JP2007245378A - Inkjet printer, method for recovering nozzle for recording head, program for recovering nozzle for recording head and storing medium - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an inkjet printer capable of forming an image with a high quality of image at a high speed by efficiently executing a throw-away processing of ink to recover an nozzle of a recording head, a method for recovering the nozzle of the recording head, a program for recovering the nozzle of the recording head and a storing medium. <P>SOLUTION: The inkjet printer has a recording head provided so as to be movable back and forth along the main scanning direction along the width direction of a recording medium, and delivering the ink from the nozzle on the process moving back and forth to print the image on the recording medium, a moving means for moving back and forth the recording head, and a controlling means for controlling a throw-away operation for throwing away the ink from the nozzle by driving the recording head after the recording head is moved to the outside of a recording region on the side of the recording medium. The controlling means controls the amount of the ink when the throw-away operation of the ink is performed based on the information on the image. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an ink jet recording apparatus, a recording head nozzle recovery method, a recording head nozzle recovery program, and a storage medium, and more particularly, discharges ink outside a printing area on the recording medium to prevent nozzle clogging. The present invention relates to an ink jet recording apparatus, a recording head nozzle recovery method, a recording head nozzle recovery program, and a storage medium.

  An on-demand type ink jet recording apparatus that prints on recording media such as paper, film, and fabric by ejecting ink according to the image from the nozzles of the recording head. If only the color of the color was printed, the ink around the nozzle that was not used for printing dried by touching the air, and the viscosity of the ink became high, making it difficult to eject or causing nozzle clogging. Normal ink ejection may not be possible.

  As a process for restoring the nozzle to a normal state, the nozzle peripheral part is wiped with a blade made of an elastic material such as rubber, or the nozzle peripheral part is sealed with a capping member to make the inside of the capping member negative pressure. However, these cleaning processes must be performed by moving the recording head to the position for the cleaning process. It cannot be executed. As described above, nozzle clogging also occurs during the printing operation. Therefore, usually, a predetermined amount of ink is forcibly discharged from the nozzles of the recording head at an appropriate time before starting printing or during printing operation. By removing the dry ink and high-viscosity ink in the nozzles, the nozzles are recovered, and the printing operation can always be continued with the nozzles in a normal state.

Such ink discharge processing is usually performed outside the printing area on the side of the recording medium. Accordingly, in an inkjet recording apparatus having a shuttle type recording head that reciprocates the recording head along the width direction of the recording medium and prints an image on the recording medium by ejecting ink from the nozzles in the process of the reciprocating movement. After the recording head is moved to the outside of the printing area on the side of the recording medium, ink is discharged.
Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2002-127470 (Points where ink is discharged onto an ink discharging member) Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2004-9358 (A point having an ink discharge processing mode) Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2003-205658 (points having a conveyor belt cleaning means) JP 2004-322456 A (Point for detecting the position of a recording medium) JP-A-2005-212270 (Points for calculating the amount of ink used)

  In the conventional ink discharge process, the amount of ink discharged at a time is determined in advance. At this time, if the size of the image to be printed on the recording medium is large, the print width of the recording head becomes longer, and the operation pause period of the nozzles not used for printing becomes longer accordingly. The required amount of ejection is reduced, the nozzle recovery is insufficient, and normal ink ejection cannot be performed. This is a serious problem for an ink jet recording apparatus intended to form a high quality image.

  On the other hand, when the size of the image printed on the recording medium is small, the print width of the recording head is shortened, and the operation pause period of the nozzles not used for printing is shortened accordingly. There is a problem in that the amount of ink discharged increases, and a large amount of ink is discharged unnecessarily, resulting in an increase in ink consumption cost. Executing ink wastelessly leads to a decrease in the image output speed because the print pause period becomes longer, which is also a serious problem for the ink jet recording apparatus.

  In addition, when the amount of ink printed on the recording medium is small, such as in a highlight portion, the amount of ejection required for the time for the nozzle periphery to dry is reduced, and the nozzle recovery is insufficient and normal. On the other hand, when the amount of ink printed on the recording medium is large, such as a solid image, the amount of ink discharged increases with respect to the time when the nozzle periphery is dried, and the ink consumption cost increases. Therefore, there is a problem similar to the above.

  Furthermore, the influence of temperature and humidity cannot be ignored. For example, if the temperature or humidity decreases, the ink viscosity increases, and if the ink discharge amount is not increased, the nozzle recovery is insufficient and normal ink ejection cannot be performed, while if the temperature or humidity increases, the ink viscosity increases. There is a problem that the ink consumption cost increases due to the fact that it becomes smaller and wastes a large amount of ink wastefully.

  Accordingly, the present invention provides an ink jet recording apparatus capable of forming a high-quality image at high speed by efficiently performing an ink ejection process for recovering the nozzles of the recording head, and recovering the nozzles of the recording head. It is an object to provide a method, a recording head nozzle recovery program, and a storage medium.

  Other problems of the present invention will become apparent from the following description.

  The above problems are solved by the following inventions.

  According to the first aspect of the present invention, the recording is provided so as to be able to reciprocate along the main scanning direction along the width direction of the recording medium, and prints an image on the recording medium by ejecting ink from the nozzles during the reciprocating movement. An ink discharge operation for driving the recording head after the recording head is moved out of the recording area on the side of the recording medium and discharging ink from the nozzles; In the ink jet recording apparatus having the control means for controlling the ink, the control means controls the amount of ink in the ink discharging operation based on the information of the image.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided recording that is provided so as to be reciprocally movable along a main scanning direction along a width direction of the recording medium, and that prints an image on the recording medium by ejecting ink from the nozzles during the reciprocal movement. An ink discharge operation for driving the recording head after the recording head is moved out of the recording area on the side of the recording medium and discharging ink from the nozzles; And an ink jet recording apparatus having a control means for controlling the temperature of the recording head or its environmental temperature or the temperature of the ink and / or humidity detecting means for detecting the environmental humidity of the recording head. And the control means performs the ink discharge operation based on the detection result of the temperature detection means and / or the humidity detection means. An ink jet recording apparatus characterized by controlling the ink amount.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided recording that is provided so as to be reciprocally movable along a main scanning direction along a width direction of the recording medium, and that prints an image on the recording medium by ejecting ink from the nozzles during the reciprocal movement. An ink discharge operation for driving the recording head after the recording head is moved out of the recording area on the side of the recording medium and discharging ink from the nozzles; And an ink jet recording apparatus having a control means for controlling the temperature of the recording head or its environmental temperature or the temperature of the ink and / or humidity detecting means for detecting the environmental humidity of the recording head. The control means is configured to perform the ink based on the image information and the detection result of the temperature detection means and / or the humidity detection means. An ink jet recording apparatus characterized by controlling the amount of ink at the time of can discard operation.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided recording that is provided so as to be reciprocally movable along a main scanning direction along a width direction of the recording medium, and that prints an image on the recording medium by ejecting ink from the nozzles during the reciprocating process. An ink discharge operation for driving the recording head after the recording head is moved out of the recording area on the side of the recording medium and discharging ink from the nozzles; In the ink jet recording apparatus having the control means for controlling the ink, the control means sets the discharge position in the ink discharge operation to only one side of the recording medium or both sides based on the information of the image. The inkjet recording apparatus is characterized in that the method is controlled.

  According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, recording is provided so as to be reciprocally movable along the main scanning direction along the width direction of the recording medium, and printing an image on the recording medium by ejecting ink from the nozzles during the reciprocal movement. An ink discharge operation for driving the recording head after the recording head is moved out of the recording area on the side of the recording medium and discharging ink from the nozzles; And an ink jet recording apparatus having a control means for controlling the temperature of the recording head or its environmental temperature or the temperature of the ink and / or humidity detecting means for detecting the environmental humidity of the recording head. And the control means performs the ink discharge operation based on the detection result of the temperature detection means and / or the humidity detection means. An ink jet recording apparatus characterized by controlling either the can discard position and whether both sides and only one side of the recording medium.

  According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a recording which is provided so as to be capable of reciprocating along the main scanning direction along the width direction of the recording medium, and printing an image on the recording medium by discharging ink from the nozzles during the reciprocating process. An ink discharge operation for driving the recording head after the recording head is moved out of the recording area on the side of the recording medium and discharging ink from the nozzles; And an ink jet recording apparatus having a control means for controlling the temperature of the recording head or its environmental temperature or the temperature of the ink and / or humidity detecting means for detecting the environmental humidity of the recording head. The control means is configured to perform the ink based on the image information and the detection result of the temperature detection means and / or the humidity detection means. An ink jet recording apparatus characterized by controlling whether the spitting discarded position when the can discard operation and whether both sides and only one side of the recording medium.

  According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, in the ink jet recording apparatus according to the first, third, fourth, or sixth aspect, the image information is a print width and / or an amount of ink used when the image is printed. is there.

  According to an eighth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a conveying belt that carries the recording medium and conveys the recording medium in a direction crossing the main scanning direction, a cleaning unit that contacts the conveying belt and cleans the surface thereof, and the recording medium Width detecting means for detecting the width of the recording head, and the control means is arranged on the conveying belt outside the recording medium width detected by the width detecting means during the ink discharging operation. The ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the ink is discharged by discharging the ink.

  According to a ninth aspect of the present invention, the recording head includes a plurality of heads, and the control unit controls the ink discharge operation for each head. It is a recording device.

  According to a tenth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a recording head that ejects ink from nozzles and prints an image on the recording medium in a process of reciprocation along the main scanning direction along the width direction of the recording medium. In the nozzle recovery method of a recording head, which is driven after being moved out of the recording area and performs an ink discharging operation for discharging ink from the nozzle, based on the information on the image A method for recovering a nozzle of a recording head, wherein the ink amount during the ink discharge operation is controlled.

  According to an eleventh aspect of the present invention, there is provided a recording head that prints an image on the recording medium by ejecting ink from the nozzles in the process of reciprocation along the main scanning direction along the width direction of the recording medium. In the nozzle recovery method of a recording head, which is driven after being moved out of the recording area, and the ink is discharged by discharging ink from the nozzle, the nozzle recovers the recording head. Detecting the ambient temperature or the temperature of the ink and / or the ambient humidity of the print head, and controlling the ink amount during the ink discharge operation based on the detection result, the nozzle recovery of the print head Is the method.

  According to a twelfth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a recording head for printing an image on the recording medium by ejecting ink from the nozzles in the process of reciprocation along the main scanning direction along the width direction of the recording medium. In the nozzle recovery method of a recording head, which is driven after being moved out of the recording area, and the ink is discharged by discharging ink from the nozzle, the nozzle recovers the recording head. An environmental temperature or an ink temperature and / or an environmental humidity of the recording head is detected, and an ink amount in the ink discharging operation is controlled based on the detection result and information on the image. This is a nozzle recovery method for the recording head.

  According to a thirteenth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a recording head that ejects ink from nozzles and prints an image on the recording medium in a process of reciprocal movement along the main scanning direction along the width direction of the recording medium. In the nozzle recovery method of a recording head, which is driven after being moved out of the recording area and performs an ink discharging operation for discharging ink from the nozzle, based on the information on the image A method for recovering a nozzle of a recording head, comprising controlling whether a discharging position in the ink discharging operation is only one side or both sides of the recording medium.

  According to a fourteenth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a recording head for printing an image on the recording medium by ejecting ink from the nozzles in the process of reciprocal movement along the main scanning direction along the width direction of the recording medium. In the nozzle recovery method of a recording head, which is driven after being moved out of the recording area, and the ink is discharged by discharging ink from the nozzle, the nozzle recovers the recording head. Whether the environmental temperature or the temperature of the ink and / or the environmental humidity of the recording head is detected, and based on the detection result, the discharge position in the ink discharging operation is set to only one side of the recording medium A method for recovering nozzles of a recording head, characterized in that both sides are controlled.

  According to a fifteenth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a recording head that prints an image on the recording medium by ejecting ink from the nozzles during a reciprocating movement along the main scanning direction along the width direction of the recording medium. In the nozzle recovery method of a recording head, which is driven after being moved out of the recording area, and the ink is discharged by discharging ink from the nozzle, the nozzle recovers the recording head. The environmental temperature or the temperature of the ink and / or the environmental humidity of the recording head is detected, and based on the detection result and the information of the image, the discharging position in the ink discharging operation is determined. A method for recovering a nozzle of a recording head, characterized in that control is performed on only one side or both sides.

  According to a sixteenth aspect of the present invention, the information of the image is a print width and / or an amount of ink used when the image is printed, and the nozzle of the recording head according to the tenth, twelfth, thirteenth or fifteenth aspect It is a recovery method.

  According to a seventeenth aspect of the present invention, the recording medium is placed on a conveying belt and conveyed in a direction crossing the main scanning direction, the width of the recording medium is detected by a width detecting unit, and the ink discharge is performed. In operation, the recording head is driven on the conveying belt outside the width of the recording medium detected by the width detecting means to discharge ink, and the conveying belt from which ink has been discharged is cleaned. The method of recovering a nozzle of a recording head according to claim 10, wherein the cleaning is performed by the cleaning.

  The invention according to claim 18 is characterized in that the recording head comprises a plurality of heads, and the ink discharging operation is controlled for each head. It is.

  According to a nineteenth aspect of the present invention, a computer is provided so as to be capable of reciprocating along the main scanning direction along the width direction of the recording medium. Nozzle of a recording head for realizing a function of performing an ink discharging operation for driving the recording head of an ink jet recording apparatus to perform printing after moving the recording head to the outside of the recording area on the side of the recording medium. A recovery program for acquiring the image information; determining the ink amount during the ink discharge operation based on the acquired image information; and the determined ink amount. A recording head nozzle recovery program for causing a computer to realize a function of performing the ink discharge operation.

  According to a twentieth aspect of the invention, the computer is provided so as to be able to reciprocate along the main scanning direction along the width direction of the recording medium. Nozzle of a recording head for realizing a function of performing an ink discharging operation for driving the recording head of an ink jet recording apparatus to perform printing after moving the recording head to the outside of the recording area on the side of the recording medium. A function for detecting the temperature of the recording head or its environmental temperature or the temperature of the ink and / or detecting the environmental humidity of the recording head, and the ink discharge operation based on the detection result The computer has the function of determining the ink amount at the time of the ink and the function of performing the ink discharging operation with the determined ink amount A nozzle recovery program of the recording head, characterized in that to.

  According to a twenty-first aspect of the present invention, a computer is provided so as to be capable of reciprocating along the main scanning direction along the width direction of the recording medium. Nozzle of a recording head for realizing a function of performing an ink discharging operation for driving the recording head of an ink jet recording apparatus to perform printing after moving the recording head to the outside of the recording area on the side of the recording medium. A recovery program for acquiring the image information; a function for detecting the temperature of the recording head or its environmental temperature or the temperature of the ink; and / or detecting the environmental humidity of the recording head; Based on the result and the acquired image information, the function of determining the ink amount in the ink discharge operation, and the determined ink A nozzle recovery program of the recording head, characterized in that to realize the function of performing the ink spitting discarded operate in click amount to the computer.

  According to a twenty-second aspect of the present invention, a computer is provided so as to be capable of reciprocating along the main scanning direction along the width direction of the recording medium. Nozzle of a recording head for realizing a function of performing an ink discharging operation for driving the recording head of an ink jet recording apparatus to perform printing after moving the recording head to the outside of the recording area on the side of the recording medium. Whether the recovery program is a function for acquiring the image information and the discharge position in the ink discharge operation on only one side of the recording medium based on the acquired image information The computer has a function of determining whether to set both sides and a function of driving the recording head at the determined discharging position and performing the ink discharging operation. A nozzle recovery program of the recording head for causing revealed.

  According to a twenty-third aspect of the present invention, a computer is provided so as to be capable of reciprocating along the main scanning direction along the width direction of the recording medium. Nozzle of a recording head for realizing a function of performing an ink discharging operation for driving the recording head of an ink jet recording apparatus to perform printing after moving the recording head to the outside of the recording area on the side of the recording medium. A function for detecting the temperature of the recording head or its environmental temperature or the temperature of the ink and / or detecting the environmental humidity of the recording head, and the ink discharge operation based on the detection result A function for determining whether or not the discharge position in the recording medium is only one side or both sides of the recording medium, and the determined discharge position Serial to drive the recording head, a nozzle recovery program of the recording head, characterized in that to realize the function of performing the ink spitting discarded operating the computer.

  According to a twenty-fourth aspect of the present invention, a computer is provided so as to be capable of reciprocating along the main scanning direction along the width direction of the recording medium. Nozzle of a recording head for realizing a function of performing an ink discharging operation for driving the recording head of an ink jet recording apparatus to perform printing after moving the recording head to the outside of the recording area on the side of the recording medium. A recovery program for acquiring the image information; a function for detecting the temperature of the recording head or its environmental temperature or the temperature of the ink; and / or detecting the environmental humidity of the recording head; Based on the result and the acquired image information, the discharge position in the ink discharge operation is set to only one side of the recording medium. And a function of deciding whether or not to set both sides and a function of driving the recording head at the determined discharging position and performing the ink discharging operation on a computer. It is a program.

  25. The recording head nozzle according to claim 19, wherein the information of the image is a printing width and / or an amount of ink used when printing the image. It is a recovery program.

  A twenty-sixth aspect of the invention is a storage medium storing the recording head nozzle recovery program according to any one of the nineteenth to twenty-fifth aspects.

  According to the first aspect of the present invention, the ink discharge process for recovering the nozzles of the recording head is efficiently executed by controlling the ink amount when discharging the ink based on the image information. can do. Thereby, it is possible to provide an ink jet recording apparatus capable of forming a high-quality image at high speed.

  According to the second aspect of the present invention, the recording head is controlled by controlling the amount of ink when ink is discharged based on the temperature of the recording head or its ambient temperature or ink temperature and / or the environmental humidity of the recording head. Ink ejection processing for recovering the nozzles can be efficiently executed. Thereby, it is possible to provide an ink jet recording apparatus capable of forming a high-quality image at high speed.

  According to the third aspect of the present invention, the ink amount at the time of discharging ink is controlled based on the image information and the temperature of the recording head or its environmental temperature or ink temperature and / or the environmental humidity of the recording head. As a result, the ink discharge process for recovering the nozzles of the recording head can be executed more efficiently. Thereby, it is possible to provide an ink jet recording apparatus capable of forming a high-quality image at high speed.

  According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, by controlling whether the ink discharge position when discharging ink is one side or both sides when discharging ink based on the information of the image, The ink discharge process for recovering the nozzles can be performed efficiently. Thereby, it is possible to provide an ink jet recording apparatus capable of forming a high-quality image at high speed.

  According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, the ink discharge position when ink is discharged based on the temperature of the recording head or its environmental temperature or ink temperature and / or the environmental humidity of the recording head is set on one side of the recording medium. By controlling whether the ink is on the side or on both sides, the ink discharge process for recovering the nozzles of the recording head can be efficiently executed. Thereby, it is possible to provide an ink jet recording apparatus capable of forming a high-quality image at high speed.

  According to the sixth aspect of the present invention, the ink discharge position when ink is discharged based on the image information and the temperature of the recording head or its environmental temperature or ink temperature and / or the environmental humidity of the recording head. By controlling whether one side or both sides of the recording medium is controlled, the ink discharge process for recovering the nozzles of the recording head can be executed more efficiently. Thereby, it is possible to provide an ink jet recording apparatus capable of forming a high-quality image at high speed.

  According to the seventh aspect of the invention, the ink discharge process for recovering the nozzles of the recording head can be efficiently executed based on the print width and / or the amount of ink used when printing an image. Can do.

  According to the eighth aspect of the invention, since ink is discharged on the conveying belt that conveys the recording medium, it is not necessary to move the recording head over a long distance to the outside of the conveying belt during the ink discharging process. As a result, the image output speed can be increased.

  According to the ninth aspect of the invention, since the ink discharge operation is controlled for each head of a plurality of heads, the ink discharge process for recovering the nozzles of the recording head can be efficiently executed for each head. it can.

  According to the tenth aspect of the invention, the ink discharge process for recovering the nozzles of the recording head is efficiently executed by controlling the ink amount when discharging the ink based on the image information. can do. Accordingly, it is possible to provide a nozzle recovery method for a recording head that can form a high-quality image at high speed.

  According to the eleventh aspect of the present invention, the recording head is controlled by controlling the amount of ink when ink is discharged based on the temperature of the recording head or its ambient temperature or ink temperature and / or the environmental humidity of the recording head. Ink ejection processing for recovering the nozzles can be efficiently executed. Accordingly, it is possible to provide a nozzle recovery method for a recording head that can form a high-quality image at high speed.

  According to the twelfth aspect of the invention, the amount of ink when ink is discharged is controlled based on the image information and the temperature of the recording head or its environmental temperature or ink temperature and / or the environmental humidity of the recording head. As a result, the ink discharge process for recovering the nozzles of the recording head can be executed more efficiently. Accordingly, it is possible to provide a nozzle recovery method for a recording head that can form a high-quality image at high speed.

  According to the thirteenth aspect of the present invention, by controlling whether the ink discharge position when discharging ink is one side or both sides of the recording medium based on the image information, The ink discharge process for recovering the nozzles can be performed efficiently. Accordingly, it is possible to provide a nozzle recovery method for a recording head that can form a high-quality image at high speed.

  According to the fourteenth aspect of the present invention, the ink discharge position at the time of discharging ink is set to one side of the recording medium based on the temperature of the print head or its environmental temperature or ink temperature and / or the environmental humidity of the print head. By controlling whether the ink is on the side or on both sides, the ink discharge process for recovering the nozzles of the recording head can be efficiently executed. Accordingly, it is possible to provide a nozzle recovery method for a recording head that can form a high-quality image at high speed.

  According to the fifteenth aspect of the present invention, the ink discharge position when ink is discharged based on the image information and the temperature of the recording head or its environmental temperature or ink temperature and / or the environmental humidity of the recording head. By controlling whether one side or both sides of the recording medium is controlled, the ink discharge process for recovering the nozzles of the recording head can be executed more efficiently. Accordingly, it is possible to provide a nozzle recovery method for a recording head that can form a high-quality image at high speed.

  According to the sixteenth aspect of the present invention, the ink discharge process for recovering the nozzles of the recording head can be efficiently executed based on the print width and / or the amount of ink used when printing an image. Can do.

  According to the seventeenth aspect of the invention, since ink is discharged on the conveying belt that conveys the recording medium, it is not necessary to move the recording head over a long distance to the outside of the conveying belt during the ink discharging process. As a result, the image output speed can be increased.

  According to the eighteenth aspect of the invention, since the ink discharge operation is controlled for each head of a plurality of heads, the ink discharge process for recovering the nozzles of the recording head can be efficiently executed for each head. it can.

  According to the nineteenth aspect of the invention, since the computer can be executed to control the amount of ink when ink is discharged based on the image information, the ink for recovering the nozzles of the recording head can be used. Can be efficiently executed. Thus, it is possible to provide a recording head nozzle recovery program capable of forming a high-quality image at high speed.

  According to the twentieth aspect of the invention, the computer is executed so as to control the amount of ink when ink is discharged based on the temperature of the recording head or its ambient temperature or ink temperature and / or the environmental humidity of the recording head. Therefore, the ink discharge process for recovering the nozzles of the recording head can be efficiently executed. Thus, it is possible to provide a recording head nozzle recovery program capable of forming a high-quality image at high speed.

  According to the twenty-first aspect of the present invention, the amount of ink when ink is discharged is controlled based on the image information and the temperature of the recording head or its environmental temperature or ink temperature and / or the environmental humidity of the recording head. Since the computer can be executed as described above, the ink discharge process for recovering the nozzles of the recording head can be executed more efficiently. Thus, it is possible to provide a recording head nozzle recovery program capable of forming a high-quality image at high speed.

  According to the invention of claim 22, the computer is executed so as to control whether the ink discharge position when discharging ink is set to one side or both sides of the recording medium based on image information. Therefore, the ink discharge process for recovering the nozzles of the recording head can be efficiently executed. Thus, it is possible to provide a recording head nozzle recovery program capable of forming a high-quality image at high speed.

  According to the twenty-third aspect of the present invention, the ink discharge position when ink is discharged based on the temperature of the print head or its environmental temperature or ink temperature and / or the print head's environmental humidity is set to one side of the print medium. Since the computer can be controlled so as to control whether the ink is on the side or on both sides, the ink discharge process for recovering the nozzles of the recording head can be executed efficiently. Thus, it is possible to provide a recording head nozzle recovery program capable of forming a high-quality image at high speed.

  According to the twenty-fourth aspect of the present invention, the ink discharge position when ink is discharged is based on the image information and the temperature of the recording head or the environmental temperature or the temperature of the ink and / or the environmental humidity of the recording head. Since the computer can be executed so as to control whether the recording medium is set to one side or both sides, it is possible to more efficiently execute the ink discharge process for recovering the nozzles of the recording head. it can. Thus, it is possible to provide a recording head nozzle recovery program capable of forming a high-quality image at high speed.

  According to the twenty-fifth aspect of the invention, the above program is executed based on the print width and / or the amount of ink used when printing an image, thereby ejecting ink for recovering the nozzles of the recording head. The discarding process can be executed efficiently.

  According to the twenty-sixth aspect of the present invention, it is possible to provide a storage medium storing the recording head nozzle recovery program according to any of the nineteenth to twenty-fifth aspects.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 is an overall schematic view of an ink jet recording apparatus according to the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a schematic view showing a side surface of a transport mechanism.

  In FIG. 1, 1 is a recording head having a plurality of nozzles for ejecting ink in the form of minute droplets, 2 is a carriage on which the recording head 1 is mounted, and 3 is a capping member for sealing a nozzle peripheral portion of the recording head 1. 4 is a cleaning member for wiping the nozzle periphery of the recording head 1, 5 is a slide guide that serves as a guide when the carriage 2 reciprocates along the horizontal direction in the figure, which is the main scanning direction, and 6 is a recording guide. A transport belt 7 for transporting the medium P is a housing of the ink jet recording apparatus that accommodates these components.

  The recording head 1 has a plurality of nozzles arranged on the nozzle surface facing the recording medium P, and ejects ink from the nozzles toward the recording medium P, whereby information such as characters and images corresponding to the image data. Ink-jet printing means for printing ink, and applying pressure to the ink by driving a piezoelectric element or the like by a head drive circuit (not shown) or generating bubbles by a heat source. Ink is ejected from the nozzle.

  The recording head 1 may be a single-color head having a single head configuration. For example, in the case of a head that prints a color image, yellow (Y), magenta (M), cyan (C), black (K) 4 A plurality of heads may be used, such as a head unit composed of a total of four heads in order to form a higher-definition color image by ejecting color ink from the nozzles. In the present embodiment, the recording head 1 is described as including the latter plurality of heads.

  In order to print an image on the recording medium P, the carriage 2 is mounted on the recording head 1 and reciprocated in the main scanning direction along the slide guide 5. Drive control is performed by a carriage drive mechanism (not shown) configured by

  In addition to the recording head 1, the carriage 2 is equipped with a width detection sensor 21 that is a width detection unit for detecting the end position of the recording medium P in the width direction. The width detection sensor 21 includes, for example, a light emitting unit that emits light from a light emitting element such as an LED toward the recording medium P, and a light receiving unit that receives reflected light reflected by the surface of the recording medium P. And have. When light is emitted downward from the light emitting portion of the width detection sensor 21 in the process of moving the carriage 2 along the main scanning direction, reflected light is received by the light receiving portion. When the medium P is present, the light is strongly reflected and the amount of light received by the light receiving unit is increased. When the recording medium P is not present, the light is reflected weakly and the amount of light received by the light receiving unit is reduced. The position of the end portion of the recording medium P is detected by detecting the magnitude of the received light quantity.

  The capping member 3 is used to prevent the periphery of the nozzles of the recording head 1 from drying and the ink solidifying when the recording head 1 does not perform a printing operation, thereby preventing ink from being ejected from the nozzles. This is a device for covering the nozzle surface of the head 1 with a cap.

  In the present embodiment, when the recording head 1 moves to a position where the cap can be capped by the capping member 3 when the recording head 1 does not perform a printing operation, a capping mechanism (not shown) using a motor as a driving source is used. The nozzle surface is capped.

  The capping member 3 may include a suction mechanism that eliminates clogging of the nozzle by forcibly sucking the cap against the nozzle surface.

  The cleaning member 4 is contaminated by ink droplets ejected from the periphery of the nozzles of the recording head 1, paper dust or yarn debris of the recording medium P, dust or dust in the atmosphere, etc., and the nozzles are blocked so that ink is not discharged. In general, cleaning is performed by rubbing the nozzle surface with a blade made of rubber or the like, or wiping with a sponge-like member.

  When cleaning the nozzle surface of the recording head 1, when the recording head 1 is moved and stopped by the carriage 2 to a position where the cleaning operation can be performed by the cleaning member 4, a predetermined cleaning operation is performed.

  The slide guide 5 serves as a guide (guide) for the carriage 2 to reciprocate accurately and linearly. A linear encoder (not shown) is used to obtain accurate position information along the main scanning direction of the carriage 2. From which an encoder sensor (not shown) provided on the carriage 2 detects a pulse signal and counts the pulse signal to obtain position information of the carriage 2 along the main scanning direction. I have to.

  The conveyance belt 6 is an endless belt, and is configured to intermittently convey the recording medium P placed thereon at a predetermined speed toward the near side in FIG. 1 that is the sub-scanning direction. . The transport belt 6 is formed wider than the width of the recording medium P to be used. By placing and transporting the recording medium P near the center in the width direction of the recording medium P, Exposed portions 61 and 61 whose surfaces are exposed without the recording medium P being placed on both sides are formed. One or both of the exposed portions 61 and 61 is a region where ink is discharged during an ink discharging operation described later.

  In addition, the code | symbol 300 on these exposed parts 61 and 61 has shown the ink discharge zone formed with the ink discharged by the process mentioned later.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the conveyance mechanism that drives the conveyance belt 6 is configured by passing the conveyance belt 6 around a plurality of (for example, three) rollers 601 including a driving roller that rotates using a motor as a drive source. It is driven to rotate by the rotation of the drive roller.

  A cleaning roller 602 is disposed below the lowermost roller 601 so as to be in contact with the surface of the conveyor belt 6. The cleaning roller 602 is immersed in a cleaning liquid in the cleaning tank 603, and the ink or the like attached to the surface of the rotationally driven transport belt 6 is cleaned with the cleaning liquid. The lower surface of the recording medium P fed by is supported, and the recording medium P is placed on the surface.

  Further, although not shown, an appropriate drying means such as a heater or a blower for drying the transport belt 6 after being cleaned by the cleaning roller 602 may be provided.

  The casing 7 forms the outer shape of the ink jet recording apparatus. In addition to the above-described means and members, the casing 7 is not shown, but includes various sensors and driving devices necessary for an ink tank, a control circuit, a printing operation, and the like. Attach or cover.

  The recording medium P is a paper, a resin film, or a fabric for printing an image. Here, the long recording medium P fed out from an original winding (not shown) wound in a roll shape is used. Although shown, it may be a sheet-like recording medium cut in advance to a predetermined size. 1 indicates an example of a print area of the recording medium P.

  Next, the internal configuration of the ink jet recording apparatus according to the present invention will be described based on the block diagram shown in FIG.

  In FIG. 3, reference numeral 100 denotes a control circuit of the ink jet recording apparatus. The control circuit 100 includes a CPU 110, an information control circuit 120, an interface (I / F) 130, an image processing circuit 140, a drive control circuit 150, a power supply circuit 160, and display means. 170, operation input means 180, and the like.

  The drive control circuit 150 drives and controls various units such as the head unit 151, the cleaning unit 152, the carriage unit 153, the transport unit 154, and the capping unit 155, and the information control circuit 120 stores image data such as image information. 121, a print control data memory 122 for storing print control data associated with image data.

  The control circuit 100 is connected to the external storage device 200 via an interface (I / F) 130.

  The CPU 110 controls the entire control circuit 100 according to various data and commands from the external storage device 200 connected via the interface (I / F) 130, and also transmits various data in the inkjet recording apparatus to the interface (I / F) 130 can be transmitted to the external storage device 200.

  The information control circuit 120 uses input image information and the like adapted to the ink jet recording apparatus in order to quickly and smoothly control information input / output with the external storage device 200 and information flow in the control circuit 100. For example, the input image information is converted into image data suitable for the ink jet recording apparatus and stored in the image data memory 121, or the carriage means 153, for example. The printing operation of the head unit 151 interlocked with the conveying unit 154 is stored in the printing control data memory 122 as control data that is controlled based on the image data.

  In addition to the above-described image information, the information control circuit 120 quickly sends data and commands input by the operation input unit 180 or various data and commands from the external storage device 200 to the CPU 110 and related circuits. It also has a function to transmit.

  The image processing circuit 140 has a function as image information processing means for converting image data and print control data into data suitable for a head and nozzles.

  For example, when printing, the image data and the print control data stored in the image data memory 121 and the print control data memory 122 are read out via the information control circuit 120. First, an area where the image data exists by the print control data. Are transferred to the drive control circuit 150, and the head means 151 is prepared so as to start the printing operation on the recording medium P in conjunction with the carriage means 153 and the conveyance means 154. At the same time, the image data is converted into color signals. Or converted into dot signals for ejecting ink and transferred to the head drive circuit of the head means 151 so that ink can be ejected for each head or nozzle.

  The drive control circuit 150 drives and controls various units such as the head unit 151, the cleaning unit 152, the carriage unit 153, the transport unit 154, and the capping unit 155, and performs the ink discharge operation and the cleaning in order to perform the printing operation normally. Alternatively, a capping maintenance operation and a printing operation for performing printing based on the printing control data transferred from the image processing circuit 140 are operated by a command from the CPU 110.

  In the present embodiment, the head unit 151 includes the recording head 1 shown in FIG. 1 and a head drive circuit (not shown) for driving the recording head 1.

  In this embodiment, the cleaning unit 152 includes the cleaning member 4 shown in FIG. 1 and a drive mechanism (not shown) that drives the cleaning member 4.

  In this embodiment, the carriage means 153 includes the carriage 2 shown in FIG. 1, a width detection sensor 21 mounted on the carriage 2, a drive mechanism (not shown) that moves the carriage 2 along the main scanning direction, and the like. Consists of.

  In the present embodiment, the transport unit 154 includes the transport belt 6 shown in FIG. 1 and a drive mechanism (not shown) that drives the transport belt 6 to rotate.

  In this embodiment, the capping unit 155 includes the capping member 3 shown in FIG. 1 and a drive mechanism (not shown) that drives the capping member 3.

  In particular, in the present embodiment, the CPU 110 instructs the drive control unit 150 to issue a print operation for printing image data and an ink discharge operation for performing ink discharge processing based on a command from the external storage device 200. To do.

  Then, when the CPU 110 is instructed to execute a printing operation, the drive control circuit 150 operates the head driving circuit of the head unit 151 to perform printing with the ink ejection timing and the ink ejection waveform for each head. When the execution of the ink discharge operation is instructed, the head drive circuit of the head means 151 is operated according to the ink discharge timing and the ink discharge waveform for the ink discharge processing operation for each head, and the external storage device The ink discharge operation is performed based on the control data instructed from 200.

  The display unit 170 is, for example, for displaying information such as a liquid crystal display device to the user. The CPU 110 can display a screen for commanding or inputting data by the operation input unit 180. In addition, during the operation of the apparatus, a screen display or the like that allows confirmation of the execution status or the like can be performed.

  The operation input unit 180 includes, for example, a keyboard, a mouse, and the like, and can input commands related to the operation of the ink jet recording apparatus and select various modes. Various commands input by the operation input unit 180 can be selected. Such information and data are discriminated by the information control circuit 120, and the external storage device 200, CPU 110, related image processing circuit 140, drive control circuit 150, display means 170, power supply circuit via the interface (I / F) 130. 160, or a circuit such as the image data memory 121, the print control data memory 122, or the like.

  When the power supply circuit 160 is turned on by a power switch (not shown), the power supply start circuit (not shown) provided in the power supply circuit 160 starts up the control circuit 100 to enable operation by various means. In the case of shutting down the power supply by a power switch or a command from the CPU 110, the CPU 110 operates various means to preset positions to finish all operations, and then a power shut-off circuit (not shown) provided in the power circuit 160. ) Is activated and all power is shut off.

  The external storage device 200 is configured by, for example, a PC (personal computer) or the like, and functions as a printer server for operating the ink jet recording apparatus. The external storage device 200 includes an interface (I / F) 130 of the control circuit 100 and an information control circuit 120. In addition to outputting commands for the printing operation and ink discharge operation to the CPU 110, the CPU 110 receives various data of the ink jet recording apparatus from the control circuit 100 via the interface (I / F) 130, and performs recording. Various data necessary for driving the head 1 can be stored.

  In addition, the external storage device 200 has a function of calculating the amount of ink used when the printing operation is performed by the recording head 1 from the data stored in the image data memory 121 and the print control data memory 122. Yes. The amount of ink used is calculated, for example, from the data stored in the image data memory 121 or the print control data memory 122, the number of ink dots (number of ejected ink droplets) required for printing an image. The number of ink dots can be calculated on the basis of the known ink amount per dot. Such calculation of the amount of ink used is performed for each head (each ink color).

  The external storage device 200 stores an ink discharge table as data necessary for driving the recording head 1 described above. This ink discharge table is for determining the amount of ink during the ink discharge operation based on the information of the image to be printed, and the external storage device 200 controls the image data memory 121 in the control circuit 100 and the print control. By acquiring image information from the data memory 122 and determining the ink amount from the acquired image information using an ink discharge table, the ink discharge amount can be quickly determined.

  The image information here is information relating to ink ejection when an image is printed, and includes, for example, information on the print width and the amount of ink used when an image is printed on the recording medium P.

  FIG. 4 is a graph showing an example of the ink discharge table that defines the relationship between the print width and the ink discharge amount. As shown in the figure, when printing an image having a large print width (unit: mm) when printing an image, the movement width when the recording head 1 moves along the main scanning direction becomes long. Since the operation pause period of the nozzles that are not used for printing also becomes longer, the ink discharge amount is large. On the contrary, when printing a small size image with a narrow print width, the recording head 1 moves along the main scanning direction. The movement width at the time of printing is shortened, and the operation suspension period of the nozzles not used for printing is shortened accordingly, so that the ink discharge amount is reduced.

  Here, the ink discharge amount is expressed as the width (unit: mm) of the ink discharge band 300 (see FIG. 1) formed by discharging ink during the movement of the recording head 1.

  FIG. 5 is a graph showing an example of an ink discharge table that defines the relationship between the used ink amount and the ink discharge amount. As shown in the figure, when printing an image with a small amount of ink (unit: g) used when printing an image, there are nozzles that do not eject ink or nozzles that do not eject ink for a long time. In other words, the amount of ink discharged is large. On the contrary, when an image with a large amount of ink used is printed, the amount of ink discharged is small.

  The used ink amount is a total used amount of ink ejected when the entire target image is printed.

  Further, the image information used for the ink discharge table is not limited to one, but may be plural. FIG. 6 shows an example of a table that defines the relationship between the print width and the used ink amount and the ink discharge amount. As shown in the figure, the ink discharge amount increases (widens) as the print width increases and as the ink amount used increases.

  Next, control for determining the ink discharge amount in the ink discharge operation of the ink jet recording apparatus according to the present invention will be described with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG. Such control is executed by exchanging various data and commands with the control circuit 100 of the ink jet recording apparatus in accordance with a predetermined nozzle recovery program stored in advance in the external storage device 200 shown in FIG.

  When there is a print start command input operation by the user or the like through the operation input means 180 and it is transmitted to the external storage device 200 via the interface (I / F) 130 (S1), then the external storage device 200 Since the ink discharge amount is determined by the ink discharge table stored in itself, information on the image to be printed is acquired. Here, as the ink discharge table, as shown in FIG. 6, a table that determines the ink discharge amount using the print width and the used ink amount as image information is used.

  First, the external storage device 200 calculates the amount of ink used when printing the image from the data stored in the image data memory 121 or the print control data memory 122 of the control circuit 100 (S2), and prints. Print width information for printing on the recording medium P is read from the control data memory 122 (S3). Accordingly, the external storage device 200 acquires the used ink amount and the print width as image information.

Next, the external storage device 200 refers to the ink discharge table (see FIG. 6) based on the acquired information on the used ink amount and the print width (S4), thereby determining the ink discharge amount (S4). S5). For example, if the amount of ink used is 6 g / m ² and the print width is 1000 mm, the ink discharge amount (ink discharge width) is 3 mm by referring to the ink discharge table shown in FIG. Is determined. Information on the ink discharge amount determined in the external storage device 200 is sent to the control circuit 100 and stored in a predetermined position in the control circuit 100, such as the drive control circuit 150.

  Here, the external storage device 200 acquires the width information of the recording medium P from the control circuit 100 (S6). For the width information of the recording medium P, the drive control circuit 150 is operated, and the carriage 2 is reciprocated along the main scanning direction by the carriage unit 153. At this time, the width detection sensor 21 is operated to detect the width position (position of each side edge) of the recording medium P, and this detection signal and an encoder sensor (not shown) provided on the carriage 2 are transmitted. Information of the width position of the recording medium P is obtained from the count value of the pulse signal. Then, the width of the recording medium P is calculated from the position information on both ends of the recording medium P (S6). Such acquisition of the width information of the recording medium P may be executed before the next step S7, such as immediately after the input operation of the print start command in step S1.

  Next, the external storage device 200 compares the acquired width information of the recording medium P with the acquired print width (S7). Here, it is determined whether or not the printing width is larger than the width of the recording medium P.

  When this determination result is print width> recording medium width (in the case of YES), printing of an image is printing of a so-called borderless image executed over a width region wider than the width of the recording medium P. If the ink discharge operation is performed at a position outside the print width, the ink is inevitably discharged to the exposed portion 61 of the conveyance belt 6 outside the recording medium P. Accordingly, the ink discharge position is set to a position outside the print width, and the image printing operation is executed (S8). Information on the ink discharge position is sent to the control circuit 100 and stored in a predetermined position in the control circuit 100, such as the drive control circuit 150.

  If the determination result in step S7 is print width ≦ recording medium width (in the case of NO), image printing is performed over a width region P1 (see FIG. 1) narrower than the width of the recording medium P. Therefore, the ink discharge operation may discharge ink to the exposed portion 61 of the conveyance belt 6 unless the recording head 1 is moved to a position outside the width of the recording medium P. It will not be possible. Accordingly, the ink discharge position is set to a position outside the width of the recording medium P (S9). Information on the ink discharge position is sent to the control circuit 100 and stored in a predetermined position in the control circuit 100, such as the drive control circuit 150.

  After execution of the printing operation in step S8, for example, per unit length printed on the recording medium P, per unit area, every predetermined number of movements of the carriage 2 in the main scanning direction, or every predetermined time, etc. The ink discharge operation is executed by moving the recording head 1 to the ink discharge position set in step S8. At this time, the amount of ink discharged by one discharge operation is the ink amount determined in step S5, and ink is applied to the exposed portion 61 on the conveyance belt 6 on the side of the recording medium P according to the ink amount. A discharge band 300 (see FIG. 1) is formed to recover the nozzle.

  The ink discharge band 300 thus formed on the exposed portion 61 of the transport belt 6 is then cleaned with the cleaning liquid in the cleaning tank 603 via the cleaning roller 602.

  As described above, since the ink amount during the ink discharge operation for recovering the nozzles of the recording head 1 is not set to a predetermined constant amount, control is performed so as to increase or decrease based on image information. The ink amount necessary and sufficient for the recovery of the nozzle can be discharged. As a result, the amount of discharge required for the time required for the nozzle periphery to dry is reduced, and a large amount of ink is not discharged unnecessarily, and the ink discharge operation can be performed efficiently. . As a result, a necessary and sufficient amount of ink is discharged, so that a high-quality printing operation can always be continued. Also, by not discharging a wasteful amount of ink, the ink consumption cost can be reduced, and the operation time required for the ink discharge process can be shortened to prevent the image output speed from being lowered, thereby increasing the speed. Will be able to.

  In the above embodiment, as an example of the image information, the ink discharge amount is determined most efficiently based on a plurality of information of the print width and the used ink amount by the ink discharge table. Alternatively, only one of the ink amounts used may be used.

  In general, since ink characteristics are temperature-dependent, the degree of ink drying around the nozzle is also affected by the ink temperature. If the ink temperature is high, the ink viscosity will be low and it will be difficult to dry, and the ink discharge amount may be small.If the ink temperature is low, the ink viscosity will be high and the ink will be easy to dry. I need a lot. For this reason, when determining the ink discharge amount, it is also preferable to detect the ink temperature and determine the ink discharge amount based on the detection result.

  Although it is desirable to detect the ink temperature in the nozzle as the ink temperature, it is difficult to directly detect the ink temperature in the nozzle. Therefore, the temperature of the recording head 1 or the environmental temperature around the recording head 1 is placed. Can also be substituted. For these temperatures, temperature detecting means such as a temperature sensor is provided so as to be in contact with or close to the recording head 1 as a configuration of the head means 151 or the carriage means 153 shown in FIG. F) It may be transmitted to the external storage device 200 via 130.

  FIG. 8 is a graph showing an example of an ink discharge table that defines the relationship between the ambient temperature around the recording head 1 and the ink discharge amount. As can be seen from the figure, the ink discharge amount is specified to decrease as the temperature increases.

  Further, the degree of ink drying around the nozzle is also affected by the environmental humidity around the nozzle (recording head 1). If the environmental humidity is high, the ink is difficult to dry, and the amount of ink discharged may be small. If the environmental humidity is low, the ink is easily dried and requires a large amount of ink discharge. For this reason, it is also preferable to detect the ambient humidity and determine the ink discharge amount based on the detection result.

  For such environmental humidity, as a configuration of the head means 151 or the carriage means 153 shown in FIG. 3, humidity detection means such as a humidity detection sensor is provided so as to be in contact with or close to the recording head 1, and the detection signal is interfaced. The data may be transmitted to the external storage device 200 via the (I / F) 130.

  FIG. 9 is a graph showing an example of an ink discharge table that defines the relationship between the ambient humidity around the recording head 1 and the ink discharge amount. As can be seen from the figure, it is defined that the ink discharge amount decreases as the environmental humidity increases.

  Further, the ink discharge amount may be determined based on the detection results of both the result of detecting the temperature of the recording head 1 or the surrounding ambient temperature or ink temperature and the result of detecting the ambient humidity. This is also preferable because the ink discharge operation can be executed more efficiently. That is, the amount of ink discharged decreases as the temperature increases and the environmental humidity increases, and the amount of ink discharged increases as the temperature decreases and the environmental humidity decreases. Such a relationship between temperature and environmental humidity may be prepared as an ink discharge table defined as shown in FIG.

  Further, the above-described image information, for example, the information on the print width and the amount of ink used, the result of detecting the temperature of the recording head 1 or the surrounding ambient temperature or ink temperature, and the result of detecting the ambient humidity are combined. The ink discharge amount may be determined.

  Examples of these combinations include print width and temperature, print width and environmental humidity, ink usage and temperature, ink usage and environmental temperature, print width and temperature and environmental humidity, ink usage and temperature and environmental humidity, and print width. Ink amount and temperature used, printing width and ink amount and environmental humidity, printing width and ink amount and temperature and environmental humidity. These combinations may be defined as an ink discharge table and prepared in the external storage device 200.

  The determined ink discharge amount may be 0 (no ink discharge).

  The ink discharge position during the ink discharge operation is the exposed portions 61 and 61 of the conveyance belt 6 positioned on the side of the recording medium P. The ink discharge operation depends on the determined ink discharge amount. Thus, the ink discharge position can be distributed not only to one side of the recording medium P but also to both sides. For example, as shown in FIG. 4, when the ink discharge amount (ink discharge width) becomes a predetermined amount (for example, 4 mm), and when it is smaller than that, the ink discharge operation is performed only on one side. If it is larger than that, for example, if it is 4 mm, it is preferable to use both sides and distribute the ink discharge operation so that it becomes 2 mm by one side (4 mm in total). . If there is a large amount of ink discharged during the ink discharging operation once (at the time of one main scanning of the recording head 1), if the ink discharging operation is performed only on one side of the recording medium P, the recording medium P Since the width of the ink discharge band 300 formed on one side of the recording head 1 becomes wider, the amount of movement on one side of the recording head 1 increases accordingly, and the printing speed decreases accordingly, and the image output speed decreases. It is to do.

  In this case, the reference for switching the ink discharge position between one side or both sides of the recording medium P may be set in advance, for example, when the ink discharge amount is 4 mm. .

  Next, another embodiment of control for determining the ink discharge amount in the ink discharge operation will be described.

  In the above-described embodiment, the ink discharge amount itself during the ink discharge operation is determined according to image information or the like. However, in other embodiments, once (during one main scan of the recording head 1). The ink discharge amount (ink discharge width) itself is fixed to a fixed amount. Instead, the ink discharge position is set to one side of the recording medium P according to the image information, temperature, and environmental humidity. Decide whether it will be only or both sides.

  An example of the ink discharge table for this determination is shown in FIG. (A) is an example of an ink discharge table that defines a print width and an ink discharge position as image information, and (b) is an ink discharge table that defines the amount of ink used and an ink discharge position as image information. (C) shows an example of an ink discharge table defining the environmental temperature and the ink discharge position, and (d) shows an example of an ink discharge table specifying the environmental humidity and the ink discharge position. .

  Once the ink discharge amount (ink discharge width) is fixed at, for example, 3 mm (during one main scan of the recording head 1), ink discharge when the ink discharge operation is performed only on one side of the recording medium P. The amount is 3 mm, but if it is performed on both sides, the amount is doubled 6 mm, and a lot of ink is discharged. That is, in this other embodiment, the ink discharge amount is determined in two steps, that is, a large amount and a small amount in accordance with image information, temperature, and environmental humidity.

  Also in the other embodiments, for example, in the same manner as described above, the printing width and temperature, the printing width and environmental humidity, the amount of ink used and the temperature, the amount of ink used and the environmental temperature, the printing width and temperature and the environmental humidity, the amount of ink used. The combination of print width, ink amount and temperature used, print width and ink amount used and environmental humidity, and the combination of print width and ink amount used, temperature and environmental humidity is defined as an ink discharge table. It may be prepared in the storage device 200.

  The control for determining the ink discharge position can be performed instead of step S5 in the flowchart shown in FIG. 7, for example.

  In each of the above embodiments, the ink discharge position is set to the exposed portion 61 on the surface of the transport belt 6. That is, since ink is discharged onto the conveying belt 6 during the ink discharging operation, it is not necessary to move the recording head 1 over a long distance to the outside of the conveying belt 6, and the image output speed can be increased accordingly. it can. However, the present invention is not necessarily limited to this, and the ink discharge position may be outside the transport belt 6. In this case, although not shown in the drawing, ink receivers may be arranged so as to correspond to the ink discharge positions on one side or both sides of the conveyance belt 6.

  In addition, the recording medium P may be transported by being sandwiched between a pair of rollers (not shown) regardless of the transport belt 6. In this case as well, an appropriate number of ink receivers may be arranged at corresponding positions on one side or both sides of the recording medium P.

  Further, when the width of the recording medium P to be used is known in advance, for example, the width of the recording medium P to be used is uniform, the width detection sensor 21 for detecting the width of the recording medium P is not necessarily provided. May be.

  Furthermore, in each of the above embodiments, the ink discharge operation is executed by controlling the control circuit 100 of the ink jet recording apparatus by the nozzle recovery program stored in the external storage device 200. However, the ink discharge operation is performed. A nozzle recovery program for executing the operation may be stored on the control circuit 100 side. In this case, each process such as determination of the ink discharge amount is also performed on the control circuit 100 side.

  A recording head nozzle recovery program according to the present invention causes a computer to execute each function of control for determining an ink discharge amount in each of the embodiments described above.

  A storage medium according to the present invention stores the nozzle recovery program for the recording head. Examples of the storage medium include a hard disk, a flexible disk, a CD-ROM, a DVD-ROM, and a flash memory. However, the storage medium is not limited as long as the program can be read and stored.

Overall schematic diagram of ink jet recording apparatus according to the present invention Schematic showing the side of the transport mechanism Block diagram showing internal configuration of inkjet recording apparatus A graph of an example of an ink discharge table that defines the relationship between the print width and the ink discharge amount A graph of an example of an ink discharge table that defines the relationship between the amount of ink used and the amount of ink discharged The figure which shows an example of the table which prescribed | regulated the relationship between these and ink discharge amount based on printing width and the amount of ink used Flow chart showing control for determining ink discharge amount A graph of an example of an ink discharge table that defines the relationship between the environmental temperature and the ink discharge amount A graph of an example of an ink discharge table that defines the relationship between environmental humidity and ink discharge amount The figure which shows an example of the ink discharge table for determining an ink discharge position

Explanation of symbols

1: Recording head 2: Carriage 21: Width detection sensor 3: Capping member 4: Cleaning member 5: Slide guide 6: Conveying belt 61: Exposed portion 601: Roller 602: Cleaning roller 603: Cleaning tank 7: Housing 100: Control Circuit 110: CPU
120: Information control circuit 121: Image data memory 122: Print control data memory 130: Interface (I / F)
140: image processing circuit 150: drive control circuit 151: head unit 152: cleaning unit 153: carriage unit 154: transport unit 155: capping unit 160: power supply circuit 170: display unit 180: operation input unit 200: external storage device 300: Ink discharge band P: Recording medium P1: Print area

Claims (26)

A recording head provided so as to be reciprocally movable along a main scanning direction along a width direction of the recording medium, and discharging an ink from a nozzle in the process of the reciprocating movement to print an image on the recording medium;
Moving means for reciprocating the recording head;
In an ink jet recording apparatus comprising: a control unit that controls the ink discharging operation of driving the recording head after moving the recording head outside the recording area on the side of the recording medium and discharging ink from the nozzles;
The ink jet recording apparatus, wherein the control unit controls an ink amount in the ink discharging operation based on information on the image. A recording head provided so as to be reciprocally movable along a main scanning direction along a width direction of the recording medium, and discharging an ink from a nozzle in the process of the reciprocating movement to print an image on the recording medium;
Moving means for reciprocating the recording head;
In an ink jet recording apparatus comprising: a control unit that controls the ink discharging operation of driving the recording head after moving the recording head outside the recording area on the side of the recording medium and discharging ink from the nozzles;
Temperature detecting means for detecting the temperature of the recording head or its environmental temperature or the temperature of the ink, and / or humidity detecting means for detecting the environmental humidity of the recording head,
The ink jet recording apparatus, wherein the control unit controls an ink amount in the ink discharge operation based on a detection result of the temperature detecting unit and / or the humidity detecting unit. A recording head provided so as to be reciprocally movable along a main scanning direction along a width direction of the recording medium, and discharging an ink from a nozzle in the process of the reciprocating movement to print an image on the recording medium;
Moving means for reciprocating the recording head;
In an ink jet recording apparatus comprising: a control unit that controls the ink discharging operation of driving the recording head after moving the recording head outside the recording area on the side of the recording medium and discharging ink from the nozzles;
Temperature detecting means for detecting the temperature of the recording head or its environmental temperature or the temperature of the ink, and / or humidity detecting means for detecting the environmental humidity of the recording head,
The ink jet recording apparatus, wherein the control unit controls an ink amount in the ink discharge operation based on information on the image and a detection result of the temperature detecting unit and / or the humidity detecting unit. . A recording head provided so as to be reciprocally movable along a main scanning direction along a width direction of the recording medium, and discharging an ink from a nozzle in the process of the reciprocating movement to print an image on the recording medium;
Moving means for reciprocating the recording head;
In an ink jet recording apparatus comprising: a control unit that controls the ink discharging operation of driving the recording head after moving the recording head outside the recording area on the side of the recording medium and discharging ink from the nozzles;
The ink jet recording characterized in that the control means controls whether a discharge position in the ink discharge operation is only one side or both sides of the recording medium based on the information of the image. apparatus. A recording head provided so as to be reciprocally movable along a main scanning direction along a width direction of the recording medium, and discharging an ink from a nozzle in the process of the reciprocating movement to print an image on the recording medium;
Moving means for reciprocating the recording head;
In an ink jet recording apparatus comprising: a control unit that controls the ink discharging operation of driving the recording head after moving the recording head outside the recording area on the side of the recording medium and discharging ink from the nozzles;
Temperature detecting means for detecting the temperature of the recording head or its environmental temperature or the temperature of the ink, and / or humidity detecting means for detecting the environmental humidity of the recording head,
The control means sets the discharge position during the ink discharge operation to only one side or both sides of the recording medium based on the detection result of the temperature detection means and / or the humidity detection means. An inkjet recording apparatus characterized by controlling the above. A recording head provided so as to be reciprocally movable along a main scanning direction along a width direction of the recording medium, and discharging an ink from a nozzle in the process of the reciprocating movement to print an image on the recording medium;
Moving means for reciprocating the recording head;
In an ink jet recording apparatus comprising: a control unit that controls the ink discharging operation of driving the recording head after moving the recording head outside the recording area on the side of the recording medium and discharging ink from the nozzles;
Temperature detecting means for detecting the temperature of the recording head or its environmental temperature or the temperature of the ink, and / or humidity detecting means for detecting the environmental humidity of the recording head,
The control means sets the discharge position in the ink discharge operation to only one side of the recording medium based on the image information and the detection result of the temperature detection means and / or the humidity detection means. An inkjet recording apparatus that controls whether to perform both sides.   The ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the image information is a print width and / or an amount of ink used when an image is printed. A conveying belt that carries the recording medium and conveys the recording medium in a direction crossing the main scanning direction;
Cleaning means for cleaning the surface in contact with the conveyor belt;
Width detecting means for detecting the width of the recording medium,
The control unit drives the recording head on the conveying belt outside the recording medium width detected by the width detecting unit to discharge ink during the ink discharging operation. The ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 1. The recording head comprises a plurality of heads,
The ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the control unit controls the ink discharge operation for each head. The recording head that prints an image on the recording medium by ejecting ink from the nozzles in the process of reciprocating movement along the main scanning direction along the width direction of the recording medium is moved outside the recording area on the side of the recording medium. In the nozzle recovery method of the recording head, which is driven later and performs recovery of the nozzle by performing an ink discharge operation of discharging the ink from the nozzle,
A method for recovering a nozzle of a recording head, comprising: controlling an ink amount during the ink discharging operation based on information on the image. The recording head that prints an image on the recording medium by ejecting ink from the nozzles in the process of reciprocating movement along the main scanning direction along the width direction of the recording medium is moved outside the recording area on the side of the recording medium. In the nozzle recovery method of the recording head, which is driven later and performs recovery of the nozzle by performing an ink discharge operation of discharging the ink from the nozzle,
Detecting the temperature of the recording head or its environmental temperature or the temperature of the ink and / or the environmental humidity of the recording head;
A method for recovering nozzles of a recording head, comprising: controlling an ink amount during the ink discharging operation based on the detection result. The recording head that prints an image on the recording medium by ejecting ink from the nozzles in the process of reciprocating movement along the main scanning direction along the width direction of the recording medium is moved outside the recording area on the side of the recording medium. In the nozzle recovery method of the recording head, which is driven later and performs recovery of the nozzle by performing an ink discharge operation of discharging the ink from the nozzle,
Detecting the temperature of the recording head or its environmental temperature or the temperature of the ink and / or the environmental humidity of the recording head;
A method for recovering a nozzle of a recording head, comprising: controlling an ink amount in the ink discharge operation based on a detection result and information on the image. The recording head that prints an image on the recording medium by discharging ink from the nozzles in the process of reciprocal movement along the main scanning direction along the width direction of the recording medium was moved outside the recording area on the side of the recording medium. In the nozzle recovery method of the recording head, which is driven later and performs recovery of the nozzle by performing an ink discharge operation of discharging the ink from the nozzle,
A method of recovering a nozzle of a recording head, comprising: controlling whether a discharge position in the ink discharge operation is only one side or both sides of the recording medium based on the image information. The recording head that prints an image on the recording medium by ejecting ink from the nozzles in the process of reciprocating movement along the main scanning direction along the width direction of the recording medium is moved outside the recording area on the side of the recording medium. In the nozzle recovery method of the recording head, which is driven later and performs recovery of the nozzle by performing an ink discharge operation of discharging the ink from the nozzle,
Detecting the temperature of the recording head or its environmental temperature or the temperature of the ink and / or the environmental humidity of the recording head;
A method for recovering a nozzle of a recording head, comprising: controlling whether a discharging position in the ink discharging operation is only one side or both sides of the recording medium based on the detection result. The recording head that prints an image on the recording medium by discharging ink from the nozzles in the process of reciprocal movement along the main scanning direction along the width direction of the recording medium was moved outside the recording area on the side of the recording medium. In the nozzle recovery method of the recording head, which is driven later and performs recovery of the nozzle by performing an ink discharge operation of discharging the ink from the nozzle,
Detecting the temperature of the recording head or its environmental temperature or the temperature of the ink and / or the environmental humidity of the recording head;
Based on the detection result and the information of the image, it is controlled whether the discharge position during the ink discharge operation is only one side or both sides of the recording medium. Head nozzle recovery method.   16. The recording head nozzle recovery method according to claim 10, 12, 13 or 15, wherein the image information is a print width and / or an amount of ink used when an image is printed. The recording medium is placed on a conveying belt and conveyed in a direction crossing the main scanning direction,
The width of the recording medium is detected by a width detecting unit, and the recording head is driven on the conveying belt outside the recording medium width detected by the width detecting unit during the ink discharge operation to drive ink. As well as
17. The method for recovering a nozzle of a recording head according to claim 10, wherein the conveying belt from which ink has been discharged is cleaned by a cleaning unit.   The method of claim 10, wherein the recording head comprises a plurality of heads, and the ink discharge operation is controlled for each head. On the computer,
A recording head of an ink jet recording apparatus which is provided so as to be reciprocally movable along a main scanning direction along a width direction of the recording medium, and which prints an image on the recording medium by discharging ink from the nozzles in the process of the reciprocating movement; A recording head nozzle recovery program for realizing a function of performing an ink discharging operation for discharging ink from the nozzles after being moved out of the recording area on the side of the recording medium,
A function of acquiring information of the image;
A function of determining an ink amount at the time of the ink discharge operation based on the information of the acquired image;
A recording head nozzle recovery program causing a computer to realize a function of performing the ink discharge operation with the determined ink amount. On the computer,
A recording head of an ink jet recording apparatus which is provided so as to be reciprocally movable along a main scanning direction along a width direction of the recording medium, and which prints an image on the recording medium by discharging ink from the nozzles in the process of the reciprocating movement; A recording head nozzle recovery program for realizing a function of performing an ink discharging operation for discharging ink from the nozzles after being moved out of the recording area on the side of the recording medium,
A function of detecting the temperature of the recording head or its environmental temperature or the temperature of the ink and / or detecting the environmental humidity of the recording head;
Based on the detection result, a function for determining the ink amount in the ink discharge operation,
A recording head nozzle recovery program causing a computer to realize a function of performing the ink discharge operation with the determined ink amount. On the computer,
A recording head of an ink jet recording apparatus which is provided so as to be reciprocally movable along a main scanning direction along a width direction of the recording medium, and which prints an image on the recording medium by discharging ink from the nozzles in the process of the reciprocating movement; A recording head nozzle recovery program for realizing a function of performing an ink discharging operation for discharging ink from the nozzles after being moved out of the recording area on the side of the recording medium,
A function of acquiring information of the image;
A function of detecting the temperature of the recording head or its environmental temperature or the temperature of the ink and / or detecting the environmental humidity of the recording head;
A function for determining an ink amount in the ink discharge operation based on the detection result and the acquired image information;
A recording head nozzle recovery program causing a computer to realize a function of performing the ink discharge operation with the determined ink amount. On the computer,
A recording head of an ink jet recording apparatus which is provided so as to be reciprocally movable along a main scanning direction along a width direction of the recording medium, and which prints an image on the recording medium by discharging ink from the nozzles in the process of the reciprocating movement; A recording head nozzle recovery program for realizing a function of performing an ink discharging operation for discharging ink from the nozzles after being moved out of the recording area on the side of the recording medium,
A function of acquiring information of the image;
A function for determining whether a discharge position in the ink discharge operation is only one side or both sides of the recording medium based on the acquired image information;
A recording head nozzle recovery program for causing a computer to realize a function of driving the recording head at the determined discharging position and performing the ink discharging operation. On the computer,
A recording head of an ink jet recording apparatus which is provided so as to be reciprocally movable along a main scanning direction along a width direction of the recording medium, and which prints an image on the recording medium by discharging ink from the nozzles in the process of the reciprocating movement; A recording head nozzle recovery program for realizing a function of performing an ink discharging operation for discharging ink from the nozzles after being moved out of the recording area on the side of the recording medium,
A function of detecting the temperature of the recording head or its environmental temperature or the temperature of the ink and / or detecting the environmental humidity of the recording head;
Based on the detection result, a function of determining whether the discharge position in the ink discharge operation is only one side or both sides of the recording medium;
A recording head nozzle recovery program for causing a computer to realize a function of driving the recording head at the determined discharging position and performing the ink discharging operation. On the computer,
A recording head of an ink jet recording apparatus which is provided so as to be reciprocally movable along a main scanning direction along a width direction of the recording medium, and which prints an image on the recording medium by discharging ink from the nozzles in the process of the reciprocating movement; A recording head nozzle recovery program for realizing a function of performing an ink discharging operation for discharging ink from the nozzles after being moved out of the recording area on the side of the recording medium,
A function of acquiring information of the image;
A function of detecting the temperature of the recording head or its environmental temperature or the temperature of the ink and / or detecting the environmental humidity of the recording head;
Based on the detection result and the acquired image information, a function for determining whether the discharge position during the ink discharge operation is only one side or both sides of the recording medium;
A recording head nozzle recovery program for causing a computer to realize a function of driving the recording head at the determined discharging position and performing the ink discharging operation.   25. The recording head nozzle recovery program according to claim 19, 21, 22 or 24, wherein the image information is a print width and / or an amount of ink used when an image is printed. A storage medium storing the nozzle recovery program for a recording head according to any one of claims 19 to 25.

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