Liquid ejection apparatus and liquid restoration method

Abstract

The liquid ejection apparatus includes: a liquid ejection device which ejects liquid; a liquid supply device which supplies the liquid to the liquid ejection device; a saturated dissolved gas amount determination device which determines a saturated dissolved gas amount of the liquid in the liquid ejection device; a dissolved gas amount determination device which determines a dissolved gas amount of the liquid in the liquid ejection device; a liquid restoration device which carries out a liquid restoration processing to reduce the dissolved gas amount of the liquid inside the liquid ejection device; and a liquid restoration control device which controls whether or not the liquid restoration device carries out the liquid restoration processing, according to a differential between the saturated dissolved gas amount determined by the saturated dissolved gas amount determination device and the dissolved gas amount determined by the dissolved gas amount determination device.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The nature of this invention, as well as other objects and benefits thereof, will be explained in the following with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which like reference characters designate the same or similar parts throughout the figures and wherein:

FIG. 1 is a general schematic drawing of an inkjet recording apparatus including a liquid ejection apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a plan view of the principal part of the peripheral area of a liquid ejection head in the inkjet recording apparatus shown in FIG. 1;

FIGS. 3A to 3C are plan perspective diagrams showing examples of the structure of a liquid ejection head;

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view along line 4-4 in FIGS. 3A and 3B;

FIG. 5 is a principal block diagram showing the basic configuration of a liquid supply system of the inkjet recording apparatus shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing a system composition of the inkjet recording apparatus;

FIG. 7 is an illustrative diagram used in the description of a conversion table of the “temperature−saturated amount of dissolved gas”;

FIG. 8 is a block diagram showing the principal part of liquid restoration according to a first embodiment;

FIG. 9 is a compositional drawing showing one example of deaerator;

FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing one example of liquid restoration processing;

FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing a further example of liquid restoration processing;

FIG. 12 is an illustrative diagram used for describing the prediction of the maximum liquid temperature which may occur during use after startup of the inkjet recording apparatus;

FIG. 13 is a block diagram showing the principal part of liquid restoration according to a second embodiment; and

FIG. 14 is an illustrative diagram showing experimental results relating to the relationship between the gas bubble dissolution capacity (A−B; “A” is a saturated amount of dissolved gas, and “B” is an amount of dissolved gas) of the ejection liquid, and the ejection state.

Claims

1. A liquid ejection apparatus, comprising: a liquid ejection device which ejects liquid;a liquid supply device which supplies the liquid to the liquid ejection device;a saturated dissolved gas amount determination device which determines a saturated dissolved gas amount of the liquid in the liquid ejection device;a dissolved gas amount determination device which determines a dissolved gas amount of the liquid in the liquid ejection device;a liquid restoration device which carries out a liquid restoration processing to reduce the dissolved gas amount of the liquid inside the liquid ejection device; anda liquid restoration control device which controls whether or not the liquid restoration device carries out the liquid restoration processing, according to a differential between the saturated dissolved gas amount determined by the saturated dissolved gas amount determination device and the dissolved gas amount determined by the dissolved gas amount determination device.

2. The liquid ejection apparatus as defined in claim 1, wherein the saturated dissolved gas amount determination device determines the saturated dissolved gas amount according to at least one of a temperature of the liquid in the liquid ejection device, a temperature of the liquid in the liquid supply device, a temperature of the liquid ejection device, and a temperature of the liquid supply device.

3. The liquid ejection apparatus as defined in claim 1, wherein the dissolved gas amount determination device measures a dissolved gas amount of the liquid in one of the liquid ejection device and the liquid supply device, and determines the dissolved gas amount of the liquid in the liquid ejection device according to the measured dissolved gas amount of the liquid.

4. The liquid ejection apparatus as defined in claim 1, wherein the saturated dissolved gas amount determination device determines the saturated dissolved gas amount according to both of a pressure and a temperature of the liquid in the liquid ejection device.

5. The liquid ejection apparatus as defined in claim 1, wherein the saturated dissolved gas amount determination device: estimates a maximum temperature of the liquid in the liquid ejection device which may occur during subsequent use, according to a temperature change history relating to the liquid in the liquid ejection device within a prescribed time period which has passed; and determines the saturated dissolved gas amount according to the maximum temperature of the liquid in the liquid ejection device.

6. The liquid ejection apparatus as defined in claim 5, wherein the saturated dissolved gas amount determination device: selects a maximum differential from temperature differentials between temperatures of the liquid in the liquid ejection device at past startups of the liquid ejection apparatus and maximum temperatures of the liquid in the liquid ejection device during use after the past startups; estimates a maximum temperature of the liquid in the liquid ejection device which may occur during use after a current startup by adding the maximum differential to a temperature of the liquid in the liquid ejection device at the current startup of the liquid ejection apparatus; and determines the saturated dissolved gas amount according to the estimated maximum temperature of the liquid in the liquid ejection device.

7. The liquid ejection apparatus as defined in claim 5, wherein the saturated dissolved gas amount determination device determines the saturated dissolved gas amount according to a maximum temperature of the liquid in the liquid ejection device during the prescribed time period which has passed.

8. The liquid ejection apparatus as defined in claim 5, wherein the liquid restoration control device controls the liquid restoration device in such a manner that the liquid restoration device carries out the liquid restoration processing if the differential between the saturated dissolved gas amount and the dissolved gas amount at a startup of the liquid ejection apparatus is less than a prescribed value.

9. The liquid ejection apparatus as defined in claim 1, further comprising: a liquid circulation channel which is provided between the liquid ejection device and the liquid supply device, and leads the liquid in the liquid ejection device which has not been ejected, to the liquid supply device; anda liquid sending device which is provided in the liquid circulation channel, and sends the liquid in the liquid ejection device to the liquid supply device,wherein the liquid restoration control device controls the liquid sending device in such a manner that the liquid sending device sends the liquid in the liquid ejection device to the liquid supply device if the differential between the saturated dissolved gas amount and the dissolved gas amount is less than a prescribed value.

10. The liquid ejection apparatus as defined in claim 1, further comprising: a liquid circulation channel which is provided between the liquid ejection device and the liquid supply device, and leads the liquid in the liquid ejection device which has not been ejected, to the liquid supply device; anda deaerator which is provided in the liquid circulation channel, and removes dissolved gas from the liquid in the liquid circulation channel,wherein the liquid restoration control device controls the deaerator in such a manner that the deaerator removes the dissolved gas from the liquid in the liquid circulation channel if the differential between the saturated dissolved gas amount and the dissolved gas amount is less than a prescribed value.

11. A liquid restoration method for restoring a state of liquid in a liquid ejection device, the liquid restoration method including the steps of: determining a saturated dissolved gas amount of the liquid in the liquid ejection device;determining a dissolved gas amount of the liquid in the liquid ejection device;conducting judgment of whether or not to carry out a liquid restoration processing for reducing the dissolved gas amount of the liquid, according to a differential between the saturated dissolved gas amount and the dissolved gas amount; andcarrying out the liquid restoration processing in accordance with result of the conducted judgment.

12. The liquid restoration method as defined in claim 11, further including the step of obtaining a temperature of the liquid in the liquid ejection device, wherein the saturated dissolved gas amount is determined according to the temperature of the liquid in the liquid ejection device.

13. The liquid restoration method as defined in claim 11, further including the step of estimating a maximum temperature of the liquid in the liquid ejection device which may occur during subsequent use, according to a temperature change history relating to the liquid in the liquid ejection device within a prescribed time period which has passed, wherein the saturated dissolved gas amount is determined according to the maximum temperature of the liquid.