Ink jet printing apparatus and ink jet printing method

• US 20040041860A1
• Filed: 08/28/2003
• Published: 03/04/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 08/30/2002
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Canon Ayutthaya Limited (Canon Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Canon Ayutthaya Limited (Canon Inc.)
• Inventors: Ikeda, Yasuhiko, Takahashi, Seiji, Uchida, Kota, Niimura, Hiroyuki
• Granted Patent: US 7,044,570 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 347/8
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 25/308 with print gap adjustment mechanisms
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 25/3088 with print gap adjustment means on the printer frame, e.g. for rotation of an eccentric carriage guide shaft

Abstract

The present invention provides an ink jet printing apparatus of a low-cost and simple construction which can detect with high reliability a gap between a print medium and a print head mounted on a carriage. The ink jet printing apparatus, which reciprocally moves in a predetermined scan direction the carriage holding the print head for ejecting ink onto the print medium, includes a gap changing mechanism for changing the gap between the print head held in the carriage and the print medium and a control unit for controlling a driving of the gap changing mechanism and a reciprocal movement of the carriage, wherein the control unit drives the gap changing mechanism and reciprocally moves the carriage to check the operation state of the gap changing mechanism.

Claims

1. A printing apparatus for printing a print medium with a print head, comprising:

a carriage for mounting and moving the print head;

a lift motor for changing a distance between the print head mounted on the carriage and the print medium; and

a control unit for controlling a driving of the lift motor and a reciprocal movement of the carriage;

wherein the control unit checks an operation of the lift motor by detecting a distance of travel of the carriage.

2. An ink jet printing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the control unit checks whether the lift motor is normal or not and, if the lift motor is found not normal, annunciates an error state by an annunciation means.

3. An ink jet printing apparatus according to claim 1, further including a movable range restriction mechanism which changes a scan range of the carriage in a main scan direction according to the distance set by the lift motor.

4. An ink jet printing apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the control unit detects a movable range of the carriage by driving the carriage and, according to the movable range, detects the distance set by the lift motor.

5. A printing method for printing a print medium with a print head comprising the steps of:

changing a distance between the print head mounted on a carriage and the print medium by a lift motor;

detecting a distance of travel of the carriage by moving the carriage; and

checking an operation of the lift motor according to the distance of travel of the carriage.