Recording apparatus and method of detecting malfunction of ink detection means
AssigneeCanon Kabushiki Kaisha
InventorShigeyuki Sugiyama
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A recording apparatus capable of determining malfunction of an ink detection device such that a light emitting device of an ink detection sensor provided for the recording apparatus to detect ink depending upon whether ink traversing a detection optical axis exists is periodically operated to emit light. Malfunction of the ink detection sensor is determined in accordance with the quantity of light received by a light receiving device in a state where ink traversing the detection optical axis is not discharged.
Claims29
A recording apparatus having a recording head for discharging ink to record data on a recording medium, said recording apparatus comprising:
- ink detection means for performing an ink detection operation to detect discharge of ink from said recording head, said ink detection means generating an output indicating whether or not ink is being discharged from said recording head;
- control means having a non-discharge ink detection state for causing said ink detection means to perform the ink detection operation for at least part of a time while an ink discharge operation is not being performed from said recording head;
- and
- determination means for determining that a malfunction of said ink detection means has occurred, wherein said determination means determines that the malfunction has occurred in a case that the output of said ink detection means indicates that ink is being discharged from said recording head and said control means is in the non-discharge ink detection state.
A method of detecting a malfunction of an ink detection means for performing an ink detection operation to detect discharge of ink from a recording head for performing recording by discharging ink, the ink detection means generating an output indicating whether or not ink is being discharged from said recording head, said method comprising the steps of:
- operating said ink detection means in a non-discharge ink detection state for causing said ink detection means to perform the ink detection operation for at least part of a time while an ink discharge operation is not being performed from said recording head;
- and
- determining that a malfunction of said ink detection means has occurred in a case that the output of said ink detection means indicates that ink is being discharged from said recording head and said ink detection means is operating in the non-discharge ink detection state.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.