipment. These drawbacks become even more noticeable in an apparatus configured to hold a plurality of types of ink having different ink densities in order to improve image quality.

Purpose of the Invention In contrast, a recording material storage chamber such as an ink tank is provided with a large-capacity first storage chamber and a recording material capacity of at least a predetermined amount, for example, fr' necessary for recording a predetermined number of recording materials. If the structure is divided into a second storage chamber, for example, the second storage chamber can be provided in the recording head unit, and as the head moves during recording, the b tube is moved, as in the conventional device described above. There is no need to pull the head carriage, or there is no risk of an increase in the load on the carriage motor due to loading a large amount of recording material on the head carriage.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide a device that can accurately supply recording materials with a simple configuration in a recording apparatus having a configuration in which the recording material storage chamber is divided into two.

Furthermore, the present invention achieves the above-mentioned object and also provides the first recording medium which is a main recording material storage chamber.

- The object of the present invention is to provide a recording device that has a large degree of freedom in arranging the material storage chamber, thereby making it possible to downsize the device, reduce manufacturing costs, and improve operability.

Structure of the Invention The present invention provides a first recording material storage chamber with a large capacity (in a specific example described later, for example, the ink tank 16 in FIG. 1); and a recording material necessary for recording at least a predetermined amount of a recording medium. A second recording material storage chamber (also sub-tank 3 in FIG. 2) with a capacity of
1); means for detecting the completion of recording on a predetermined amount of recording material and supplying the recording material from the first recording material storage chamber to the second recording material storage chamber (also a CNT counter shown in FIG. 4); zc
+oa detects that printing of a predetermined number of sheets has been completed, and in response to this, the pump 8 of FIG. 3 is activated to supply ink); and;

In the above, the citation of the specific examples described later does not limit the scope of the present invention in any way, and the embodiments of the present invention can be modified as appropriate within the scope of the claims. .

The present invention is applicable to a liquid jet recording device that ejects droplets of a liquid recording material from the tip of a recording head by the contraction movement of a piezoelectric vibrator or the application of a thermal pulse, as well as a recording device that uses a highly viscous recording material, such as an oil-based recording material. When applied to a liquid jet recording device, it is possible to use an embodiment in which meniscus recovery is performed by discharging the recording liquid from the tip of the jet head as well as supplying the recording liquid. be.

Hereinafter, a specific example in which the present invention is applied to a liquid jet recording apparatus will be described in detail with reference to the drawings, including the overall structure, the structure of the capping device and the liquid ejecting head unit, the structure of the pump, and the order of its operation.

Overall configuration of a specific example of a liquid jet recording apparatus to which the present invention is applied (FIG. 1) In FIG. 1, ■ indicates a platen that is linked to a paper feeding mechanism (not shown). 2 is a liquid ejecting head unit, the details of which will be described later. The carriage is driven by a carriage motor 4 along a screw 5 and a guide 6 in the direction of the arrow. These control mechanisms are well known and are not related to the gist of the invention of this application, so details will be given here. 7 is a capping device, 8 is a pump, details of which are shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, respectively.
This will be described later in connection with the figures.

9 is a pump, a driving pulse motor, 1o is a worm gear, and 11 is an electromagnetic clutch. The worm gear 10 is interlocked with the motor 9 via the electromagnetic clutch 11 and drives the cam 15. 12 is a motor for driving the capping device, 13 is a worm gear, and 14 is a wheel fixed to the capping device 7. The worm gear 13 is interlocked with the motor 12 and meshes with the wheel 14 to drive the capping device N7. 16 is a large-capacity recording material storage chamber (hereinafter referred to as an ink tank); 17 is a suction tube that connects the pump 8 and the camping device 7; 18 is a supply tube that connects the ink tank 16 and the camping device 7; 19 is a supply tube that connects the ink tank 16 and the camping device 7; The tip of the injection head (32 in Figure 2) (same <
32a) is a recovery tube that discharges the ink from S; 20 is a waste liquid tube that connects the pump 8 and the waste liquid tank 21;
Wl is a detection switch for detecting the initial position of the carriage 3, and PA is a recording paper.

Configuration of the camping device and the liquid pA ejection head unit (FIG. 2) FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view showing details of the capping device 7 and the liquid ejection head unit 2, and 31 indicates at least a predetermined amount of the recording medium. is a sub-tank that has the ink capacity necessary to perform recording, and here, the predetermined amount of recording material refers to the fixed amount of recording material depending on the size and number of sheets for cut paper, and the width and length of roll paper. Refers to a recording medium that has a 32 is a known ejection head, 32a is its tip, 33 is an ink supply port, and 34 is a suction port.
In addition to controlling the pressure inside the tank 31 and discharging ink, it also has a level boiler ink 34a, which functions to keep the initial amount of ink supplied to the subtank 31 constant. 95 indicates ink stored in the sub-tank 31. Reference numeral 36 denotes the main body of the capping device 7, which is fixed to the main body of the recording device (not shown). 37 is a cap made of a material such as rubber; 38 is a movable member to which the cap 37 is fixed; the movable member 38 is fitted with the main body 36 by a guide (not shown), and the wheel 14 is fixedly mounted. , are driven by the motor 12 in the direction of the arrow. A spring 39 urges the movable member 38 toward the head unit 2. Note that 17.18 in the figure
and 19 indicate a suction tube, a supply tube, and a recovery tube, respectively, as in FIG.

Pump configuration (Figure 3) FIG. 3 is a sectional view showing details of the pump 8.

In the figure, 41 is a piston that fits into the cylinder 42, and 0
Rings 41a, 41b, 41 (! and 41d seal them and are urged upward by a spring 43. 44 and 45 are first and second connecting holes, respectively. There is a large fluid resistance in the valve passage as well.
Moreover, it is arranged so as to be located at the lower part of the piston 41. 46 is a valve made of an elastic member, and the piston 41
Part of it is permanently installed. 47 is a waste liquid discharge port.

Configuration of control system (section 4) Figure 4 shows a block diagram of the control system, 100 is a recording device control circuit, and in addition to the usual digital control section, CN
'f' counter 1008% "1 counter 100b, n
, counter tooc, w register 100d, tie=r
Includes l Q □e. The functions of the C'NT counter 100a to timer 100e will be described later. Reference numeral 101 denotes a recording device driving circuit, which transfers an end signal to the control circuit 100 in response to the end of recording, and receives a recording start signal from the control circuit 100. 102 is a signal output circuit that transfers a high level signal to the control circuit lOO when the initial position horizontal switch SWI of the carriage 3 is activated, and 103 is a signal output circuit that transfers a high level signal to the control circuit 10 when the recovery switch SW2 is activated.
A signal output circuit is used to transfer the signal to the n2 counter 100c etc. in 0. 104, 109, 111 and 112 are a carriage motor 4, a pump driving pulse motor 9, and
Electromagnetic clutch 11 and capping device drive motor 1
113 is the large-capacity ink tank 16 (the first
The remaining ink level warning indicator 114 in the figure) is its driver. 115 is a potentiometer for detecting the position of the piston 41 (FIG. 3); 116 is a level detector;
Based on the output level of the potentiometer 115, it is determined whether the piston 41 is at the bottom dead center, the middle point, or the top dead center, and the signal SI is output when the piston 41 is at the bottom dead center, and the signal St when the piston 41 is at the intermediate point. , the signal S3 is set to high level when the vehicle is at the top dead center, and these signals are input to the control circuit 100.

117 is a detector that detects the position of the capping device 7 (FIGS. 1 and 2), and 118 is a recording start switch S.
This is a signal output circuit that outputs a high level signal by suppressing W3, and the output signal is transferred to the timer 100e or the like. Note that in place of the remaining ink level warning display 113 in the above, a display device that displays the remaining level itself may be provided.

Effects of a specific example of a liquid jet recording device to which this invention is applied (
Figures 1 to 5) Next, refer to the flowchart in Figure 5 and
The operation of the apparatus shown in FIGS. 4 to 4 will be explained.

(1) Recording liquid supply and meniscus return operation When recording is completed on a preset amount of recording material, for example, a predetermined size and a predetermined number of cut sheets, the CNT counter 1
00a outputs a signal to that effect and is itself reset (from step 212 in FIG. 5, the drawing numbers are omitted and only the step numbers are shown). With this signal, n, the counter 100b becomes ``1''
# is counted up, and the carriage motor driver 104 drives the carriage motor 4 to return the carriage 3 to the initial position (steps 221 and 222). The return of the carriage 3 is confirmed by the initial position detection switch SW1, and the capping motor driver 112 drives the capping device drive motor 12 by the high level output of the signal output circuit 102, thereby causing the capping device 7 to move. The member 38 moves to the tip of the head unit 2 due to the engagement between the worm gear 13 and the wheel 14. As the movable member 38 moves, the suction tube 17 and the suction port 34, the supply tube 18 and the ink supply port 33, and the recovery tube 19 and the tip 32a of the liquid ejecting head are respectively engaged. In this state, the capping position detector 117 operates to confirm that the capping position is located, and the capping motor driver 112 is turned off. Even if the capping motor driver 112 is turned off, the cap 37
The spring 39 presses the head unit 2 toward the tip of the head unit 2, and the above-mentioned lock is not released (step 2).
23-226).

Next, the pump mork driver 109 and the clutch driver 1llf are operated to drive the pump driving pulse motor 9 and the electromagnetic clutch 11, thereby rotating the gear 10 and therefore the cam 15 (step 227). As the cam 15 rotates, the piston 41 of the pump 8 begins to descend, and the upper chamber of the pump 8 becomes negative pressure. This negative pressure becomes maximum when the piston 41 reaches the bottom dead center.

In this process, the subtank 31 is
The internal pressure becomes negative, and accordingly, ink is supplied from the ink tank 16 to the sub-tank 31 via the supply port 33 and the supply tube 18. At the same time, ink is suctioned from the tip 32a of the ejecting head via the recovery tube 19 to restore the meniscus of the head.

The pressure in the upper chamber of the pump 8 is restored by the sucked air and ink, and the pressure in the sub-tank 31 is also restored by the supply of ink. Here, the level pointer 34tL is set so that a predetermined pressure is restored when the ink level reaches the pointer. Depending on the recording condition, excess ink may remain in the sub tank 31 and the level pointer 3 may
4a, it is the discharge port 34 and the suction tube 1.
The excess ink is discharged via pump 7 to pump 8.

Therefore, the air in the sub-tank 31 is reliably maintained at a certain amount or more, and the level pointer 34a is moved to the head tip 321.
By setting the position lower than iL, there is no pressure printing, and pressure fluctuations caused by the movement of the head unit 2 can be suppressed by the damper effect of the air, and the meniscus at the head tip 32a can also be suppressed. Since it has recovered, it is possible to record well.

Further, air and discharged ink from the head unit 2 are sent to the upper chamber of the pump 8 via the suction tube 17 and the second connection hole 45. While the piston 41 is descending, the pressure in the lower chamber increases and the valve 46 is closed, so the previously discharged ink, etc. that has accumulated in the lower chamber is removed from the discharge port 47 and the waste liquid tube 20.
The liquid is discharged through the waste liquid tank 21. When the piston 41 reaches the bottom dead center, the signal S1 becomes high level, and after confirming this, the pump motor driver 109 and the clutch dry/< 111 are set to O, 7, and the motor 9 is stopped.

The piston 41 is then held in its position by the holding force of a worm gear (not shown) (steps 228 to 229).

During this holding period, the above operation is completed and the pressure in the upper chamber is restored. After confirming that the predetermined time required for these steps has elapsed, the motor 9 is reversed and the piston 41 is raised (steps 230 to 231). At this time, since the valve 46 opens, the air and waste ink in the upper chamber are sent to the royal chamber, but since the fluid resistance of the connecting holes 44 and 45 is high, the head unit 2
There is no backflow to. The piston 41 is held by barbs 43 that reach top dead center. Next, the capping motor driver 112 operates again, the capping device driving mode door 12 reverses, and the movable member 38 returns to the initial position, thereby releasing the capping of the head unit 2 and making it possible to record. operation is completed (step 23
2, O,...0.・・・・・・、Step 2
04-208).

The liquid jet recording device described above has a large capacity ink tank 16.
and a small-capacity sub-tank 31 in the head unit 2, and the pump 8, which is a single pressure generating means, supplies ink from the ink tank 16 to the sub-tank 31, and also supplies ink from the tip 32a of the jet 32 to the sub-tank 31. Since meniscus recovery is performed after ink is discharged, ink can be supplied accurately with a simple configuration. Also, since meniscus recovery is performed at the same time, stable recording can be performed. Since the ink supply and meniscus recovery are performed simultaneously by the generating means, it is possible to downsize the device and reduce manufacturing costs.

Furthermore, the above recording apparatus has an ink supply system (supply tube 18) and an ink suction system (recovery knee 7'19) for returning the meniscus to the single capping device 7, which moves the capping device 7. Furthermore, since these are configured to engage with and disengage from the ink supply port 33 and the ejection head 32 in the head unit 2, respectively, in combination with the above-mentioned configuration, ink supply and meniscus recovery can be achieved with a simple mechanism. It is possible to configure a fluid path of 1, and the above-mentioned operations can be performed reliably, and reliability can be improved. Furthermore, since there is no extra load on the carriage motor 4 such as an ink supply tube during the recording operation, the inertia is reduced, the accuracy of carriage feeding is improved, and the motor can be made smaller. , which greatly contributes to reducing production costs. Furthermore, the degree of freedom in arranging the ink tank 16 is increased, and operability can be further improved.

Further, the above-mentioned recording apparatus, when recording of a predetermined amount of recording material, for example, a predetermined size and a predetermined number of cut sheets, is completed,
Since it is configured to automatically supply ink to the sub-tank 31, even if the ink tank is divided into a large-capacity main tank 16 and a small-capacity sub-tank 31, ink can be supplied accurately. This makes it possible to achieve effects such as miniaturization of the device and improved operability as described above.

(2) When the operation recovery switch SW2 for meniscus recovery only is operated, the signal output circuit 103 transfers a high level signal to the n2 counter 100C, and the n2 counter 100C counts up @1#. Subsequently, the pump moke driver 109 operates to drive the pump drive pulse motor 9 and move the piston 41 from the position A to the position B in FIG. 3. Movement of the piston 41 is confirmed when the signal S2 becomes high level, and then the carriage morph driver 104 operates to drive the carriage morph 4 and return the carriage 3. The capping motor driver 112 operates after confirming the return of the carriage 3 by operating the switch SW1, causing the capping device drive morph 12 to rotate in the forward direction, thereby causing the capping device 7 to rotate.
is engaged with the head unit 2 (steps 241 to 2).
46). After confirming that the capping position has been reached (step 247), the operations from step 226 in FIG.
Since it has descended to position B in the figure, it is different from the case of ink supply described above.Since the negative pressure in the upper chamber of the pump 8 is small, the ink supply to the sub tank 31 is restricted and the meniscus return operation is performed. Become.

The above-mentioned liquid jet recording device generates two levels of pressure by adjusting the position of the piston 41 in the pump 8 using a pressure generating means.
1, so by switching the pressure cooker between the ink supply operation and the operation that only returns the meniscus, a considerable part of the mechanism for both operations can be shared. Since both operations can be performed reliably, it is possible to avoid complication of mechanisms for ink supply and meniscus recovery and deterioration of operability in conventional recording apparatuses.

(3) Automatic capping operation When one sheet of recording is completed, the recording device and drive circuit □
The timer 100e starts operating in response to the end signal from the timer 101. The timer 100e is reset by a signal output from the multi-signal output circuit 118 when the recording start switch SW3 is operated. Therefore, if recording of information to be recorded is started within the set time of the timer 100e, the capping operation is not performed and normal recording is performed. On the other hand, if recording is not started within the set time, the meniscus recovery operation described above is performed (steps 201 to 205.■). However, although the pump 8 returns after the meniscus returns (step 231), the capping device 7 does not retract and is retracted only when the recording start switch SW3 is operated (steps 204 to 208). 32a, the gap is released only at the start of recording, so that drying is prevented. This point also applies to the other operations described above.

(4) Ink remaining amount detection operation In the above-mentioned printing apparatus, the supply amount W1 for one ink supply
Since the ink supply i W2 during only the meniscus return operation is always constant, and the initial capacity W in the ink tank 16 is also constant, n8 and n2 are the number of times of ink supply and the number of times of only the meniscus return operation, respectively. and W′
Ink 93. When expressed as a quantity, W'-W -(n0w1-1- n, W2) --(
The relationship 1) holds true. Therefore n1 counter 100
Formula (1) from b and n and the count value of counter 100C
You can calculate the amount of ink remaining and use the result.

Specifically, for the previous count value %y, n, the counter 100b or n2 counts 100 (! 7)f, and every time the count is amplified, the He storage contents of the W register 100d are changed to W ``'' Wl (1'J Wl + nt”t
), compare it with the reference value ■, and if W<V, operate the remaining amount nozzle 114 to display the same amount on the remaining amount warning indicator 113. In addition to the warning display 113, a display device that displays the remaining amount itself may also be used.

If a warning is displayed, the ink tank 16 is refilled with ink and the W register 100d is reset (step 251).
~255).

According to the above configuration, it is possible to easily know whether or not to refill the ink tank 16, and to prevent incomplete recording due to running out of ink, a special device is installed to detect the remaining amount of ink. Because this method does not require any ink, it is easy to detect the amount of remaining ink even in devices that use many types and large amounts of ink, such as multicolor recording devices.
It is possible to make the device J-shaped and improve operability.

An example in which the present invention is applied to a liquid jet recording device has been described above, but as mentioned above, the present invention can also be applied to a recording device that uses a highly viscous recording material, such as an oil-based recording material. . When using a recording material with high viscosity, it is possible to use a rotary pump, a propeller pump, or a jet pump as the pump (8 in FIG. 3).

Effects of the Invention As described in detail above, according to the present invention, the first recording material storage chamber has a large capacity and the second recording material storage chamber has a recording side capacity necessary for recording at least a predetermined amount of recording material. In the recording apparatus comprising a recording material storage chamber, means for detecting completion of recording of a predetermined amount of recording objects and supplying recording material from the first recording material storage chamber to the second recording material needle and chamber. Because of this, recording materials can be accurately supplied with a simple configuration, and the first recording material storage chamber, which is the main storage chamber for recording materials, has a large degree of freedom in arrangement. It is possible to reduce the size of the device, reduce manufacturing costs, and improve operability.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

The drawings specifically show a liquid jet recording device to which the present invention is applied. FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the overall configuration of the liquid jet recording device, and FIG. 2 shows a camping device and a head unit in the device shown in FIG. 1. 3 is a sectional view showing the details of the pump, FIG. 4 is a block diagram of the control system, and FIG. A set of flowcharts is provided to explain the operation of the apparatus shown in FIG. 4, and FIG. 6 is a diagram showing the arrangement of FIGS. In the figure, 2 is a liquid jet head unit, 3 is a carriage, and 4 is a liquid ejecting head unit.
is a carriage motor, 7 is a capping device, 8 is a pump, 9 is a nozzle smoke for driving the pump, 10 is a worm gear, 12 is a motor for driving the capping device, 15 is a cam, 16 is a large capacity ink tank, 17 is a suction tube,
18 is a supply tube, 19 is a recovery tube, 31 is a sub-tank, 32 is an ejection head, 32a is its tip, 33 is an ink supply port, 34 is a suction port, 37 is a camp, 38 is a movable member, 39 is a spring, 41 is a Piston, 43 is spring,
46 is a valve, 100 is a recording device control circuit, 100a is a CN
A T counter and SWl indicate a detection switch for detecting the initial position of the carriage 3.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] A first recording material storage chamber with a large capacity; a second recording material storage chamber having a recording material capacity necessary for recording at least a predetermined amount of recording media; and a predetermined amount of recording media. Detecting completion of recording, the recording material is removed from the first recording material storage chamber to the second recording material storage chamber.
A recording device comprising: means for supplying recording material to a recording material storage chamber;