JP5385841B2 - Printing device - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a printing apparatus that performs printing on a printing medium using ink.

  Ink used in an ink jet printing apparatus generally has a characteristic that viscosity increases in a low temperature environment and viscosity decreases in a high temperature environment. If the ink temperature is too low or too high, the ink jet head Therefore, it becomes difficult to discharge an appropriate amount of ink. For this reason, in an ink jet printing apparatus, an appropriate temperature range when ink is used is determined. In order to adjust the ink temperature, a heater for warming the ink and a cooling for cooling the ink are used. And a temperature adjusting mechanism having a container.

  If the power supply to the temperature adjustment mechanism is cut off, such as when the power of the printing apparatus is off, the ink temperature may fall outside the proper temperature range due to the influence of the environmental temperature. In this case, in order to perform the printing operation even when the printing apparatus is activated, a warm-up operation for adjusting the ink temperature by the temperature adjustment mechanism is required. Depending on the ink temperature at the time of startup, the warm-up time becomes long, and it may take a long time before printing becomes possible. In the meantime, the user has to wait and is inconvenient.

  Therefore, in order to improve user convenience, in Patent Document 1, when the power is turned on, the outside air temperature, the ink temperature, and the ink amount are detected, and based on these, the time required for warm-up is calculated, There has been proposed an ink jet printer that notifies a user by displaying the calculated time on an LCD. By knowing the time required for the warm-up, the user can avoid a situation in which the user waits without knowing when printing can be performed, and can reduce waste of time.

JP-A-8-169106

  In a printing apparatus, there is a case where the apparatus is started by turning on the power at a time preset by a user by a timer function. It is desirable for the user to be able to start the printing operation immediately after startup in order to set the startup time according to the time when the user wants to start using the apparatus. However, even if the apparatus is started at the set time, if the ink temperature is not within the appropriate temperature range, a warm-up operation must be performed and printing cannot be started immediately.

  In the technique described in Patent Document 1, if the ink temperature is not within the appropriate temperature range when the apparatus is activated, the user can know the time required for warm-up, but cannot start printing immediately after activation. Therefore, there has been a demand for a technique that can quickly start a printing operation after the printing apparatus is activated.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above, and in a printing apparatus that performs printing by adjusting the temperature of the ink within an appropriate temperature range, the printing operation can be started quickly after the apparatus is started. Objective.

  In order to achieve the above object, a first feature of a printing apparatus according to the present invention is that a setting unit that sets a start time of a printing apparatus that performs printing on a printing medium using ink, and the temperature of the ink includes the printing device. A temperature adjustment unit that performs a warm-up operation that adjusts the temperature until the device is within an appropriate temperature range that can be printed, a temperature measurement unit that measures the temperature of the ink, and ink that has not been temperature adjusted under ambient temperature An ink temperature table storage unit for storing an ink temperature table indicating a measurement history for each measured time zone, and using the ink temperature table to calculate an estimated ink temperature at the activation time, and from the estimated ink temperature Warm-up time calculation for calculating the warm-up time, which is the temperature adjustment time required to reach the ink temperature within the appropriate temperature range If, in that and a temperature control unit for controlling the temperature adjustment unit to start the warm-up operation from the time obtained by subtracting the warm-up time from the start time.

  A second feature of the printing apparatus according to the present invention is that the measurement value measured by the temperature measurement unit at the start of the warm-up operation is acquired, and the measured value within the most recent predetermined measurement count is obtained for each measured time zone. An ink temperature table management unit that calculates an average value of measured values and stores the average value in the ink temperature table is further provided, and the warm-up time calculation unit uses the average value as the estimated ink temperature. is there.

  A third feature of the printing apparatus according to the present invention is that the temperature adjustment time table stores a temperature adjustment time table indicating a relationship between the temperature of the ink and the temperature adjustment time by the temperature adjustment unit until the temperature is within the appropriate temperature range. The apparatus further includes a storage unit, wherein the warm-up time calculation unit calculates the warm-up time from the estimated ink temperature using the temperature adjustment time table.

  A fourth feature of the printing apparatus according to the present invention is that when the interval between the time when the temperature of the ink reaches the appropriate temperature range by the warm-up operation and the start time exceeds a predetermined time, the warm-up time And a temperature adjustment time table management unit for changing the value of the temperature adjustment time table used for the calculation.

  According to the first feature of the printing apparatus according to the present invention, the ink temperature table showing the ink temperature measurement history for each measured time zone of the temperature of the ink in a state where the temperature adjustment is not performed under the environmental temperature. Use this to calculate the estimated ink temperature at the set startup time and start the warm-up operation from the warm-up start time before the startup time calculated using this estimated ink temperature. Accordingly, the temperature of the ink can be adjusted so as to be within the appropriate temperature range at the set activation time, and the printing operation can be started quickly after the printing apparatus is activated.

  According to the second feature of the printing apparatus according to the present invention, the measurement value measured by the temperature measurement unit at the start of the warm-up operation is obtained, and the measurement within the latest predetermined number of measurements for each measured time zone is performed. By using the average value as the estimated ink temperature, an appropriate warm-up time can be obtained in response to a change in environmental temperature due to a change in season.

  According to the third feature of the printing apparatus of the present invention, from the estimated ink temperature using the temperature adjustment time table indicating the relationship between the temperature of the ink and the temperature adjustment time by the temperature adjustment unit until the temperature is within the appropriate temperature range. Since the preliminary warm-up time is calculated, it is possible to calculate an appropriate warm-up time according to the performance of the temperature adjustment unit.

  According to the fourth feature of the printing apparatus of the present invention, the warm-up time is calculated when the interval between the start time and the time when the temperature of the ink reaches the appropriate temperature range by the warm-up operation exceeds a predetermined time. Since the value of the temperature adjustment time table used in is changed, an appropriate pre-warm-up time can be obtained in response to a change in the environmental temperature.

1 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a printing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. It is a schematic block diagram of the ink circulation mechanism in the printing apparatus shown in FIG. It is a figure which shows an example of an ink temperature table. It is a figure which shows an example of a heating table. It is a figure which shows an example of a cooling table. 2 is a flowchart showing an operation when starting up by a timer function in the printing apparatus shown in FIG. 1. 2 is a flowchart showing an operation when starting up by a timer function in the printing apparatus shown in FIG. 1. It is a flowchart which shows the procedure of the update process of an ink temperature table.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a printing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 1, a printing apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment includes an inkjet head 2, an ink circulation mechanism 3, an operation panel unit 4, a clock unit 5, a storage unit 6, a power supply unit 7, And a control unit 8. The printing apparatus 1 is an ink circulation type ink jet printer.

  The inkjet head 2 includes a large number of nozzles, an ink chamber for storing ink, and an ink ejection mechanism (none of which is shown) for ejecting ink in the ink chamber from the nozzles. The ink ejection mechanism includes a piezo element and a driver that drives the piezo element based on a signal sent from the control unit 8. The inkjet head 2 includes a temperature sensor (temperature measurement unit) 21 that measures the ink temperature. In addition, the present invention is not limited to the ink ejection mechanism using the piezo element. For example, an ink ejection mechanism that ejects ink by generating bubbles by applying heat to the ink with a heating element may be used.

  The ink circulation mechanism 3 includes a circulation type ink flow path, a pump, a temperature adjustment unit 31 that adjusts the ink temperature, and the like. Ink circulating in the ink flow path of the ink circulation mechanism 3 is supplied to the ink chamber of the inkjet head 2. By providing the ink circulation mechanism 3, the printing apparatus 1 can effectively remove ink impurities. Details of the configuration of the ink circulation mechanism 3 will be described later.

  The operation panel unit 4 is configured by a touch panel display device or the like, receives an operation from the user, and notifies the control unit 8 of the contents.

  The clock unit 5 measures the time and outputs time information indicating the current date and time.

  The storage unit 6 is composed of a non-volatile storage device, and stores an ink temperature table indicating an ink temperature table indicating a measurement history for each measured time zone of the temperature of the ink in a state where temperature adjustment is not performed under an environmental temperature. It has a table storage unit 61 and a temperature adjustment time table storage unit 62 for storing a temperature adjustment time table indicating a temperature adjustment time which is a time required for temperature adjustment until it falls within an appropriate temperature range for each ink temperature zone.

  The power supply unit 7 supplies power to each unit provided in the printing apparatus 1 including a paper transport mechanism and a scanner that are not shown in FIG.

  The control unit 8 can be configured by a controller board on which a CPU, a memory, and the like are arranged, and controls the operation of the entire printing apparatus 1. For example, the control unit 8 performs image processing, print job management, and the like. Specifically, a process of generating ink ejection data based on an image to be printed and outputting it to the driver of the inkjet head 2 is performed. The image to be printed can be, for example, image data read by a scanner (not shown), print data sent from a personal computer via a LAN, or the like.

  The control unit 8 includes a function as a setting unit 81, a function as a warm-up time calculation unit 82, a function as an ink circulation control unit 83, a function as a temperature control unit 84, and an ink temperature table management unit. 85, a temperature adjustment time table management unit 86, and a power control unit 87.

  The setting unit 81 accepts various settings performed by the user operating the operation panel unit 4. In the present embodiment, the printing apparatus 1 has a timer function that activates the apparatus by turning the power off and on at a time set in advance by the user, and the setting unit 81 accepts the setting of the activation time in the timer function and sets it The set activation time which is the activated activation time is stored in the storage unit 6.

  Further, the printing apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment allows the ink temperature to be within the appropriate temperature range by the temperature adjustment unit 31 while circulating the ink by the ink circulation mechanism 3 before the set activation time in the timer function. A pre-warm-up function for starting the warm-up operation to be adjusted to Whether or not to perform this warm-up can be set according to the operation of the operation panel unit 4 by the user. If you want to avoid power consumption due to pre-warm-up, turn off the pre-warm-up setting.

  In the present embodiment, when the power of the printing apparatus 1 is off, the main power of the printing apparatus 1 is on but the sub-power is off, which is necessary for activation by the timer function and pre-warming-up processing. This is a state in which the power supply is stopped except for the functional unit of the unit. When the power is turned on, power that can operate the entire printing apparatus 1 is supplied from the power supply unit 7 to each unit.

  The warm-up time calculation unit 82 calculates a pre-warm-up time that is a time required for the temperature adjustment in the pre-warm-up based on the set activation time, the ink temperature table, and the temperature adjustment time table. In addition, the warm-up time calculation unit 82 calculates a preliminary warm-up start time obtained by subtracting the preliminary warm-up time from the set activation time.

  The ink circulation control unit 83 controls the ink circulation process by controlling the pump and the like of the ink circulation mechanism 3.

  The temperature control unit 84 adjusts the temperature of the ink circulated in the ink circulation mechanism 3 by controlling the temperature adjustment unit 31.

  The ink temperature table management unit 85 manages the ink temperature table, and acquires the measurement value of the temperature sensor 21 at the start of pre-warming up and updates the ink temperature table.

  The temperature adjustment time table management unit 86 manages the temperature adjustment time table. When the interval between the time when the ink temperature reaches the appropriate temperature range and the warm-up time exceeds a predetermined time by the pre-warm-up operation. Update the temperature adjustment time table.

  The power control unit 87 controls the power supply to each unit of the printing apparatus 1 by the power supply unit 7.

  FIG. 2 is a schematic configuration diagram of the ink circulation mechanism 3. As shown in FIG. 2, the ink circulation mechanism 3 that supplies ink to the inkjet head 2 includes a temperature adjustment unit 31, an ink bottle 32, a downstream tank 33, an upstream tank 34, and a pump 35.

  Further, the ink circulation mechanism 3 includes a supply flow path DR connected from the ink bottle 32 to the downstream tank 33, and a circulation flow path CR returning from the downstream tank 33 through the upstream tank 34 and the inkjet head 2 to the downstream tank 33.

  The ink supplied from the ink bottle 32 passes through the supply channel DR and is temporarily stored in the downstream tank 33. In the circulation channel CR, the ink stored in the downstream tank 33 is sent to the upstream tank 34 by the pump 35 and then guided to the inkjet head 2. Ink that has not been used for printing by the inkjet head 2 is returned to the downstream tank 33.

  The ink discharge surface of the inkjet head 2 is disposed at a position higher than the downstream tank 33, and the upstream tank 34 is disposed at a position higher than the ink discharge surface of the inkjet head 2. Due to the water head difference based on this positional relationship, ink supply from the upstream tank 34 to the inkjet head 2 and ink return from the inkjet head 2 to the downstream tank 33 are performed.

  The temperature adjusting unit 31 is provided between the downstream tank 33 and the upstream tank 34, and includes a heater 311 for warming ink and an ink cooler 312 for cooling ink. The ink cooler 312 has a heat sink 313, and a cooling fan 314 for enhancing the cooling effect is provided in the vicinity of the heat sink 313 of the ink cooler 312.

  An appropriate temperature range in which the printing apparatus 1 can print is defined for the ink. In the present embodiment, the ink temperature is adjusted within the appropriate temperature range in the preliminary warm-up operation that starts before the set activation time.

  When adjusting the ink temperature in the pre-warm-up operation, the ink circulation control unit 83 circulates ink in the ink flow path of the ink circulation mechanism 3, and the temperature control unit 84 increases the ink temperature when the heater 311 is raised. When the ink temperature is lowered, the cooling fan 314 is operated. Outside the proper temperature range, it is difficult to secure an appropriate ink discharge amount, and therefore the control unit 8 does not execute printing until the ink is within the proper temperature range.

  Although FIG. 2 shows a configuration for only one color of ink, a flow path may be provided for each ink color by using a plurality of colors so that color printing can be performed.

  Next, the contents of the ink temperature table stored in the ink temperature table storage unit 61 and the temperature adjustment time table stored in the temperature adjustment time table storage unit 62 will be described.

  FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of the ink temperature table. In the present embodiment, the operation of the temperature sensor 21 is stopped together with the ink circulation mechanism 3 and the like in order to reduce power consumption before the advance warm-up start time, and the advance warm-up operation starts as will be described later. Sometimes the ink temperature is measured by the temperature sensor 21 (step S50 in FIG. 6 described later).

  Prior to the start of the preliminary warm-up operation, the temperature adjustment unit 31 has not been operated since at least the power is turned off, and the ink is exposed to the ambient temperature. For this reason, it can be said that the temperature measured at the start of the pre-warm-up operation is the temperature of the ink in a state where the temperature adjustment is not performed under the environmental temperature.

  The ink temperature table holds the measurement value measured by the temperature sensor 21 at the start of the pre-warming up for each measured time zone. In the example of FIG. 3, the time is divided into one hour every hour. For a time zone in which there were a plurality of measurement opportunities, the measurement values up to the most recent predetermined number of measurements (5 times in the example of FIG. 3) and the average value thereof are held. For the time period when there is no measurement record (no prior warm-up record), the average value is temporarily set to the default value. In the example of FIG. 3, the default value is 23 ° C. in the time zone of 0: 0 to 0:59.

  The average value of each time zone in the ink temperature table is used for calculating a pre-warm-up time described later as an estimated value (estimated ink temperature) corresponding to the environmental temperature in that time zone. Although the ink temperature varies depending on the environmental temperature and the printing frequency, by calculating the average value for the most recent predetermined number of measurements, it is possible to cope with a change in the environmental temperature due to a seasonal change, for example.

  The temperature adjustment time table stored in the temperature adjustment time table storage unit 62 includes a heating table as shown in FIG. 4 and a cooling table as shown in FIG.

  As described above, the temperature of the ink used in the printing apparatus 1 has an appropriate temperature range, and is set to 25 ° C. to 45 ° C. in the present embodiment. In addition, although there exists an appropriate temperature range also about the use environment of the printing apparatus 1, the appropriate environmental temperature range shall be 15 degreeC-35 degreeC in this Embodiment.

  The heating table in FIG. 4 is a table showing the time required to heat ink having a temperature lower than 25 ° C., which is the lower limit of the appropriate temperature range, to 25 ° C. for each temperature zone in 1 ° C. increments. On the other hand, the cooling table in FIG. 5 is a table showing the time required for cooling ink having a temperature higher than 45 ° C., which is the upper limit of the appropriate temperature range, to 45 ° C. for each temperature zone in increments of 1 ° C.

  The temperature adjustment time (heating time, cooling time) in the heating table and the cooling table is determined according to the circulating ink amount in the printing apparatus 1 and the performance of the heater 311 and the ink cooler 312. The table is created in advance based on experiments using the printing apparatus 1. Thereby, it is possible to calculate an appropriate pre-warm-up time according to the performance of the temperature adjusting unit 31 of the printing apparatus 1. The heating table is created based on an experiment conducted in an environment of 15 ° C. which is the lower limit of the appropriate environmental temperature range, and the cooling table is an experiment conducted in an environment of 35 ° C. which is the upper limit of the appropriate environmental temperature range. Created based on.

  Next, the operation of the printing apparatus 1 when the timer function is activated will be described with reference to the flowcharts of FIGS.

  In response to a user operation, a setting start time for starting the printing apparatus 1 is set by the timer function, and when the printing apparatus 1 is turned off, the processing of the flowcharts shown in FIGS. 6 and 7 is started. Become. As described above, in the present embodiment, when the printing apparatus 1 is turned off, the sub-power supply is turned off but the main power supply is turned on. Some of the necessary functional units are operable by being supplied with electric power.

  In step S10 in FIG. 6, the control unit 8 determines whether or not the pre-warm-up setting is set to ON. If the pre-warm-up setting is on (step S10: YES), the process proceeds to step S20. If the pre-warm-up setting is off (step S10: NO), the process proceeds to step S170.

  In step S20, the warm-up time calculating unit 82 calculates the pre-warm-up time using the set activation time, the ink temperature table, and the temperature adjustment time table (heating table, cooling table).

  In this preliminary warm-up time calculation process, first, the warm-up time calculation unit 82 refers to the ink temperature table, and acquires the average value of the ink temperatures in the time zone corresponding to the set activation time as the estimated ink temperature. Then, the warm-up time calculation unit 82 refers to the heating table or the cooling table, and acquires the heating time or the cooling time corresponding to the estimated ink temperature as the pre-warm-up time.

  For example, if the set activation time is 8:30, an average value of 19 ° C. in the time zone from 8:00 to 8:59 is the estimated ink temperature from the ink temperature table of FIG. And according to the heating table of FIG. 4, since the heating time corresponding to 19 ° C. is 240 seconds, the preliminary warm-up time is 240 seconds. In the ink temperature table, when the average value of the ink temperature in the time zone corresponding to the set activation time is within the appropriate temperature range, the preliminary warm-up time is 0 (zero).

  Next, in step S <b> 30, the warm-up time calculation unit 82 calculates a time obtained by subtracting the pre-warm-up time from the set activation time as the pre-warm-up start time, and stores this in the storage unit 6. In the above example, the pre-warm-up start time is 8:26, which is a time obtained by subtracting the pre-warm-up time 240 seconds from the set start time 8:30.

  The process for calculating the preliminary warm-up start time in steps S20 and S30 may be performed before the power is turned off when the set activation time and the preliminary warm-up setting are performed. The printing apparatus 1 can also set a plurality of set activation times at once, for example, activation at the same time every day. In the case of such setting, the preliminary warm-up start times corresponding to the respective set activation times may be calculated together and stored in the storage unit 6.

  The control unit 8 monitors the clock unit 5 and determines whether or not the preliminary warm-up start time has come in step S40. If the pre-warm-up start time is reached (step S40: YES), the process proceeds to step S50. If the pre-warm-up start time is not reached (step S40: NO), step S40 is repeated until the pre-warm-up start time is reached. .

  In step S <b> 50, the power control unit 87 controls the power supply unit 7 to supply power to the temperature sensor 21 to start up, and the ink temperature table management unit 85 acquires the ink temperature measured by the temperature sensor 21. The measured value at the prior warm-up start time is used for updating the ink temperature table. The ink temperature table update process will be described later.

  In step S60, the power control unit 87 controls the power supply unit 7 to supply power to the temperature adjustment unit 31, the pump 35, and the like of the ink circulation mechanism 3, and to start up the ink circulation control unit 83 and temperature control. The unit 84 starts a pre-warm-up operation. In the preliminary warm-up operation, the ink circulation control unit 83 circulates ink in the ink flow path of the ink circulation mechanism 3, and the temperature control unit 84 causes the temperature adjustment unit 31 to adjust the ink temperature circulating in the ink flow path. In the preliminary warm-up operation, if the estimated ink temperature obtained in the process of calculating the preliminary warm-up time in step S20 is lower than 25 ° C., the temperature control unit 84 operates the heater 311 to heat the ink, and the estimated ink When the temperature is higher than 45 ° C., the cooling fan 314 is operated to cool the ink.

  The processes in steps S50 and S60 are performed almost simultaneously at the pre-warm-up start time. After starting the warm-up, the control unit 8 monitors the temperature sensor 21 and determines whether or not the ink temperature is within the appropriate temperature range (25 ° C. to 45 ° C.) in step S70. If it is within the appropriate temperature range (step S70: YES), the process proceeds to step S80, and if it is not within the appropriate temperature range (step S70: NO), the process proceeds to step S90.

  In step S80, the ink circulation control unit 83 ends the ink circulation, and the temperature control unit 84 ends the ink temperature adjustment. As a result, the preliminary warm-up operation is completed. Thereafter, the process proceeds to step S90.

  In step S90, the control unit 8 determines whether or not the set activation time has come. If the set activation time has been reached (step S90: YES), the process proceeds to step S110. If the set activation time has not been reached (step S90: NO), the process proceeds to step S100.

  In step S100, the control unit 8 determines whether or not the preliminary warm-up operation has been completed. If the pre-warm-up operation has been completed (step S100: YES), the process returns to step S90. If the pre-warm-up operation has not been completed (step S100: NO), the process returns to step S70.

  In step S <b> 110, the power control unit 87 controls the power supply unit 7 so as to supply operable power to each unit of the printing apparatus 1 and start up the entire printing apparatus 1. As a result, the printing apparatus 1 is turned on and can be used. However, if the ink temperature does not reach the appropriate temperature range even when the set start time is reached and the set start time is reached without completing the pre-warm-up, the printing apparatus 1 is started and the scanner or the like is not used. Yes, but I can't start printing yet. In this case, when the pre-warm-up operation is completed in step S140, which will be described later, the printer is ready for printing.

  Next, in step S120 of FIG. 7, the control unit 8 determines whether or not the preliminary warm-up operation has been completed. If the preliminary warm-up operation has been completed (step S120: YES), the process proceeds to step S150. If the preliminary warm-up operation has not been completed (step S120: NO), the process proceeds to step S130.

  In step S130, the control unit 8 determines whether or not the ink temperature is within an appropriate temperature range. If it is within the proper temperature range (step S130: YES), the process proceeds to step S140. If it is not within the proper temperature range (step S130: NO), step S130 is repeated until the ink temperature falls within the proper temperature range.

  In step S140, the ink circulation control unit 83 and the temperature control unit 84 end the preliminary warm-up operation.

  Next, in step S150, the temperature adjustment time table management unit 86 determines whether or not the interval between the time when the ink temperature reaches the appropriate temperature range in step S70 or step S130 and the set activation time is less than a predetermined time. To do. If it is less than the predetermined time (step S150: YES), the process is terminated as it is, and if it is longer than the predetermined time (step S150: NO), the process proceeds to step S160.

  For example, if the predetermined time used in the determination in step S150 is 10 seconds, the ink temperature reaches the appropriate temperature range when it is 10 seconds or more earlier than the set activation time or 10 seconds or later. The process proceeds to step S160.

  The pre-warm-up time is calculated so that the ink temperature falls within the appropriate temperature range at the set activation time. If there is a large error with respect to the set start time of the time when the ink temperature has reached the appropriate temperature range after actually performing the warm-up operation, the temperature adjustment time (heating) in the temperature adjustment time table (heating table, cooling table) Time, cooling time) may not be appropriate.

  Therefore, in step S160, the temperature adjustment time table management unit 86 changes the value of the temperature adjustment time table used for calculating the pre-warm-up time in step S20.

  For example, the predetermined time used in the determination of step S150 is 10 seconds, and the result of performing the preliminary warm-up by calculating the preliminary warm-up time as 240 seconds, which is the heating time corresponding to 19 ° C. in the heating table, Assume that the temperature reaches 25 ° C. more than 10 seconds earlier than the set activation time. In this case, the temperature adjustment time table management unit 86 subtracts 10 seconds from the heating time of 240 seconds corresponding to 19 ° C. in the heating table and changes the value to 230 seconds. Conversely, when the temperature reaches 25 ° C. 10 seconds later than the set activation time, the temperature adjustment time table management unit 86 adds 10 seconds to the heating time 240 seconds corresponding to 19 ° C. in the heating table. Change to 250 seconds.

  By updating the temperature adjustment time table in this way, an appropriate pre-warm-up time can be obtained in response to changes in the environmental temperature and the like.

  When the advance warm-up setting is off (step S10: NO), in step S170, the control unit 8 determines whether or not the set activation time has come. If the set start time has been reached (step S170: YES), the process proceeds to step S180. If the set start time has not been reached (step S170: NO), step S170 is repeated until the set start time is reached.

  In step S <b> 180, the power control unit 87 supplies operable power to each unit of the printing apparatus 1 by the power supply unit 7 to activate the entire printing apparatus 1.

  Next, the ink temperature table update process will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

  When the ink temperature table management unit 85 obtains the ink temperature measurement value at the previous warm-up start time from the temperature sensor 21 in step S50 described above, the ink temperature table management unit 85 starts the ink temperature table update process.

  In step S210, the ink temperature table management unit 85 determines that the number of measurement values stored in the ink temperature table for a time zone corresponding to the measurement time of the measurement value acquired from the temperature sensor 21 this time is a predetermined number of times (FIG. In the example of 3, it is determined whether or not it is 5 times or more. If it is equal to or greater than the predetermined number of measurements (step S210: YES), the process proceeds to step S220. If it is less than the predetermined number of measurements (step S210: NO), the process proceeds to step S240.

  In step S220, the ink temperature table management unit 85 deletes the oldest measurement value from the measurement values stored in the ink temperature table for the time zone corresponding to the measurement time of the measurement value acquired this time, and acquired this time. Add new measurements.

  In step S230, the ink temperature table management unit 85 calculates an average value of the measurement values for the predetermined number of times including the measurement value added in step S220, and stores this in the ink temperature table.

  In step S240, the ink temperature table management unit 85 adds the new measurement value acquired this time to the ink temperature table and adds the new measurement value for the time zone corresponding to the measurement time of the measurement value acquired this time. An average value corresponding to the number of times the band is measured is calculated and stored in the ink temperature table.

  By updating the ink temperature table in this way, an appropriate pre-warm-up time can be obtained in response to, for example, changes in environmental temperature due to seasonal changes.

  The ink temperature table for creating and updating the ink temperature table may be measured using ink that is provided separately from the temperature adjustment target ink and that is constantly exposed to the ambient temperature. .

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, the estimated ink temperature at the set activation time is calculated using the ink temperature table shown in FIG. 3, and the pre-warm-up start time calculated using the estimated ink temperature is calculated. Since the preliminary warm-up operation is started, the temperature can be adjusted so that the ink temperature falls within the appropriate temperature range at the set activation time in response to changes in the environmental temperature, etc., and immediately after the printing apparatus 1 is activated. The printing operation can be started. In addition, since the pre-warm-up time can be kept short, an increase in power consumption can be suppressed.

  The present invention is also applicable to an ink jet printer that does not circulate ink.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Printing apparatus 2 Inkjet head 3 Ink circulation mechanism 4 Operation panel part 5 Clock part 6 Storage part 7 Power supply part 8 Control part 21 Temperature sensor 31 Temperature adjustment part 32 Ink bottle 33 Downstream tank 34 Upstream tank 35 Pump 61 Ink temperature table storage Unit 62 temperature adjustment time table storage unit 81 setting unit 82 warm-up time calculation unit 83 ink circulation control unit 84 temperature control unit 85 ink temperature table management unit 86 temperature adjustment time table management unit 87 power control unit 311 heater 312 ink cooler 313 Heat sink 314 cooling fan

Claims (4)

A setting unit for setting a startup time of a printing apparatus that performs printing on a print medium using ink;
A temperature adjustment unit that performs a warm-up operation for adjusting the temperature of the ink until the temperature of the ink is within an appropriate temperature range in which the printing apparatus can perform printing; and
A temperature measuring unit for measuring the temperature of the ink;
An ink temperature table storage unit for storing an ink temperature table indicating a measurement history for each measured time zone of the temperature of the ink in a state where temperature adjustment is not performed under an environmental temperature;
The estimated ink temperature at the start-up time is calculated using the ink temperature table, and the warm-up time, which is the temperature adjustment time required to reach the ink temperature from the estimated ink temperature to the appropriate temperature range, is calculated. A warm-up time calculating unit to
And a temperature control unit that controls the temperature adjustment unit so as to start the warm-up operation from a time obtained by subtracting the warm-up time from the start-up time. Obtain the measurement value measured by the temperature measurement unit at the start of the warm-up operation, calculate the average value of the measurement values within the latest predetermined number of measurements for each measured time zone, the average value Is further provided with an ink temperature table management unit for storing the ink temperature table in the ink temperature table,
The printing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the warm-up time calculation unit uses the average value as the estimated ink temperature. A temperature adjustment time table storage unit that stores a temperature adjustment time table indicating a relationship between the temperature of the ink and the temperature adjustment time by the temperature adjustment unit until the temperature is within the appropriate temperature range;
The printing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the warm-up time calculation unit calculates the warm-up time from the estimated ink temperature using the temperature adjustment time table.   When the interval between the time when the temperature of the ink reaches the appropriate temperature range by the warm-up operation and the start time exceeds a predetermined time, the value of the temperature adjustment time table used for calculating the warm-up time is set. The printing apparatus according to claim 3, further comprising a temperature adjustment time table management unit to be changed.

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