JP2003053953A - Printer and borderless printing method - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a simple-constitution printer which can carry out high quality and borderless printing without requiring an ink absorber. SOLUTION: The printer for printing by moving a carriage 203 with an ink head 34 back and forth in a direction orthogonal to a paper transfer direction is provided with a sensor 20 set to the carriage 203 for detecting an end in a widthwise direction of a paper, and a control means 30 for outputting a control command to carry out borderless printing on the basis of paper position information from the sensor 20. A storage means 31 is set to the control means 30 for storing the paper position information.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a printing apparatus, such as an ink jet printer, which prints by reciprocally moving an ink head mounted on a carriage in a direction orthogonal to a sheet conveying direction. The present invention relates to a printing device and a borderless printing method capable of borderless printing on a widthwise end of a sheet.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a printing apparatus has been widely used in which a carriage having an ink head, such as an ink jet printer, repeatedly reciprocates in a direction orthogonal to a sheet conveying direction (a sheet width direction) for printing. However, in recent years, in order to further increase the added value, there has been proposed a printing apparatus capable of performing borderless printing by printing up to the edge of a sheet.

For example, Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2000-118058 discloses a printer provided with an ink absorber for performing overprinting beyond the boundary line of a sheet and absorbing ink ejection due to this overprinting. There is. According to this printer, borderless printing can be performed from one side to the other side of the sheet without contaminating the back side of the sheet with ink.

Further, in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2000-326531, for a recording sheet provided with cutting lines that can be cut in a direction intersecting the recording sheet conveyance direction on both sides of the recording sheet conveyance direction, the cutting line is crossed. A thermal transfer recording apparatus for recording up to an area is disclosed. In this case, after the recording is completed, the edge of the recording sheet is cut off along the cut line, so that the entire edgeless recorded image can be provided.

Further, Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2000-351521 discloses a recording apparatus provided with a cutting means for forming a cutting line on a recording medium. According to this recording apparatus, after the recording is completed similarly to the above, by cutting the end portion of the recording medium along the cut line formed on the recording medium, it is possible to easily obtain the entire borderless image.

[0006]

However, the conventional printing apparatus as described above has the following problems. That is, in the printer described in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2000-118058, it is necessary to provide an ink absorber for overprinting beyond the boundary line of the paper, and when ink absorption by the ink absorber is not sufficient. , The back side of the paper is contaminated with ink. further,
There is a problem that the ink consumption is increased because the ink is wastefully consumed by supplying the ink to the ink absorber portion outside the printing area.

Further, both the thermal transfer recording apparatus disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2000-326531 and the recording apparatus disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2000-351521 need to cut the end portion of the recording medium along a cut line formed on the recording medium. In addition, the user must discard the cut-out portion, which is troublesome and time-consuming.

Further, since it is necessary to provide a cutting means for forming the above-mentioned cutting line, the number of parts increases, the apparatus becomes complicated and the cost increases, and it becomes difficult to make the apparatus compact.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide a simple printing apparatus and a borderless printing method capable of high-quality borderless printing without the need for an ink absorber.

[0010]

The present invention has means for solving the above-mentioned problems as follows.

(1) In a printing apparatus in which a carriage equipped with an ink head is reciprocated in a direction orthogonal to the paper conveyance direction to perform printing, the carriage is provided on the carriage to detect the end portion in the width direction of the paper. And a control unit that outputs a control command for performing borderless printing based on the sheet position information from the sensor.

According to this structure, the position of the sheet is detected by the sensor, and the borderless printing for printing up to the edge of the sheet can be performed based on the detection result. That is, for a sheet conveyed to the recordable area, a carriage equipped with a sensor is made to stand by on the line on which one end in the width direction of the sheet is conveyed regardless of the size of the sheet, and one end of the sheet is detected. At the same time, the carriage performs the first print scan. Then, when the sensor detects the other end in the width direction of the paper, the first printing scan is finished at that time,
The carriage returns to one end of the paper and performs the second print scan.

As described above, the sensor detects the end portion of the paper in the width direction, and based on the position detection information, the control command output from the control means according to the preset control program determines whether the paper size is determined. However, borderless printing is performed to print up to the edge of the paper.

In the printing scan, the control means terminates the ejection of the ink at the edge of the sheet based on the sheet position information from the sensor. Therefore, the ink absorbing means for overprinting as in the conventional example is required. As a result, high-quality borderless printing can be performed without contaminating the back surface of the paper.

Further, it is not necessary to cut off the edge of the paper,
Since the labor for that is saved and a cutting means is unnecessary, the structure of the device can be simplified, and the cost can be reduced and the size can be reduced.

(2) The sensor includes a light emitting element and a light receiving element, and an intermediate point between the two elements is located on an extension line in the moving direction of the carriage on the printing start side.

In this structure, the ink nozzles of the ink head are located on the extended line of the position of the light (the position where the output is maximized) at which the light emitted from the light emitting element can be most efficiently received by the light receiving element. Therefore, it is possible to accurately detect the paper.

(3) The control means includes a storage means for storing the paper position information.

In this configuration, by storing the sheet position information acquired in the process of the first printing scan in the storage means, it becomes unnecessary to detect the edge of the sheet by the second and subsequent sensors, and the printing speed is increased. Can be improved.

(4) The control means performs a paper position detecting operation similar to that in which the sensor detects the edge portion of the paper in the process of the first print scan, and the operation is performed every several print scans. It is characterized in that it is performed by the sensor.

In this configuration, for example, when the sheet is conveyed slightly obliquely, the sheet position can be corrected by the sheet position detection by the sensor again every several scans. Even if the paper is slightly misaligned, high-quality borderless printing can be performed.

(5) When the paper position is detected, the control means controls the carriage moving speed to be slower than during a normal printing process.

In this structure, the accuracy of the sheet position detection is improved by appropriately adjusting the moving speed of the carriage depending on whether the sensor detects the sheet position or not. The printing speed can be improved.

(6) The straight line connecting the light emitting element and the light receiving element of the sensor is set to be parallel to the sheet conveying direction.

In this structure, the sensor is installed in parallel with the sheet conveying direction as described above, so that the detection light for detecting the presence or absence of the sheet is reflected from the light emitting section onto the sheet and reaches the light receiving section. However, since it is in the same direction with respect to the sheet end surface, the reflected light from the sheet end surface can be accurately reflected to the sheet end surface, and the position of the sheet end surface can be accurately detected.

(7) When one end in the width direction of the paper carried into the recordable area is detected by a sensor provided on the carriage, the carriage performs the first print scan from one end side of the paper, In the process of one print scan, when the sensor detects the other end of the paper in the width direction, the first print scan is ended, the carriage returns to one end of the paper, and the second print scan and thereafter. It is characterized by performing the printing scanning of.

In this method, a sensor provided on the carriage detects the widthwise edge of the sheet, and based on the position detection information, a control command output from the control means in accordance with a preset control program. In addition, it is possible to perform borderless printing that prints up to the edge of the paper regardless of the paper size.

In the printing scan, the control means controls the start and end of ink ejection at the edges (one end and the other end) of the paper at a good timing based on the paper position information from the sensor. As in the example, no ink absorbing means is required when overprinting, and high quality borderless printing is possible without contaminating the back surface of the paper.

Further, it is not necessary to cut off the edge of the paper,
Since the labor for that is saved and the cutting means is not necessary, the structure of the device can be simplified, the cost can be reduced and the device can be made compact.

[0030]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS A printing apparatus and a borderless printing method according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

1 and 2 show the construction of an ink jet printer 10 as a printing device. As shown in the figure, the inkjet printer 10 includes a printing unit 81 that prints on the recording paper P, a paper feeding unit 82 that supplies the recording paper P to a printing position, and a recording paper P that is in the process of passing through the printing unit 81. A transport section 83 for transporting the printed sheet and a printed recording sheet P
And an ejecting section 85 for ejecting.

The paper feeding section 82 has a paper feeding tray 103, a paper feeding roller 104, and a separating plate 105. The paper feed tray 103 accommodates and feeds the recording paper P to be printed, and the paper feed roller 104 and the separation plate 105 form the paper feed tray 1
The recording papers P accommodated in 03 are separated one by one and supplied to the transport unit 83.

The transport section 83 comprises a guide plate 106 and a transport roller 107, and the guide plate 106 is a paper feed roller 104.
The recording paper P fed from the sheet is guided to the printing unit 81, and the conveyance roller 107 conveys the recording paper P passing on the guide plate 106 to the ink head 101.

The printing unit 81 includes an ink carriage 203,
The ink carriage 203 includes a shaft 202 and a platen 102. The ink carriage 203 moves the ink head 101 along the shaft 202, and as shown in FIG. 3, four colors {cyan (C), yellow (Y), magenta (M). An ink head 101 for ejecting black (B)} ink and a sensor 20 for detecting the edge of the paper are provided. The sensor 20 will be described later.

The ink head 101 discharges ink supplied from a cartridge (not shown) to form an image on the recording paper P. The shaft 202 is a guide member for guiding the ink carriage 203 so as to move along the scanning direction. The scanning direction is a direction (paper width direction) orthogonal to the conveyance direction of the recording paper P.

The platen 102 serves as a base (printing base) on which the recording paper P is placed at the time of printing (ink ejection). The platen 102 maintains the flatness of the recording paper P and the nozzles and the recording. The distance from the paper P is adjusted.

The discharging section 85 has a discharging roller 108 and a discharging tray 109. The discharge roller 108 discharges the recording paper P printed by the ink head 101 to the discharge tray 10.
Discharge to 9.

Next, the printing operation of the ink jet printer 10 configured as described above will be described. First, the user loads the recording paper P onto the inkjet printer 1
It is placed on the paper feed tray 103 of 0. Then, when the inkjet printer 10 receives a print request from a computer or the like, the paper feed roller 104 and the separation plate 105 feed the recording papers P one by one to the transport unit 83, and the fed recording papers P. Are transported to the ink head 101 by the transport roller 107 while being supported by the guide plate 106.

Next, the ink head 101 ejects ink onto the conveyed recording paper P to perform printing.
This printing is performed by moving the ink carriage 203 having the ink head 101 along the shaft 202 in the scanning direction.

That is, at the time of printing, the ink carriage 2
03 is arranged at a start position provided at one end (end of the shaft) in the scanning direction. And
In response to a print request, it moves along the scanning direction to a stop position provided at the other end.

During this movement, the ink head 10
1 ejects ink onto the recording paper P in response to a print request. As a result, the ink head 101
An image for scanning (hereinafter, referred to as a line image) can be printed. The width of the line image is the width of the ink head 1.
This corresponds to a vertical width of 01 (width in the sheet conveying direction).

After the line image of the first scan is printed, the transport roller 107 transports the recording paper P on the platen 102 by the width of the line image, and the ink carriage 203 moves during this transport. , The print position is returned to the start position, and the next print scan continues.

In the ink jet printer 10, by repeating such printing scanning, the ink head 10
1, the information corresponding to the print request is printed on the recording paper P, and the printed recording paper P is ejected to the paper ejection tray 109 via the paper ejection roller 108 and is provided to the user as a document (printed matter).

By the way, in the ink jet printer 10 of the present embodiment, the sensor 20 for detecting the end portion in the width direction of the paper is provided on the ink carriage 203 in order to perform borderless printing.

As shown in FIG. 3, the sensor 20 is provided on the ink carriage 203 together with the ink head 101, and the four color ink heads 101 are cyan (C), yellow (Y), magenta (M) and black (B). ) And) are located at positions separated by distances dl, d2, d3, and d4, respectively.

Further, as shown in FIG. 4, the sensor 20 is provided with a light emitting element 21 and a light receiving element 22, irradiates the recording paper P with light from the light emitting element 21, and receives the reflected light from the light receiving element 22. The presence or absence of the recording paper P is detected by receiving light.

Further, the sensor 20 is arranged such that the centers of the light emitting element 21 and the light receiving element 22 are located on an extension line in the moving direction of the ink carriage 203 of the ink head 101.

As a result, the light emitting element 21 is replaced by the light emitting element 2
When light is emitted to an intermediate position (center position) between 1 and the light receiving element 22, the light receiving element 22 can most efficiently receive the reflected light.

Therefore, on the extension line of the intermediate position, the ink head 1 on the side that first ejects the ink onto the recording paper P.
By arranging 01, the position of the recording paper P can be accurately detected. Further, by performing the printing by scanning the ink carriage 203 at the same time as detecting the position of the recording paper P, it is possible to perform borderless printing in which printing is performed up to the end portion of the recording paper P.

That is, as shown in FIG. 4, when the recording paper P is conveyed, the ink carriage 203 moves the ink carriage 203 from the home position at the end of the shaft to sense one end of the recording paper P. Detect at 20. When the recording paper P is detected, four color ink heads 1
In consideration of the time lag calculated from the distances dl to d4 between the nozzle No. 01 and the center position of the light emitting element 21 and the light receiving element 22 where the light emitting element 21 emits light to the recording sheet P, Start printing from the edge.

In the first scan of the ink carriage 203, as shown in FIG. 5, the position of the ink carriage 203 where the sensor 20 detects the other end of the recording paper P, the position where the recording paper P is no longer detected, and That is, the storage means 31 (see FIG. 6) stores one end to the other end of the recording paper P in the width direction. Accordingly, the control unit 30 can perform borderless printing from one end to the other end in the width direction of the recording paper P without performing the position detection of the recording paper P after the second scan.

Note that printing may be performed while detecting the recording paper P by the same sensor 20 in the second and subsequent scans as in the first scan, but the detection position of the recording paper P is stored as described above. By doing so, it is possible to increase the moving speed of the ink carriage 203 during scanning without detection by the sensor 20, so that the printing speed can be significantly improved.

In order to store the result of the position detection of the recording paper P by the sensor 20, the control means 30 is provided in the ink jet printer 10 separately from the ink carriage 203 as shown in FIG. Is preferred.

The control means 30 includes the ink carriage 2
Storage means (RAM) 31 for storing the position information of 03;
A detection signal detected by the sensor 20 is provided to the storage unit 31 and is sent to the control unit 32 as position data.

The control section 32 sends a signal from the above position data to the ink carriage driving means 33 to drive the ink carriage 203, and at the same time sends an ink head driving signal to the ink head driving means 34 to check the ink ejection timing. Take control.

Next, the borderless printing (entire printing) by the control means 30 will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. Print command is inkjet printer 1
When 0 is input, the inkjet printer 10 detects whether it is the first scan (S1).

At this time, if it is the first scan, the moving speed of the ink carriage 203 is slowed down (S2), and the sensor 20 is made to detect the end portion (one end) of the recording paper P (S2).
3) After the detected position is stored in the storage unit 31 (S4), printing is started (S5).

Next, the sensor 20 detects a position (the other end) where the recording paper P is no longer detected (S6), and the position of the ink carriage 203 at that time is stored in the storage means 31.
(S7), and the first printing scan is completed (S7).
8) It is detected whether the scan is the final scan (S).
9).

On the other hand, if it is not the first scan as determined in S1, the moving speed of the ink carriage 203 is increased (S10), and the ink carriage 203 is moved to the print start position stored in the storage unit 31 ( S11), the printing is started (S12), the printing is performed up to the print end position also stored in the storage unit 31 (S13), the printing of one scan is ended (S14), and whether this scan is the final scan. Whether or not it is detected (S9). Then, if it is the final scan, the printing scan is ended, and if it is not the final scan, the scanning is repeated again and printing is performed up to the final scan, and the entire surface printing becomes possible.

As described above, in the present ink jet printer 10, the storage means 31 stores one end (one end) and the other end (other end) of the recording paper P in the width direction, and prints the entire surface ( It is possible to perform borderless printing).

In this way, the sensor 20 detects the end portion of the recording paper P in the width direction, and based on the position detection information, the control means 30 according to a preset control program.
By the control command output from the printer, borderless printing can be performed to print up to the edge of the paper regardless of the paper size.

In the printing scan, the control means 30 controls the start and end of ink ejection at the end portions (one end and the other end) of the paper in good timing on the basis of the paper position information from the sensor 20. Unlike the conventional example, no ink absorbing means is required for overprinting, high-quality borderless printing is possible without contaminating the back surface of the paper.

Further, it is not necessary to cut off the edge of the paper,
Since the labor for that is saved and the cutting means is not necessary, the structure of the device can be simplified, the cost can be reduced and the device can be made compact.

By the way, the recording paper P may be conveyed with a slight inclination for some reason. In consideration of such a case, the position of the recording paper P is again detected by the sensor 20 every several times of scanning. Is more preferable. As a result, the inclination of the recording paper P in the printing process can be detected, and high-quality full-surface printing can be performed more reliably.

In the ink jet printer 10 of this embodiment, as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the sensor 20 is used.
However, for the ink head 101, the ink carriage 2
Although the example of being positioned on the extension line of the scanning direction of 03, that is, the width direction of the recording paper P (the direction orthogonal to the transport direction) has been described, the present invention is not limited to this.

For example, as shown in FIG.
However, it may be located on an extension line of the ink head 101 in the transport direction of the recording paper P.

In the ink jet printer 10 of FIG. 8, when the recording paper P is conveyed and the recording paper P is detected by the sensor 20, the time lag due to the distance d2 between the center position of the sensor 20 and the end of the ink head 101 is detected. In consideration of the above, the recording paper P is once retracted and the ink head 1
Printed by 01. In this way, even with the arrangement of the sensor 20 as shown in FIG. 8, it is possible to print the entire surface by appropriately controlling the conveyance of the recording paper P.

[0068]

As is apparent from the above description, the present invention has the following effects.

According to the first aspect, a sensor provided on the carriage for detecting the widthwise edge of the sheet, and a control unit for performing borderless printing based on the sheet position information from the sensor, Since the sensor is provided, the position of the sheet is detected by the sensor, and based on the detection result, the control unit can perform borderless printing to print up to the edge of the sheet.

In the printing scan, the control means controls the start and end of ink ejection at the end portions (one end and the other end) of the paper with good timing based on the paper position information from the sensor. As in the example, no ink absorbing means is required when overprinting, and high-quality borderless printing is possible without contaminating the back surface of the paper.

Further, it is not necessary to cut off the edge of the paper,
Since the labor for that is saved and a cutting means is unnecessary, the structure of the device can be simplified, and the cost can be reduced and the size can be reduced.

According to the second aspect, the sensor includes the light emitting element and the light receiving element, and the midpoint between the two elements is located on the extension line in the moving direction of the carriage on the printing start side. Since the ink nozzles of the ink head are located on the extension line of the position of the light (the position where the output is maximized) where the received light can be received most efficiently by the light receiving element, it is possible to detect the paper accurately.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, since the control means has the storage means for storing the paper position information, the paper position information acquired in the process of the first print scan is stored in the storage means. By doing so, it is not necessary to detect the edge of the sheet by the second and subsequent sensors, and the printing speed can be improved.

According to the fourth aspect, the control unit performs the same paper position detecting operation as that when the sensor detects the edge portion of the paper in the process of the first print scan, every several print scans. Since the sensor is made to perform, for example, when the paper is conveyed at a slight angle, every few scans,
By detecting the sheet position again by the sensor, the sheet position can be corrected, and high-quality borderless printing can be performed even if the sheet is slightly displaced.

According to the fifth aspect, when the sheet position is detected, the control means controls the moving speed of the carriage slower than during the normal printing process, so that the moving speed of the carriage is properly adjusted. With the improved accuracy of paper position detection,
The printing speed can be improved.

According to the sixth aspect, since the straight line connecting the light emitting element and the light receiving element of the sensor is set parallel to the sheet conveying direction, the detection light for detecting the presence / absence of the sheet is emitted from the light emitting section. Since the optical path of the light reflected by and reaching the light receiving section is in the same direction with respect to the paper edge, the reflected light from the paper edge can be accurately reflected to the paper edge, and the position of the paper edge can be accurately adjusted. Can be detected.

According to the seventh aspect, the sensor provided on the carriage detects the end portion of the paper in the width direction, and based on the position detection information, it is output from the control means (according to a preset control program). By the control command according to the above, it is possible to perform borderless printing that prints up to the edge of the paper regardless of the paper size.

In the printing scan, the control means controls the start and end of ink ejection at the end portions (one end and the other end) of the paper at a good timing based on the paper position information from the sensor. As described above, there is no need for ink absorbing means for overprinting, and high-quality borderless printing is possible without contaminating the back surface of the paper.

Further, it is not necessary to cut the edge of the paper,
Since the labor for that is saved and the cutting means is not necessary, the structure of the device can be simplified, the cost can be reduced and the device can be made compact.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view illustrating the configuration of an inkjet printer according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view of the same.

FIG. 3 is a configuration explanatory view of the same ink head as seen from the front.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory view of the configuration seen from above.

FIG. 5 is a front view showing a corresponding relationship between the ink head and recording paper.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram of the same control system.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart for explaining same-edgeless printing.

FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram of a configuration of an ink head showing a different arrangement of the same sensor.

[Explanation of symbols]

20-sensor 21-Light emitting device 22-Light receiving element 30-Control means 31-storage means 101-ink head 203-Carriage (ink carriage)

Claims (7)

[Claims] 1. In a printing apparatus in which a carriage provided with an ink head reciprocates in a direction orthogonal to a sheet conveying direction for printing, the carriage is provided on the carriage to detect an end portion in a width direction of the sheet. A printing apparatus comprising: a sensor; and a control unit that outputs a control command for performing borderless printing based on paper position information from the sensor. 2. The sensor according to claim 1, wherein the sensor includes a light emitting element and a light receiving element, and an intermediate point between the two elements is located on an extension line in a moving direction of the carriage on a printing start side. The printing device described. 3. The printing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the control unit includes a storage unit for storing the paper position information. 4. The control unit performs a paper position detecting operation similar to that when the sensor detects the edge of the paper in the process of the first print scan, the sensor detects the print position every several print scans. The printing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein: 5. The control unit controls the moving speed of the carriage to be slower than during a normal printing process when the sheet position is detected. Printing device. 6. The printing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a straight line connecting the light emitting element and the light receiving element of the sensor is set to be parallel to the sheet conveying direction. 7. When a sensor provided on a carriage detects one end in the width direction of a sheet carried into a recordable area, the carriage performs a first print scan from one end side of the sheet, In the process of print scanning,
When the sensor detects the other end of the paper in the width direction, the first printing scan is ended, the carriage returns to one end of the paper, and the second and subsequent printing scans are performed. Borderless printing method.