JP2007118369A - Recorder - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To avoid an error by correctly and easily detecting a position where an ink stain is adhered to a cord strip. <P>SOLUTION: The recorder is equipped with a carriage which scans back and forth while carrying a recording head for performing recording to a medium to be recorded, a carriage position regulating means disposed along a scanning direction of the carriage to regulate a position of the carriage, a plurality of carriage position detecting means set so as to detect the carriage position regulating means, a detection information comparing means which compares detection information of each carriage position detecting means, a carriage movement controlling means which carries out control of the movement of the carriage and a printing position of the recording head, and a discrimination means which discriminates a state of the carriage position regulating means on the basis of the comparison result of the detection information comparing means when the carriage moves. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a recording apparatus that performs recording on a recording medium using a recording head, and more particularly to a recording apparatus that uses an encoder scale and an encoder to control carriage travel and print position of the recording head.

  Recording devices having functions such as printers, copiers, facsimiles, etc., or composite electronic devices including computers and word processors, and recording devices used as output devices for workstations, are based on image information such as paper and plastic thin plates. It has a configuration for recording an image on a recording material (recording medium). Such a recording apparatus can be classified into an ink jet type, a wire dot type, a thermal type, a laser beam type, and the like according to a recording method.

  In a serial type recording apparatus that employs a serial scanning method in which main scanning is performed in a direction crossing the recording material conveyance direction (sub-scanning direction), an image is recorded by recording means mounted on a carriage that moves along the recording material. Recording is performed on the entire recording material by repeating the operation of recording and feeding a predetermined amount of paper (pitch conveyance) after recording for one line is completed. On the other hand, in a line type recording apparatus that records only by sub-scanning in the conveyance direction of the recording material, the recording material is set at a predetermined recording position, and after recording for one line at a time, a predetermined amount The recording is performed on the entire recording material by repeating the operation of performing the paper feeding (pitch feeding) and the recording of the next line all at once.

  Among the above recording apparatuses, an ink jet recording apparatus (ink jet recording apparatus) using a serial scanning method performs recording by ejecting ink from a recording means (recording head) to a recording material. Is easy to make compact, can record high-definition images at high speed, can be recorded on plain paper without any special treatment, has low running cost, and is non-impact, so there is little noise In addition, there is an advantage that it is easy to record a color image using multicolor inks.

  In particular, an ink jet recording means (recording head) that discharges ink using thermal energy is an electrothermal transducer, electrode, liquid formed on a substrate through a semiconductor manufacturing process such as etching, vapor deposition, and sputtering. By forming a road wall, a top plate, etc., a product having a high-density liquid channel arrangement (discharge port arrangement) can be easily manufactured, and further downsizing can be achieved.

  In the above-described ink jet recording apparatus, in order to obtain a clear and high-quality recording result, it is very important to stabilize the behavior of the carriage during serial scanning.

  As a general carriage scanning mechanism of a recent serial scan system, an encoder scale (code strip) marked with a pitch of 150 to 300 LPI that defines the position of the carriage is arranged along the carriage scanning direction, and the encoder An encoder sensor for detecting a scale (code strip) is mounted on the carriage, and servo control of the carriage drive means and print timing control of the recording head are performed based on the position of the encoder scale (code strip).

  In addition, a carriage equipped with a plurality of color recording heads is provided with a plurality of encoder sensors corresponding to the respective recording heads, and printing of each recording head is controlled based on the information of each corresponding encoder sensor. When a recording apparatus (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2000-15595) that suppresses the color misregistration of the head and a plurality of encoders corresponding to the plurality of head units are arranged on the carriage, the same amount of positional deviation of the head unit is obtained. There is a recording apparatus (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2003-165210) that is arranged by shifting the amount and suppressing the color shift of each head.

Furthermore, a carriage lifting mechanism is provided, the carriage is moved within a predetermined range at different height positions of the carriage, and the encoder scale (code strip) is contaminated based on the difference in the number of pulses of the encoder scale (code strip) measured by the encoder sensor. A recording apparatus (Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2004-160810) for detecting the position of dirt has also been proposed.
JP 2000-15595 A JP 2003-165210 A JP 2004-160810 A

  However, in recent years, in ink jet recording apparatuses, ink droplets that are ejected onto a recording material are generated with the main droplets of ink droplets as the number of ink droplets is reduced and the density is increased. Ink mist that floats on the recording device contaminates every part of the recording device, and when the recording head cleaning means cleans the recording head, ink splatters and adheres to the code strip, and the carriage encoder sensor skips the slit. Therefore, there is a problem that an error due to a positional deviation in carriage travel or a positional deviation in printing occurs.

  Here, if the presence or absence of dirt on the code strip configured as in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2004-160810 is detected, a carriage lifting mechanism is required, which requires extra cost and space. Further, it takes time to detect the dirt, and the position detection is also inaccurate.

  In addition, there are recording apparatuses including a plurality of encoders in the carriage as disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open Nos. 2000-15795 and 2004-160810. However, there is no particular control to cover a printing position shift due to a code strip stain. .

  Accordingly, the present invention accurately determines undetectable portions such as ink stains on the code strip with an easy configuration and control, and in addition, controls the movement of the carriage and the print position without causing a print position shift or the like. It is an object of the present invention to provide a recording apparatus that can perform the above operation.

  According to a first aspect of the present invention for achieving the above object, a recording head for recording on a recording medium is mounted, a carriage for reciprocating scanning, and a carriage position that defines the position of the carriage arranged along the scanning direction of the carriage. Defining means; a plurality of carriage position detecting means arranged to detect the carriage position defining means; detection information comparing means for comparing detection information of the respective carriage position detecting means; movement of the carriage and print position of the recording head And a carriage movement control means for performing the above control, and a discrimination means for discriminating the state of the carriage position defining means based on the comparison result of the detection information comparison means when the carriage moves.

  The second invention is characterized in that, in the configuration of the first invention, the discriminating means detects an undetectable portion of the carriage position defining means.

  By adopting the configurations of the first and second inventions, it is possible to accurately determine an undetectable portion such as ink stain on the code strip with an easy configuration and control.

  According to a third invention, in the configuration of the second invention, the carriage movement control means is configured to detect the carriage based on the detection information of any one of the plurality of carriage position detection means. The carriage movement control means controls the movement and the print position of the recording head, and the carriage movement control means performs control so that detection information used in one scan movement can be switched to information of a different carriage position detection means, The switching position is specified by the discrimination means.

  According to a fourth aspect of the invention, in the configuration of the second aspect of the invention, the carriage movement control means moves the position of the other carriage position detection means when one carriage position detection means passes through the undetectable portion as the carriage moves. Control based on information is performed.

  By adopting the configurations of the third and fourth inventions, the carriage can be moved and the printing position can be controlled without causing a printing position shift or the like even if the code strip has an undetectable portion such as ink stains.

  According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, a recording head for recording on a recording medium is mounted, a carriage for reciprocating scanning, a carriage position defining means for defining the position of the carriage arranged along the scanning direction of the carriage, and a carriage position defining A change in information of the carriage position detection means is recognized as a change in the position of the carriage among a plurality of carriage position detection means arranged to detect the means and detection information of each of the plurality of carriage position detection means. And carriage movement control means for controlling the movement of the carriage and the print position of the recording head.

  By adopting the configuration of the fifth aspect of the invention, it is possible to control the movement of the carriage and the printing position without causing a printing position shift or the like even if the code strip has an undetectable portion such as ink stains. In addition, the procedure for determining the undetectable portion of the code strip before starting printing can be omitted.

  A sixth invention is characterized in that, in the configurations of the first to fifth inventions, the interval between the plurality of carriage position detecting means is an integral multiple of the resolution of the carriage position defining means.

  By adopting the configuration of the sixth aspect of the invention, even if the code strip has an undetectable portion such as ink stains, the movement of the carriage and the control of the print position can be performed more accurately without causing a print position shift or the like. .

  As described above, a recording head for recording on a recording medium is mounted, and a carriage for reciprocating scanning, a carriage position defining means for defining the position of the carriage arranged along the scanning direction of the carriage, and a carriage position defining A plurality of carriage position detecting means arranged to detect the means, and the carriage movement and the recording head based on the detection information of any one of the plurality of carriage position detecting means. The carriage movement control means that can control the print position and switch the detection information used in the movement of one scan to the information of the different carriage position detection means, with an easy configuration and control, It is possible to accurately identify undetectable parts such as ink stains on the code strip. Without causing the print position offset, etc., it is possible to control the movement and the printing position of the carriage.

Example 1
Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 is an external perspective view of the recording apparatus of the present invention. Reference numeral 2 denotes a paper feed tray that also serves as a cover that can be rotated. Reference numeral 5 denotes a paper feed port into which a recording medium is inserted. When not in use, the paper feed tray 2 can be closed to prevent entry of dust and foreign matter. Reference numeral 6 denotes a discharge outlet for discharging the recording medium. Reference numeral 3 denotes a rotatable discharge cover. When not in use, the discharge cover 3 is closed in the same manner as the paper feed rate to prevent entry of dust or foreign matter. it can. An operation panel 4 includes a power switch and LEDs.

  FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing the internal structure of the ink jet recording apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention. The exterior and parts not directly related to the present invention are not shown.

  Briefly describing the overall configuration of the recording apparatus of the present embodiment, an automatic sheet feeding unit 100 that feeds recording sheets (recording media) one by one into the apparatus main body, and a recording sheet sent from the automatic sheet feeding unit 100 Is transported to the recording position by a transport unit (recording medium transport means) 200 that discharges from the recording position, a discharge unit 300 positioned downstream of the transport unit 200, and the transport unit 200. A carriage 400 including an inkjet recording head that performs desired recording on a recording sheet, and a recovery unit 600 that performs recovery processing on the inkjet recording head and the like of the carriage 400 are attached to a chassis 701 and the like, and are appropriately interlocked. . A platen 203 that supports and guides a recording sheet is provided at a recording position facing the carriage 400. In FIG. 1, the conveyance direction of the recording sheet is indicated by an arrow A1, and the scanning direction (reciprocating direction) of the carriage 400 is indicated by an arrow B1.

  In addition, a discharge port is provided so that the recording medium is discharged in a direction orthogonal to the surface of the portion having the shortest dimension of the recording apparatus. Referring to FIG. 1, the surfaces having the shortest dimension in the thickness direction of the apparatus are the lateral surface, the front surface and the rear surface. In this embodiment, a paper discharge port is provided on the front surface.

  Next, the carriage configuration of this embodiment will be described. In FIG. 2, the recording apparatus includes a guide shaft 11 and a guide rail 12, and the carriage 400 performs reciprocating scanning along the guide shaft 11 and the guide rail 12.

  In FIG. 3, a carriage 400 is equipped with a first encoder 401 and a second encoder 402 for detecting the position of the carriage, and the carriage is read by reading the number of slits of the code strip 13 attached to the recording apparatus. Can be detected. The interval L between the first encoder 401 and the second encoder 402 is an integral multiple of the resolution of the code strip 13. A carriage motor 14 (FIG. 2), which is a DC motor, is provided as a carriage drive source, and driving force is transmitted to the carriage 400 via a timing belt (not shown). The carriage 400 performs reciprocal scanning and performs recording on a recording medium by feedback control using the carriage motor 14, the first encoder 401, the second encoder 402, and the code strip 13.

  FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing an electric circuit of the printer. In FIG. 4, the CPU 501 processes information of the CR motor 14, the first encoder 401, the second encoder 402, the first encoder 401, and the second encoder 402 via the ROM 502, the RAM 503, the recording head drive unit 504, and the motor driver 505. Encoder control unit 506 for controlling, code strip determination unit 507 for determining presence / absence of deterioration of code strip, deterioration position, carriage movement control unit 508 for controlling carriage movement and printing position of recording head, data receiving unit 512, interface The unit 509 is connected through a path.

  The CPU 501 is controlled by a program built in the ROM 502. The recording information transmitted from the host computer 510 via the printer driver 511 is received by the data receiving unit 512 on the printer side. The data receiving unit 512 transmits and receives data according to the state of the printer, and the received data is stored in the RAM 503. In accordance with a recording command from the host computer 510, the CPU 501 controls the recording head movement drive unit 504 and the CR motor 14, respectively.

  Next, a method for determining an undetectable portion of the code strip according to the present invention will be described. FIG. 5 is a view of the carriage 400 and the code strip 13 as seen from the front. Here, a case where the carriage 400 moves in the F direction is a forward movement, and a movement in the opposite direction is a backward movement. Further, it is assumed that the code strip 13 has ink stains 22.

  First, the carriage 400 moves in a plurality of directions, hits the right side plate 15a of the chassis 15, and sets its position as a carriage movement reference position “0”. At this time, the first encoder detector 401a is located at L + M from the right side plate 15, and the second encoder detector 402a is located at M from the right side plate.

  Next, the carriage 400 moves to a predetermined position in the forward direction (F direction) (for example, the left side plate of the chassis 15).

  FIG. 6 shows a state of slit presence / absence detection of the first encoder 401 and the second encoder 402 at this time. When the carriage 400 moves in the forward direction, first, the first encoder detection unit 401a passes through the portion of the ink stain 22 of the code strip 13, and during that period, that is, during the carriage movement distance A to B, The encoder detection state remains with a slit and the number of slits is not counted up. However, since the second encoder detection unit 402a has not yet passed through the ink stain 22, the presence / absence of a slit is detected and the number of slits is counted up.

  When the carriage 400 further moves, the second encoder detection unit 402a passes the ink stain 22 portion of the code strip 13 this time. During this time, that is, in the range where the carriage travel distance is from C to D, the second encoder detector 402a remains in a slit state and the number of slits is not counted up, but the first encoder detector 401a detects the presence / absence of a slit. The number of slits is counted up.

  Thus, when there is an undetectable portion of the code strip 13 such as the ink stain 22 and the carriage 400 passes through that portion, the number of slits of one encoder is counted up, but the number of slits of the other encoder is counted up. do not do.

  Therefore, such a portion can be determined as an undetectable portion of the code strip 13. In this case, the undetectable portion of the code strip 13 is a portion in the range of the width a from the position of A + L + M (= C + M) from the right side plate (the section in which the moving distance of the first encoder detection unit 401a is A to B, It can be seen that the moving distance of the second encoder 402a is a portion from C to D).

  By adopting the configuration as described above, it is possible to discriminate undetectable portions such as ink stains on the code strip 13 by a single movement from the right side plate 15a of the chassis 15 to a predetermined position (for example, the left side plate of the chassis 15). can do.

(Example 2)
In the first embodiment, only the method for detecting the code strip has been described, but in this embodiment, a method for preventing a carriage error, a print position shift, and the like due to a position shift even if the encoder passes through the undetectable portion will be described.

  The configuration is the same as that of the first embodiment. Based on the same procedure, first, an undetectable portion of the code strip 13 is determined. In this case, the portion within the range of the width a from the position of A + L + M (= C + M) from the right side plate in FIG. 5 is determined as the undetectable portion.

  Subsequently, when an operation such as printing is performed, the use of encoder information as shown in FIG. 7 is controlled. Here, in this configuration, both the first encoder 401 and the second encoder 402 detect the slit of the code strip 13, but information on one of the encoders is used for carriage movement, print position control, and the like. Shall. First, in the movement of the carriage 400 to the predetermined position E in the forward direction, the section of the movement distance A-s1 from the carriage movement reference position “0” uses the first encoder information to control carriage movement and print position. Control. After that, when the first encoder passes through the range of the carriage movement distance A to B, the number of slits is not counted up, so that a print position shift or the like occurs. The encoder to be used is switched so that the movement of the carriage and the printing position are controlled using the information of the second encoder at the position A-s1. When the carriage 400 moves and reaches the position of the movement distance B + s2, the encoder to be used is next used to control the movement of the carriage and the print position again using the information of the first encoder 401. Is switched. Then, printing or movement up to E is performed.

  As described above, the information of the first encoder 401 is used while the carriage moving distance is A-s1, the information of the second encoder 402 is used between A-s1 and B + s2, and B + s2 and thereafter. In this range, information on the first encoder is used to control carriage movement and print position.

  Thus, the encoder information when the first encoder detector 401a passes through the ink stain 22 (undetectable portion) and the encoder when the second encoder detector 402a passes through the ink stain 22 (undetectable portion). Since the information is not used for carriage movement or printing position control, even if the code strip 13 has an undetectable portion such as ink stains 22, the carriage movement and printing can be performed without causing a printing position shift or the like. Position control can be performed.

  Also in the backward movement, as in the forward direction, the first encoder information is used for the range of E to B + s2 and the range of B + s2 to A-s1 is the range of the second encoder. By using information and using the information of the first encoder in the range from A-s1 to the reference position “0” of the right side plate, the same effect as in the forward direction can be obtained. Here, the carriage movement and the printing position are controlled using the encoder information of the same encoder of the two encoders in the same carriage movement range in both the forward direction and the multi-direction, and in addition, the interval between the two encoders. Are arranged at a distance L that is an integral multiple of the resolution of the code strip, so that the influence of subtle errors in the distance L can be minimized.

(Example 3)
Further, as another control method, switching of the use of encoder information as shown in FIG. 8 (third embodiment) (the range of carriage movement distance “0” to B + s2 uses the information of the second encoder, and B + s2 The same effect as described above can be obtained even if the information from the first encoder is used for the range from the left to the predetermined position on the left side.

Example 4
Further, as another control method, switching of the use of encoder information as shown in FIG. 9 (fourth embodiment) (the range of carriage movement distance “0” to C-s3 uses information of the second encoder, Even if the information of the first encoder is used in the range of C-s3 to D + s4 and the information of the second encoder is used in the range of D + s4 to E), the same effect as described above can be obtained.

(Example 5)
In the second embodiment, the configuration in which the undetectable portion of the code strip 13 is first discriminated and then the positional deviation when passing through the undetectable portion is described has been described. In the embodiment, a description will be given of control in which a procedure for determining an undetectable portion of the code strip is omitted.

  The apparatus configuration is the same as in the first and second embodiments. As shown in FIG. 3, the first encoder and the second encoder are provided in the carriage 400, and the interval L between the two encoders is an integral multiple of the resolution of the code strip 13. It has become. However, the control is different, and control is performed to recognize that the carriage is moving if information is always stored in two encoders and the number of slits of one encoder is counted up. That is, when the carriage 400 passes through the code strip 13 having the ink stain 22 (undetectable portion) at the position shown in FIG. 5, the encoder information as shown in FIG. 10 is controlled.

  By performing such control, even if the detection unit of one encoder passes through the undetectable part of the code strip 13, the detection unit of the other encoder passes through the detectable part. It is possible to control the movement of the carriage and the printing position without causing the above. In addition, the procedure for determining the undetectable portion of the code strip before starting printing can be omitted.

1 is an external perspective view of a recording apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. 1 is a perspective view showing an internal structure of a recording apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. It is a perspective view of the carriage of an embodiment of the present invention. It is a block diagram showing the electric circuit of the embodiment of the present invention. It is the figure which looked at the carriage and code strip of the embodiment of the present invention from the front. It is the figure which showed the state of the slit presence or absence detection of the code strip by the encoder of 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is the figure which showed the state of slit presence / absence detection of the code strip by the encoder of 2nd Embodiment of this invention, and the state of selection control of the encoder to be used. It is the figure which showed the state of slit presence detection of the code strip by the encoder of 3rd Embodiment of this invention, and the state of selection control of the encoder to be used. It is the figure which showed the state of the slit strip presence detection of the code strip by the encoder of 4th Embodiment of this invention, and the state of selection control of the encoder to be used. It is the figure which showed the state of the slit presence or absence detection of the code strip by the encoder of 5th Embodiment of this invention.

Explanation of symbols

2 Paper feed tray 3 Paper discharge cover 5 Paper feed port 6 Paper discharge port 8 LF roller 9 Pinch roller 10 Paper discharge roller 11 Guide shaft 12 Guide rail 13 Code strip 14 Carriage motor 15 Chassis 15a Right side plate 22 Ink stain 100 Automatic paper feed Part 200 Conveying part (Recording medium conveying means)
203 Platen 300 Discharge unit 400 Carriage 401 First encoder 401a First encoder detection unit 402 Second encoder 402a Second encoder detection unit 501 CPU
502 ROM
503 RAM
504 Recording head drive unit 505 Motor driver 506 Encoder control unit 507 Code strip discrimination unit 508 Carriage movement control unit 509 Interface 510 Host computer 511 Printer driver 512 Data reception unit

Claims (6)

  In order to detect a carriage position defining means, a carriage mounted with a recording head for recording on a recording medium and reciprocatingly scanned, a carriage position defining means for defining the position of the carriage arranged along the scanning direction of the carriage, and the carriage position defining means A plurality of carriage position detection means, detection information comparison means for comparing detection information of each carriage position detection means, carriage movement control means for controlling the movement of the carriage and the print position of the recording head, and the carriage moving And a discriminating unit for discriminating a state of the carriage position defining unit based on a comparison result of the detected information comparing unit.   The recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the determination unit detects an undetectable portion of the carriage position defining unit.   3. The recording apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the carriage movement control means includes a carriage movement and a recording head based on detection information of any one of the plurality of carriage position detection means. The print position is controlled, and the carriage movement control means performs control so that the detection information used in the movement of one scan can be switched to the information of the different carriage position detection means. A recording apparatus characterized by being specified by a discrimination means.   3. The recording apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the carriage movement control means is based on position information of the other carriage position detection means when one carriage position detection means passes through the undetectable portion as the carriage moves. A recording apparatus that performs control.   In order to detect a carriage position defining means, a carriage mounted with a recording head for recording on a recording medium and reciprocatingly scanned, a carriage position defining means for defining the position of the carriage arranged along the scanning direction of the carriage, and the carriage position defining means The carriage position detection means arranged in plurality and the detection information of any one of the detection information of the plurality of carriage position detection means recognizes the information change in the carriage position detection means as the change in the carriage position and moves and records the carriage. A recording apparatus comprising carriage movement control means for controlling a print position of a head.   6. The recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the interval between the plurality of carriage position detecting means is an integral multiple of the resolution of the carriage position defining means.

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