# US 11,993,079 B2 · Liquid ejecting apparatus

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- Number: US 11,993,079 B2
- Document ID: US11993079B2
- Status: Granted
- Kind: B2
- Application number: 17/656,043
- Filed: 2022-03-23
- Published: 2022-09-29
- Granted: 2024-05-28
- Earliest claimed: 2021-03-25
- Assignees: Seiko Epson Corporation
- Applicants: Seiko Epson Corporation
- Inventors: Daichi Orihara; Masashi Kamiyanagi
- Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US11993079B2

## CPC

- B41J 2/0451: {for detecting failure, e.g. clogging, malfunctioning actuator}
- B41J 2/04541: {Specific driving circuit}
- B41J 2/04563: {detecting head temperature; Ink temperature}
- B41J 2/04581: {controlling heads based on piezoelectric elements}
- B41J 2/04588: {using a specific waveform}
- B41J 2/04593: {Dot-size modulation by changing the size of the drop}
- B41J 2/04596: {Non-ejecting pulses}
- B41J 2002/14354: {Sensor in each pressure chamber}
- B41J: TYPEWRITERS; SELECTIVE PRINTING MECHANISMS, i.e. MECHANISMS PRINTING OTHERWISE THAN FROM A FORME; CORRECTION OF TYPOGRAPHICAL ERRORS

## Abstract

A liquid ejecting apparatus includes: an ejection section ejecting a liquid; a state detection section detecting a state of the ejection section; a determination section determining whether or not the ejection section has an abnormality; a recording section recording a determination result of the determination section; a temperature detection section detecting a temperature of the ejection section; and a maintenance section executing maintenance processing on the ejection section, in which when the recording section records abnormality information indicating the abnormality of the ejection section as the determination result by determining that the abnormality occurred in the ejection section by the determination section, and the temperature detection section detects a temperature that is out of an inspection temperature range in which the state detection section detects the state of the ejection section, the abnormality information recorded in the recording section is reset if the maintenance section executes the maintenance processing.

## Claims

### Claim 1

A liquid ejecting apparatus comprising:
an ejection section ejecting a liquid;
a state detection section detecting a state of the ejection section;
a determination section determining whether or not the ejection section has an abnormality based on a detection result of the state detection section;
a recording section recording a determination result of the determination section;
a temperature detection section detecting a temperature of the ejection section; and
a maintenance section executing maintenance processing on the ejection section, wherein
when the recording section records abnormality information indicating the abnormality of the ejection section as the determination result by determining that the abnormality occurred in the ejection section by the determination section, and the temperature detection section detects a temperature that is out of an inspection temperature range in which the state detection section detects the state of the ejection section, the abnormality information recorded in the recording section is reset to a normality information indicating that the ejection section does not have the abnormality if the maintenance section executes the maintenance processing, and
when the recording section records the abnormality information as the determination result by determining that the abnormality occurred in the ejection section by the determination section, and the temperature detection section detects a temperature that is within the inspection temperature range, the abnormality information recorded in the recording section is updated to a recovery information indicating that the ejection section has been recovering from the abnormality if the maintenance section executes the maintenance processing, with the recovery information being different from the normality information.

### Claim 2 (depends on 1)

The liquid ejecting apparatus according to claim 1, wherein
the ejection section includes a piezoelectric element that ejects the liquid by being driven,
the state detection section detects the state of the ejection section based on a residual vibration generated in the ejection section after the piezoelectric element is driven, and
the determination section determines whether or not the ejection section has the abnormality based on a residual vibration signal according to the residual vibration output by the state detection section.

### Claim 3 (depends on 1)

The liquid ejecting apparatus according to claim 1, wherein
the maintenance processing includes a wiping process of wiping an ejection surface to which the liquid is ejected from the ejection section.

### Claim 4 (depends on 1)

The liquid ejecting apparatus according to claim 1, wherein
the maintenance processing includes a flushing process of recovering a viscosity of the liquid stored in the ejection section.

### Claim 5

A liquid ejecting apparatus comprising:
an ejection section ejecting a liquid;
a state detection section detecting a state of the ejection section;
a determination section determining whether or not the ejection section has an abnormality based on a detection result of the state detection section;
a recording section recording a determination result of the determination section;
a temperature detection section detecting a temperature of the ejection section; and
a maintenance section executing maintenance processing on the ejection section, wherein
when the recording section records abnormality information indicating the abnormality of the ejection section as the determination result by determining that the abnormality occurred in the ejection section by the determination section, and the temperature detection section detects a temperature that is out of an inspection temperature range in which the state detection section detects the state of the ejection section, the abnormality information recorded in the recording section is reset if the maintenance section executes the maintenance processing, and
in a case of a failed state in which failure occurs in the ejection section, when the recording section records the abnormality information, and the temperature detection section detects the temperature that is out of the inspection temperature range in which the state detection section detects the state of the ejection section, the abnormality information recorded in the recording section is not reset even if the maintenance section executes the maintenance processing.

### Claim 6 (depends on 1)

The liquid ejecting apparatus according to claim 1, wherein
the state detection section does not detect the state of the ejection section when the temperature detected by the temperature detection section is out of the inspection temperature range.

### Claim 7 (depends on 1)

The liquid ejecting apparatus according to claim 1, wherein
the determination section does not determine whether or not the ejection section has the abnormality when the temperature detected by the temperature detection section is out of the inspection temperature range.