JP2006297741A - Liquid jetting apparatus, recorder and those controlling methods - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To make a liquid jetting apparatus correspond also to a recorded object which is not rectangular. <P>SOLUTION: The apparatus with a recorder comprises a conveyance section 220 for conveying a recording paper 300 in the conveying direction, an external-form measurement section for measuring the external form of the recording paper 300, a recording head 172 for delivering an ink to the recording paper 300 which has been conveyed by the conveyance section 220, a discharge section 230 for discharging the recording paper 300 on which the ink has been delivered by the recording head 172 and a control section 400 for controlling the recording operation of conveying the recording paper 300 by the conveyance section 220 and delivering the ink to the conveyed recording paper 300 by the recording head 172 and discharging the recording paper 300 to which the ink has been delivered by the discharge section 230. Prior to the recording operation, by the control section 400, the recording paper 300 is conveyed by the conveyance section 220, and the exterior form of the conveyed recording paper 300 is measured by the external measurement section, then the recording paper 300 whose external form has been measured is discharged by the discharge section 230. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a liquid ejecting apparatus, a recording apparatus, and a control method thereof. More specifically, the present invention relates to a liquid ejecting apparatus and a recording apparatus that can handle an irregular recording material in the liquid ejecting apparatus and the recording apparatus, and a control method for the liquid ejecting apparatus and the recording apparatus.

  In many cases, the liquid ejecting apparatus performs a recording operation on a predetermined-sized recording material such as a recording paper having a size defined by an industrial standard. However, in a model having general versatility such as an ink jet recording apparatus, for example, only a recording object conforming to the standard is not always loaded.

In Patent Document 1 below, the recording apparatus itself has a function of detecting the width of the sheet, and the condition of the recording operation is set by automatically determining the type of the recording sheet from the width of the actually loaded recording sheet. Technology is disclosed.
JP 2004-164399 A

  However, the technique described in Patent Document 1 is based on the assumption that the recording paper is rectangular, and determines the type of the recording paper by measuring the width of the recording paper at a specific location in the length direction of the recording paper. is doing. For this reason, it does not function effectively when a recording sheet with an inclined side is inserted. In addition, since the recording paper is discriminated only by selecting one of several types of recording paper specified in advance, if a recording paper with an unspecified size or outline is inserted, the recording operation is performed. Due to the inability to determine valid conditions.

  In order to solve the above problems, as a first aspect of the present invention, a transport unit that transports a recording object in the transport direction, an outer shape measurement unit that measures the outer shape of the recording object, and a substrate transported by the transport unit. A liquid ejecting head that ejects liquid onto a recorded material, a discharge unit that ejects a recording material ejected with liquid by the liquid ejecting head, and a transport unit that transports the recorded material and ejects the liquid onto the transported recorded material A control unit that controls a recording operation in which liquid is ejected by the head and a recording material on which the liquid is ejected is ejected by the ejection unit, and the control unit transports the recording material by the transport unit prior to the recording operation. There is provided a liquid ejecting apparatus that measures an outer shape of a conveyed recording object by an outer shape measuring unit and discharges the recorded object whose outer shape is measured by an discharging unit. As a result, the outer shape of the recording material actually loaded can be measured, so that it is possible to cope with non-standard irregular recording materials or non-rectangular deformation recording materials.

  Further, as one embodiment, the liquid ejecting apparatus further includes a width detection unit that moves with the liquid ejecting head, and the liquid ejecting head is on the recording material in a direction orthogonal to the recording material transport direction. The width detection unit measures the outer shape of the recording object by reciprocating on the recording object as the liquid ejecting head reciprocates. As a result, by utilizing the hardware resources of the liquid ejecting apparatus, it is possible to form an outer shape measuring unit capable of measuring the outer shape of the recording object by scanning the entire surface of the recording object with almost no new member added.

  As another embodiment, in the liquid ejecting apparatus, an outer shape information storage unit that stores outer shape information of a recording object measured by the outer shape measuring unit, and recording information that is input to be ejected by the liquid ejecting head, And a recording information correction unit that generates correction information obtained by correcting the recording information based on the outer shape stored in the outer shape storage unit, and the control unit is based on the correction information generated by the recording information correction unit. , Control the recording operation. As a result, it is possible to record the recording information to be recorded without any omission on the irregular recording material. Also, an upright image can be recorded on a deformed recording material.

  As another embodiment, the liquid ejecting apparatus includes a sub-conveying path through which a recording material can be loaded from a discharge unit side to a position facing the liquid ejecting head. Thereby, the convenience in the case of temporarily performing the recording operation with respect to the irregularly shaped or deformed recording material is increased.

  As another embodiment, the liquid ejecting apparatus further includes a guide unit that guides the recording material while extending in the transport direction while contacting the recording material, and the control unit includes a side end of the recording material. The skew removal sequence is skipped when the recording medium is fed when the angle formed between the side end portion that contacts the guide portion and the front end portion in the transport direction is not a right angle. As a result, the recording operation can be executed even when the tip of the recording object is deformed. Further, when a deformed recording material is handled, a useless skew removal sequence is omitted, so that the processing time is shortened.

  As another embodiment, in the liquid ejecting apparatus, the control unit may include an outer shape when the angle formed by the front end of the recording material with respect to the transport direction is not a right angle. The external shape measurement by the measurement unit is executed, and when the angle formed by the leading end in the transport direction among the side end portions of the recording material is a right angle, the external shape measurement by the external shape measurement unit is skipped. Accordingly, it is not necessary to switch the operation of the liquid ejecting apparatus depending on the type of the recording material loaded, and the operation of the liquid ejecting apparatus becomes easy. In addition, since an erroneous operation or an incorrect setting does not occur, a recording operation with no leakage of the recorded image is surely executed.

  As a second aspect of the present invention, a transport unit that transports the recording material in the transport direction, an outer shape measurement unit that measures the outer shape of the recording material, and a liquid jet to the recording material transported by the transport unit Liquid ejecting head, a discharge unit for discharging the recording material ejected by the liquid ejecting head, a recording unit transports the recording material, and the liquid ejecting head ejects liquid onto the transported recording material In the liquid ejecting apparatus including the control unit that controls the recording operation for discharging the recording material ejected with the liquid by the discharging unit, the control unit causes the recording unit to transport the recording material prior to the recording operation, A control method is provided in which the outer shape of the conveyed recording object is measured by the outer shape measuring unit, and the recorded object whose outer shape is measured is discharged by the discharging unit. As a result, a function of reliably recording a recorded image on a recording material having a size or an outer shape not defined in the industry standard can be mounted on many liquid ejecting apparatuses.

  Furthermore, as a third aspect of the present invention, a transport unit that transports the recording material in the transport direction, an outer shape measurement unit that measures the outer shape of the recording material, and ink discharged onto the recording material transported by the transport unit A recording head, a discharge unit that discharges a recording material on which ink is ejected by the recording head, a recording unit that conveys the recording material, and the recording head ejects ink to the conveyed recording material, A control unit that controls a recording operation for discharging the discharged recording material by the discharging unit, the control unit transporting the recording material by the transport unit prior to the recording operation, and the outer shape of the transported recording material Is provided by the outer shape measuring unit, and a recording apparatus for discharging the recording material whose outer shape is measured by the discharging unit is provided. Thereby, also in the recording apparatus, it is possible to implement a function of reliably recording a recorded image on a recording material having a size or an outer shape that is not stipulated in the industry standard.

  Furthermore, as a fourth aspect of the present invention, a transport unit that transports the recording material in the transport direction, an outer shape measurement unit that measures the outer shape of the recording material, and ink to the recording material transported by the transport unit. A recording head that discharges, a discharge unit that discharges a recording material on which ink has been discharged by the recording head, a recording material that is conveyed by a conveyance unit, and ink that is ejected by the recording head onto the conveyed recording material. And a control unit that controls a recording operation for discharging the recording material discharged by the discharging unit, the control unit transports the recording material by the transport unit prior to the recording operation, and is transported A control method is provided in which the outer shape of a recording object is measured by an outer shape measurement unit, and the recording object whose outer shape is measured is discharged by a discharge unit. Thereby, it is possible to implement a function for reliably recording a recorded image even on a recording material having a size or an outer shape not stipulated in the industry standard in many recording apparatuses.

  The above summary of the invention does not enumerate all the necessary features of the present invention, and sub-combinations of these feature groups can also be the invention.

  Hereinafter, the present invention will be described through embodiments of the invention. However, the following embodiments do not limit the invention according to the scope of claims, and all combinations of features described in the embodiments are included. It is not necessarily essential for the solution of the invention.

  FIG. 1 is a perspective view illustrating an appearance of an ink jet recording apparatus 10 that is one of liquid ejecting apparatuses. As shown in the figure, the ink jet recording apparatus 10 is formed so that each component can be stored in a housing 110.

  That is, a feeding device for supplying a regular recording sheet is stored in the cover 120 at the rear of the upper surface of the housing 110. Further, by opening the inside of the cover 130 in front of the upper surface, it is possible to access the recording sheet conveyance path, and the recording ink cartridge can be replaced. Further, a discharge device for discharging the recording paper after printing is stored in the cover 150 at the lower end of the front surface. Furthermore, by opening the cover 140 located above the cover 150, it becomes possible to load an irregular recording sheet that is not a regular recording sheet, as will be described later.

  FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a state where some covers 130, 140 and 150 of the ink jet recording apparatus 10 are opened. In addition, the same reference number is attached | subjected to the same component as FIG.

  As shown in the figure, when the cover 130 on the upper surface of the housing 110 is opened, a maintenance hole 132 and a cartridge replacement hole 134 are opened. The maintenance hole 132 is wide open above the conveyance path of the recording paper, and is provided so that a jammed recording paper or the like can be removed by putting a hand into the housing 110 when a conveyance failure or the like occurs. Yes. On the other hand, the cartridge replacement hole 134 is formed above the home position where the carriage 170 is stopped when the recording operation is not being performed, and the ink cartridge mounted on the carriage 170 can be taken out or loaded therethrough.

  The carriage 170 during the recording operation is driven by a carriage motor (not shown) and reciprocates in the longitudinal direction of the ink jet recording apparatus 10, that is, left and right in the drawing to scan the recording paper over the entire width. A recording head for ejecting ink is mounted as a liquid ejecting head on the lower surface of the carriage 170, and the ink is ejected downward to adhere to the recording paper.

  On the other hand, the cover 150 at the lower front of the housing 110 is formed so as to function as a discharge tray of the ink jet recording apparatus 10. In other words, the regular recording paper supplied from the feeding device mounted inside the cover 120 is conveyed forward in the housing 110 and finally onto a discharge tray which is an inner surface of the opened cover 150. Discharged. As described above, for the regular recording paper that is normally used, a recording paper conveyance path from the inside of the cover 120 to the inside of the cover 150 is formed in the housing 110.

  On the other hand, the cover 140 disposed on the upper front portion of the ink jet recording apparatus 10 opens forward with a hinge 142 formed at the lower end thereof as an axis. Stored in the opening thus opened is a manual feed tray device 180 that is temporarily used to load a recording material having dimensions, shape, characteristics, and the like different from those of a standard recording sheet.

  The manual feed tray device 180 includes a tray portion 182 that supports the recording paper from below, and a guide member 184 that can slide on the tray portion 182 in the width direction of the recording paper. A sub-transport path that can be loaded is formed. That is, for example, an irregular recording sheet is placed on the upper surface of the tray unit 182 and loaded into the ink jet recording apparatus 10, so that the recording sheet is directly placed below the carriage 170 from the discharge unit side with respect to the conveyance path. Can be charged.

  At this time, the guide member 184 on the tray unit 182 is appropriately moved and brought into contact with one side of the recording paper, so that the other side of the recording paper is on the right side wall 186 in the drawing of the tray 182. Pressed against. As described above, when the recording material is loaded using the manual tray device 180, the position in the width direction of the recording paper is defined with reference to the one side wall 186 of the tray portion.

  Further, the recording paper or the recording material loaded from the tray unit 182 of the manual tray device 180 is drawn into the ink jet recording apparatus 10 from the front to the rear in the opposite direction to the normal transport direction, and the recording paper After the rear end passes the position facing the recording head, the transport direction is reversed, and the rear end is transported in the transport direction from the rear to the front as in the normal transport path, and is discharged again to the tray unit 182.

  In the ink jet recording apparatus 10 shown in FIG. 2, the end of the disk tray 162 loaded from the manual tray apparatus 180 is visible on the tray section 182. A part of the disk tray 162 is also visible inside the maintenance hole 132 in the cover 130. Further, here, a part of the disc-shaped optical recording medium 164 loaded on the disk tray 162 is also included. I can see it.

  The optical recording medium 164 is smaller in size than a normal recording paper, has a circular outer shape, and has a significantly higher bending rigidity than the recording paper. However, by carrying it on the disk tray 162, it can be loaded from the manual feed tray device 180 and recorded with ink. However, the recording material that can be loaded from the manual feed tray device 180 is not limited to the disk tray 162, and various types of recording materials such as irregular and deformed recording paper including normal regular recording paper can be loaded. Can be recorded.

  FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view showing the conveyance mechanism 20 for the recording paper 300 in the ink jet recording apparatus 10. In order to facilitate understanding of the relationship with the ink jet recording apparatus 10 shown in FIG. 1, a platen 240 and a carriage 170 that are not directly involved in the conveyance of the recording paper 300 are also drawn. Further, FIG. 3 is drawn with the carriage 170 being moved to the left side in the drawing in order to make it easy to see the members directly involved in the conveyance of the recording paper 300.

  As shown in the figure, the transport mechanism 20 includes a cover 120 that functions as a paper support that is opened behind the ink jet recording apparatus 10, a feeding unit 210 that is disposed below the cover 120, and a feeding unit 210. Are formed to include a conveyance unit 220, a platen 240, and a discharge unit 230 that are sequentially arranged in front of each other. The feeding unit 210 includes a feeding roller 212 that is intermittently driven to rotate, and a feeding driven roller 214 that is rotated along with the feeding roller 212, and the feeding roller 212 and the feeding driven roller 214 are in contact with each other. The recording paper 300 sandwiched between the two is fed to the transport unit 220 one by one.

  Note that only the thick feeding roller located at the rightmost side in the drawing is involved in feeding the recording paper 300 in the feeding unit 210. Accordingly, when the recording paper 300 having a narrow width is used, the recording paper 300 is loaded so that one side end of the recording paper 300 is in contact with one side wall 122 of the paper support. In other words, the one side wall 122 is a guide member serving as a reference when the recording paper 300 is handled.

  In the conveyance unit 220 arranged downstream of the feeding unit 210, the conveyance driven roller 224 that comes into contact with the recording paper 300 from the upper side is recording paper with respect to the conveyance driving roller 222 arranged on the lower side of the recording paper 300. Press 300. Since the transport driving roller 222 is driven to rotate, the recording paper 300 is transported in the transport direction toward the platen 240 according to the rotation.

  The recording paper 300 sent out from the transport unit 220 passes above the platen 240, and at this time, the recording operation is executed. That is, ink ejected from the recording head 172 mounted on the bottom of the carriage 170 adheres to the upper surface of the recording paper 300. Accordingly, the conveyance of the recording paper 300 by the conveyance unit 220 and the reciprocating movement of the recording head 172 conveyed to the carriage 170 are alternately executed, and the recording head 172 is operated at an appropriate timing, whereby the recording paper 300 is conveyed. Ink can be applied to any region of the top surface.

  The recording paper 300 that has passed over the platen 240 eventually reaches the discharge unit 230. In the discharge unit 230, similarly to the conveyance unit 220, the discharge driven roller 234 that comes into contact with the recording paper 300 from above presses the recording paper 300 against the discharge driving roller 232 disposed on the lower side of the recording paper 300 to rotate. According to the discharge driving roller 232, the recording paper 300 is discharged toward the outside of the ink jet recording apparatus 10.

  When the manual tray device 180 on the front surface of the ink jet recording apparatus 10 is deployed and recording paper or a recording material is loaded from there into the sub-transport path, the discharge driven roller 234 is retracted upward. Do not touch the recording paper or recording material that is loaded. Therefore, when the sub-transport path is used, the transport unit 220 performs all transport and discharge.

  In addition to the recording head 172, the carriage 170 includes a paper edge sensor 174 at the edge of the bottom surface. The paper edge sensor 174 is conveyed by the carriage 170 together with the recording head 172, and moves with the recording head 172 when the carriage 170 moves. Accordingly, the paper edge sensor 174 also reciprocates in the direction perpendicular to the conveyance direction of the recording paper 300.

  The paper edge sensor 174 detects the optical contrast between the recording surface of the recording paper 300 and the platen 240 behind the recording paper 300 when the recording paper 300 is present on the platen 240, so The actual position of each is detected individually. Accordingly, in so-called borderless printing in which a recorded image is formed without leaving a margin at the edge of the recording paper 300, it is possible to perform control capable of suppressing the amount of ink discharged unnecessarily to the outside of the recording paper 300.

  FIG. 4 is a block diagram schematically showing the structure of the control unit 400 mounted on the ink jet recording apparatus 10. As shown in the figure, the ink jet recording apparatus 10 includes a central control unit 410 that receives instructions from a user 401, image information to be recorded, and the like, and each of the ink jet recording apparatuses 10 under the control of the central control unit 410. And an individual control unit 411 that individually controls the components.

  The central control unit 410 exchanges signals with various inputs and outputs provided in the ink jet recording apparatus 10 in addition to the instructions and recording data input from the user 401. That is, the central control unit 410 receives signals from various input units such as the hardware switch 412 and the sensors 414 mounted on the ink jet recording apparatus 10 and also generates a message to be returned to the display unit 480 and the like. The central control unit 410 is also equipped with a built-in program 418. Accordingly, the built-in program 418 can be activated using an instruction from the user 401, detection of a specific condition by various input units, and the like, and the inkjet recording apparatus 10 can autonomously execute a specific operation.

  In addition to the power switch, the hardware switch 412 is assigned a function that directly activates and executes a function implemented in the ink jet recording apparatus 10 according to the model. Specific examples include those that cancel the recording operation that is being performed, those that perform a forced paper discharge operation, and those that are set by the ink jet recording apparatus 10 alone.

  The sensors 414 detect the presence / absence of the recording paper 300, the position of the recording paper 300 on the conveyance path, the remaining amount or consumption of ink, and the central control unit 410 based on the information. The operation state of each part of the ink jet recording apparatus 10 is monitored. The sensors 414 include a paper edge sensor 174 attached to the carriage 170.

  On the other hand, in the individual control unit 411, the conveyance control unit 420 integrally controls the feeding unit 210, the conveyance unit 220, and the discharge unit 230 of the inkjet recording apparatus 10 illustrated in FIG. With this control, the recording paper 300 is fed, conveyed, and discharged.

  In the individual control unit 411, the carriage control unit 430 controls the operation of the carriage motor 460 in response to the feeding, transporting, and discharging of the recording paper 300 by the transport control unit 420, and reciprocates the carriage 170. Executed or stopped. The movement of the carriage 170 is also controlled in operations other than the recording operation, such as returning the carriage 170 to the home position before or after the start of the recording operation.

  Further, in the individual control unit 411, the recording head control unit 440 controls the recording head driving unit 470 to operate the recording head 172 mounted on the carriage 170. That is, in addition to discharging or stopping ink, it also controls the amount of ink discharged, the execution of a flushing operation for nozzle cleaning, and the like.

  The recording operation in the ink jet recording apparatus 10 including such a control unit 400 is executed as follows. That is, first, the recording paper 300 is conveyed to the lower side of the recording head 172 under the control of the conveyance control unit 420. Next, the carriage motor 460 is operated under the control of the carriage controller 430, and the recording paper 300 is scanned by the recording head 172. During this time, the recording head control unit 440 causes the recording head driving unit 470 to operate as appropriate, thereby ejecting and adhering ink to an appropriate area according to the recording information. After the recording head 172 finishes scanning for one line, the recording paper 300 is again conveyed by one line under the control of the conveyance control unit 420. By repeating such an operation, a recording operation in which ink is attached to a desired area of the recording paper 300 according to the recording information can be completed.

  In addition, the ink jet recording apparatus 10 can also execute an outer shape measuring operation for measuring the outer shape information of the loaded recording paper 300 under the control of the control unit 400. That is, the feeding unit 210 and the transport unit 220 are appropriately operated according to an instruction from the transport control unit 420, and the recording paper 300 is transported through the same transport path as the recording operation. Further, the carriage motor 460 is operated by an instruction from the carriage control unit 430 to reciprocate the carriage 170. At this time, the conveyance of the recording paper 300 and the reciprocating movement of the carriage 170 are alternately performed, and the recording paper 300 is scanned by the paper edge sensor 174 conveyed by the carriage 170 for the entire length in the conveyance direction of the recording paper 300. The recording paper 300 is discharged from the discharge unit 230. During this time, the operation of the recording head 172 is stopped without issuing an operation instruction from the recording head control unit 440.

  Through the control as described above, the paper edge position is detected over the entire length in the conveyance direction of the recording paper 300. Further, as described above, the position and orientation of the recording paper 300 are based on the one side wall 122 of the paper support. Therefore, by accumulating the paper edge information, the individual outline of the recording paper 300 can be obtained as the outline information. As described above, the outer shape measuring unit can be formed by using the hardware resources used for the recording operation.

  For example, the storage unit 490 may be mounted on the control unit 400 itself and the measured outer shape information of the recording paper 300 may be held here. Alternatively, the external information 402 such as an information processing apparatus connected to the ink jet recording apparatus 10 is passed to the external information 402 of the recording paper, the image information is stored in the external apparatus 402, and image processing as described later is performed. You can also.

  Note that after measuring the outer shape information, the recording paper 300 may be completely discharged and then inserted into the ink jet recording apparatus 10 again. In addition, the discharge unit 230, the transport unit 220, and the feeding unit 210 can be reversed to return the recording paper 300 to the original loading position and wait for the subsequent recording operation.

  Further, the outer shape measurement operation as described above can be effectively executed even when the recording paper 300 is loaded from the manual tray device 180 through the sub-transport path. In this case as well, the recording paper 300 after the outer shape measurement operation may be completely discharged once. However, in the recording operation using the sub transport path, the recording paper 300 reciprocates along one sub transport path. It is also possible to perform a measurement operation and perform a recording operation on the return path.

  Furthermore, the control method for executing the outer shape measurement operation as described above can be implemented in the central control unit 410 as the built-in program 418. Further, the control program can be stored in an external device 402 such as an information processing device connected to the ink jet recording apparatus 10, and an instruction can be issued to the ink jet recording apparatus 10 to be executed therefrom.

  The outer shape of the recording sheet 300 obtained as described above can be used for, for example, image information correction processing to be recorded. That is, an image to be recorded may not fit within the outer shape of the inserted recording paper 300, or the recorded image may be tilted with respect to the recording paper 300. However, if the outer shape information of the actually loaded recording paper 300 is obtained, a recording information correction unit that corrects image information can be provided so that an appropriate recorded image can be obtained prior to the recording operation. .

  FIG. 5 is a diagram schematically illustrating a correction process 500 that is performed on the image 520 when a deformed recording sheet 310 having an outer shape that is not stipulated by the industry standard is inserted into the ink jet recording apparatus 10. is there. The modified recording sheet 310 shown in the figure has the same maximum width and height as the Japanese Industrial Standard A4 size, while the left side of the figure is inclined.

  On the other hand, the image 520 created in the information processing apparatus 510 is created on the assumption that it is recorded on an A4 size recording sheet. Therefore, when image information is transferred to the inkjet recording apparatus 10 as it is and a recording operation is executed, the upper left part of the image protrudes from the modified recording paper 310 and is not recorded.

  Therefore, the information processing apparatus 510 first receives the measured outer shape information 312 of the modified recording paper 310 from the ink jet recording apparatus 10 via the central control section 410 as a recording information correction section. Next, the outline information 312 and the image 520 are compared, and the image 520 is corrected so that the image 520 is recorded without omission. In this example, the image 520 is slightly reduced and the arrangement is moved to the right. When the corrected image 530 corrected in this way is transferred to the ink jet recording apparatus 10 and a recording operation is performed, the image 520 is recorded on the modified recording paper 310 without omission.

  FIG. 6 schematically shows a correction process 600 that is performed on the image 520 when a deformed recording sheet 320 having an outer shape that is not defined in the industry standard is loaded in the ink jet recording apparatus 10. FIG. The shape recording paper 320 shown in the figure has the same maximum width and height as the Japanese Industrial Standard A4 size, but the right side of the figure is inclined.

  On the other hand, the image 520 created in the information processing apparatus 510 is created on the premise that the image 520 is recorded on an A4 size recording sheet as described above. Therefore, when image information is transferred to the ink jet recording apparatus 10 as it is and a recording operation is executed, the upper right part of the image protrudes from the modified recording paper 320 and is not recorded.

  Further, when the deformed recording paper 320 is loaded into the ink jet recording apparatus 10, it is loaded so that the inclined right side is in contact with one side wall 122 of the paper support. For this reason, the lower side of the modified recording paper 320 forms an angle that is not perpendicular to the conveyance direction of the modified recording paper 320 in the ink jet recording apparatus 10. For this reason, when the image 520 is recorded as it is, the recorded image is inclined with respect to the lower side of the modified recording paper 320.

  Therefore, the information processing apparatus 510 compares the outer shape information 322 of the modified recording sheet 320 and the image 520, slightly reduces the image, and also makes the recorded image stand upright with respect to the lower side of the modified recording sheet 320. A correction process for rotating the image is performed. By transferring the corrected image 540 obtained in this way to the ink jet recording apparatus 10 and executing the recording operation, recording that does not protrude from the modified recording paper 320 and is upright with respect to the lower side of the modified recording paper 320 is performed. An image is obtained.

  By the way, in the ink jet recording apparatus 10, when the regular recording paper 300 is fed, the recording paper 300 may be inclined for some reason. Therefore, a sequence called “skew removal” is performed to correct the inclination of the recording paper 300 prior to the recording operation so that the side of the recording paper 300 is parallel to the transport direction. In the skew removal, the recording paper 300 is generally operated so that the lower side of the recording paper 300 is orthogonal to the transport direction.

  However, when skew removal is performed on the modified recording sheet 320 as shown in FIG. 6, the skew removal cannot be completed as long as the modified recording sheet 320 is loaded along one side wall 122. For this reason, the ink jet recording apparatus 10 stops operating because it is considered that an abnormal situation has occurred, and the subsequent operation cannot be continued.

  Therefore, as one embodiment, the ink jet recording apparatus 10 measures the outer shape near the leading edge of the recording paper by the outer shape measuring operation described above when the first skew removal cannot be completed. As a result, when it is determined that the loaded recording sheet 320 is the deformed recording sheet 320, the skew removal is skipped and the recording sheet is continuously conveyed, and the outer shape measurement operation is continued. On the other hand, if it is determined that the loaded recording sheet 300 is a standard recording sheet 300, the conveyance of the recording sheet 300 is stopped and the skew removal is executed again.

  Here, it can be determined, for example, as follows whether the loaded recording sheet 300 is the standard recording sheet 300 or the modified recording sheet 320. That is, as described above, the recording paper 300 is loaded along one side wall 122 of the paper support. If the lower side of the recording paper 300 forms a right angle with respect to the side of the recording paper 300 that is in contact with the side wall 122, this can be regarded as a standard recording paper 300. On the other hand, when the angle formed between the side and the lower side is not a right angle, this can be regarded as the modified recording sheet 320.

  Note that the paper edge sensor 174 in the ink jet recording apparatus 10 can detect the side edge of the recording paper. However, when the paper width detected by the paper edge sensor 174 suddenly outputs a significant value with respect to the conveyance amount of the recording paper, or when the paper width suddenly becomes zero from the significant value, the recording is performed. It means that the leading edge or trailing edge of the sheet is orthogonal to the recording sheet conveyance direction.

  Further, when the standard recording sheet 300 is loaded in the ink jet recording apparatus 10, it is useless to measure the outer shape information of the recording sheet 300, and the effective recording time for the recording operation is extended. Become. Therefore, the user may manually instruct that the standard recording sheet 300 has been loaded, and the outer shape measurement operation may be skipped from the beginning.

  As described above, the ink jet recording apparatus 10 does not leak an image to be recorded on an irregular recording paper having a non-standard size or a non-rectangular recording paper. Can be recorded. In addition, processing necessary for this can be automated. Therefore, the versatility of the liquid ejecting apparatus can be further improved.

  Here, the ink jet recording apparatus has been described as an example, but specific examples of the liquid ejecting apparatus to which the present invention can be applied include a color material ejecting apparatus, an organic EL display, and an FED in the manufacture of a color filter for a liquid crystal display. Examples thereof include an electrode forming apparatus in the manufacture of a (surface emitting display) or the like, or a sample ejection head used for biochip manufacture.

  Although the present invention has been described with reference to the embodiment, the technical scope of the present invention is not limited to the scope described in the above embodiment. It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various changes and modifications can be made to the above embodiment. Further, it is apparent from the scope of the claims that embodiments with such changes or improvements can also be included in the technical scope of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing an appearance of the ink jet recording apparatus 10. FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing the ink jet recording apparatus 10 with some covers 130, 140 and 150 opened. FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view in which the transport mechanism 20 is mainly extracted from the ink jet recording apparatus 10. FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a structure of a control unit 400 of the ink jet recording apparatus 10. The figure which shows typically the correction process 500 when the deformation | transformation recording paper 310 is inserted. The figure which shows typically the correction process 600 when the other deformation | transformation recording paper 320 is inserted.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Inkjet recording device, 20 Conveyance mechanism, 110 Housing, 120, 130, 140, 150 Cover, 122, 186 Side wall, 132 Maintenance hole, 134 Cartridge exchange hole, 142 Hinge, 162 Disc tray, 164 Optical recording medium, 168 Front end portion, 170 carriage, 172 recording head, 174 paper edge sensor, 180 manual tray device, 182 tray portion, 184 guide member, 210 feeding portion, 212 feeding roller, 214 feeding driven roller, 220 conveying portion, 222 conveying Drive roller, 224 Conveyance driven roller, 230 Discharge unit, 232 Discharge drive roller, 234 Discharge driven roller, 240 Platen, 250 Motor, 300 Recording paper, 310, 320 Deformation recording paper, 312, 322 Outline information, 400 Control unit, 401 Yu The 402 external device, 410 central control unit, 411 individual control unit, 412 hardware switch, 414 sensors, 418 built-in program, 420 transport control unit, 430 carriage control unit, 440 print head control unit, 460 carriage motor 470 Recording head drive unit, 480 display unit, 490 storage unit, 500, 600 correction processing, 510 information processing device, 520 image, 530, 540 correction image

Claims (9)

A transport unit for transporting the recording material in the transport direction;
An outer shape measuring unit for measuring the outer shape of the recording object and generating outer shape information;
A liquid ejecting head that ejects liquid onto the recording material conveyed by the conveying unit;
A discharge unit for discharging the recording material ejected by the liquid ejecting head;
Controls a recording operation in which the recording material is transported by the transporting unit, liquid is ejected to the transported recording material by the liquid ejecting head, and the recording material ejected with liquid is ejected by the discharging unit. And a control unit that
Prior to the recording operation, the control unit conveys the recording object by the conveying unit, measures the outer shape of the conveyed recording object by the outer shape measurement unit, and measures the outer shape of the recording object. A liquid ejecting apparatus that discharges the liquid by the discharge unit. A width detection unit that moves with the liquid jet head;
The liquid ejecting head reciprocates on the recording material in a direction perpendicular to the conveyance direction of the recording material,
The liquid ejecting apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the width detecting unit measures the outer shape of the recording object by reciprocating above the recording object as the liquid ejecting head reciprocates. . An outer shape information storage unit for storing the outer shape information of the recording object measured by the outer shape measuring unit;
A recording information correction unit for generating correction information for correcting the recording information based on the recording information input to be ejected by the liquid ejecting head and the outer shape stored in the outer shape information storage unit; Prepared,
The liquid ejecting apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the control unit controls the recording operation based on correction information generated by the recording information correction unit.   2. The liquid ejecting apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a sub-conveying path through which the recording material can be loaded from a side of the discharge unit to a position facing the liquid ejecting head. A guide portion that extends in the transport direction while guiding the recording material while contacting the recording material;
In the case where the angle formed between the side end of the side of the recording material that is in contact with the guide portion and the front end in the transport direction is not a right angle, the control unit The liquid ejecting apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the skew removal sequence is skipped when feeding the liquid. The control unit, when the angle formed with respect to the transport direction by the tip end in the transport direction among the side ends of the recording material is not a right angle, performs the contour measurement by the contour measurement unit,
2. The liquid according to claim 1, wherein the outer shape measurement by the outer shape measurement unit is skipped when an angle formed by a front end portion in the conveyance direction of the side end portion of the recording material with respect to the conveyance direction is a right angle. Injection device. A transport unit for transporting the recording material in the transport direction;
An outer shape measuring unit for measuring the outer shape of the recording object;
A liquid ejecting head that ejects liquid onto the recording material conveyed by the conveying unit;
A discharge unit for discharging the recording material ejected by the liquid ejecting head;
Controls a recording operation in which the recording material is transported by the transporting unit, liquid is ejected to the transported recording material by the liquid ejecting head, and the recording material ejected with liquid is ejected by the discharging unit. A liquid ejecting apparatus including a control unit for
Prior to the recording operation, the control unit causes the conveyance unit to convey the recording object, and causes the outer shape measurement unit to measure the outer shape of the conveyed recording object, so that the outer shape is measured. Control method for discharging the gas by the discharge unit. A transport unit for transporting the recording material in the transport direction;
An outer shape measuring unit for measuring the outer shape of the recording object;
A recording head for ejecting ink onto the recording material conveyed by the conveying unit;
A discharge section for discharging the recording material on which ink is discharged by the recording head;
Controls a recording operation in which the recording material is transported by the transporting unit, ink is ejected by the recording head onto the transported recording material, and the recording material from which the ink has been ejected is ejected by the ejection unit. A control unit,
Prior to the recording operation, the control unit conveys the recording object by the conveying unit, measures the outer shape of the conveyed recording object by the outer shape measurement unit, and measures the outer shape of the recording object. The recording apparatus which discharges by the said discharge part. A transport unit for transporting the recording material in the transport direction;
An outer shape measuring unit for measuring the outer shape of the recording object;
A recording head for ejecting ink onto the recording material conveyed by the conveying unit;
A discharge section for discharging the recording material on which ink is discharged by the recording head;
Controls a recording operation in which the recording material is transported by the transporting unit, ink is ejected by the recording head onto the transported recording material, and the recording material from which the ink has been ejected is ejected by the ejection unit. In a recording apparatus comprising a control unit,
Prior to the recording operation, the control unit causes the conveyance unit to convey the recording object, and causes the outer shape measurement unit to measure the outer shape of the conveyed recording object, so that the outer shape is measured. Control method for discharging the gas by the discharge unit.

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