Incremental printing of symbolic information – Ink jet – Controller
Reexamination Certificate
1999-09-16
2003-03-11
Hallacher, Craig (Department: 2853)
Incremental printing of symbolic information
Ink jet
Controller
C347S037000, C347S108000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06530634
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to an ink jet recording apparatus comprising: a recording unit including an ink jet recording head and an ink cartridge that are mounted on a carriage which moves in the width of a recording sheet; and a casing body, wherein the main body for accommodating the recording unit and having an opening for exchanging ink cartridges which is provided on a part of the moving path of the carriage. In particular, the present invention pertains to a control technique for moving the carriage to the exchange opening formed in the casing body.
Since owing to the development of personal computers graphic processing can be performed comparatively easily, a demand exists for recording apparatuses that can, for example, output high quality hard copies of color images displayed on screens. In response to this demand, recording apparatuses in which ink jet recording heads are mounted are being produced. Since during printing the noise made by such ink jet recording apparatuses is comparatively low, and since the apparatuses can deposit small dots at a high density, the apparatuses are presently being used to perform a variety of different types of printing, to include color printing.
Such an ink jet recording apparatus comprises: ink jet recording heads, for receiving ink from ink cartridges; and a paper feeding mechanism, for moving a recording sheet relative to the recording head. During the printing process, the recording heads, which are carried along by a carriage while it moves the width of a recording sheet, eject ink droplets that are deposited on the recording sheet. Mounted on the common carriage are a black recording head for ejecting black ink, and color recording heads for ejecting yellow, cyan and magenta inks, for example, so that not only can text be printed in black ink, but also full color printing can be performed by changing the ratio of the inks to be ejected.
Since the ink jet recording heads perform printing by pressurizing ink in a pressure generating chamber and then ejecting that ink through nozzles as ink droplets, a print failure can be caused by an increase in the viscosity of the ink or the solidification of the ink due to the evaporation of a solvent through nozzle orifices, by the attachment of dust particles, or by the entry of air bubbles.
Therefore, the ink jet recording apparatus further comprises a capping member for sealing the nozzle orifices of the recording head while printing is not being performed, and a cleaning device for cleaning a nozzle plate as needed. The capping member not only serves as a lid for protecting ink at the nozzle orifices from being dried out when printing is not being performed, but when the nozzle orifices are clogged, it also seals a nozzle plate and induces a flow of ink through the nozzle orifices so as to resolve an ink ejection failure that is caused by the clogging of the nozzle orifices due to the solidification of ink, or due to air bubbles that have entered an ink channel.
The forcible ink suction and discharge process, which is performed to prevent the clogging of the recording head or the entry of air bubbles into an ink channel, is normally called a cleaning operation. The cleaning operation is begun when printing is restarted after the apparatus has been halted for a long time, or when a user manipulates a cleaning switch to resolve the degrading of the quality of a recorded image. For this process, ink droplets are drawn out through the nozzle orifices by the application of a negative pressure, and a cleaning member, constituted by an elastic rubber plate, wipes the surface of the recording head.
In this type of recording apparatus, the capping member and the cleaning member are located at the end of the path along which the carriage is moved, and when the carriage has been moved to the end (home position), the face of the recording head wherein the nozzle orifices are formed can be sealed by the capping member.
Further, in a recording apparatus of this type, a black ink cartridge and color ink cartridges are prepared for supplying ink to the black recording head and to the color recording heads. A common recording apparatus of this type is so designed that individual cartridges can be attached to and removed from a carriage on which the recording heads are mounted.
When, for example, an ink cartridge of the above described recording apparatus has been emptied and is to be replaced, it is employed a control method to move the carriage to a position other than the home position. This is done in order to avoid the following problems. If the ink cartridge can be replaced while the recording head is sealed by the capping member, the undesirable removal of an ink cartridge that has not yet been emptied can be easily performed. Further, the force exerted when an ink cartridge is exchanged adversely affects the capping member, resulting in an increase in the pressure in the sealing cap that destroys an ink meniscus in the nozzle and results in a printing failure.
Therefore, a recording apparatus is provided which is so designed that, in the casing body accommodating the recording device, an opening for exchanging ink cartridges is formed at a position other than the home position, whereat the capping member is located, and when ink cartridges are to be replaced, a carriage is moved to the exchange opening.
In, for example, Japanese Patent Publication No. 9-70962A, there is disclosed the structure of a recording apparatus wherein an exchange opening is formed in a casing body. According to this recording apparatus, when the printer cover at the top of the casing body is opened, this action is detected and the carriage is moved to the exchange opening.
Furthermore, in Japanese Patent No. 2716891, there is disclosed a structure wherein an exchange opening is formed in a casing body containing the main body of a recording apparatus. According to this recording apparatus, the carriage is moved to the exchange opening upon the manipulation of an operating key that releases the printer cover and that places the apparatus in an ink cartridge exchange mode.
However, according to the first related recording apparatus, each time the cover at the top of the casing body is opened during printing, the printing process is halted and the carriage is moved to and halted at the exchange opening. Throughput is therefore reduced.
Further, according to the second related recording apparatus, the operating key for releasing the cover and for placing the apparatus in the ink cartridge exchange mode must be manipulated in order to exchange ink cartridges, thus rendering the exchange job complex and providing usability that is less than excellent. In addition, whenever erroneous manipulation of the operating key occurs the printing process is halted and the carriage is moved to and halted at the exchange opening, and throughput is reduced, as in the first related art.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
To resolve the above shortcomings, it is one objective of the present invention to provide an ink jet recording apparatus having excellent operability in which a carriage can be automatically move toward an exchange opening when, for example, ink cartridges must be replaced.
In order to achieve the above object, there is provided an ink jet recording apparatus comprising: an ink jet recording unit including a recording head having nozzle orifices from which ink drops are ejected, an ink cartridge for supplying ink to the recording head, and a carriage on which the recording head and the ink cartridge are mounted and being moved in a width direction of a recording sheet; a casing body for accommodating the ink jet recording unit, the casing body having an opening formed along a part of path on which the carriage is moved in order to exchange the ink cartridge therethrough, and a cover member being closed to cover the opening and being opened to expose the opening; ink end detection means for detecting the ink end of the ink cartridge; cover state detection means for detecting whether the cover member is
Hallacher Craig
Stroock & Stroock & Lavan LLP
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