JP2003170609A - Inkjet recorder - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an inkjet recorder wherein ejection of ink during recording of an image is stabilized to maintain the image quality and a time period for the recording of an image can be suppressed. <P>SOLUTION: A predetermined amount of ink is ejected at a position outside of an edge of a recording medium while the recording medium is conveyed. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2003,JPO

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an inkjet recording device.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Ink jet recording is a method of forming an image by ejecting ink droplets from a nozzle as shown in FIG. FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram schematically showing the drive signal waveform supplied to the head and the state of droplet ejection from the nozzle. As shown in FIG. 8, the drive signal waveform causes the ejection nozzle formed of a piezo element or the like to expand (→), and then contracts () to eject ink droplets, and returns to the original state again ( ) Is to repeat the process.

In this type of ink jet printer,
The ink at the nozzle opening may be exposed to the atmosphere for a long time, only the solvent of the ink evaporates, the surface of the ink dries, and the ejection of ink droplets may become unstable or clogged. In addition, there are dye inks and pigment inks as such inks. In particular, water-based pigment inks prepared by mixing particles in a water-based medium are apt to be clogged.

Further, in recent years, gradation recording has come to be carried out in various printers, and it has come to be carried out also in ink jet printers like other printers. As one of gradation recording, there is a method in which the diameter of an ejection nozzle is reduced to reduce the size of one ink droplet and the number of dots ejected per pixel is changed.

Furthermore, in order to increase the printing speed, quick-drying ink is used so that the inks do not mix even if they are overprinted immediately.

Therefore, when the diameter of the discharge nozzle is reduced and a quick-drying ink is used, the ink surface of the nozzle becomes easier to dry.

Therefore, when the time until the next ink ejection is long, the ejection is not performed even if the drive signal is given, or even if the ejection is performed, the speed and the trajectory become unstable and the normal operation is achieved. Problems such as not being able to obtain droplets tended to occur.

In order to avoid such a problem, the ink is moved at a predetermined cycle to a head cap mechanism or the like which is provided at a position distant from the image recording area and which holds the ejection nozzle in a blocked state during standby, There is also an apparatus configured to prevent the ink surface from being dried by performing the preliminary ejection of.

[0009]

However, in the above-mentioned apparatus, the movement time and the preliminary ejection time are required separately from the movement for the image recording for the preliminary ejection of the ink, and as a result, the image recording is not performed. A new problem will occur that the total time required will become long.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object thereof is to perform preliminary ejection of ink during conveyance of a recording medium at a position outside the edge of the recording medium. An object of the present invention is to provide an ink jet recording apparatus that stabilizes ink ejection during image recording, maintains image quality, and does not lengthen image recording time.

[0011]

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention according to claim 1 provides a recording medium, a conveying means for conveying the recording medium, and a direction intersecting the conveying direction of the recording medium. In an inkjet recording apparatus having a recording head that reciprocally moves to and ejects ink from a nozzle to perform image recording, the recording head is configured to perform the recording between the end of image recording in one direction and the start of image recording in the opposite direction. It is characterized by having a control means for preliminarily ejecting a predetermined amount of ink from the nozzle at a position outside the edge of the medium.

According to a second aspect of the invention, an image is formed by ejecting ink from a nozzle by reciprocating a recording medium, a conveying means for conveying the recording medium, and a direction intersecting the conveying direction of the recording medium. In an inkjet recording apparatus having a recording head for recording, between the end of image recording in one direction and the start of image recording in the opposite direction, the recording head is located outside the edge of the recording medium, It is characterized by having a control means for preliminarily ejecting a predetermined amount of ink from the nozzle, and a recovery means for recovering a predetermined amount of ink ejected from the nozzle by the preliminary ejection.

According to a third aspect of the invention, a recording medium, a conveying means for conveying the recording medium, and a reciprocating movement in a direction intersecting the conveying direction of the recording medium to eject ink from the nozzles to form an image. In an ink jet recording apparatus having a recording head for recording, image recording is performed by the recording head up to a position outside the edge of the recording medium in a direction intersecting the conveyance direction of the recording medium, and the image is recorded in one direction. Between the end of image recording and the start of image recording in the reverse direction, a control unit for preliminarily ejecting a predetermined amount of ink from the nozzle at a position where the recording head is outside the edge of the recording medium, and At a position outside the edge, the ink ejected from the nozzle for the image recording and a predetermined amount of ink ejected from the nozzle by the preliminary ejection are rotated. It is characterized by having a collecting means for.

Further, the invention according to claim 4 is characterized in that the preliminary ejection is performed during the conveyance of the recording medium from the end of the image recording in the one direction to the start of the image recording in the opposite direction.

According to a fifth aspect of the invention, a recording medium, a conveying means for conveying the recording medium, and a reciprocating movement in a direction intersecting the conveying direction of the recording medium to eject ink from the nozzles to form an image. In an inkjet recording apparatus having a recording head for recording, between the end of image recording of the previous page and the start of image recording of the next page, the recording head is located outside the edge of the recording medium, It is characterized by having a control means for preliminarily ejecting a predetermined amount of ink from the nozzle.

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, a recording medium, a conveying means for conveying the recording medium, and a reciprocating movement in a direction intersecting the conveying direction of the recording medium to eject ink from nozzles to form an image. In an inkjet recording apparatus having a recording head for recording, between the end of image recording of the previous page and the start of image recording of the next page, the recording head is located outside the edge of the recording medium, It is characterized by having a control means for preliminarily ejecting a predetermined amount of ink from the nozzle, and a recovery means for recovering a predetermined amount of ink ejected from the nozzle by the preliminary ejection.

According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, an image is formed by ejecting ink from a nozzle by reciprocating a recording medium, conveying means for conveying the recording medium, and a direction intersecting the conveying direction of the recording medium. In an inkjet recording apparatus having a recording head that performs recording, image recording is performed by the recording head to a position outside the edge of the recording medium in a direction intersecting the transport direction of the recording medium, and the image of the previous page is recorded. Between the end of recording and the start of image recording of the next page, a control unit that pre-discharges a predetermined amount of ink from the nozzle at a position where the recording head is outside the edge of the recording medium, and an edge of the recording medium. At a position outside the edge, the ink ejected from the nozzle for the image recording and the predetermined amount of ink ejected from the nozzle by the preliminary ejection are rotated. It is characterized by having a collecting means for.

The invention according to claim 8 is characterized in that the preliminary ejection is performed during the conveyance of the recording medium from the end of the image recording of the previous page to the start of the image recording of the next page.

Further, the invention according to claim 9 is characterized in that the preliminary ejection is performed at a position outside the one edge of the recording medium.

The invention according to claim 10 is characterized in that the recording head has a plurality of nozzles, and the preliminary ejection is performed by all the nozzles of the plurality of nozzles.

The invention according to claim 11 is characterized in that the ink is an aqueous pigment ink.

[0022]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION (Schematic Description) First, a schematic structure of an entire ink jet printer of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG.
Will be described with reference to. FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram showing a schematic mechanical configuration of the entire inkjet recording apparatus of this example.

As shown in FIG. 1, the ink jet recording apparatus of this embodiment includes a recording sheet 1 (recording medium), a carriage 20, a carriage rail 21 for guiding the carriage 20 along the main scanning direction X, A recording unit 2 including a carriage wire 22 that drives the carriage 20 and a carriage pulley 23, an ink receiver 3 (collection unit) that receives ejected ink, and a conveyance roller 4 that nips the recording paper 1 and conveys it in the sub-scanning direction Y. A cutting portion 5 for cutting the recording paper 1 in the width direction, a tray 6 for stacking the cut recording paper 1, and a nozzle 2011 of a recording head 201 described later.
And a cap 7 for closing the opening.

First, the recording unit 2 will be described. Carriage 2
0 is shown in detail in FIGS. 2 is a perspective view of the carriage 20, FIG. 3 is a front view of the carriage 20, and FIG. 4 is a bottom view of the carriage 20.

The carriage 20 has an ink tank 202 (Y in FIGS. 2 and 3) for storing ink of each color.
202a, 202b, 202c, 202d for (yellow), M (magenta), C (cyan), and K (black: black)
4), and the recording head 201 (FIGS. 3 and 4) that ejects ink from each ink tank 202 onto the recording paper 1 to perform recording.
Then Y (yellow), M (magenta), C (cyan), K
(Black: black) for 201a, 201b, 201c,
Four of 201d) are provided.

As shown in FIG. 4, each recording head 201 is provided with a plurality of nozzles 2011 for ejecting ink. In this embodiment, a cartridge type in which an ink tank and a recording head are integrated for each color is used.

Further, the carriage 20 movably engages with a carriage rail 21, and further, the carriage wire 2
It is connected to 2. Pulleys K23 are arranged at both ends of the rail 21 as shown in FIG. 1, and the wire K22 is wound between the pulleys K23. One pulley K
23 is driven by a carriage drive means 106 (not shown) including a drive mechanism and a drive motor, and the pulley 20 is driven to move the carriage 20 along the carriage rail 21.

The position of the carriage 20 is detected by a carriage position detecting means 104 such as a sensor or a linear encoder (not shown), and the carriage 20 reciprocates in the scanning direction X based on the detection.

In this way, while the carriage 20 is moving, ink is ejected from the recording head 201 onto the recording paper 1 to record an image.

Next, the ink receiver 3 will be described. Figure 5
FIG. 3 is a sectional view of the ink receiver 3 in the main scanning direction X. First, the opening of FIG. 5 will be described. Recording head 201
Ejects ink to the edge of the recording paper 1 and when recording is performed on the recording paper 1 without leaving any blank area (the position (b) in FIG. 5), the set position shift of the recording paper 1 and the detection of the carriage are detected. In consideration of the positional error and the like, the ink is ejected to a position outside the recording paper 1 to some extent, so that it is necessary to receive the ink outside the recording paper 1. Therefore, the opening is formed slightly inside the recording paper 1. Although described on the left side of FIG. 5, the same applies to the right side.

When the carriage 20 ejects ink at a standby position (position (c) in FIG. 5) which is out of the recording paper 1, the ink ejected at the outermost side (Z in FIG. 5). Need to receive the arrow). Therefore, the opening is
It is formed outside the ink ejected on the outermost side. Although described on the right side of FIG. 5, the same applies to the left side.

Further, the received ink is drawn in by the suction fan 31 and is absorbed by the absorption filter 32 (2 in FIG. 5).
It is supposed to be absorbed.

The conveying roller 4 is composed of a roller pair of a driving roller and a driven roller, holds the recording paper 1, and the driving roller is rotated by a conveying roller driving means 107 (not shown) including a driving mechanism and a driving motor. Then, the recording paper 1 is conveyed back and forth in the sub-scanning direction (conveying means).

The cutting section 5 includes a cutter blade 51 and a wire C.
52 and a pulley C53. The cutter blade 51 is connected to the wire C52. As shown in FIG. 1, pulleys C53 are arranged at both ends, and the wire C52 is wound between the pulleys C53. One pulley C53
Is a drive mechanism, a drive motor, etc., not shown 1
The cutter blade 51 moves in the width direction of the recording paper 1 and cuts the recording paper 1 by being driven by 08 and the pulley C53 being driven. At this time, the position of the cutter blade 51 is moved while being detected by a sensor or the like.

On the tray 6, the recording paper 1 cut into a predetermined length by the cutting unit 5 is loaded.

The cap 7 is provided for the nozzle 20 of the recording head 201 when the power of the ink jet recording apparatus is turned off, during rest, etc.
In order to prevent 11 from drying, the carriage 20 is moved to the position of the cap 7 to seal the recording head 201. The movement of the carriage 20 is performed while being detected by a position detection means such as a sensor or a linear encoder (not shown). Further, the cap 7 is moved up and down by a cap driving means 109 (not shown) including a swinging mechanism and a drive motor to seal and release the recording head 201. At this time, the position of the cap 7 is moved while being detected by a sensor or the like.

(Regarding Control System) Next, FIG. 6 shows a control configuration of the ink jet recording apparatus according to the present embodiment.
As shown in FIG. 6, the inkjet recording apparatus according to the present invention temporarily stores an image data input unit 101 that receives image data from a host computer 8, a head driver 102 that operates the recording head 201, and various parameters and information. Based on the RAM 103 that holds the carriage 20, the carriage position detection unit 104 that detects the position of the carriage 20, the other sensor 105, and the detection position of the carriage position detection unit 104, the carriage 20 is stopped at a predetermined position in the main scanning direction X. A carriage driving unit 106 that is driven to control the operation, a conveying roller driving unit 107 that drives the conveying roller 4 during image formation, and a cutter driving unit 108 that drives the cutting unit 5 when cutting the recording paper 1.
And a cap drive means 1 for operating the cap 7.
09, and a control means 100 that controls each of these parts,
It is configured to include.

The control means 100 is specifically the CPU 1
00a, various control programs, and a system memory 100b that stores various data necessary for executing the control programs and that constitutes a work area when the control programs are executed.

Further, an operating means and a display means for setting various setting values may be configured.

(Operation) Next, the operation of the ink jet printer having the above-mentioned structure will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 and 7.

First, at the time of image formation, the cap 7
From the recording head 201 of the carriage 20 at the position (in FIG. 7) by the cap driving unit 109.
Is released, the carriage driving means 106 is driven, the pulley K is rotated, and the carriage 20 is moved to the standby position (in FIG. 7) separated from the recording paper 1 according to the carriage position detecting means 104. At this time, if the leading edge of the recording paper 1 is not at the image recording start position, the transport roller driving means 107 (not shown) rotates the transport roller 4 to move the leading edge of the recording paper 1 to the image recording start position.

Next, the carriage driving means 106 is driven, the pulley K is rotated, and the carriage 20 is moved in the main scanning direction X (in FIG. 7), while the recording head 201 is being moved.
Ejects ink in accordance with the image data to record a part of the image on the recording paper 1.

When the recording of a part of the image is completed,
According to the carriage position detecting means 104, the recording paper 1 is moved to the standby position (in FIG. 7). Here, the conveyance roller 4 is rotated by the conveyance roller driving unit 107 (not shown) to convey the recording paper 1 to a position where a part of the image is recorded next. When the carriage 20 is at this standby position (in FIG. 7), a predetermined amount of ink is applied to the recording head 201.
(Preliminary ejection). The ejected ink is collected in the ink receiver 3. This preliminary discharge is applied to all nozzles 20
By performing No. 11, the ink droplets are stably ejected in all the nozzles 2011 in the next image recording regardless of the state of the nozzles 2011 caused by the ink ejection in the previous image recording.

Further, during this period, the preliminary ejection may be continuously performed, but may be controlled so as to be performed at a predetermined timing.
Furthermore, if the recording paper 1 is being conveyed, no time is required only for this preliminary ejection, and the preliminary ejection does not affect the image recording time. By this preliminary ejection, it is possible to prevent the ink surface from drying and to stably eject the ink droplets in the next image recording.

Further, while driving the carriage driving means 106 to rotate the pulley K and move the carriage 20 in the main scanning direction X (in FIG. 7), the recording head 201 is moved.
Ejects ink in accordance with the image data to record a part of the image on the recording paper 1.

When the recording of a part of the image is completed,
According to the carriage position detecting means 104, the recording paper 1 is moved to the standby position (in FIG. 7). Here, the conveyance roller 4 is rotated by the conveyance roller driving unit 107 (not shown) to move the recording paper 1 to the position where a part of the image is recorded next. The carriage 20 is at this standby position (see FIG. 7).
7), a predetermined amount of ink is ejected from the recording head 201 (preliminary ejection) as in the case of the position shown in FIG.
Let

As described above, a part of the image is recorded repeatedly to record the image in the entire image recording area of the recording paper 1.

When the image recording on the entire area is completed, the conveying roller 4 is rotated by the conveying roller driving means 107 (not shown) to convey the recording paper 1 to a predetermined position, and the pulley C53 is rotated by the cutter driving means 108. Cutter blade 51
While moving, the recording paper 1 is cut. The recording paper 1 that has been subjected to image recording and cut is stacked on the tray 6. Further, when the cutting of the recording paper 1 is completed, the conveying roller driving means 107 (not shown) reversely rotates the conveying roller 4 to move the leading end of the recording paper 1 to the recording start position.

When there is a next page, the carriage 20 waits at the standby position (in FIG. 7) which is out of the recording paper 1 from the end of recording the image in the entire image recording area to the start of image recording of the next page. Then, as in the case of the above-described image recording, a predetermined amount of ink is ejected from the recording head 201 (preliminary ejection). The ejected ink is collected in the ink receiver 3. By performing this preliminary ejection by all the nozzles 2011, the ejection of ink droplets in the image recording of the next page is stable in all the nozzles 2011 regardless of the state of the nozzles 2011 due to the ejection of ink in the image recording of the previous page. Done

Further, during this period, the preliminary discharge may be continuously performed, but may be controlled so as to be performed at a predetermined timing.
Further, if it is performed during the conveyance of the recording paper 1, the time is not required only for the preliminary ejection, and the preliminary ejection does not affect the image recording time. By this preliminary ejection, it is possible to prevent the ink surface from drying and to stably eject the ink droplets in the next image recording.

When there is no next page, the carriage driving means 10 is operated after the recording of the image in the entire image recording area is completed.
6, the pulley K is rotated, the carriage 20 is moved to the position of the cap 7 (in FIG. 7) according to the carriage position detecting means 104, the cap driving means 109 is operated, the recording head 201 is sealed, and a series of The image recording operation ends.

According to the preliminary ejection of such an embodiment, since the ink surface of the nozzle is not dried during the image recording, the ejection by the drive signal is surely performed, and the ejection speed,
The trajectory is stable and high quality images can be obtained.

Further, since the ink preliminarily ejected by the ink receiver 3 is collected, the device is not polluted.

Although a means for collecting the preliminary ejected ink may be separately provided outside the ink receiver 3, the recording head 201 ejects the ink to the end of the recording paper 1 as in the present embodiment, and the recording paper is ejected. By performing the preliminary ejection of the ink to the ink receiver 3 when recording is performed without leaving a blank area in 1 in which no image is recorded, the preliminary ejected ink can be collected without increasing the number of members, and the cost does not increase. Further, it is not necessary to scan far away the preliminary ejection ink collecting means, and high-speed recording is possible. Of course, an apparatus for recording with a blank space on the recording paper 1 without recording an image does not have the ink receiver 3 described above, and therefore it is necessary to provide a means for collecting preliminary ejected ink.

Further, in the present embodiment, the preliminary ejection is performed on both sides of the recording paper 1, but it is also possible to perform either one of them. In this case, the ink receiver 3
The shape may be such that only the side for performing the preliminary ejection receives the ink for the preliminary ejection, and it is possible to reduce the outer shape of the device while preventing the ink surface from drying. As a matter of course, when the means for collecting the preliminary ejection ink is provided, it may be arranged only on the side for performing the preliminary ejection.

The ink used in the present invention is preferably a water-based ink, and either a dye ink or a pigment ink may be used. In the case of a pigment ink, since a solid solid component that does not dissolve in water remains, clogging occurs due to evaporation of water. The present invention is particularly effective in a system using a pigment ink.

In the present invention, the ink used for image recording may be a water-based ink composition, an oil-based ink composition, a solid (phase change) ink composition, or the like. The water-based ink composition (for example, ink Water-based inkjet recording liquid containing 10% by mass or more of water per total mass)
Can be used particularly preferably.

As the colorant used in the ink, water-soluble dyes such as acid dyes, direct dyes, reactive dyes, disperse dyes and pigments can be used.

In the present invention, it is particularly preferable to use a pigment ink as the colorant because it is apt to be clogged by the evaporation of water as described above and causes a larger problem than the dye ink. It is also preferable from the viewpoint of the storability of the obtained image record. As the pigment used in the pigment ink, an insoluble pigment, an organic pigment such as a lake pigment, and carbon black can be preferably used.

The insoluble pigment is not particularly limited, but for example, azo, azomethine, methine, diphenylmethane, triphenylmethane, quinacridone, anthraquinone, perylene, indigo, quinophthalone, isoindolinone, isoindoline, azine, oxazine. ,
Thiazine, dioxazine, thiazole, phthalocyanine, diketopyrrolopyrrole and the like are preferable.

Specific pigments that can be preferably used include the following pigments.

As the pigment for magenta or red,
For example, C.I. I. Pigment Red 2, C.I. I. Pigment Red 3, C.I. I. Pigment Red 5, C.I. I.
Pigment Red 6, C.I. I. Pigment Red 7,
C. I. Pigment Red 15, C.I. I. Pigment Red 16, C.I. I. Pigment Red 48: 1, C.I.
I. Pigment Red 53: 1, C.I. I. Pigment Red 57: 1, C.I. I. Pigment Red 122, C.I.
I. Pigment Red 123, C.I. I. Pigment Red 139, C.I. I. Pigment Red 144, C.I. I.
Pigment Red 149, C.I. I. Pigment Red 1
66, C.I. I. Pigment Red 177, C.I. I. Pigment Red 178, C.I. I. Pigment Red 222
Etc.

Examples of pigments for orange or yellow include C.I. I. Pigment Orange 31, C.I.
I. Pigment Orange 43, C.I. I. Pigment Yellow 12, C.I. I. Pigment Yellow 13, C.I. I.
Pigment Yellow 14, C.I. I. Pigment Yellow 15, C.I. I. Pigment Yellow 17, C.I. I. Pigment Yellow 93, C.I. I. Pigment Yellow 9
4, C.I. I. Pigment Yellow 138 and the like.

As the pigment for green or cyan,
For example, C.I. I. Pigment Blue 15, C.I. I. Pigment Blue 15: 2, C.I. I. Pigment Blue 1
5: 3, C.I. I. Pigment Blue 16, C.I. I. Pigment Blue 60, C.I. I. Pigment Green 7 and the like.

A pigment dispersant may be used for these pigments if necessary, and examples of the pigment dispersant that can be used include higher fatty acid salts, alkyl sulfates, alkyl ester sulfates, alkyl sulfonic acids. Salt, sulfosuccinate, naphthalene sulfonate, alkyl phosphate,
Activator such as polyoxyalkylene alkyl ether phosphate, polyoxyalkylene alkyl phenyl ether, polyoxyethylene polyoxypropylene glycol, glycerin ester, sorbitan ester, polyoxyethylene fatty acid amide, amine oxide, or styrene, styrene derivative, vinyl Block copolymers of two or more monomers selected from naphthalene derivatives, acrylic acid, acrylic acid derivatives, maleic acid, maleic acid derivatives, itaconic acid, itaconic acid derivatives, fumaric acid, fumaric acid derivatives, random copolymers Mention may be made of polymers and their salts.

Among these, those having a molecular weight (weight average molecular weight) of 3,000 or more are preferable, and styrene, styrene derivatives, vinylnaphthalene derivatives, acrylic acid, acrylic acid derivatives, maleic acid, maleic acid derivatives, itaconic acid, It is preferable to use a block dispersant composed of an itaconic acid derivative, fumaric acid, or a fumaric acid derivative, a block copolymer composed of two or more kinds of monomers, a random copolymer, or a salt thereof, and among them, 3 ，
Styrene, acrylic acid, having a molecular weight of 000 or more,
A block copolymer and a random copolymer selected from acrylic acid ester, methacrylic acid, methacrylic acid ester and the like are preferable. Examples of these include styrene-acrylic acid-methyl methacrylate copolymer (molecular weight 10,000
It has an acid value of 0, an acid value of 160), and acrylic-styrene resin such as John Cryl 61 (manufactured by Johnson Co.) is available.

As a method for dispersing the pigment, various dispersing machines such as a ball mill, a sand mill, an attritor, a roll mill, an agitator, a Henschel mixer, a colloid mill, an ultrasonic homogenizer, a pearl mill, a wet jet mill and a paint shaker can be used. it can. Also,
It is also preferable to use a centrifugal separator and a filter for the purpose of removing coarse particles of the pigment dispersion.

The average particle size of the pigment particles in the pigment ink is selected in consideration of stability in the ink, image density, glossiness, light resistance, etc. In addition, in the image forming method of the present invention,
From the viewpoint of improving gloss and improving texture, it is preferable to appropriately select the particle size. In the present invention, the reason why the glossiness or texture is improved is not clear at this stage, but in the formed image, the pigment is in a state in which it is preferably dispersed in the film in which the thermoplastic resin is melted. Presumed to be related to. For the purpose of high-speed treatment, it is necessary to melt the thermoplastic resin into a film in a short time and further sufficiently disperse the pigment in the film. At this time, it is considered that the surface area of the pigment has a great influence, and therefore the average particle size has an optimum region.

The water-based ink composition, which is a preferred form of the pigment ink, is preferably used in combination with a water-soluble organic solvent. Examples of the water-soluble organic solvent that can be used in the present invention include alcohols (for example, methanol, ethanol, propanol, isopropanol, butanol, isobutanol, secondary butanol, tertiary butanol, pentanol, hexanol, cyclohexanol, benzyl). Alcohol, etc.), polyhydric alcohols (for example, ethylene glycol, diethylene glycol, triethylene glycol, polyethylene glycol, propylene glycol, dipropylene glycol, polypropylene glycol, butylene glycol,
Hexanediol, pentanediol, glycerin, hexanetriol, thiodiglycol, etc.), polyhydric alcohol ethers (for example, ethylene glycol monomethyl ether, ethylene glycol monoethyl ether,
Ethylene glycol monobutyl ether, diethylene glycol monomethyl ether, diethylene glycol monomethyl ether, diethylene glycol monobutyl ether, propylene glycol monomethyl ether, propylene glycol monobutyl ether, ethylene glycol monomethyl ether acetate, triethylene glycol monomethyl ether, triethylene glycol monoethyl ether, triethylene glycol monoethyl ether Butyl ether, ethylene glycol monophenyl ether, propylene glycol monophenyl ether, etc.),
Amines (for example, ethanolamine, diethanolamine, triethanolamine, N-methyldiethanolamine, N-ethyldiethanolamine, morpholine,
N-ethylmorpholine, ethylenediamine, diethylenediamine, triethylenetetramine, tetraethylenepentamine, polyethyleneimine, pentamethyldiethylenetriamine, tetramethylpropylenediamine, etc.),
Amides (eg, formamide, N, N-dimethylformamide, N, N-dimethylacetamide, etc.), heterocycles (eg, 2-pyrrolidone, N-methyl-2-pyrrolidone, cyclohexylpyrrolidone, 2-oxazolidone, 1, 3-dimethyl-2-imidazolidinone etc.), sulfoxides (eg dimethyl sulfoxide etc.), sulfones (eg sulfolane etc.), urea, acetonitrile, acetone and the like. Examples of preferable water-soluble organic solvent include polyhydric alcohols. further,
It is particularly preferable to use a polyhydric alcohol and a polyhydric alcohol ether together.

The water-soluble organic solvent may be used alone or in combination of two or more. The total amount of the water-soluble organic solvent added to the ink is 5 to 60% by mass, preferably 10 to
It is 35 mass%.

The ink composition may contain various known additives, if necessary, according to the purposes of improving ejection stability, compatibility with print heads and ink cartridges, storage stability, image storability, and other performance improvements. For example, a viscosity modifier, a surface tension modifier, a specific resistance modifier, a film-forming agent, a dispersant, a surfactant, a UV absorber, an antioxidant, an anti-fading agent, an anti-fouling agent, an anticorrosive agent, etc. are appropriately selected. For example, polystyrene, polyacrylic acid esters, polymethacrylic acid esters, polyacrylamides, polyethylene, polypropylene, polyvinyl chloride, polyvinylidene chloride, or copolymers thereof, urea resins, or Organic latex fine particles such as melamine resin, liquid paraffin, dioctyl phthalate, tricresyl phosphate, silicone oil, etc. Droplet particles, various surfactants of cationic or nonionic, JP 57-74193,
UV absorbers described in JP-A-57-87988 and JP-A-62-261476, JP-A-57-74192 and 57.
-87989, 60-72785, 61-14.
6591, JP-A-1-95091 and 3-133.
No. 76, etc., anti-fading agent, JP-A-59-4
2993, 59-52689, 62-2800.
69, 61-242871, and JP-A-4-21.
Examples thereof include fluorescent whitening agents, pH adjusting agents such as sulfuric acid, phosphoric acid, citric acid, sodium hydroxide, potassium hydroxide, potassium carbonate and the like described in No. 9266.

The ink composition has a viscosity of 6 as described above.
It is preferably mPa · s (6 cp) or less. The surface tension of the ink composition is preferably 30 to 50 mN / m in consideration of ejection (flying) from the recording head.

The pigment solid content concentration in the ink is 0.1 to 1
It can be selected in the range of 0%, and in order to obtain a photographic image, it is preferable to use yellow, magenta, cyan, and black inks, respectively, and the pigment solid content concentration is changed.
It is also preferable to use so-called dark and light ink. Further, if necessary, it is also preferable in terms of color reproducibility to use special color inks such as red, green and blue.

[0074]

As described above, by preliminarily ejecting ink during the conveyance of the recording medium at a position outside the edge of the recording medium, the ejection of ink during image recording is stabilized, and It is possible to provide an inkjet recording device that maintains quality and does not lengthen the time for image recording.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the overall configuration of an inkjet recording apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the carriage of FIG.

FIG. 3 is a view as seen from the front of the arrow in FIG.

FIG. 4 is a view as seen from the direction of the lower surface of the arrow in FIG.

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional configuration diagram of an ink receiver.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram illustrating a control system configuration of the inkjet recording apparatus of FIG.

FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram showing the relationship between the position of the carriage 20 with respect to the recording medium 1, the ink receiver 3, the cap 7, and the movement of the carriage 20.

FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram showing the principle of inkjet recording.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 recording medium 2 recording section 3 ink receiver 4 Conveyor rollers 5 cut section 6 trays 7 cap 8 Host computer 20 carriage 201 recording head 2011 nozzle 100 control means 100a CPU 100b system memory 101 Image data input section 102 head driver 103 RAM 104 Carriage position detection means 105 Other sensors 106 carriage driving means 107 transport roller driving means 108 Cutter driving means 109 Cap drive means

Claims (11)

[Claims] 1. A recording medium, a conveying unit that conveys the recording medium, and a recording head that reciprocates in a direction intersecting the conveying direction of the recording medium and ejects ink from a nozzle to perform image recording. In an inkjet recording apparatus having the above, a predetermined amount of ink is reserved from the nozzle at a position where the recording head is outside the edge of the recording medium between the end of image recording in one direction and the start of image recording in the opposite direction. An ink jet recording apparatus comprising a control unit for ejecting. 2. A recording medium, a conveying means for conveying the recording medium, and a recording head for reciprocating in a direction intersecting the conveying direction of the recording medium and ejecting ink from nozzles to perform image recording. In an inkjet recording apparatus having the above, a predetermined amount of ink is reserved from the nozzle at a position where the recording head is outside the edge of the recording medium between the end of image recording in one direction and the start of image recording in the opposite direction. An inkjet recording apparatus comprising: a control unit for ejecting and a recovery unit for recovering a predetermined amount of ink ejected from the nozzle by the preliminary ejection. 3. A recording medium, a conveying means for conveying the recording medium, and a recording head for reciprocating in a direction intersecting the conveying direction of the recording medium and ejecting ink from nozzles to record an image. In an inkjet recording apparatus having, image recording is performed by the recording head up to a position outside the edge of the recording medium in a direction intersecting the conveyance direction of the recording medium, and an image in the opposite direction from the end of the image recording in one direction. During the start of recording, the recording head is located outside the edge of the recording medium, a control unit that preliminarily ejects a predetermined amount of ink from the nozzle, and a position outside the edge of the recording medium. An ink ejected from the nozzle for recording the image, and a recovery unit that recovers a predetermined amount of ink ejected from the nozzle by the preliminary ejection. An ink jet recording apparatus according to claim. 4. The inkjet recording according to claim 1, wherein the preliminary ejection is performed during conveyance of the recording medium between the end of image recording in the one direction and the start of image recording in the opposite direction. apparatus. 5. A recording medium, a conveying means for conveying the recording medium, and a recording head for reciprocating in a direction intersecting the conveying direction of the recording medium and ejecting ink from nozzles to record an image. In an inkjet recording apparatus having the above, a predetermined amount of ink is reserved from the nozzle at a position where the recording head is outside the edge of the recording medium between the end of image recording on the previous page and the start of image recording on the next page. An ink jet recording apparatus comprising a control unit for ejecting. 6. A recording medium, a conveying means for conveying the recording medium, and a recording head for reciprocating in a direction intersecting the conveying direction of the recording medium and ejecting ink from nozzles to record an image. In an inkjet recording apparatus having the above, a predetermined amount of ink is reserved from the nozzle at a position where the recording head is outside the edge of the recording medium between the end of image recording on the previous page and the start of image recording on the next page. An inkjet recording apparatus comprising: a control unit for ejecting and a recovery unit for recovering a predetermined amount of ink ejected from the nozzle by the preliminary ejection. 7. A recording medium, a conveying means for conveying the recording medium, and a recording head for reciprocating in a direction intersecting the conveying direction of the recording medium and ejecting ink from nozzles to perform image recording. In the ink jet recording apparatus having the image recording, the recording head performs image recording up to a position outside the edge of the recording medium in a direction intersecting the conveyance direction of the recording medium, and the image recording of the previous page is completed until the image recording of the next page is completed. During the start, at a position where the recording head is outside the edge of the recording medium, a control unit for preliminarily ejecting a predetermined amount of ink from the nozzle, and a position outside the edge of the recording medium, It has an ink ejected from the nozzle for the image recording, and a recovery means for recovering a predetermined amount of ink ejected from the nozzle by the preliminary ejection. An ink jet recording apparatus according to claim. 8. The ink jet recording according to claim 5, wherein the preliminary ejection is performed during the conveyance of the recording medium between the end of image recording of the previous page and the start of image recording of the next page. apparatus. 9. The ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the preliminary ejection is performed at a position outside of one edge of the recording medium. 10. The ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the recording head has a plurality of nozzles, and the preliminary ejection is performed by all the nozzles of the plurality of nozzles. 11. The ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the ink is a water-based pigment ink.