JP2001239657A - Image forming apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To save power consumption and to prevent a recording medium from being curled in an image forming apparatus comprising a dryer device for drying ink on the recording medium. SOLUTION: This image forming apparatus that performs recording by ejecting the ink on the recording medium 106 from a recording means comprises the dryer device 107 for drying the ink ejected on the recording medium 106 and calculating means for calculating an amount of the ink ejected on the recording medium 106. The dryer device 107 is controlled corresponding to the calculated result by the calculating means.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

[0001] 1. Field of the Invention [0002] The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus which discharges ink onto a recording medium to perform recording, and more particularly, to an image forming apparatus used for information processing equipment such as a computer.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, when label printing is performed by ejecting ink from a recording means to a recording medium, and laminating and die cutting are performed, if the ink of the recording medium is not dried, the recording medium and the laminated film may not be formed. Adhesion failure occurred, and air bubbles and wrinkles sometimes occurred in the laminated film. For this reason, there is an image forming apparatus including a dryer for drying the ink on the recording medium between a recording unit that discharges ink from the recording unit onto the recording medium and a lamination die-cut device.

[0003]

However, the conventional image forming apparatus has the following problems.
The dryer is always operating during the recording operation, or operates in conjunction with the recording means. As a result, the dryer operates even when the recording density is low and the ink does not need to be dried, so that power is wasted and the recording medium is dried more than necessary to curl the recording medium. there were.

[0004] The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances,
In an image forming apparatus including a dryer for drying ink on a recording medium, an object of the present invention is to suppress waste of power and prevent curling of the recording medium.

[0005]

According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided an image forming apparatus for performing recording by discharging ink from a recording unit onto a recording medium. Drying means for drying the ink ejected to the recording medium; and calculating means for calculating the amount of ink ejected to the recording medium, wherein the drying means is controlled in accordance with the calculation result of the calculating means. And

In an image forming apparatus for performing recording by discharging ink from a recording unit to a recording medium, a drying unit for drying the ink discharged to the recording medium, a drying state of the ink discharged to the recording medium, And detecting the drying means in accordance with the detection result of the detecting means.

According to the above configuration, in an image forming apparatus including a dryer for drying ink on a recording medium, waste of power can be suppressed and curling of the recording medium can be prevented.

[0008]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

<First Embodiment> A first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 1 is an overall configuration diagram of an image forming apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention. The image forming apparatus includes a host computer 101, a label printer 102, a die cutter 103, a dryer 107 serving as a drying unit, and a roller member 801. The host computer 101 and the label printer 102 are connected by a cable 104 and can transmit and receive data. The label printer 102 and the die cutter 103 are connected by a cable 105, and can transmit and receive data by serial communication. The label printer 102 and the dryer 107 are connected by a cable 108.

The recording medium 106 is plain continuous paper, and a label image created by the host computer 101 is recorded by the label printer 102. Then, the dryer 107
, And die-cut by the die cutter 103 to form a die-cut label. As the dryer 107, a type of drying with hot air, a type of drying through a hot roller pair, and the like are known. In the present embodiment, either type may be used.

FIG. 2 is a diagram for explaining functions in the host computer according to the first embodiment of the present invention. The host computer 101 has a keyboard 201 and a mouse 202 as a pointing device, and performs various inputs from these. Further, it has a processing unit (not shown), performs processing for various inputs, creates a label image 203 which is recording data, and displays it on the CRT 204. The label image 203 and various setting items are transmitted to the label printer 102, and the label printer 102
Receive data from By inputting the label size into the label size input unit 205, the label image 203 of the input size is displayed on the CRT 204,
Rectangle 206, line 207, character 208, barcode 20
9. By specifying the image data 210 and the like, the layout, size, and angle of the label can be changed. Further, the number of recordings can be designated by inputting to the recording number designation section 211, and variable information of partial data can be added, and the information is transmitted to the label printer 102 as recording data. The label image 203 is expressed in full color, and the processing unit divides the full color image into recording data for each color of black, cyan, magenta, and yellow, and transfers the recording data to the label printer 102.

FIG. 3 is a diagram for explaining the functions of the label printer according to the first embodiment of the present invention. The label printer 102 includes a transmission / reception unit (not shown) with the host computer 101, a transmission / reception unit (not shown) with the die cutter 103,
It includes a paper feed unit 301, a transport unit 302, a recording unit 303, and the like. The recording medium 106 includes a mount and a label sheet, and the label sheet is adhered to the entire mount. The recording medium 106 is fed by a paper feed unit 301 and is transported by a transport unit 302.
And the recording unit 303 continuously records on the label sheet. After having a slack between the label printer 102 and the die cutter 103, it is transported to the die cutter 103.

The recording section 303 is composed of an ink jet recording head for discharging ink of each color of black, cyan, magenta and yellow, and ink is supplied from an ink tank for each color. Each print head has nozzles capable of printing over the entire area of the print medium in the width direction, discharges to the print medium 106 being conveyed based on print data, and prints a full-color label. When recording on a label sheet, a mark used as die cut timing is also recorded for each label. The print data is data for each color transmitted from the host computer 101, and is temporarily stored in the memory until printing is completed. By the transmitting and receiving unit with the die cutter 103,
Information such as the status information of the label printer 102, the size and the number of labels recorded, and the like are stored in the die cutter 103.
The status information and the like of the die cutter 103 are transmitted from the die cutter 103, and the label printer 102 can record if the die cutter 103 is in operation or in an operable state. Label printer 10
If the die cutter 103 becomes inoperable during the recording of No. 2, the label printer 102 suspends the recording operation and waits until the operation of the die cutter 103 becomes possible.
Thereafter, the recording operation is restarted.

FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining the function of the die cutter according to the first embodiment of the present invention. Die cutter 10
Reference numeral 3 denotes a transmission / reception unit (not shown) with the label printer, and an adhesion unit 40 between the recording medium 106 and the laminate film 401.
2. Die cut portion 403, peeling portion 40 between label and waste
4, label winding section 405, waste winding section 406,
It comprises an operation panel 407 and the like. The status information and the like of the die cutter 103 are transmitted to the label printer 102 by a transmission / reception unit with the label printer 102, and the status information of the label printer 102, and information such as the size and the number of recorded labels are received from the label printer 102. Then, the die cutter 103 operates according to the information.

The operation panel 407 displays the die cutter 103
Is instructed, the die cutter 103 transmits an operable status to the label printer 102.
The label printer 102 starts recording the recording data transmitted from the host computer 101, and
03, the recording status is transmitted. The die cutter 103 that has received the recording status starts the die cutting operation. When an operation stop of the die cutter 103 is instructed on the operation panel 407 or an emergency stop occurs due to an error occurring inside the die cutter 103, the die cutter 103 transmits a status of operation stop to the label printer 102. Then, the label printer 102 interrupts the recording operation, transmits the status of the conveyance stop, and stops the operations of the die cutter 103 and the label printer 102.

FIG. 5 is a view for explaining the bonding portion of the die cutter according to the first embodiment of the present invention. Adhesive part 402
Is a recording medium 106 recorded by the label printer 102.
And a laminating film 401 and a pressure roller 501
And crimped.

FIG. 6 is a view for explaining a die cutting portion of the die cutter according to the first embodiment of the present invention. The die cutting section 403 includes a cutter blade 601, a die cut roll 6
02, an anvil roll 603, a sensor 604 for detecting a die cut timing, a transport device (not shown) for transporting a recording medium, and the like. The cutter blade 601 is detachable from the die-cut roll 602, and can cope with a plurality of types of labels by exchanging. The mark 605 added to the recording medium 106 for each label is detected by the sensor 604, and the die cut roll 602 and the anvil roll 603 rotate to convey the recording medium 106, and the laminate film 401 and the recording medium 106 other than the mount 106a. The label portion of the label sheet 106b is cut by the cutter blade 601. The time when the mark 605 recorded for each label is detected is set as the die cut timing,
By detecting each time for each label, the relationship between the label recording and the die cut position is kept constant. Further, by comparing the label size transmitted from the label printer 102 with the detection timing of the mark 605 recorded for each label, the conveyance abnormality of the recording medium 106 is detected. The number of printed labels transmitted from the label printer 102 is compared with the number of times of die cutting, and the die cut roll 602 is stopped when the number of printed labels has been cut to prevent erroneous die cutting.

FIG. 7 is a view for explaining a peeling portion of the die cutter according to the first embodiment of the present invention. The die-cut recording medium 106 is peeled off by the peeling section 404 into a label as a printed matter and the remaining waste, and is wound up by the label winding section 405 and the waste winding section 406, respectively.

FIG. 8 is a view for explaining a roller member for conveying a recording medium between the label printer and the die cutter according to the first embodiment of the present invention. The material of the roller member 801 is not limited, and is heavy enough to break the stiffness of the recording medium 106. The roller member 801 is connected to the frame 80.
2, is movable within the range of the rail 803, and moves up and down according to the slackness of the recording medium 106. Further, it is preferable that the roller member 801 rotates following the recording medium 106 in order to prevent an adverse effect on the surface of the recording medium 106 due to friction with the recording medium 106. The mounting location of the frame 802 is determined by the label printer 102 and the die cutter 10.
There is no particular limitation as long as the recording medium 106 can be conveyed without difficulty between them.

FIG. 9 is a block diagram of the image forming apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention. Host computer 10
1 is transmitted to the label printer 102 by the control unit 304 of the label printer 102 at the recording density a.
Is calculated. The recording density a is the amount of ink ejected per unit area. This is calculated from the usage rate of the nozzles of the ink jet print head when printing is performed, and a = 100% when printing is performed using all nozzles of a single color. When recording is performed with each color superimposed, the sum of the usage rates of the nozzles of each color is the recording density a. If the calculated recording density a is equal to or more than the predetermined allowable recording density b, poor adhesion or wrinkling of the laminate film 401 is likely to occur. Therefore, the dryer 107 is operated to dry the ink on the recording medium. Since the allowable recording density b changes depending on the type of the recording medium 106 and the environment (temperature and humidity) in which the image forming apparatus is used, the allowable recording density b may be determined including those conditions.

FIG. 10 shows a correlation diagram between the humidity and the allowable recording density b. As the humidity of the environment in which the image forming apparatus is used increases, the allowable recording density b decreases. When the recording density a exceeds the allowable recording density b, the dryer 107 is operated, and when it does not exceed the allowable recording density b, the dryer 107 is deactivated. Alternatively, the allowable recording density b may be set stepwise, and the output of the dryer 107 may be adjusted accordingly.

According to the configuration described above, the amount of ink ejected to the recording medium is calculated, and the dryer is controlled according to the calculation result. In the image forming apparatus provided with the above, it is possible to suppress waste of power and prevent curling of the recording medium.

<Second Embodiment> A second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 11 is an overall configuration diagram of an image forming apparatus according to the second embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 11, reference numeral 901 denotes an ink drying detecting member for detecting the drying condition of the ink ejected to the recording medium 106.

FIG. 12 is a view for explaining a method of detecting the dry state of ink according to the second embodiment of the present invention. Two electrodes 902 that are in contact with the recording medium 106 are provided, and an electric resistance value of the recording medium 106 is measured by passing a current through the electrodes 902 to detect a dry state of the ink. The electric resistance value of the recording medium where the ink is dry is 5 ×
It is about 10 ¹⁰ Ω, and the electric resistance value becomes smaller as it becomes undried. Thereby, the dryer is operated when the electric resistance value becomes smaller than the predetermined value.

FIG. 13 is a view for explaining a roller member according to the second embodiment of the present invention. In the second embodiment, the dryer includes a roller member. Roller member 801
Is made of a material having high thermal conductivity, and has a heating member 8 inside.
10 is incorporated, and is heated by being supplied with electric power from the outside (for example, a die cutter). Heating member 810
By heating the roller member 801, the roller member 801 is also heated and contacts the recording medium 106 to dry the undried ink 110. Note that the heat generating member 810 is in a preheated state when the recording medium 106 is stopped.

FIGS. 14 and 15 are also views for explaining a roller member according to the second embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 14, a blowing member 820 is provided inside the roller member 801.
Is installed, and air is blown by supplying electric power from the outside. As shown in FIG. 15, a plurality of openings 821 are provided on the outer peripheral surface of the roller member 801.
Air is blown outside from 1.

According to the configuration described above, the drying state of the ink ejected on the recording medium is detected, and the dryer is controlled in accordance with the detection result. In an image forming apparatus provided with a dryer, waste of power can be suppressed and curling of a recording medium can be prevented.

<Others> It should be noted that the present invention includes a means (for example, an electrothermal converter, a laser beam, or the like) for generating thermal energy as energy used for discharging ink, particularly in an ink jet recording system. The present invention brings about an excellent effect in a recording head and an image forming apparatus of a type in which the state of ink is changed by the thermal energy. This is because according to such a method, it is possible to achieve higher density and higher definition of recording.

The typical configuration and principle are described in, for example, US Pat. Nos. 4,723,129 and 4,740.
It is preferable to use the basic principle disclosed in the specification of Japanese Patent No. 796. This method is a so-called on-demand type,
Although it can be applied to any of the continuous type, particularly, in the case of the on-demand type, the electric heat disposed corresponding to the sheet or the liquid path holding the liquid (ink or processing liquid) is used. By applying to the transducer at least one drive signal corresponding to the recorded information and providing a rapid temperature rise exceeding the nucleate boiling, the electrothermal transducer generates heat energy and is applied to the heat acting surface of the recording head. This is effective because film boiling can be caused, and as a result, bubbles in the liquid (ink or processing liquid) corresponding to this drive signal one-to-one can be formed. A liquid (ink or processing liquid) is ejected through an ejection opening by the growth and contraction of the bubble to form at least one droplet. When the drive signal is formed into a pulse shape, the growth and shrinkage of the bubbles are immediately and appropriately performed, and therefore, the ejection of a liquid (ink or processing liquid) having particularly excellent responsiveness is more preferable. Examples of the drive signal in the form of a pulse include those described in U.S. Pat.
Suitable are those described in US Pat. No. 45,262. Further, if the conditions described in US Pat. No. 4,313,124 relating to the temperature rise rate of the heat acting surface are adopted, more excellent recording can be performed.

As the configuration of the recording head, in addition to the combination of the discharge port, the liquid path, and the electrothermal converter (linear liquid flow path or right-angle liquid flow path) as disclosed in the above-mentioned respective specifications, U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,558,333 and 44,596 which disclose a configuration in which a heat acting portion is arranged in a bending region.
The configuration using the specification of No. 00 is also included in the present invention. In addition, Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. Sho 59-123670 discloses a configuration in which a common slit is used as a discharge portion of an electrothermal converter for a plurality of electrothermal converters, and an opening for absorbing a pressure liquid of thermal energy is provided. The effect of the present invention is effective even if the configuration is based on JP-A-59-138461, which discloses a configuration corresponding to a discharge unit. That is, according to the present invention, recording can be reliably and efficiently performed regardless of the form of the recording head.

Further, the present invention can be effectively applied to a full-line type recording head having a length corresponding to the maximum width of a recording medium on which the image forming apparatus can record. As such a recording head, a configuration that satisfies the length by a combination of a plurality of recording heads, or a single recording head that is integrally formed.
Any of the configurations as individual recording heads may be used.

In addition, even in the case of the serial type as described above, a recording head fixed to the apparatus main body or an electric connection with the apparatus main body or ink from the apparatus main body by being attached to the apparatus main body. The present invention is also effective when a replaceable chip-type recording head that can be supplied or a cartridge-type recording head in which an ink tank is provided integrally with the recording head itself is used.

Further, it is preferable to add a recording head ejection recovery unit, a preliminary auxiliary unit, and the like as the configuration of the image forming apparatus of the present invention since the effects of the present invention can be further stabilized. If these are specifically mentioned, capping means for the recording head, cleaning means,
Preheating means for heating using a pressurizing or suction means, an electrothermal transducer or another heating element or a combination thereof, and preliminary discharging means for performing discharging different from recording can be used.

Regarding the type and number of recording heads to be mounted, for example, in addition to the recording head having only one recording head corresponding to a single color ink, the recording head also corresponds to a plurality of recording heads having different recording colors and densities. A plurality may be provided. That is, for example, the recording mode of the image forming apparatus is not limited to a recording mode of only a mainstream color such as black, and may be either a single recording head or a combination of a plurality of recording heads. The present invention is also very effective for an apparatus provided with at least one of the full-color recording modes based on color mixing.

In the embodiment of the present invention described above, the ink is described as a liquid.
An ink that solidifies at room temperature or below and softens or liquefies at room temperature may be used, or the ink jet method controls the viscosity of the ink by adjusting the temperature of the ink itself within the range of 30 ° C to 70 ° C. Is generally controlled so as to be within the stable ejection range, so that the ink may be in a liquid state when the use recording signal is applied. In addition, in order to positively prevent temperature rise due to thermal energy by using it as energy for changing the state of the ink from a solid state to a liquid state, or to prevent evaporation of the ink, the ink is solidified in a standing state and heated. May be used. In any case, the application of heat energy causes the ink to be liquefied by the application of the heat energy according to the recording signal and the liquid ink to be ejected, or to start to solidify when reaching the recording medium. The present invention is also applicable to a case where an ink having a property of liquefying for the first time is used. In such a case, the ink is disclosed in JP-A-54-56847 or JP-A-60
As described in JP-A-71260, a configuration may be adopted in which a liquid or solid substance is held in a concave portion or through hole of a porous sheet and opposed to an electrothermal converter. In the present invention, the most effective one for each of the above-mentioned inks is to execute the above-mentioned film boiling method.

In addition, the form of the ink jet image forming apparatus of the present invention is not only used as an image output terminal of an information processing apparatus such as a computer, but also a copying apparatus combined with a reader or the like, and further, a facsimile apparatus having a transmitting / receiving function. And the like.

[0037]

As is apparent from the above description, according to the present invention constructed as described above, in an image forming apparatus which performs recording by discharging ink from a recording means to a recording medium, the recording medium is discharged to the recording medium. And a calculating unit for calculating the amount of ink ejected to the recording medium, and controlling the drying unit in accordance with the calculation result of the calculating unit, thereby suppressing waste of power. In addition, curling of the recording medium can be prevented.

Further, in an image forming apparatus for performing recording by discharging ink from a recording means to a recording medium, a drying means for drying the ink discharged to the recording medium, and detecting a drying state of the ink discharged to the recording medium. Since the drying unit is controlled in accordance with the detection result of the detecting unit, wasteful use of electric power can be suppressed, and curling of the recording medium can be prevented.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an overall configuration diagram of an image forming apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating functions of the host computer according to the first embodiment of this invention.

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating functions of the label printer according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating functions of the die cutter according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating a bonding portion of the die cutter according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating a die cut portion of the die cutter according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating a peeling portion of the die cutter according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating a roller unit according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a block diagram of the image forming apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 10 is a correlation diagram between humidity and an allowable recording density b of the image forming apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 11 is an overall configuration diagram of an image forming apparatus according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 12 is a diagram illustrating a method for detecting a dry state of ink according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating a roller member according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 14 is a diagram illustrating a roller member according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 15 is a diagram illustrating a roller member according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 Reference Signs List 101 Host computer 102 Label printer 103 Die cutter 106 Recording medium 107 Dryer 801 Roller member

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────の Continued on the front page (72) Inventor Masaru Watanabe 5540-11 Sakate-cho, Mizukaido-city, Ibaraki Prefecture Within Canon Aptex Co., Ltd. Inside the company (72) Inventor Shinichi Saijo 5540-11 Sakate-cho, Mizukaido-shi, Ibaraki Prefecture Within Canon Aptex Co., Ltd. Reference) 2C056 EA25 EB14 EB29 EB49 EC14 FA03 HA46 2H086 BA01 BA05

Claims (6)

[Claims] An image forming apparatus that performs recording by discharging ink from a recording unit onto a recording medium, wherein a drying unit that dries the ink discharged onto the recording medium, and calculates an amount of ink discharged onto the recording medium Calculating means,
An image forming apparatus, wherein the drying unit is controlled in accordance with a calculation result of the calculation unit. 2. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the amount of the ink is calculated from print data to be printed on the print medium. 3. An image forming apparatus which performs recording by discharging ink from a recording unit onto a recording medium, wherein the drying unit dries the ink discharged onto the recording medium, and a drying state of the ink discharged onto the recording medium. Detecting means for detecting
An image forming apparatus that controls the drying unit in accordance with a detection result of the detection unit. 4. The image forming apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the dry state is detected from an electric resistance value of the recording medium. 5. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the recording unit includes an ink jet recording head that records an image by discharging ink. 6. The image forming apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the ink jet recording head records the image using ink droplets formed by thermal energy.