Recording device and recovery method

Abstract

To appropriately set an execution timing of maintenance.SOLUTION: A count up value obtained by adding addition values which are set for every type of recording medium on the basis of a generation amount of paper powder is compared to a threshold value that is set for every type of recording medium performing recording according to a recording job, and if the count up value exceeds the threshold value, maintenance operation is carried out for restoring a discharge state of a recording head.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 10

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a recording device and a recovery method. [Background technology]

[0002] In a recording device that forms an image on a recording medium such as paper by ejecting a recording agent such as ink from ejection ports provided in a recording head, if paper dust generated from the paper adheres to the ejection ports, it can interfere with ink ejection and degrade image quality. To address this issue, maintenance control is known to be performed to remove paper dust that has adhered to the recording head. While maintenance control should be performed at a timing that does not degrade image quality, performing it too frequently results in interruptions to recording, which can degrade the user experience.

[0003] Patent Document 1 discloses that the amount of paper dust generated depending on the type of recording paper is calculated and the timing of maintenance is determined. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2001-056627 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] The degree to which image degradation on a recording medium is visible varies depending on the characteristics of the recording medium. For example, plain paper has a tendency for ink to bleed easily on the paper surface. Therefore, even if there is a non-ejecting nozzle, which does not eject ink from a nozzle, the ink ejected by the surrounding nozzles bleeds and spreads, making image degradation difficult to see. On the other hand, in the case of a recording medium that is less prone to ink bleed, such as glossy paper, if there is a non-ejecting nozzle, the ink ejected by the surrounding nozzles does not bleed and spread much to the position where ink should be ejected from the non-ejecting nozzle. As a result, the position where ink should be ejected from the non-ejecting nozzle remains blank, making it easy to see image degradation. In other words, the number of non-ejecting nozzles at which image degradation is visible varies depending on the recording medium.

[0006] Patent Document 1 does not mention the timing of performing maintenance according to the characteristics of the recording medium. Therefore, if the maintenance timing is set to match a recording medium on which image degradation is difficult to visually recognize, there is a risk that image degradation will be visible on a recording medium on which image degradation is easily visible. Furthermore, if the maintenance timing is set to match a recording medium on which image degradation is easily visible, maintenance will be performed excessively frequently when recording is being performed on a recording medium on which image degradation is difficult to visually recognize.

[0007] The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned problems, and has an object to appropriately set the timing for performing maintenance. [Means for solving the problem]

[0008] The present invention is characterized in that it comprises a recording head that applies recording agent to a recording medium in accordance with image data to form an image, a recovery means that performs a recovery operation to restore the ejection state of the recording head, a type acquisition means that acquires the type of recording medium on which the image is recorded in accordance with the image data, a threshold acquisition means that acquires a threshold for performing the recovery operation according to the type of recording medium acquired by the type acquisition means, and a calculation means that calculates a count-up value by adding an additional value set for each type of recording medium in accordance with the recording on the recording medium, and that when the count-up value calculated by the calculation means exceeds the threshold acquired by the threshold acquisition means, the recovery operation is performed by the recovery means. [Effects of the Invention]

[0009] According to the present invention, the timing for performing maintenance can be appropriately set. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0010] [Figure 1] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing the recording device in a standby state. [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is a control configuration diagram of the recording apparatus. [Figure 3] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the recording device in a recording state. [Figure 4] 10(a) to 10(c) are diagrams showing the transport path of the recording medium fed from the first cassette. [Figure 5] 10(a) to 10(c) are diagrams showing the transport path of the recording medium fed from the second cassette. [Figure 6] 10(a) to 10(d) are diagrams showing the transport path when a recording operation is performed on the back side of a recording medium. [Figure 7] FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating the recording apparatus in a maintenance state. [Figure 8] FIG. 4 is a diagram showing the correspondence between drive rollers and motors. [Figure 9] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing additional values ​​and maintenance thresholds for each type of recording medium. [Figure 10] 4 is a flowchart of a recording operation in the first embodiment. [Figure 11] 10 is a flowchart of a recording operation in the second embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0011] (First embodiment) 1 is a diagram showing the internal configuration of an inkjet recording apparatus 1 (hereinafter referred to as recording apparatus 1) used in this embodiment. In the figure, the x direction is the horizontal direction, the y direction (perpendicular to the paper surface) is the direction in which ejection ports are arranged in a recording head 8 (described later), and the z direction is the vertical direction.

[0012] The recording device 1 is a multifunction device equipped with a printing unit 2 and a scanner unit 3, and various processes related to recording and reading operations can be performed by the printing unit 2 and the scanner unit 3 individually or in conjunction with each other. The scanner unit 3 is equipped with an ADF (automatic document feeder) and an FBS (flatbed scanner), and can read documents automatically fed by the ADF and read (scan) documents placed on the platen of the FBS by the user. Note that although this embodiment is a multifunction device equipped with both the printing unit 2 and the scanner unit 3, a configuration without the scanner unit 3 is also possible. FIG. 1 shows the recording device 1 in a standby state in which neither a recording operation nor a reading operation is being performed.

[0013] In the printing unit 2, a first cassette 5A and a second cassette 5B for storing recording media (cut sheets) S are removably installed at the bottom vertically below the housing 4. The first cassette 5A stores relatively small recording media up to A4 size, while the second cassette 5B stores relatively large recording media up to A3 size, stacked flat. A first feeding unit 6A is provided near the first cassette 5A for separating and feeding the stored recording media one by one. Similarly, a second feeding unit 6B is provided near the second cassette 5B. When a recording operation is performed, the recording media S is selectively fed from one of the cassettes.

[0014] The transport rollers 7, discharge rollers 12, pinch rollers 7a, spurs 7b, guides 18, inner guides 19, and flappers 11 constitute a transport mechanism for guiding the recording medium S in a predetermined direction. The transport rollers 7 are disposed upstream and downstream of the recording head 8 (platen 9) and are drive rollers driven by a transport motor. The pinch rollers 7a are driven rollers that rotate together with the transport rollers 7 while nipping the recording medium S. The discharge rollers 12 are disposed downstream of the transport rollers 7 and are drive rollers driven by a discharge motor. The spurs 7b, together with the transport rollers 7 and discharge rollers 12 disposed downstream of the recording head 8 (platen 9), pinch and transport the recording medium S.

[0015] The recording device 1 is provided with a plurality of motors for driving the drive rollers, and each of the drive rollers is connected to one of the plurality of motors. The correspondence between the motors and the drive rollers will be explained in detail later.

[0016] Guide 18 is provided on the transport path of the recording medium S and guides the recording medium S in a predetermined direction. Inner guide 19 is a member extending in the y direction, has curved sides, and guides the recording medium S along these sides. Flapper 11 is a member for switching the direction in which the recording medium S is transported during double-sided recording. Discharge tray 13 is a tray for stacking and holding the recording medium S discharged by discharge rollers 12 after the recording operation is completed.

[0017] The print head 8 of this embodiment is a full-line type color inkjet print head, and has a plurality of ejection ports arranged in the y direction in FIG. 1, each of which ejects ink in accordance with print data, and which correspond to the width of the print medium S. When the print head 8 is in the standby position, the ejection port surface 8a of the print head 8 faces vertically downward as shown in FIG. 1 and is capped by a cap unit 10. When performing a printing operation, a print controller 202 (described later) changes the orientation of the print head 8 so that the ejection port surface 8a faces a platen 9. The platen 9 is formed of a flat plate extending in the y direction and supports, from behind, the print medium S on which the print head 8 performs the printing operation. The movement of the print head 8 from the standby position to the printing position will be described in detail later.

[0018] The ink tank unit 14 stores each of the four colors of ink to be supplied to the recording head 8. The ink supply unit 15 is provided in the middle of the flow path connecting the ink tank unit 14 and the recording head 8, and adjusts the pressure and flow rate of the ink inside the recording head 8 to an appropriate range. In this embodiment, a circulation type ink supply system is used, and the ink supply unit 15 adjusts the pressure of the ink supplied to the recording head 8 and the flow rate of the ink collected from the recording head 8 to an appropriate range.

[0019] The maintenance unit 16 includes a cap unit 10 and a wiping unit 17, and operates these at a predetermined timing to perform maintenance operations on the recording head 8. The maintenance operations will be described in detail later.

[0020] 2 is a block diagram showing the control configuration of the recording apparatus 1. The control configuration is mainly made up of a print engine unit 200 that controls the print section 2, a scanner engine unit 300 that controls the scanner section 3, and a controller unit 100 that controls the entire recording apparatus 1. A print controller 202 controls various mechanisms of the print engine unit 200 in accordance with instructions from a main controller 101 of the controller unit 100. Various mechanisms of the scanner engine unit 300 are controlled by the main controller 101 of the controller unit 100. The control configuration will be described in detail below.

[0021] In the controller unit 100, a main controller 101 configured by a CPU controls the entire recording apparatus 1 using a RAM 106 as a work area in accordance with programs and various parameters stored in a ROM 107. For example, a host device 400 can input a recording job via a host I / F 102 or a wireless I / F 103, in which image data to be recorded, the type of recording medium to be used for recording, and information on the number of sheets to be recorded are set. When a recording job is input from the host device 400, an image processing unit 108 performs predetermined image processing on the received image data in accordance with instructions from the main controller 101. The main controller 101 then transmits the processed image data to the print engine unit 200 via a print engine I / F 105.

[0022] The recording device 1 may acquire image data from the host device 400 via wireless or wired communication, or may acquire image data from an external storage device (such as a USB memory) connected to the recording device 1. There are no limitations on the communication method used for wireless or wired communication. For example, Wi-Fi (Wireless Fidelity) (registered trademark) and Bluetooth (registered trademark) can be used as communication methods for wireless communication. Furthermore, USB (Universal Serial Bus) or the like can be used as a communication method for wired communication. Furthermore, for example, when a read command is input from the host device 400, the main controller 101 transmits the command to the scanner unit 3 via the scanner engine I / F 109.

[0023] The operation panel 104 is a mechanism that allows the user to input and output data to and from the recording device 1. The user can use the operation panel 104 to instruct operations such as copying and scanning, set the recording mode, and view information about the recording device 1.

[0024] In the print engine unit 200, a print controller 202 configured by a CPU controls various mechanisms of the print unit 2 in accordance with programs and various parameters stored in a ROM 203, using a RAM 204 as a work area. When various commands and image data are received via a controller I / F 201, the print controller 202 temporarily stores them in the RAM 204. The print controller 202 causes an image processing controller 205 to convert the stored image data into print data so that the print head 8 can use it for printing. Once the print data is generated, the print controller 202 causes the print head 8 to perform a printing operation based on the print data via a head I / F 206. At this time, the print controller 202 drives the feeding units 6A and 6B, the conveyance roller 7, the discharge roller 12, and the flapper 11 shown in FIG. 1 via a conveyance control unit 207 to convey the printing medium S.

[0025] The transport control unit 207 (transport control means) is connected to a detection unit 212 that detects the transport state of the recording medium S and a drive unit 211 that drives a plurality of drive rollers, and controls the transport of the recording medium S using the drive unit 211 based on the detection results obtained from the detection unit 212. The detection unit 212 has a detection member 20 that detects the presence or absence of the recording medium S and an encoder 21 that detects the amount of rotation of the drive roller.

[0026] During the process in which the recording medium S is conveyed by the conveyance control unit 207, the recording head 8 performs a recording operation in conjunction with the conveyance operation of the recording medium S according to instructions from the print controller 202, and recording processing is performed.

[0027] The head carriage control unit 208 changes the orientation and position of the recording head 8 depending on the operating state, such as the maintenance state or recording state, of the recording device 1. The ink supply control unit 209 controls the ink supply unit 15 so that the pressure of the ink supplied to the recording head 8 falls within an appropriate range. The maintenance control unit 210 controls the operation of the cap unit 10 and the wiping unit 17 in the maintenance unit 16 when performing maintenance operations on the recording head 8.

[0028] In the scanner engine unit 300, the main controller 101 controls the hardware resources of the scanner controller 302 in accordance with the programs and various parameters stored in the ROM 107, using the RAM 106 as a work area. This controls various mechanisms of the scanner unit 3. For example, the main controller 101 controls the hardware resources in the scanner controller 302 via the controller I / F 301, so that a document placed on the ADF by a user is transported via the transport control unit 304 and read by a sensor 305. The scanner controller 302 then stores the read image data in the RAM 303. The print controller 202 converts the image data acquired as described above into print data, thereby enabling the print head 8 to perform a print operation based on the image data read by the scanner controller 302.

[0029] 3 shows the recording apparatus 1 in a recording state. Compared to the standby state shown in FIG. 1, the cap unit 10 is spaced apart from the ejection port surface 8a of the recording head 8, and the ejection port surface 8a faces the platen 9. In this embodiment, the plane of the platen 9 is inclined at approximately 45 degrees relative to the horizontal, and the ejection port surface 8a of the recording head 8 in the recording position is also inclined at approximately 45 degrees relative to the horizontal so that the distance from the platen 9 is maintained constant.

[0030] 1 to the recording position shown in FIG. 3, the print controller 202 uses the maintenance control unit 210 to lower the cap unit 10 to the retracted position shown in FIG. 3. This separates the ejection port surface 8a of the print head 8 from the cap member 10a. Thereafter, the print controller 202 uses the head carriage control unit 208 to rotate the print head 8 by 45 degrees while adjusting the vertical height of the print head 8, so that the ejection port surface 8a faces the platen 9. When the recording operation is completed and the print head 8 moves from the recording position to the standby position, the print controller 202 performs the above steps in reverse.

[0031] Next, we will explain the transport path of the recording medium S in the printing unit 2. When a recording command is input, the print controller 202 first uses the maintenance control unit 210 and the head carriage control unit 208 to move the recording head 8 to the recording position shown in Fig. 3. Then, the print controller 202 uses the transport control unit 207 to drive either the first feeding unit 6A or the second feeding unit 6B in accordance with the recording command, and feeds the recording medium S.

[0032] 4(a) to 4(c) are diagrams showing the conveyance path when A4-sized recording media S stored in the first cassette 5A are fed. The topmost recording medium S in the first cassette 5A is separated from the second and subsequent recording media by the first feeding unit 6A, and is conveyed toward the recording area P between the platen 9 and the recording head 8 while being nipped between the conveyance roller 7 and the pinch roller 7a. FIG. 4(a) shows the conveyance state of the recording medium S just before the leading edge thereof reaches the recording area P. The traveling direction of the recording medium S is changed from the horizontal direction (x direction) to a direction tilted at approximately 45 degrees relative to the horizontal direction while being fed by the first feeding unit 6A and reaching the recording area P.

[0033] In the recording region P, ink is ejected toward the recording medium S from multiple ejection ports provided in the recording head 8. The back surface of the recording medium S in the region where ink is applied is supported by a platen 9, and the distance between the ejection port surface 8a and the recording medium S is maintained constant. After ink is applied, the recording medium S is guided by the transport roller 7 and spur 7b, passes to the left of the flapper 11, whose leading edge is tilted to the right, and is transported vertically upward in the recording device 1 along the guide 18. Figure 4(b) shows the state in which the leading edge of the recording medium S passes through the recording region P and is transported vertically upward. The traveling direction of the recording medium S is changed vertically upward by the transport roller 7 and spur 7b from the position in the recording region P, which is tilted approximately 45 degrees from the horizontal.

[0034] The recording medium S is transported vertically upward, and then discharged onto the discharge tray 13 by the discharge rollers 12 and spurs 7b. Figure 4(c) shows the state in which the leading edge of the recording medium S passes through the discharge rollers 12 and is discharged onto the discharge tray 13. The discharged recording medium S is held on the discharge tray 13 with the side on which the image has been recorded by the recording head 8 facing downward.

[0035] 5(a) to 5(c) are diagrams showing the conveyance path when A3-sized recording media S stored in the second cassette 5B are fed. The topmost recording medium S in the second cassette 5B is separated from the second and subsequent recording media by the second feeding unit 6B, and is conveyed toward the recording region P between the platen 9 and the recording head 8 while being nipped between the conveyance roller 7 and the pinch roller 7a.

[0036] 5(a) shows the conveying state of the recording medium S just before the leading edge thereof reaches the recording area P. A plurality of conveying rollers 7, pinch rollers 7a, and an inner guide 19 are arranged on the conveying path from when the recording medium S is fed by the second feeding unit 6B to when it reaches the recording area P, so that the recording medium S is conveyed to the platen 9 in an S-shaped curve.

[0037] The subsequent transport path is the same as that for the A4-sized recording medium S shown in Figures 4(b) and (c). Figure 5(b) shows the state in which the leading edge of the recording medium S passes through the recording area P and is transported vertically upward. Figure 5(c) shows the state in which the leading edge of the recording medium S passes through the discharge rollers 12 and is discharged onto the discharge tray 13.

[0038] Figures 6(a) to (d) show the transport path when performing a recording operation (double-sided recording) on ​​the back side (second side) of an A4-sized recording medium S. When performing double-sided recording, the first side (front side) is recorded, and then the recording operation is performed on the second side (back side). The transport process when recording on the first side is the same as in Figures 4(a) to (c), so a description thereof will be omitted here. Hereinafter, the transport process from Figure 4(c) onwards will be described.

[0039] When the recording operation on the first side by the recording head 8 is completed and the trailing edge of the recording medium S passes the flapper 11, the print controller 202 reverses the rotation of the conveyance roller 7 to convey the recording medium S into the recording device 1. At this time, the flapper 11 is controlled by an actuator (not shown) so that its leading edge tilts to the left, so that the leading edge of the recording medium S (the trailing edge in the recording operation on the first side) passes the right side of the flapper 11 and is conveyed vertically downward. Figure 6(a) shows the state in which the leading edge of the recording medium S (the trailing edge in the recording operation on the first side) passes the right side of the flapper 11.

[0040] The recording medium S is then transported along the curved outer peripheral surface of the inner guide 19 and is transported again to the recording area P between the recording head 8 and the platen 9. At this time, the second surface of the recording medium S faces the ejection port surface 8a of the recording head 8. Figure 6(b) shows the transport state of the recording medium S just before the leading edge of the recording medium S reaches the recording area P for the recording operation on the second surface.

[0041] The subsequent transport path is the same as in the case of first-side recording shown in Figures 4(b) and (c). Figure 6(c) shows the state in which the leading edge of the recording medium S passes through the recording area P and is transported vertically upward. At this time, the flapper 11 is controlled by an actuator (not shown) so that the leading edge moves to a position tilted to the right. Figure 6(d) shows the state in which the leading edge of the recording medium S passes through the discharge rollers 12 and is discharged onto the discharge tray 13.

[0042] Next, we will explain the maintenance operation for the recording head 8. As explained in Figure 1, the maintenance unit 16 of this embodiment includes a cap unit 10 and a wiping unit 17, and performs the maintenance operation by activating these at a predetermined timing.

[0043] Fig. 7 is a diagram showing the recording device 1 in a maintenance state. When moving the recording head 8 from the standby position shown in Fig. 1 to the maintenance position shown in Fig. 7, the print controller 202 moves the recording head 8 upward in the vertical direction and moves the cap unit 10 downward in the vertical direction. Then, the print controller 202 moves the wiping unit 17 from the retracted position to the right in Fig. 7. Thereafter, the print controller 202 moves the recording head 8 downward in the vertical direction to a maintenance position where maintenance can be performed.

[0044] 3 to the maintenance position shown in FIG. 7, the print controller 202 moves the print head 8 vertically upward while rotating it 45 degrees. Then, the print controller 202 moves the wiping unit 17 from the retracted position to the right. Thereafter, the print controller 202 moves the print head 8 vertically downward to the maintenance position where maintenance can be performed by the maintenance unit 16.

[0045] After the transition to the maintenance state, the wiping unit 17 is moved to the left in Fig. 7, and the discharge surface 8a is wiped with a wiper attached to the wiping unit, thereby removing paper dust and ink droplets adhering to the discharge surface 8a. Removing the paper dust and ink droplets restores the discharge state of the recording head 8.

[0046] 8 is a diagram showing the correspondence between multiple motors and drive rollers in the recording device 1. The first feed motor 22 drives the feed rollers of the first feed unit 6A for feeding the recording medium S from the first cassette 5A. The second feed motor 23 drives the feed rollers of the second feed unit 6B for feeding the recording medium S from the second cassette 5B. The first transport motor 24 drives the first intermediate rollers 71A that first transport the recording medium S fed by the first feed unit 6A. The second transport motor 25 drives the second intermediate rollers 71B that first transport the recording medium S fed by the second feed unit 6B.

[0047] The main transport motor 26 drives main transport rollers 70, which are arranged upstream of the platen 9 and mainly transport the recording medium S during recording. The main transport motor 26 also drives two transport rollers 7C and 7D, which are arranged downstream of the platen 9 and transport the recording medium S transported by the main transport rollers 70 further downstream.

[0048] The third transport motor 27 drives two transport rollers 7G and 7H that transport the recording medium S, which has been recorded on its first side, downward. The third transport motor 27 also drives two transport rollers 7A and 7B that are arranged along the inner guide 19 and transport the recording medium S that has been transported by the second intermediate roller 71B, or the recording medium S, which has been recorded on its first side and has been turned over, toward the recording head 8.

[0049] The fourth transport motor 28 drives two transport rollers 7E and 7F that transport the recording medium S upward or downward after the recording operation has been performed. The discharge motor 29 drives discharge rollers 12 that discharge the recording medium S after recording onto the discharge tray 13. In this way, each of the two feed motors 22 and 23, the five transport motors 24 to 28, and the discharge motor 29 is associated with one or more drive rollers.

[0050] Meanwhile, detection members 20 (detection members 20A to 20H) for detecting the presence or absence of a recording medium S are arranged at eight locations along the transport path. Each detection member 20 is composed of a sensor and a mirror arranged on either side of the transport path, with the sensor having a light-emitting portion and a light-receiving portion arranged on one side of the transport path, and the mirror arranged on the other side of the transport path in a position opposite the sensor. The presence or absence of a recording medium S, i.e., the passage of the leading or trailing end, is determined depending on whether light emitted from the sensor's light-emitting portion is reflected by the mirror and detected by the light-receiving portion.

[0051] The conveying control unit 207 individually drives the feed motors 22, 23, the conveying motors 24 to 28, and the discharge motor 29 based on the detection results of each of the multiple detection members 20 and the output value of the encoder that detects the rotation amount of each drive roller, and controls the conveying of the entire device.

[0052] Next, maintenance control by the print controller 202 will be described. The print controller 202 has the function of receiving information about the recording medium type from a recording job input from the host device 400, reading an addition value determined for each specified recording medium type from ROM 203, and adding it to a count-up value at a predetermined timing. The count-up value is saved in RAM 204. The print controller 202 also reads a maintenance threshold determined for each recording medium type from ROM 203 as the count-up value. Then, when the count-up value becomes greater than the maintenance threshold, the print controller 202 has the function of issuing a maintenance execution command to the maintenance control unit 210 to execute a maintenance operation to restore the ejection status of the print head 8.

[0053] The details of the additional value and maintenance threshold for each recording medium will be explained using FIG.

[0054] The additional value corresponds to the amount of paper dust generated by recording. For example, plain paper, which is not particularly surface-coated and has exposed pulp on its surface, is prone to scattering paper pulp on the paper surface due to friction with the transport roller during paper transport, generating a large amount of paper dust and making it more likely for paper dust to adhere to the recording head 8. In this embodiment, the additional value for plain paper is set to 100. On the other hand, glossy paper, which is surface-coated and has exposed pulp on its surface, is less likely to scatter paper pulp fibers even when friction occurs with the transport roller, generating less paper dust. This makes it less likely for paper dust to adhere to the recording head 8 than plain paper. For this reason, the additional value for glossy paper is set to a smaller value than plain paper, here 10. In this way, by setting a value according to the amount of paper dust generated by each type of recording medium, the amount of paper dust adhering to the recording head 8 can be accurately estimated. While only plain paper and glossy paper are used as examples here, additional values ​​can also be set for other paper types. Furthermore, the additional value may be set more precisely; for example, different additional values ​​may be set for standard glossy paper and standard semi-glossy paper.

[0055] The maintenance threshold is set for each type of recording medium, with a higher value being set for recording media on which image degradation is less noticeable. For example, plain paper, which is often used for recording general business documents, does not have a surface coating layer and therefore tends to cause ink to bleed easily on the paper surface. Therefore, even if there is a non-ejecting nozzle, the ink ejected by surrounding nozzles bleeds and spreads, making image degradation less noticeable. On the other hand, glossy paper, which is used for recording photographs and other images, has an ink-receiving layer coated to suppress deterioration of sharpness due to ink bleed, making it less susceptible to ink bleed. On such recording media, if there is a non-ejecting nozzle, the ink ejected by surrounding nozzles does not bleed and spread significantly at the position where the non-ejecting nozzle should have ejected ink, leaving the position where the non-ejecting nozzle should have ejected ink blank, making it more likely to be seen as image degradation. As explained above, the number of non-ejecting nozzles at which image degradation is visible on glossy paper is fewer than the number of non-ejecting nozzles at which image degradation is visible on plain paper. Therefore, the maintenance threshold set for glossy paper (1000 in this embodiment) is smaller than the maintenance threshold set for plain paper (15000 in this embodiment), and maintenance operations are performed at a timing when the count-up value is smaller than that for plain paper. In this way, by determining the timing to perform maintenance operations according to the type of recording medium to be used, it is possible to prevent visible image degradation caused by non-ejecting nozzles caused by paper dust adhering to the recording head 8 for each type of recording medium.

[0056] 10 is a flowchart showing the operation flow when performing printing. This process is performed by the print controller 202 controlling each process and each control unit in accordance with a program stored in the ROM 203. This process begins when a print job is input from the host device 400 to the printing device 1.

[0057] First, in step S1201, a recording job is input from the host device 400. The following describes an example in which a recording job is input in which the type of recording medium to be recorded as the first recording job is set to "plain paper" and the number of sheets to be recorded is set to "100".

[0058] Next, in step S1202, the print controller 202 acquires recording medium type information and recording sheet count information from the recording job. Then, in step S1203, the print controller 202 reads the addition value of 100 corresponding to plain paper and the maintenance threshold value of 15,000 from ROM 203, and in step S1204 reads the count-up value saved in RAM 204. Here, the count-up value read in step S1204 will be described as "0," which is the initial value, but the value will change depending on the recording and operation history of the recording device.

[0059] Next, in step S1205, the print controller 202 compares the count-up value read in step S1204 with the maintenance threshold value read in step S1203. Since the current count-up value is 0 and the maintenance threshold is 15,000, the process proceeds to step S1206 and starts the printing operation. Specifically, a series of operations such as transition processing of various units to the printing state (for example, adjusting the ink flow rate to the print head 8 by the ink supply unit 15) is started.

[0060] In step S1207, first, during a series of recording operations, the paper detection unit 212 notifies the print controller 202 that the recording medium has been fed from a cassette containing plain paper to a position where it can be printed by the print head 8. Upon receiving this notification, the print controller 202 adds 100, the additional value for plain paper, to the count-up value and stores the count-up value of 100 in RAM 204. The recording device 1 continues the series of recording operations, and when the paper detection unit 212 detects that the recording medium has been discharged to the paper output tray 13 and notifies the print controller 202 (step S1208), the print controller 202 determines in step S1209 whether recording of the specified number of recording sheets has been completed. At this stage, since this is the first sheet of the specified number of recording sheets (100), the process returns to step S1205 and proceeds to the execution of the recording operation for the second and subsequent sheets. In the recording operation for the second sheet, the count-up value is compared with the maintenance threshold value, as in the case of the first sheet. When the 100th recording is completed, each unit is switched from the recording state to the standby state, completing the series of recording jobs (step S1212). In the first recording job, the final count-up value is 10,000 (=addition value 100 × 100 sheets), but since this value is smaller than the maintenance threshold value of 15,000, no maintenance is performed during the first recording job.

[0061] Next, when a second recording job is input from the host device 400, in which the recording medium type is set to "glossy paper" and the number of sheets to be recorded is set to "1" (step S1201), the print controller 202 acquires recording medium type information and number of sheets to be recorded from the recording job (step S1202), reads the additional value of 10 corresponding to glossy paper and the maintenance threshold of 1000 from the ROM 203 (step S1203), and reads the count-up value of 10,000 stored in the RAM 204 (step S1204). Next, the count-up value is compared with the maintenance threshold (step S1205). Since the current count-up value is 10,000 and the maintenance threshold is 1,000, the print controller 202 issues a maintenance execution command to the maintenance control unit 210 in step S1210, and the maintenance control unit 210 executes a maintenance operation (recovery operation). In this embodiment, wiping is performed as the maintenance operation. As described above, wiping is performed by wiping the ejection port surface 8a of the recording head 8 with the wiper provided in the wiping unit 17.

[0062] In step S1211, in order to reflect the state in which paper dust adhering to the recording head 8 has been removed by the maintenance operation performed in step S1210, the print controller 202 sets the count-up value to an initial value of 0 and saves it in RAM 204. Next, the process proceeds to step S1206, where a series of recording operations on glossy paper are performed in the same manner as when the first recording job was performed, and the second recording job is then completed (step S1212).

[0063] In this way, by performing a maintenance operation before recording on a recording medium on which image degradation is easily visible and removing paper dust adhering to the recording head 8, it becomes possible to perform recording with reduced visual degradation.

[0064] As described above, by determining the timing of the maintenance operation depending on the type of recording medium to be used, the maintenance operation can be performed at an appropriate timing. This makes it possible to prevent visible image degradation caused by non-ejecting nozzles due to paper dust adhering to the recording head 8, regardless of the type of recording medium to be used. Furthermore, by preventing excessive maintenance operations from being performed, the number of times the user has to wait for the maintenance operation to be completed is reduced, preventing a deterioration in the user experience. Furthermore, by reducing the number of times the maintenance operation is performed, wear on the ejection port surface due to wiping can be reduced, extending the life of the recording head.

[0065] (Second embodiment) In this embodiment, before starting the printing operation for the first sheet of a printing job, the count-up value at the end of the printing job is calculated in advance and compared with the maintenance threshold, and if it exceeds the maintenance threshold, maintenance is performed. The following mainly describes the differences from the first embodiment, and similarities may be omitted.

[0066] 11 is a flowchart showing the flow of operations when performing printing in this embodiment. This process is performed by the print controller 202 controlling each process and each control unit in accordance with a program stored in the ROM 203. This process starts when a print job is input from the host device 400 to the printing device 1.

[0067] In step S1301, a recording job is input from the host device 400. The following description will be given taking as an example a case where a recording job is input in which the recording medium type is set to "plain paper" and the number of recording sheets is set to "9".

[0068] Next, in step S1302, the print controller 202 acquires recording medium type information and recording sheet count information from the recording job. Then, in step S1303, the print controller 202 reads the addition value of 100 corresponding to plain paper and the maintenance threshold value of 15,000 from ROM 203, and in step S1304 reads the count-up value saved in RAM 204. Here, the count-up value read in step S1304 will be described as "0," which is the initial value, but the value changes depending on the recording and operation history of the recording device.

[0069] Next, in step S1305, the print controller 202 calculates the count-up value at the end of the job. The count-up value at the end of the job is calculated by multiplying the additional value by the number of printed sheets set in the job and adding the result to the current count-up value. Specifically, the current count-up value of 0 is added to 900, which is the additional value of 100 for plain paper multiplied by the number of recorded sheets of 9. As a result, the count-up value at the end of the job becomes 900.

[0070] In step S1306, the print controller 202 compares the job end count-up value calculated in step S1305 with the maintenance threshold value read in step S1303. In this case, the job end count-up value is 900, while the maintenance threshold is 15,000, so the process proceeds to step S1307 and no maintenance operation is performed.

[0071] In step S1307, the print controller 202 compares the count-up value read in step S1304 with the maintenance threshold value read in step S1303. Since the current count-up value is 0 and the maintenance threshold is 15,000, the process proceeds to step S1308 and no maintenance operation is performed.

[0072] Steps S1308 to S1311 are the same as steps S1206 to S1209 in FIG. 10 of the first embodiment.

[0073] When the ninth recording is completed, each unit is operated from the recording state to the standby state, and the series of recording jobs is completed (step S1314). In the first recording job, although the final count-up value is 900 (=addition value 100 × 9), maintenance is not performed during the first recording job because this value is smaller than the maintenance threshold value of 15,000.

[0074] Next, when a second printing job is input from the host device 400 with the printing medium type set to "glossy paper" and the number of sheets to be printed set to "20" (step S1301), the print controller 202 acquires the printing medium type information and the number of sheets to be printed from the printing job (step S1302), reads the addition value of 10 corresponding to glossy paper and the maintenance threshold value of 1000 from the ROM 203 (step S1303), and reads the count-up value stored in the RAM 204 (step S1304).

[0075] Next, the count-up value at the end of the job is calculated (step S1305). The count-up value at the end of the job is calculated by adding 200, which is the value at the end of the first recording job (900) multiplied by the glossy paper addition value of 10 for the second recording job and the specified number of recording sheets of 20. As a result, the count-up value at the end of the job is 1100 (step S1305). Next, the count-up value at the end of the job is compared with the maintenance threshold (step S1306). In this case, the count-up value at the end of the job is 1100, and the maintenance threshold is 1000. Therefore, the print controller 202 issues a maintenance execution command to the maintenance control unit 210, and the maintenance control unit 210 executes the maintenance operation (step S1312). In this embodiment, as in the first embodiment, wiping is performed as the maintenance operation. In step S1313, the print controller 202 sets the count-up value to an initial value of 0 and saves it in the RAM 204 to reflect the state in which paper dust adhering to the recording head 8 has been removed by the maintenance operation. Subsequently, in the same manner as when the first recording job was executed, a recording operation is performed on glossy paper, and the second recording job is completed (S1314).

[0076] In this way, if it is predicted that a maintenance operation will be performed during a recording job through control using the job end count-up value, the maintenance operation can be performed before the start of the recording job. Users often perceive the recording time as longer when a maintenance operation is performed during a recording operation than when it is performed before the recording operation, even if the total recording time is the same. Therefore, performing a maintenance operation before the start of a recording operation can prevent a user experience degradation caused by the perception that the recording operation has stopped due to maintenance being performed during the execution of a recording job. Furthermore, when transitioning to a maintenance operation, time is required to transition each unit's position and status to the state required for maintenance, and recording is interrupted due to the maintenance operation being performed independently after the state transition. However, by performing a maintenance operation before the start of a recording operation, the time required to transition from the recording state to the maintenance state can be reduced. Also, by performing a maintenance operation in parallel with the initial operations required for transitioning from the standby state before the start of the recording operation to the recording state (e.g., operations such as adjusting the ink pressure and flow rate in the recording head 8), the increase in recording interruption time due to the maintenance operation being performed independently can be reduced, thereby reducing the recording time from inputting the recording job to completing the recording job. [Explanation of symbols]

[0077] 1 Image recording device 8 recording head 17 Wiping unit 202 Print Controller

Claims

1. a recording head that applies a recording material to a recording medium in accordance with image data to form an image; recovery means for performing a recovery operation to recover the ejection state of the recording head; a type acquisition means for acquiring the type of recording medium on which an image is to be recorded in accordance with the image data; a threshold value acquiring means for acquiring a threshold value for performing the recovery operation according to the type of the recording medium acquired by the type acquiring means; a calculation means for calculating a count-up value by adding an additional value set for each type of recording medium in accordance with recording on the recording medium; and When the count-up value calculated by the calculation means exceeds the threshold value acquired by the threshold value acquisition means, the recovery operation is performed by the recovery means.

2. 2. The recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the recovery operation by the recovery means is performed before the recording head starts forming an image.

3. the recording device receives a recording job including a series of image data for performing a recording operation; The calculation means calculates a number of sheets of recording media to be recorded on, which is included in the recording job, based on the additional value set for the type of recording media to be recorded on when the recording job is performed. Calculating a count-up value when the recording job is completed; 3. The recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the recovery unit performs the recovery operation before recording the recording job when the count-up value exceeds the threshold value.

4. the recording head has an ejection port surface on which ejection ports are formed, and forms an image on the recording medium by ejecting ink from the ejection ports; 4. The recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the recovery unit performs the recovery operation by wiping the nozzle surface of the recording head with a wiper.

5. 5. The recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the additional value is set based on the amount of paper dust generated when recording is performed by the recording head.

6. 6. The recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the additional value is set to a smaller value for glossy paper than for plain paper.

7. the recording head has an ejection port surface on which a plurality of ejection ports are formed, and forms an image on the recording medium by ejecting ink from the ejection ports; 7. A printing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the threshold value is set based on the impact on the image caused by the occurrence of a defective ejection port that is unable to eject ink from the ejection port when printing an image using the print head.

8. 8. A recording device according to claim 1, wherein the threshold value is set to a smaller value when the type of recording medium on which an image is recorded according to the image data is glossy paper than when the type of recording medium is plain paper.

9. An image is formed by applying a recording material to a recording medium according to image data using a recording head; performing a recovery operation to restore the ejection state of the recording head; acquiring a type of recording medium on which an image is to be recorded in accordance with the image data; acquiring a threshold value for performing the recovery operation according to the acquired type of recording medium; A method for recovering the ejection state of a print head, which calculates a count-up value by adding an additional value set for each type of print medium in response to printing on the print medium, A recovery method characterized in that the recovery action is performed when the calculated count-up value exceeds the acquired threshold value.

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