JP2005199560A - Inkjet printer - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a quality of printing with a high accuracy by highly accurately detecting a defect of a nozzle and surely certifying no existence of the defect of the nozzle in a line head type inkjet printer. <P>SOLUTION: The line type inkjet printer is equipped with a printing region and a maintenance region, and is constituted so that when the defect of the nozzle is solved, a head unit is moved from the printing region to the maintenance region. In this inkjet printer, an ink droplet confirming region is provided in a moving path of the head unit from the printing region to the maintenance region. The ink droplet confirming region is equipped with a detecting part having a light emitting part for irradiating a light beam and a light receiving part for receiving the light beam, and detecting the defect of the nozzle by a nozzle unit by intercepting the light beam by the ink droplet from the nozzle, and a slit controlling circuit part adjusting a beam diameter L of the light beam smaller than the maximum diameter D of the ink droplet discharged from the nozzle. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to improvement in ejection failure of nozzles of a line type ink jet printer.

  Conventional inkjet printers form an image by ejecting ink droplets onto a recording medium from a plurality of nozzles using a thermal method, a piezo method, or the like, based on an image signal. In an ink jet printer, ink may adhere to the vicinity of the nozzle discharge port due to ink drying or increase in viscosity when left unused for a long period of time, or impurities (dust) may adhere to the nozzle discharge port. As a result, nozzle clogging occurs, and although the ink ejection signal is normally output from the control unit, an ejection failure of the nozzle (hereinafter referred to as “nozzle missing”) in which ink droplets are not ejected from the nozzle ejection port. Arise. When the nozzles are missing, the printed characters and images are whitened to form white stripes, or the color quality of the recorded image is different due to insufficient ink coloring material, resulting in a decrease in print quality. Optical detecting means is disclosed as such nozzle missing detecting means.

For example, according to Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2004-133620, detection of nozzle missing in a carriage-type inkjet printer that forms an image by ejecting ink in a direction (main scanning direction) perpendicular to the paper transport direction (sub-scanning direction). As a means, there is disclosed an ink discharge state detection method in which a missing nozzle is detected by changing a detection timing by a photo sensor in which a light emitting element and a light receiving element are combined at a distance corresponding to the head width.
JP-A-11-188853

However, when Patent Document 1 is applied to a line-type ink jet printer, the missing nozzle detection means must be moved using a highly accurate positioning sensor, which causes an increase in cost. In addition, since there are a large number of nozzles of one line head that must be detected, there arises a problem that the detection time increases.
Conventionally, after the nozzle missing is detected, the maintenance operation means removes the nozzle missing and then performs the printing operation. Therefore, after maintenance is performed by the maintenance means, it has not been confirmed whether the nozzle missing has been reliably removed.If the printing operation is performed when there is a nozzle missing after the maintenance, the printing quality is reduced, There is a risk of reducing the reliability of the apparatus.

  SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide highly accurate printing image quality by reliably detecting the absence of nozzles in a line head type ink jet printer and ensuring that there are no nozzle defects.

  According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a print area in which an image is recorded on a recording medium by a head unit comprising a plurality of head modules having a plurality of nozzles, and ejection failure of the nozzles provided at a position adjacent to the print area. A line-type ink jet printer configured to move the head unit from the print area to the maintenance area when a discharge failure of the nozzle is resolved. An ink droplet confirmation region is provided in the movement path of the head unit from the region to the maintenance region, and the ink droplet confirmation region includes a light emitting unit that emits a light beam and a light receiving unit that receives the light beam, Ink droplets from the nozzles block the light beam, and in units of nozzles Detection means for detecting the nozzle of defective discharge is provided, that the beam diameter of the light beam provided with adjusting means for adjusting to be smaller than the maximum diameter of the ink droplets ejected from the nozzle is characterized.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the line-type ink jet printer according to the first aspect, the adjusting means sets the beam diameter of the light beam to 80% or more and 100% of the maximum diameter of the ink droplet ejected from the nozzle. It is characterized by adjusting to be smaller.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided a print area in which an image is recorded on a recording medium by a head unit comprising a plurality of head modules having a plurality of nozzles, and ejection failure of the nozzles provided at a position adjacent to the print area. A line-type ink jet printer configured to move the head unit from the print area to the maintenance area when a discharge failure of the nozzle is resolved. An ink droplet confirmation region is provided in the movement path of the head unit from the region to the maintenance region, and the ink droplet confirmation region includes a light emitting unit that emits a light beam and a light receiving unit that receives the light beam, The ink droplets from the nozzles block the light beam, thereby causing nozzles on a nozzle basis. And detecting means for detecting a discharge failure of the nozzle, and a control means for controlling the maximum diameter of the ink droplet discharged from the nozzle to be larger than the beam diameter of the light beam when the discharge failure of the nozzle is detected. It is characterized by that.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the line type ink jet printer according to the third aspect, the control means sets the maximum diameter of the ink droplets ejected from the nozzle to be larger than 100% of the beam diameter of the light beam. % Or less.

  According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the line type ink jet printer according to any one of the first to fourth aspects, when the line type ink jet printer is a color printer, the detection means is provided for each color. It is characterized by that.

  According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, in the line-type ink jet printer according to any one of the first to fifth aspects, the maintenance means eliminates nozzle discharge defects by a suction operation.

  According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, in the line-type ink jet printer according to any one of the first to fifth aspects, the maintenance means eliminates nozzle discharge defects by a flushing operation.

  According to the first aspect of the present invention, the ink droplet confirmation region is provided in the movement path of the head unit from the printing region to the maintenance region, and the light emitting means and the light beam for irradiating the light beam are applied to the ink droplet confirmation region. Ink droplets having light receiving means for receiving light, and detecting means for detecting defective ejection of the nozzles in units of nozzles by blocking the light beam from the ink droplets from the nozzles. By providing an adjustment means that adjusts so that it is smaller than the maximum diameter of the nozzle, it is possible to detect nozzle ejection defects in units of nozzles in areas other than the printing area with optical detection means with improved light receiving sensitivity, and nozzle ejection defects Detection accuracy can be improved.

  According to the second aspect of the present invention, it is possible to obtain the same effect as that of the first aspect. In addition, the adjusting means can adjust the beam diameter of the light beam to the maximum diameter of the ink droplet ejected from the nozzle. By adjusting so that the light emitting means and the light receiving means can be mounted and adjusted by adjusting so as to be less than 80% and less than 100%, a signal is generated by blocking the light beam emitted from the light emitting means by the ink droplets. Responsiveness can be optimized.

  According to the third aspect of the present invention, the ink droplet confirmation area is provided in the movement path of the head unit from the printing area to the maintenance area, and the light emitting means and the light beam for irradiating the ink droplet confirmation area with the light beam A detecting means for detecting a discharge failure of the nozzle in units of nozzles by blocking the light beam by the ink droplet from the nozzle, and discharging from the nozzle when detecting the discharge failure of the nozzle. By providing a control means for controlling the maximum diameter of the ink droplets to be larger than the beam diameter of the light beam, it is possible to improve the light receiving sensitivity of the light receiving means for nozzle ejection defects in nozzle units in areas other than the printing area. It can be detected by an optical detection means, and the detection accuracy of nozzle ejection defects can be improved.

  According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, it is possible to obtain the same effect as that of the third aspect, and the control means sets the maximum diameter of the ink droplet ejected from the nozzle to 100% of the beam diameter of the light beam. By controlling to greater than 125%, it is possible to reliably block the light beam irradiated by the ink droplets from the light emitting means, and to improve the responsiveness of the light receiving means.

  According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, the same effect as in the first to fourth aspects can be obtained, and the detection means is installed for each head unit of each color. A light beam having a wavelength corresponding to the color can be set in advance.

  According to the sixth aspect of the present invention, the same effect as in the first to fifth aspects can be obtained, and the nozzle discharge failure is eliminated by the suction operation, thereby reliably and efficiently discharging the nozzle. Defects can be eliminated.

  According to the seventh aspect of the invention, the same effects as those of the first to fifth aspects can be obtained, and the nozzle discharge failure is eliminated by the flushing operation, thereby reliably and efficiently discharging the nozzle. Defects can be eliminated.

[Embodiment 1]
Hereinafter, Embodiment 1 of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.
First, the configuration will be described.
FIG. 1 shows a schematic configuration diagram of the inside of a line-type inkjet printer 1 according to the present embodiment. As shown in FIG. 1, the ink jet printer 1 includes a paper feed unit 10, a transport unit 20, a head unit unit 30, a paper discharge unit 40, and the like.

The paper feed unit 10 is provided with a paper feed tray 11 in which a plurality of recording media P are stacked and stored below the interior of the inkjet printer 1. A take-out device 12 is provided above one end of the paper feed tray 11 to take out the recording medium P on which an image is to be recorded from the paper feed tray 11 one by one.
The recording medium P may be in the form of a cut sheet made of various papers such as plain paper, recycled paper, and glossy paper, and various fabrics, various non-woven fabrics, resin, metal, glass, and the like.

The transport unit 20 is disposed above the paper feed unit 10 and transports the recording medium P.
The transport unit 20 includes a transport belt 21, a tension roller 22, a pressing roller 23, a transport roller 24, and a transport path 25.
The conveyance belt 21 is an annular belt that supports the recording medium P in a planar shape and conveys the recording medium P in the horizontal direction, and is stretched by a plurality of tension rollers 22 so as to be movable.
The pressing roller 23 is rotatably disposed at a position where the conveying belt 21 and the recording medium P start to contact as a roller that presses the conveying belt 21 in order to convey the recording medium P in a planar shape.
The conveyance path 25 conveys the recording medium P supplied from the paper feed tray 11 to the conveyance belt 21, and after the recording medium P is conveyed along the peripheral surface of the conveyance belt 21, the conveyance belt 25 discharges the discharge medium 40. It is a route to discharge. The transport rollers 24 are provided as a plurality of pairs of rollers for transporting the recording medium P in the transport direction X at predetermined positions on the transport path 25.

The head unit 30 is arranged in the vicinity of the upper portion of the transport belt 21 along the transport direction X in order of black (Bk), cyan (C), magenta (M), and yellow (Y) ink on the recording medium P. Line-type head units 31, 32, 33, and 34 for each ink color provided with a plurality of nozzle discharge ports (not shown) for discharging are provided over the entire width of the transport belt 21. Each head unit 31, 32, 33, 34 is arranged so that the ejection surface and the peripheral surface of the conveyor belt 21 face each other.
The recording medium P on which an image is formed by discharging ink droplets from the head units 31, 32, 33, 34 is sequentially discharged to the paper discharge unit 40.

  The paper discharge unit 40 includes a paper discharge tray 41 provided on the side of the ink jet printer 1, and the recording media P on which images are formed are sequentially discharged.

FIG. 2 shows a transport mechanism of the head mount. FIG. 2 is a view of a head unit section 30 as viewed from above the ink jet printer 1 of FIG. 1.
As shown in FIG. 2, each head unit 31, 32, 33, 34 is mounted on a head mount 51, 52, 53, 54 for each color. Each head mount 51, 52, 53, 54 is movably supported by a transport mechanism 55 for transporting the head mount to the print area T1, the ink droplet confirmation area T2, and the maintenance area T3. It is driven by a drive motor M.

The print area T1 is an area where the recording medium P is conveyed and an image is recorded.
The ink droplet confirmation area T2 is an area on a path along which the head mounts 51, 52, 53, and 54 are transported from the print area T1 to the maintenance area T3, and detection units 61, 62, 63, and 64 serving as detection means. Is provided for each ink color (that is, for each head unit). Since the detectors 61, 62, 63, and 64 are installed for each head unit of each color, a light beam having a wavelength corresponding to the ink color of the corresponding head unit can be set in advance, and the nozzle missing determination circuit unit 171a. Can be simplified and the cost of the apparatus can be reduced.
In the maintenance area T3, a maintenance unit 70 is provided as a maintenance unit for removing nozzle clogging (nozzle shortage) for each head module.

  Each head unit 31, 32, 33, 34 extends in a direction substantially orthogonal to the conveyance direction (sub-scanning direction) X of the recording medium P. Moreover, it has the some head module 31a, 32a, 33a, 34a juxtaposed in the longitudinal direction of each head unit 31,32,33,34. The head modules 31a, 32a, 33a, 34a extend in the longitudinal direction of the head units 31, 32, 33, 34, and are arranged in parallel so as to be staggered at a predetermined interval in the transport direction X (staggered arrangement). ing.

  The maintenance unit 70 is provided with a plurality of capping modules 71a, 72a, 73a, and 74a corresponding to the head modules 31a, 32a, 33a, and 34a. Each of the capping modules 71a, 72a, 73a, and 74a is movable to a cap position that covers the nozzle discharge port of the corresponding head module 31a, 32a, 33a, and 34a and a separation position that is detached from the nozzle discharge port. Each capping module 71a, 72a, 73a, 74a includes a suction pump that moves to a cap position, covers the entire nozzle discharge port with a rubber member, etc., and shuts off and seals the outside air. Connected flights are connected. That is, air and ink inside the space are sucked by the suction pump. Ink sucked by the suction pump is discharged to a waste ink tank. Note that the configurations of the suction pump, the air communication valve, the waste ink tank, and the like are the same as those conventionally known and will not be described in detail here.

In the present embodiment, an example in which a typical suction operation is employed as a maintenance method as means for eliminating nozzle shortage will be described. However, an electrical signal is given to the head, ink droplets are ejected, and nozzle ejection is performed. You may employ | adopt the flushing operation | movement which blows away the foreign material adhering to an exit and a nozzle discharge surface.
Furthermore, after the suction operation or the flushing operation, a mechanism for performing a wiping operation for removing useless ink droplets attached on the nozzle ejection surface may be provided.

  In the maintenance region T3, the nozzle missing can be reliably and efficiently removed by removing the nozzle missing by the suction operation or the flushing operation.

FIG. 3 is a partially enlarged view of the black (Bk) head unit 31.
As shown in FIG. 3, the head modules 31 a have overlapping portions R that overlap the adjacent head modules 31 a in the longitudinal direction, and are staggered (staggered arrangement) at a predetermined interval in the conveyance direction X of the recording medium P. Are arranged side by side. This is because, when ink droplets are ejected from all nozzle ejection ports in the same row of the head module, there may be a difference in the ink ejection performance of the nozzle ejection ports at the end of the same row due to the influence of the fluidity of the ink, In order to reduce the recording quality of the recording medium, the head modules 31a are arranged in a staggered arrangement so that the ends overlap.

  In addition, four rows of nozzle ejection ports h from a to d are arranged on the nozzle ejection surface facing the recording medium P of the head module 31a. In each of the rows a to d, the nozzle discharge ports h are arranged at a predetermined interval in a direction orthogonal to the transport direction X while being shifted in the transport direction X by a predetermined pitch in a cycle of three. The start points of the nozzle rows a to d are arranged so as to be shifted in the direction orthogonal to the transport direction X by one pixel in the order of a, c, b, and d.

When data corresponding to the nozzle outlet h of the overlapping portion R is recorded on the recording medium P, one of the adjacent head modules is set, and ink droplets are ejected from the nozzle outlet h of the set head module. ing.
For example, when the number of nozzles in the overlapping portion R overlaps 11 nozzles in the longitudinal direction of the head module, the nozzle of one head module uses the fifth and subsequent nozzles from the end of the nozzle row, and the other head The nozzles of the module are preset when the sixth and subsequent nozzles from the end of the nozzle row are used.
That is, it is set so that ink droplets are not ejected from the end of the head module, which is uneasy about ink ejection performance, and the quality of the recorded image on the recording medium P is prevented from deteriorating.

  Since the end portions of the head module 31a are arranged in an overlapping manner, it seems that the missing nozzle detection must be performed for each head module, but the nozzle discharge port h used for each head module is set. For this reason, in the overlapping portion, ink droplets are ejected only from the set nozzle ejection ports, and the missing nozzle detection is performed only for the nozzle ejection ports that are effective during the recording operation.

FIG. 4 shows a schematic configuration diagram of the detection unit 61 according to the first embodiment.
4A shows a schematic view of the detection unit 61 viewed from above, and FIG. 4A shows a schematic cross-sectional view of the detection unit 61 from the viewpoint A shown in FIG.
The detection unit 61 includes a light emitting unit 61a as a light emitting unit, a light receiving unit 61b as a light receiving unit, a cleaning blade 61c, an ink droplet collection unit 61d, an ink droplet collection path 61e, and the like.

The light emitting part 61a is composed of a light emitting element and an optical member that irradiates a light beam 2 collected by a semiconductor laser or an infrared light emitting element having a single wavelength. The light receiving unit 61b includes a light receiving element that senses the light beam 2 emitted from the light emitting unit 61a and a filter member that cuts extraneous light. When nozzle missing detection is performed, the optical axis of the light beam 2 connecting the light emitting unit 61a and the light receiving unit 61b is substantially orthogonal to the direction Y in which the head units 31, 32, 33, and 34 are conveyed (that is, the nozzle row a , B, c, and d).
When the ink droplet 3 ejected from the nozzle ejection port h passes through the light beam 2, the ink droplet 3 blocks the light beam 2 from the light emitting portion 61a, and the received light intensity received by the light receiving portion 61b is reduced. A detection signal for determining nozzle missing can be obtained based on the light receiving intensity of the light receiving unit 61b.

  The cleaning blade 61c is a blade that wipes off ink remaining on the nozzle ejection surface. The ink droplet collection unit 61d receives the ink droplet 3 ejected from the nozzle ejection port h. The ink droplet 3 received by the ink droplet collection unit 61d is discharged through the ink droplet collection path 61e.

FIG. 5 is a control block diagram for controlling the ink jet printer 1 according to the first embodiment.
As shown in FIG. 5, a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 110, a ROM (Read Only Memory) 120, a RAM (Random Access Memory) 130, an operation unit 140, various control units 150, an I / F 160, a nozzle missing determination unit 170, and the like. Is connected to the local bus 180 and is connected to the system bus 230 via the I / F 160. The system bus 230 is connected to a RIP (Raster Image Processor) unit 210, a host I / F 220, head units 31, 32, 33, 34, a drive circuit unit DV, and the like.

  The CPU 110 reads the system program and each processing program and data stored in the ROM 120, expands them in the RAM 130, and centrally controls the operation of the entire inkjet printer 1 according to the expanded programs. Performs overall system timing control, data storage and storage control using the RAM 130, output of data to the head unit 30, input / output control of the operation unit 140, interface (I / F) and operation control with other applications Is.

  The CPU 110 also provides a slit control circuit S402, which will be described later, with a slit control signal Ss that instructs the beam diameter L of the light beam 2 to be 80% or more and less than 100% of the maximum diameter D of the ink droplet 3 ejected from the nozzle. Output to.

  The ROM 120 stores a program and a system program for driving the inkjet printer 1, various processing programs corresponding to the system, data necessary for processing by the various processing programs, and the like. Further, the number of nozzle discharge ports effective for the recording operation of each head unit 31, 32, 33, 34 (hereinafter abbreviated as effective nozzle number N) is stored.

  The RAM 130 is a temporary storage area for programs, input, or output data and parameters read from the ROM 120 in various processes controlled and executed by the CPU 110.

  The operation unit 140 includes various settings for image recording and operation buttons for setting a nozzle shortage determination operation described later.

  The various control units 150 are a recording medium conveyance control unit that controls various rollers such as the paper supply unit 10 and the conveyance unit 20 in FIG. 1, a maintenance control unit that controls the operation of the maintenance unit, and a head that controls the operation of the head mount 50. Control units such as a gantry control unit, an ink supply control unit, and a waste ink control unit are provided.

  The nozzle shortage determination unit 170 includes a nozzle shortage determination circuit unit 171a that determines the nozzle shortage for each effective nozzle discharge port of each of the head units 31, 32, 33, and 34. In the present embodiment, the nozzle missing determination circuit unit 171a is arranged for the head units 31, 3.2, 33, and 34 of the respective colors.

  The RIP unit 210 converts print instruction data (vector image data) input from the host PC or the like via the host I / F 220 into print image data (raster image data or bitmap data) corresponding to the print support data. .

  The drive circuit unit DV drives the head modules 31 a, 32 a, 33 a, and 34 a of the head units 31, 32, 33, and 34 to discharge the ink droplets 3 from the nozzle discharge ports to the storage medium P.

FIG. 6 shows an example of a circuit configuration diagram of the nozzle missing determination circuit unit 171a according to the first embodiment.
As shown in FIG. 6, nozzle clogging determination circuit section 171a receives a detection signal S _L based on the received light intensity from the light receiving unit 61b, a determination is made of nozzle clogging. The nozzle missing determination circuit unit 171a includes a light emission drive circuit unit 401, a slit control circuit unit 402 as an adjustment unit, a light receiving circuit unit 403, a gain AMP 404, a comparator 405, a counter 406, a RAM 407, a determination unit 408, an I / O 409, and the like. Has been.

  The light emission drive circuit unit 401 drives the light emitting element based on a light emission control signal for turning on / off the light emitting element of the light emitting unit 61a from the CPU 110 via the I / O 409.

FIG. 7 shows an image diagram of the relationship between the beam diameter L of the light beam 2 and the maximum diameter D of the ink droplet 3.
When the beam diameter L of the light beam 2 is greater than or equal to the maximum diameter D of the ink droplet 3 ejected from the nozzle (L ≧ D), the light receiving intensity received by the light receiving unit 61b is received as the afterglow of the contour light of the ink droplet 3. End up. For this reason, although the ink droplet 3 is appropriately ejected from the nozzle and passes through the light beam 2, the light receiving portion 61b cannot obtain a sufficient decrease in received light intensity, and accurately determines the missing nozzle. Is difficult. Therefore, it is necessary to irradiate a light beam having a beam diameter L that can block the ink droplet 3 that can obtain a decrease in received light intensity that can be determined by the light receiving unit 61b. That is, it is necessary to make the beam diameter L of the light beam 2 smaller than the maximum diameter D of the ejected ink droplet 3 so that the light beam 2 is reliably blocked by the ink droplet 3.

  However, when the beam diameter L of the light beam 2 is smaller than 80% of the maximum diameter D of the ink droplet 3 ejected from the nozzle (L <0.8D), the light receiving sensitivity of the light receiving unit 61b is good, but the light emitting unit A high-accuracy position adjustment for attaching 61a and light receiving portion 61b is required, and further, an improvement in the accuracy of the mechanism that prevents miscellaneous light (light other than light beam 2 received by light receiving portion 61b) from entering is required. As a result, the cost of the apparatus increases.

  Therefore, in order to realize the first embodiment, the slit control circuit unit 402 adjusts the slit (aperture) 61a1 that corrects the light beam 2 emitted from the light emitting unit 61a from the CPU 110 via the I / O 409. Based on the control signal Ss, the slit 61a1 is driven, and the beam diameter L of the light beam 2 is adjusted to be 80% or more and less than 100% of the maximum diameter D of the ink droplet 3.

By including the slit control circuit unit 402 that adjusts the beam diameter L of the light beam 2 to be smaller than the maximum diameter D of the ink droplet 3 ejected from the nozzle, the light receiving sensitivity can be improved, and the ejection failure of the nozzle can be improved. Detection accuracy can be improved. Further, the slit control circuit unit 402 adjusts the beam diameter L of the light beam 2 to be 80% or more and less than 100% of the maximum diameter D of the ink droplet 3 ejected from the nozzle, thereby making the light emitting unit 61a and the light receiving unit. The response of the detection signal S _L detected when the light beam 2 emitted from the light emitting unit 61a is blocked by the ink droplet 3 can be optimized within a range in which attachment adjustment with the 61b is possible.

The light beam 2 irradiated from the light emitting unit 61a to the light receiving unit 61b is blocked by the ink droplet 3 ejected from the nozzle ejection port h. This light shielding is detected as a decrease in received light intensity in the light receiving unit 61 b, and a received light intensity detection signal S _L (analog signal) is output to the light receiving circuit unit 403.

Receiving circuit section 403, with respect to the detection signal S _L that is input, performs correction of the received light intensity due to ink color, and outputs the gain AMP404. The gain AMP 404 adjusts the S / N ratio of the input detection signal S _L and outputs it to the comparator 405.

The comparator 405 compares whether the input detection signal S _L (analog signal) is higher or lower than a preset reference value, calculates a “High” or “Low” pulse signal as an output signal, Output to the counter 406. The counter 406 counts the number of pulses of the input pulse signal.

  The RAM 407 reads and records the effective nozzle number N of each head unit 31, 32, 33, 34 from the ROM 120 via the I / O.

The determination unit 408 compares the count number n counted by the counter 406 with the effective nozzle number N stored in the RAM 407 to determine the presence or absence of a nozzle shortage. If the count number n is equal to the effective nozzle number N, it is determined that there is no nozzle missing, and if it is not equal, it is determined that there is a nozzle missing.
If there is a nozzle shortage, a flag (determination information) indicating whether maintenance is necessary for the detected head unit is written in the RAM 407.

  The flag indicating the necessity of maintenance may be written in the RAM 407 or the register of the I / O 409, and is not limited to this as long as the determination of the necessity of maintenance for each head unit can be stored.

Next, the operation of the first embodiment will be described.
8 and 9 are flowcharts of the nozzle missing determination operation in the first embodiment.
When the operation unit 140 or the like is instructed to determine the missing nozzle, the positions of the head mounts 51, 52, 53, and 54 are confirmed, and the head unit that determines the missing nozzle is set. (Step S1).

  After setting the head unit for determining whether the nozzle is missing, the detection unit corresponding to the set head unit turns on the light emitting element of the light emitting unit, checks the light receiving intensity of the light receiving element of the light receiving unit, sets the initial value of the counter 406, etc. Is initialized (step S2).

After the initial setting of the detector is completed, the beam diameter L of the light beam 2 is adjusted (step S3).
The contents of this adjustment are the beam diameter L described above (80% of the maximum diameter D of the ink droplet 3 ≦ beam diameter L <100% of the maximum diameter D of the ink droplet 3).

  After the adjustment of the beam diameter L, the head mount of the set head unit starts to move from the printing area T1 to the maintenance area T3 at a constant speed (step S4).

  When the head mount crosses the detection unit of the ink droplet 3 confirmation region T2, the ink droplet 3 is ejected from the nozzle ejection port so as to block the light beam line irradiated from the light emitting unit to the light receiving unit (step S5).

  The detection signal of the received light intensity based on the blocked light beam received by the light receiving unit is converted into a pulse signal, and the number of pulses is counted by the counter 406 (step S6).

  It is determined whether or not the head mount has been moved from the print area T1 to a predetermined position in the maintenance area T3 (step S7). When the movement of the head mount is not completed (step S7; No), the process returns to the detection of the missing nozzle by the detection unit (returns to step S5).

  When the movement of the head mount is completed (step S7; Yes), the effective nozzle number N preset in the ROM 120 and the count number n from the counter 407 are read (step S8).

  The determination unit 408 determines whether or not the count number n for each head module is equal to the effective nozzle number N (step S9). When the count number n and the effective nozzle number N are all equal (step S9; Yes), it is determined that there is no nozzle missing (step S10). The head mount of the head unit determined to have no nozzle shortage is moved to the printing area (step S11), and the nozzle shortage determination operation is terminated.

  If the count number n and the effective nozzle number N are not equal (step S9; No), it is determined that there is a nozzle shortage, and a flag indicating that maintenance is required for the head unit that has been determined to have a nozzle shortage is written in the RAM 407. (Step S12).

  When a flag indicating that maintenance is necessary is written (step S12), a maintenance operation (for example, a suction operation) for eliminating the nozzle shortage is performed on the head unit requiring maintenance (step S13). .

  The head mount of the maintained head unit is moved to the printing area T1 (step S11), and the nozzle missing determination operation is completed.

[Embodiment 2]
Hereinafter, the second embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.
First, the configuration will be described.
The schematic configuration inside the inkjet printer 1, the transport mechanism of the head gantry, the partially enlarged view of the black (Bk) head unit 31, and the schematic configuration of the detection unit 61 are the same as those in the first embodiment. And description is abbreviate | omitted.

  The control block diagram for controlling the ink jet printer 1 according to the second embodiment is the same except that the operation of a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 110 as a control means and the drive circuit unit DV shown in FIG. 5 is different. Therefore, illustration is abbreviate | omitted.

  The CPU 110 reads the system program and each processing program and data stored in the ROM 120, expands them in the RAM 130, and centrally controls the operation of the entire inkjet printer 1 according to the expanded programs. Performs overall system timing control, data storage and storage control using the RAM 130, output of data to the head unit 30, input / output control of the operation unit 140, interface (I / F) and operation control with other applications Is.

  In addition, in order to realize the second embodiment, the CPU 110, when the operation mode of the ink jet printer 1 is set to the nozzle missing determination operation by the operation unit 140 or the like, the ink droplets ejected from the nozzles when the nozzle missing is detected. 3 outputs an ink droplet size change command signal instructing to eject ink droplets 3 having a maximum diameter D of 3 greater than 100% of the beam diameter L of the light beam 2 and not more than 125% to the drive circuit unit DV.

  The drive circuit unit DV drives the head modules 31 a, 32 a, 33 a, and 34 a of the head units 31, 32, 33, and 34 to discharge the ink droplets 3 from the nozzle discharge ports to the storage medium P.

FIG. 9 shows an image diagram of the relationship between the maximum diameter D of the ink droplet 3 and the beam diameter L of the light beam 2.
The size of the ink droplet 3 used at the time of image recording is a minute size such as a mist in order to improve the resolution of the image. Therefore, when the maximum diameter D of the ink droplet 3 is equal to or smaller than the beam diameter L of the light beam 2 (D ≦ L) Although the ink droplet 3 is properly ejected from the nozzle and passes through the light beam 2, the light receiving portion 61b cannot obtain a sufficient decrease in received light intensity, and the nozzle missing is accurately performed. It is difficult to judge. Therefore, when the nozzle shortage is determined, it is necessary to eject the ink droplet 3 from which the light receiving unit 61b can obtain a decrease in received light intensity. That is, it is necessary to make the size of the ink droplet 3 larger than the beam diameter L of the light beam 2 and to reliably block it when passing through the light beam 2.

  However, when the maximum diameter D of the ink droplet 3 ejected from the nozzle is larger than 125% of the beam diameter L of the light beam 2 (D> 1.25L), the light receiving sensitivity of the light receiving unit 61b is good, but the ejection When the amount of the ink droplet 3 to be increased is increased, the ink is wasted, which causes an increase in ink cost.

Therefore, in order to realize the second embodiment, the drive circuit unit DV performs each of the head units 31, 32, 33, and 34 based on the ink droplet size change command signal and the ejection drive signal S _m0 from the CPU 110. By driving the head modules 31a, 32a, 33a, and 34a, an ink ejection signal S _m1 for ejecting ink droplets 3 having a maximum diameter D larger than 100% and less than or equal to 125% of the beam diameter L of the light beam 2 from the nozzle ejection port. calculate.

The size of the ink droplet 3 at the time of detecting a missing nozzle can be arbitrarily set by increasing the drive waveform time of the ink ejection signal at the time of image recording or by increasing the voltage value.
The calculated ink ejection signal S _m1 is output from the nozzle of each head module 31a.

  When determining whether the nozzle is missing, the optical path of the light beam is interrupted by including the CPU 110 and the drive circuit unit DV that control the maximum diameter D of the ink droplet 3 ejected from the nozzle to be larger than the beam diameter L of the light beam. Therefore, the light receiving sensitivity of the light receiving unit 61b can be improved, and the detection accuracy of nozzle ejection defects can be improved. Furthermore, by controlling the maximum diameter D of the ink droplet 3 ejected from the nozzle to be larger than 100% of the beam diameter L of the light beam 2 and not more than 125%, the light beam irradiated from the light emitting means can be surely obtained. Therefore, the response of the light receiving means can be improved.

  The circuit configuration diagram of the nozzle missing determination circuit unit 171a of the second embodiment is the same configuration except that the slit control circuit unit 402 of the nozzle missing determination circuit unit 171a shown in FIG. To do.

  The slit control circuit unit 402 drives a slit (aperture) 61a1 that corrects the light beam 2 emitted from the light emitting unit 61a, and sets the beam diameter L to a predetermined value. That is, the beam diameter L is not arbitrarily adjusted by the CPU 110 or the like.

Next, the operation of the second embodiment will be described.
FIG. 10 shows a flowchart of the nozzle missing determination operation in the second embodiment.
First, when the operation mode of the ink jet printer 1 of the present invention is set to determine whether a nozzle is missing from the operation unit 140, the ink droplet size ejected from the nozzle is changed (step S21). This change is the ink droplet size described above (100% of the beam diameter L of the light beam 2 <the maximum diameter D of the ink droplet 3 ≦ 125% of the beam diameter L).

  Then, the position of each of the head mounts 51, 52, 53, 54 is confirmed, and a head unit that determines whether a nozzle is missing is set. (Step S22).

  After setting the head unit for determining whether the nozzle is missing, the detection unit corresponding to the set head unit turns on the light emitting element of the light emitting unit, checks the light receiving intensity of the light receiving element of the light receiving unit, sets the initial value of the counter 406, etc. Is initialized (step S23).

  Hereinafter, steps S24 to S33 are the same as steps S4 to S13 of the first embodiment shown in FIG.

  In addition, this invention is not limited to the content of the said embodiment, In the range which does not deviate from the main point of this invention, it can change suitably.

1 is a schematic configuration diagram of the inside of an ink jet printer 1 according to Embodiment 1. FIG. FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a transport mechanism for a head gantry in the first embodiment. 3 is a partially enlarged view of a black (Bk) head unit 31 according to Embodiment 1. FIG. 3 is a schematic configuration diagram of a detection unit 61 according to Embodiment 1. FIG. 3 is a control block diagram for controlling the ink jet printer 1 according to Embodiment 1. FIG. 3 is a schematic circuit configuration diagram of a nozzle missing determination circuit unit 171a according to Embodiment 1. FIG. FIG. 3 shows an image diagram of the relationship between the beam diameter L of the light beam 2 and the maximum diameter D of the ink droplet 3 in Embodiment 1. 3 is a flowchart of a nozzle missing determination operation in the first embodiment. FIG. 6 shows an image diagram of the relationship between the maximum diameter D of ink droplet 3 and the beam diameter L of light beam 2 in the second embodiment. 7 is a flowchart of a nozzle missing determination operation in the second embodiment.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Inkjet printer 2 Light beam 3 Ink droplet 10 Paper feed part 11 Paper feed tray 12 Extraction device 110 CPU
120 ROM
130 RAM
140 Operation unit 150 Various control units 160 I / F
170 Nozzle missing judgment unit 171a Nozzle missing judgment circuit unit 180 Local bus 20 Conveying unit 21 Conveying belt 22 Tension roller 23 Pressing roller 24 Conveying roller 25 Conveying path 210 RIP unit 220 Host I / F
230 System bus 30 Head unit section 31, 32, 33, 34 Head unit 31a, 32a, 33a, 34a Head module 40 Paper discharge section 41 Paper discharge tray 401 Light emission drive circuit section 402 Slit control section 403 Light reception circuit section 404 Gain AMP
405 Comparator 406 Counter 407 RAM
408 Judgment unit 409 I / O
51, 52, 53, 54 Head mount 55 Transport mechanism 61, 62, 63, 64 Detection unit 61a Light emitting unit 61a1 Slit 61b Light receiving unit 61c Cleaning blade 61d Ink droplet recovery unit 61e Ink droplet recovery path 70 Maintenance units 71a, 72a, 73a , 74a Capping module a, b, c, d Nozzle array D Maximum diameter DV of ink droplet 3 Driving circuit section h Nozzle outlet L Beam diameter M Driving motor P Recording medium S Landing surface T1 Printing area T2 Ink droplet confirmation area T3 Maintenance Area X Recording medium transport direction (sub-scanning direction)
Y frame transport direction (main scanning direction)

Claims (7)

Maintenance provided with a print area for recording an image on a recording medium by a head unit comprising a plurality of head modules having a plurality of nozzles, and a maintenance means provided at a position adjacent to the print area to eliminate ejection failure of the nozzles A line-type inkjet printer configured to move the head unit from the print area to the maintenance area when the nozzle discharge failure is eliminated,
An ink droplet confirmation area is provided in the movement path of the head unit from the print area to the maintenance area,
The ink droplet confirmation area has a light emitting means for irradiating a light beam and a light receiving means for receiving the light beam, and the ink droplets from the nozzle block the light beam, so that the nozzle discharge failure in units of nozzles. Detecting means for detecting
Adjusting means for adjusting the beam diameter of the light beam to be smaller than the maximum diameter of the ink droplet ejected from the nozzle;
A line-type inkjet printer characterized by this. The line type ink jet printer according to claim 1,
The adjusting means adjusts the beam diameter of the light beam to be 80% or more and less than 100% of the maximum diameter of the ink droplet ejected from the nozzle;
A line-type inkjet printer characterized by this. Maintenance provided with a print area for recording an image on a recording medium by a head unit comprising a plurality of head modules having a plurality of nozzles, and a maintenance means provided at a position adjacent to the print area to eliminate ejection failure of the nozzles A line-type inkjet printer configured to move the head unit from the print area to the maintenance area when the nozzle discharge failure is eliminated,
An ink droplet confirmation area is provided in the movement path of the head unit from the print area to the maintenance area,
The ink droplet confirmation area has a light emitting means for irradiating a light beam and a light receiving means for receiving the light beam, and the ink droplets from the nozzle block the light beam, so that the nozzle discharge failure in units of nozzles. Detecting means for detecting
Provided with a control means for controlling the maximum diameter of the ink droplets ejected from the nozzle to be larger than the beam diameter of the light beam when detecting ejection failure of the nozzle;
A line-type inkjet printer characterized by this. The line-type inkjet printer according to claim 3,
The control means controls the maximum diameter of the ink droplet ejected from the nozzle to be greater than 100% of the beam diameter of the light beam and not more than 125%;
A line-type inkjet printer characterized by this. In the line type ink jet printer according to any one of claims 1 to 4,
When the line type ink jet printer is a color printer, the detection means is provided for each color,
A line-type inkjet printer characterized by this. In the line type ink jet printer according to any one of claims 1 to 5,
The maintenance means eliminates nozzle discharge defects by suction operation;
A line-type inkjet printer characterized by this. In the line type ink jet printer according to any one of claims 1 to 5,
The maintenance means eliminates nozzle discharge defects by a flushing operation,
A line-type inkjet printer characterized by this.

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