Incremental printing of symbolic information – Ink jet – Ejector mechanism
Reexamination Certificate
1996-06-25
2003-03-25
Nguyen, Judy (Department: 2861)
Incremental printing of symbolic information
Ink jet
Ejector mechanism
C347S023000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06536866
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an ink jet recovery apparatus which performs the recording by discharging the ink and a recovery method thereof, and more particularly to an ink jet recording apparatus for use as a recording system for e.g. printers, copying machines, facsimiles, word processors, electronic typewriters, computers, as well as a recovery method thereof.
2. Related Background Art
Conventionally, the ink jet recording apparatuses performs the recording on the recording medium by discharging ink droplets through the discharge ports provided within an ink jet recording head, with the ink supplied from an ink tank of e.g. cartridge type which is filled with the ink for recording to the ink jet recording head.
Such an ink jet recording apparatus has the foreign matter such as dust or bubble mixed into an ink supply system leading from an ink tank to an ink jet recording head. Since the discharge ports provided on the ink jet recording head or liquid channels in communication thereto are as small as about tens microns in inner diameter, the foreign matter such as dust or bubble, if reaching to any liquid channels, will adhere to the inner walls of liquid channels to impede the flow of ink, resulting in lower discharge efficiency of ink or reduced ink discharge responsibility to the recording signal, and in some extreme cases, clogging in discharge ports which may cause a discharge failure including ink non-discharge. Also, when the ink is not discharged for a long time while the ink remains filled in the liquid channels of the ink jet recording head, the ink constituents will be thickened, and fixed therein, resulting in a discharge failure of the ink.
Also, in the ink jet recording apparatus, if the foreign matter such as ink droplet, water droplet or dust is attached on the ink discharge port face of the ink jet recording head, the ink droplet to be discharged may be pulled by such adhering matter, resulting in deflected discharge direction or degraded image quality.
Thus, to resolve those inconveniences caused by the use of the ink, the ink jet recording apparatus is provided with a specific constitution which are not seen in other recording apparatuses, that is, a recovery system from discharge failure including means for cleaning away the ink within the liquid channels, or making the discharge port face in good conditions.
One of the recovery methods from discharge failure with the recovery system is a method for leading the new ink into the liquid channels, for example, a method of driving the discharge energy generating elements to enable discharging of the ink not directly involved in the recording to a predetermined ink acceptor (referred to as a “predischarge” or “idle discharge”). Also, there is a method of compulsorily expelling the ink through the discharge ports by exerting a predetermined pressure on the liquid channels, for example, by pressurizing an ink supply system, or sucking the ink through the ink discharge ports (referred to as a “pumping”).
In addition, one of the methods of cleaning the discharge face and preventing deflection in the ink discharge direction is a method of having a wiping member for rubbing against the discharge port face to wipe the foreign matter such as ink droplet or dust adhering near the discharge ports by the relative movement of both (referred to as a “wiping”).
Because the recovery operation with the recovery system as above described increases the ink consumption for other than the recording, in the conventional ink jet recording apparatuses, there have been proposed several methods, to reduce the waste of ink consumption for other than the recording, in which a plurality of carriages with recording heads mounted thereon are provided, and driven under control individually so that the recording heads mounted on the carriages not involved in the recording are not subjected to recovery operation, as described in Japanese Laid-Open Patent Application No. 1-221251, or the occurrence of discharge failure is detected, and the recovery operation is performed based on its detected result, as described in Japanese Laid-Open Patent Application No. 2-122935, or when a recovery switch is turned on, the recovery operation is performed in accordance with the history from the previous recovery operation, as described in Japanese Laid-Open Patent Application No. 4-250067.
However, the ink jet recording apparatus had a problem that when a plurality of carriages with recording heads mounted thereon are provided as in the above conventional example, a plurality of recovery systems corresponding to the carriages are required, resulting in increased costs, and the lower recording speed for the switching operation of the carriages.
Furthermore, when the recovery operation is performed, based on the result of detection of the discharge, or in accordance with the history following the previous recovery operation, the predischarge and wiping during the recording are effected for all the discharge ports of the recording heads, resulting in a problem of having increased ink consumption for the recovery operation of discharging the ink not involved in the recording.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
An object of the present invention is to resolve the aforementioned problems and to provide and propose an ink jet recording apparatus, and a recovery method thereof, which performs the recording using a plurality of inks, wherein the recording is excellently effected at all times without wastefully increasing the ink consumption for the recovery operation thereof.
It is another object of the invention to provide an ink jet recording apparatus characterized by comprising recovery means for maintaining and recovering the performance of discharge from a plurality of discharge ports for discharging a plurality of different inks for the recording, and control means for controlling such that the content of recovery by said recovery means for the discharge ports for discharging the ink not used for the subsequent recording and the content of recovery by said recovery means for the discharge ports for discharging the ink used for the subsequent recording may be different.
It is another object of the invention to provide a recovery method for an ink jet recording apparatus, characterized by including a detection process of detecting whether or not a plurality of different inks will be used for the subsequent recording, and a recovery process of providing the recovery such that the content of recovery for a plurality of discharge ports for discharging each of said plurality of inks for the recording may be different for each of said plurality of inks, in accordance with the result of detection in said detection process.
An ink jet recording apparatus of the present invention with a recording method thereof to resolve the aforementioned problems comprises discriminating means for discriminating the ink involved in the recording, an ink cartridge, or a recording head, and control means for providing recovery operation for the prevention or recovery of non-discharge of the ink from the discharge ports for discharging the ink, based on the result of said discriminating means, characterized by providing control such that the ink consumption of the recovery operation for the ink, the ink cartridge or the recording head involved in the recording is lower than that of the recovery operation for the ink, the ink cartridge or the recording head not involved in the recording. Thereby, it is possible to prevent unnecessary recovery operation or wasteful ink consumption, and effect the excellent recording.
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