JPH0725167B2 - Recording device - Google Patents

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a recording apparatus, such as a liquid jet recording apparatus, for recording using a recording liquid, and more particularly to a recording liquid supply control system for a recording liquid tank. Regarding improvement.

[Conventional technology]

A liquid jet recording apparatus, which is generally called an ink jet printer that jets a recording liquid onto a recording member to record characters, images, etc., is capable of recording directly on the recording member and is easy to colorize. However, it has advantages such as that noise is so small that it can be ignored, and is attracting attention as a new recording technology.

Generally, this type of printer is constructed as shown in FIG. 6, for example. Carriage 1 that reciprocates in the main scanning direction
A recording head 3 for ejecting flying droplets onto a recording paper (general paper) 2 and a small tank 4 for supplying a recording liquid to the recording head 3 are mounted on the top. The carriage 1 is provided with a guide rail 5 by driving means such as a pulse motor (not shown).
The top is moved in the left-right direction (main scanning direction) in the figure, and information such as characters, symbols, and images is recorded on the recording paper 2.

Further, the recording liquid tank 6 disposed on the main body side supplies the recording liquid to the recording liquid supply small tank 4, but the recording liquid tank 6
And the small tank 4 are not always connected, and only when the recording liquid is supplied from the recording liquid tank 6 to the small tank 4, the tubes 7A, 7B and the recording liquid tank 6 are placed at a predetermined position near the end of the guide rail 5. The tube receivers 8A and 8B are connected. At that time, the recording liquid in the recording liquid tank 6 is replenished to the small tank 4 through the lower tube 7B by the operation of a pump (not shown), and when the recording liquid reaches the upper tube 7A, the excess recording liquid is discharged to the upper tube 7A. To return to the recording liquid tank 6.

[Problems to be solved by the invention]

However, in the conventional apparatus as described above, in order for the control circuit 9 to know that the recording liquid in the recording liquid supply small tank 4 is insufficient than the preset predetermined amount, the recording liquid is supplied in the small tank 4 for recording. Since the liquid amount sensor 10 for detecting the remaining amount of liquid has to be attached, there is a drawback that the manufacturing cost becomes high.

Further, an electric wiring 11 for transmitting the signal of the liquid amount sensor 10 to the control circuit 9 is also required, and in particular, in order to record a multicolor color image on the recording paper 2, the recording bed 3 is made into a multi-head, and for example, When yellow, cyan, magenta, or even black recording liquid is used, a liquid amount sensor is required for each recording liquid, and therefore the carriage 1 reciprocates while dragging many electric wires 11. It had the drawback of having to move.

Further, in the conventional configuration in which ink is constantly replenished when the amount of ink remaining in the small tank becomes less than a predetermined amount, the next print (for example, the next page) can be recorded without replenishment. However, the ink may be replenished regardless of the situation, and in such a case, the number of times of ink replenishment is increased, resulting in a reduction in the printing throughput. Further, if the detection level is set so that the ink is supplied immediately before the ink is exhausted, the ink must be supplied in the middle of printing, and as a result, the printing must be interrupted and the ink must be supplied.

Therefore, the present invention eliminates the above-mentioned drawbacks and simplifies the configuration by eliminating the liquid amount sensor and the electrical wiring for liquid amount detection, thereby reducing the manufacturing cost and controlling the timing of ink supply. An object of the present invention is to provide a recording apparatus having a recording liquid supply control system that prevents a decrease in printing throughput.

[Means for solving problems]

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention stores a recording head that ejects a recording liquid in accordance with a dot output signal to form an image on a recording medium, and a recording liquid that is supplied to the recording head. A small tank having a relatively small capacity, a main tank having a relatively large capacity for storing a recording liquid for replenishing the small tank, and a recording liquid replenishing mechanism for replenishing the recording liquid from the main tank to the small tank In a recording apparatus including the above, the amount of recording liquid consumed by recording is calculated from the dot output signal given to the recording head, and the amount of recording liquid remaining in the small tank is calculated from the amount of consumed recording liquid. And the amount of the recording liquid remaining in the small tank calculated by the remaining amount calculating unit is compared with the maximum ink usage amount recorded according to the sheet before recording on the predetermined recording medium. To the comparison means and the comparison means Flip it, and having a control unit for performing supply of recording liquid into the small tank when the amount of recording liquid remaining in the small tank is less than the maximum amount of ink used.

〔Example〕

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

Configuration of First Embodiment FIG. 1 shows a circuit configuration of an embodiment of the present invention. Also, the second
The figure shows the mechanical construction around the carriage of an embodiment of the invention. As shown in FIG. 2, in this embodiment, there is no liquid amount sensor and no wiring connected to the liquid amount sensor. Since the other mechanical structure is the same as that of the conventional example shown in FIG. 6, its detailed description is omitted. The control circuit 9 has a general microprocessor, a program memory RAM (random access memory), an interface circuit, etc. inside,
The sequential control operation according to the present invention is performed according to the control procedure shown in the figure.

Further, in FIG. 1, reference numeral 21 is a setter, which sets the number of dots required when the entire surface of the recording paper is solidly printed, according to the size of the recording paper 2 which is the recording medium. That is, the set value SA is the number of dots corresponding to the maximum ink usage amount defined according to the recording paper. The size of the recording paper 2 is set by a paper size signal from a paper feed cassette or a manual switch. A down counter 22 is connected in parallel with the recording head 3 to the output end of the control circuit 9, and sets the initial number of dots that can be ejected when the recording liquid supply small tank 4 is filled with the recording liquid. As a value, the dot output signal D supplied from the control circuit 9 to the recording head 3 is decremented (subtracted) by 1 from the initial value of the received sheet, and the subtraction result is output as the remaining dot number C. The number C of remaining dots obtained by the calculation is
The number of dots corresponds to the amount of ink remaining in the small tank 4.

23 is a comparator, and the set value SA from the setter 21,
The remaining dot number C from the down counter 22 is compared, and when the remaining dot number C becomes equal to or less than the set value SA, a comparison signal CI indicating that is sent to the control circuit 9.

Reference numeral 24 denotes a recording liquid replenishing mechanism including a recording liquid replenishing pump, a carriage motor and the like (not shown), which receives the recording liquid replenishing command H from the control circuit 9 and moves the carriage 1 by driving the motor to move the tubes 7A and 7B. The tube receivers 8A and 8B are connected to each other, and the pump is driven to replenish the recording liquid from the recording liquid tank 6 to the recording liquid supply small tank 4.

Operation of First Embodiment Next, an example of control operation of the recording liquid replenishment control circuit of the first embodiment of the present invention in FIG. 1 will be described with reference to the flowchart in FIG. Note that S1 to S8 represent the number of steps indicating the control procedure.

First, the number of dots SA required for solid printing on the entire surface of the recording paper 2 is set in the setter 21 according to the size of the recording paper 2, and this dot number SA is sent to the comparator 23 (S
1).

Next, while the carriage 1 is moved in the right direction or reciprocated in the left and right directions, recording liquid droplets are ejected from the recording head 3 to the recording paper 2 to perform dot recording, while the control circuit 9 causes the recording head 3 to move. And the dot output signal D is output to the down counter 22 (S2). Using the number of dots that can be ejected when the small tank 3 is filled as an initial value, the remaining dot number C obtained by subtracting one dot of the dot output signal D described above from this initial value by "1" for each incoming, The down counter 22 sequentially sends it to the comparator 23. In the comparator 23, the setter 21
The number of dots SA required for solid printing on the entire surface of the recording paper 2 sent from the above is compared with the above-mentioned remaining dot number C sent from the down counter 22, and the result is used as a comparison signal C1 to control circuit 9 Send to. For example, if C <SA, the comparison signal
The output level of C1 is switched to H (high) or L (low) level and output (S3).

The control circuit 9 examines the level of the comparison signal C1 after recording one block of data, for example, one image data, preferably before recording one page and before recording the next page (S4).
If SA is larger, that is, if C <SA (S5), the recording liquid supply command H is sent to the recording liquid supply mechanism 24 and the down counter 22. Upon receiving the recording liquid replenishment command H, the recording liquid replenishment mechanism 24 moves the carriage 1 by a motor (not shown), and the tubes 7A, 7B and the tube receivers 8A,
8B is connected, and the recording liquid is supplied from the recording liquid tank 6 to the recording liquid supply small tank 3 by a pump (not shown) (S
6).

Further, the down counter 22 is initialized by the recording liquid replenishment command H and returns the remaining dot number C to the initial value (S7).

Effects of the First Embodiment As described above, in the present embodiment, after recording one block of data, for example, one image data, (S
4), the number of dots (set value) SA that allows the entire surface of the recording paper 2 to be solidly printed, and the number of dots that can be printed when the small tank 4 is filled. When the number of dots C is compared and C <SA (S5), a recording liquid replenishment command H is issued (S6). Therefore, no matter what dot pattern is printed on the recording paper 2, the number of dots is always required to be less than or equal to solid printing. Therefore, after printing a certain chunk of data, the period when C> SA and the control circuit 9 judge ,
The recording liquid is always left in the small tank 4 as much as possible to record one more piece of data. Therefore, the shortage of the recording liquid never occurs during the recording of one block of data. Further, since the ink amount in the small tank 4 when the control circuit 9 outputs the recording liquid replenishment command H is SA or less, the recording liquid replenishment is not performed until the ink in the small tank 4 is used up. A lot of recording liquid replenishment can be recorded.

Configuration of Second Embodiment FIG. 4 shows the circuit configuration of the second embodiment of the present invention. The other mechanism is the same as that of the first embodiment shown in FIG. 2 and its details are omitted. In FIG. 4, reference numeral 31 denotes a setter, which sets the number of lines (recording lines) that can be printed by the recording liquid when the recording liquid supply small tank 4 is full, and outputs the set value SB. Reference numeral 32 denotes a counter, which counts the paper feed signal M indicating the number of recording lines sent from the control circuit 9 and outputs the count value (total value) as the number of recording lines L. A comparator 33 compares the set value SB sent from the setter 31 with the recording line number L sent from the counter 32, and L> SB, that is, the recording line number L from the set value SB.
When is large, a comparison signal C2 indicating that is output.

If the comparison signal C2 indicates SB <L, the control circuit 9 sends a recording liquid replenishment command H to the recording liquid replenishment mechanism 24, and in the same manner as the above-described first embodiment, the recording liquid to the recording liquid small tank 4 is recorded. To replenish.

Operation of Second Embodiment Next, an example of control operation of the second embodiment of the present invention shown in FIG. 4 will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. S11 ~ S18
Indicates the number of steps in the control procedure.

First, the number SB of lines that can be printed with the printing liquid in the small tank 4 is set in the setter 31, and this set value SB is sent to the comparator 33 (S11). Next, the dot output signal D is sent from the control circuit 9. The data is output to the recording head 3 and dot recording is performed on the recording paper 2 (S12).

Next, the control circuit 9 judges whether or not the recording of one line is finished (S13), and if the judgment is negative, the process returns to step S12 to repeat the dot recording process, and if the judgment is positive, the paper feed signal M is sent to the paper feed motor 12 (See FIG. 2) and the counter 32, the paper feed motor 12 is driven to perform a line feed, and the counter 32 increments (adds) the recording line number L by "1" (S14).

Next, the comparator 33 compares the set value (recordable line number) SB from the setter 31 with the recording line number (total recording line number) L from the counter 32, and the set value SB indicates the recording line number L.
When becomes large, the comparison signal C2 indicating that is sent from the comparator 33 to the control circuit 9. For example, the comparator 33 sets the output level of the comparison signal C2 to H when L> SB.
Level conversion to level or L level.

In the control circuit 9, the comparison signal C2 is examined, and when L> SB is not satisfied, the process returns to S12 described above, and the processes of steps S12 to S14 are repeated. Further, when the comparison signal C2 becomes L> SB (S15), the process proceeds to the next step, and the control circuit 9 sends a recording liquid replenishment command H to the recording liquid replenishment mechanism 24 and the counter 32, thereby recording. At the same time as the liquid replenishment is performed (S1
6), the recording line number L of the counter 32 is reset to the initial value "0" (S17). Next, the control circuit 9 determines whether or not to continue the recording, and when the determination is affirmative, step S1
Returning to step 2, the processing of steps S12 to S17 is repeated, and when a negative determination is made, this recording operation is ended (S18).

Effects of the Second Embodiment As described above, in the second embodiment, unlike the above-described first embodiment, the control circuit 9 receives the comparison signal C2 each time one line is recorded. Compared to the setter 31
The set value SB set to can be set to a substantially larger value. Therefore, more recording can be performed by replenishing the recording liquid once.

The number of lines of the set value SB of the setter 31 may be determined on the basis of a solid stroke, or may be determined based on experience.

〔The invention's effect〕

As described above, according to the present invention, the remaining amount of ink in the small tank is calculated based on the number of dots actually printed, and printing is performed by comparison with the maximum ink usage amount defined according to the paper. Since it is determined whether or not ink is to be replenished before printing for each page, the liquid amount sensor is not required, so that the structure can be simplified and the cost can be reduced.
Further, according to the present invention, based on the maximum amount of ink used specified for the paper, it is determined whether or not the next page can be printed with the amount of ink remaining in the small tank, and the recording liquid supply mechanism is driven. Since control is performed, many recordings can be continuously performed by one replenishment, and further, ink replenishment is performed when a printed page is changed, and as a result, throughput can be improved.

[Brief description of drawings]

1 is a block diagram showing a circuit configuration of a first embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a configuration example of the recording liquid replenishing mechanism of FIG. 1, and FIG. 3 is a control of the embodiment of FIG. FIG. 4 is a flow chart showing the operation, FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing the circuit configuration of the second embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 5 is a flow chart showing the control operation of the embodiment of FIG. 4, and FIG. It is a perspective view. 1 ... Carriage, 2 ... Recording paper, 3 ... Recording head, 4 ... Tank for supplying recording liquid to the recording head, 6 ... Main recording liquid tank, 9 ... Control circuit, 21,31 ... Setting Instrument, 22,32 …… Counter, 23,33 …… Comparator, 24 …… Recording liquid replenishment mechanism.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A recording head which discharges a recording liquid according to a dot output signal to form an image on a recording medium, and a small tank having a relatively small capacity for storing the recording liquid to be supplied to the recording head. And a recording apparatus comprising a main tank of a relatively large capacity for storing a recording liquid for replenishing the small tank, and a recording liquid replenishing mechanism for replenishing the recording liquid from the main tank to the small tank, A remaining amount calculating means for calculating the amount of the recording liquid consumed by recording based on the dot output signal given to the recording head, and calculating the amount of the recording liquid remaining in the small tank from the amount of the consumed recording liquid. Prior to recording on a predetermined recording medium, a comparison means for comparing the amount of the recording liquid remaining in the small tank calculated by the remaining amount calculation means with the maximum ink usage amount specified for the paper, Depending on the means, the small tank The amount of the recording liquid remaining in the recording apparatus characterized by having a control means for replenishing the recording liquid into the small tank when less than the maximum amount of ink used.