Liquid ejecting apparatus and controlling method for the same

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11529810-B2
Application number	US-202117160979-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jan 28, 2021
Priority date	Jan 31, 2020
Publication date	Dec 20, 2022
Grant date	Dec 20, 2022

Abstract

There is provided a liquid ejecting apparatus including: a head having a nozzle; a carriage; a receiver; and a controller. The controller is configured to execute: a first flushing processing; a second flushing processing including at least one of a discharge flushing driving and a non-discharge flushing driving of driving; and a printing processing. The first flushing processing is executed in a case that a first count value is not less than a first threshold value, the first count value being an elapsed time since a completion of the first flushing processing. The second flushing processing is executed in a case that a second count value is not less than a second threshold value, the second count value being an elapsed time since a completion of the printing processing.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A liquid ejecting apparatus comprising:
a head having a surface in which a nozzle configured to eject a liquid is formed;
a carriage configured to move reciprocally the head in a scanning direction;
a receiver configured to receive the liquid discharged from the head in a flushing area;
a cap configured to approach the surface of the head for covering the surface to prevent the liquid from drying in the nozzle or retreat from the surface of the head in a maintenance area, the maintenance area being different from the flushing area;
a platen arranged between the flushing area and the maintenance area; and
a controller;
wherein the controller is configured to execute:
a first flushing processing;
a second flushing processing including at least one of a discharge flushing driving of driving the head so as to cause the head to discharge the liquid to the receiver or a non-discharge flushing driving of driving the head so as to vibrate the liquid without discharging the liquid; and
a printing processing of driving the carriage and the head based on a print data such that the liquid is ejected in a printing area as the head is moved in the scanning direction, the printing area including a first pass image area and a second pass image area being different from the first pass image area;

the first flushing processing is executed in a case that a first count value is not less than a first threshold value, the first count value being an elapsed time since a completion of a preceding first flushing processing; and
the second flushing processing is executed in a case that a second count value is not less than a second threshold value, the second count value being an elapsed time since a completion of printing of the first pass image area before starting of printing of the second pass image area,
wherein the first flushing processing causes the head to discharge the liquid to the receiver in the flushing area without covering the surface with the cap,
wherein the discharge flushing driving of driving the head causes the head to discharge the liquid to the receiver in the flushing area without covering the surface with the cap,
wherein the non-discharge flushing driving of driving the head causes the head to vibrate the liquid without discharging the liquid in a case that the head is located above the platen;
wherein the first threshold value for the first flushing processing causing the head to discharge the liquid to the receiver in the flushing area without covering the surface with the cap is greater than the second threshold value for the discharge flushing driving of driving the head causing the head to discharge the liquid to the receiver in the flushing area without covering the surface with the cap or the non-discharge flushing driving of driving the head causing the head to vibrate the liquid without discharging the liquid above the platen,
wherein the first threshold value is 60 seconds, and
wherein the second threshold value is 6 seconds.

2. The liquid ejecting apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the controller is configured to:
reset the first count value and the second count value, in a case that the first count value is not less than the first threshold value, and that the first flushing processing has been executed; and
reset the second count value without resetting the first count value, in a case that the second count value is not less than the second threshold value, and that the second flushing processing has been executed.

3. The liquid ejecting apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the first flushing processing includes the discharge flushing driving, and at least one of an amount of the liquid to be discharged in the discharge flushing driving or a number of times of the discharging of the liquid to be performed in the discharge flushing driving is greater in the second flushing processing than in the first flushing processing.

4. The liquid ejecting apparatus according to claim 3 , wherein, in a case that the first count value is not less than the first threshold value and the second count value is not less than the second threshold value, the controller is configured to execute the second flushing processing without executing the first flushing processing.

5. The liquid ejecting apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the first flushing processing further includes the non-discharge flushing driving; and
in a case that the first count value reaches the first threshold value, the controller is further configured to execute the non-discharge flushing driving in the first flushing processing.

6. The liquid ejecting apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein, in a case that the second count value reaches the second threshold value, the controller is configured to execute the non-discharge flushing driving in the second flushing processing.

7. The liquid ejecting apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein each of the first flushing processing and the second flushing processing includes the discharge flushing driving and the non-discharge flushing driving;
the controller is configured to execute the discharge flushing driving and the non-discharge flushing driving in each of the first flushing processing and the second flushing processing in a mode of prioritizing a print image quality over a print efficiency, and execute the discharge flushing driving or the non-discharge flushing driving in the second flushing processing in a mode of prioritizing the print efficiency over the print image quality.

8. The liquid ejecting apparatus according to claim 1 , further comprising a maintenance unit configured to perform a maintenance for the head;
the controller is configured to:
execute the printing processing based on the print data obtained for each pass; and
move the head to the receiver without executing the printing processing and execute the discharge flushing driving in the second flushing processing, in a case that the second count value is not less than the second threshold value as the head is located at a position closer to the maintenance unit than to the receiver.

9. The liquid ejecting apparatus according to claim 8 , wherein, the controller is configured to restart, after the discharge flushing driving having been executed in a case that the second count value is not less than the second threshold value as the head is located at the position closer to the maintenance unit than to the receiver, the printing processing based on the print data for a latest pass remained due to an interruption of the printing processing for the latest pass, while moving the head from the receiver to the maintenance unit.

10. A liquid ejecting apparatus comprising:
a head having a surface in which a nozzle configured to eject a liquid is formed;
a carriage configured to move reciprocally the head in a scanning direction;
a receiver configured to receive the liquid discharged from the head in a flushing area;
a cap configured to approach the surface of the head for covering the surface to prevent the liquid from drying in the nozzle or retreat from the surface of the head in a maintenance area, the maintenance area being different from the flushing area;
a platen arranged between the flushing area and the maintenance area; and
a controller;
wherein the controller is configured to execute:
a first flushing processing;
a second flushing processing including at least one of a discharge flushing driving of driving the head so as to cause the head to discharge the liquid to the receiver or a non-discharge flushing driving of driving the head so as to vibrate the liquid without discharging the liquid; and
a printing processing of driving the carriage and the head bas

Assignees

• Brother Ind Ltd

Inventors

• Arakane Satoru
• Iida Shotaro
• Hasegawa Shin
• Nakano Yasuhiro

Classifications

• B41J2/16508

  connected with the printer frame · CPC title

• B41J2/1652 Primary

  by driving a fluid through the nozzles to the outside thereof, e.g. by applying pressure to the inside or vacuum at the outside of the print head · CPC title

• B41J2/16526 Primary

  by applying pressure only · CPC title

• B41J2/1721

  Collecting waste ink; Collectors therefor · CPC title