Patent ID: 8657404
Filing Date: 2014-02-25
Classification: B41J

Abstract:
1. A liquid droplet jetting apparatus which jets liquid droplets of a liquid, comprising: a liquid droplet jetting head which has a liquid droplet jetting surface on which a plurality of nozzles including a first nozzle and a second nozzle are open to jet the liquid droplets; a cap member which covers the liquid droplet jetting surface of the liquid droplet jetting head and in which an opening, through which an interior of the cap member is communicated with atmospheric air in a state that the liquid droplet jetting surface is covered with the cap member, is formed; a moving mechanism which moves the cap member to make contact with and separate from the liquid droplet jetting surface; a quiescent period detecting unit which detects a quiescent period of the liquid droplet jetting head during which the plurality of nozzles of the liquid droplet jetting head are covered with the cap member in the state that the interior of the cap member is communicated with the atmospheric air; and a controller which controls the liquid droplet jetting head and the moving mechanism; wherein the second nozzle is arranged farther than the first nozzle from the opening of the cap member in the state that the liquid droplet jetting surface is covered with the cap member; wherein the controller controls the moving mechanism to separate the cap member coveting the liquid droplet jetting surface from the liquid droplet jetting surface in a state that the interior of the cap member is communicated with the atmospheric air, and controls the liquid droplet jetting head to perform a flushing, in which the liquid droplets are jetted from the nozzles to discharge the liquid, such that a second discharge amount of the liquid to be discharged from the second nozzle is smaller than a first discharge amount of the liquid to be discharged from the first nozzle; wherein the controller controls the liquid droplet jetting head to perform the flushing such that a discharge amount of the liquid, which is to be discharged from each of the plurality of nozzles during the flushing and corresponds to a first quiescent period detected by the quiescent period detecting unit, is greater than another discharge amount of the liquid, which is to be discharged from each of the plurality of nozzles during the flushing and corresponds to a second quiescent period shorter than the first quiescent period and detected by the quiescent period detecting unit; and wherein the controller controls the liquid droplet jetting head such that a second increment of the second discharge amount of the liquid with respect to a predetermined quiescent period is smaller than a first increment of the first discharge amount of the liquid with respect to the predetermined quiescent period.