JP2008162127A - Printer, optical disk duplicator, and control method of printer - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a printer for printing an image on a label surface of a disk type recording medium, which prevents ink or the like from running over outside a printing area formed on the label surface. <P>SOLUTION: An image is printed on a printing area 11A with a print head 31 by making a carriage 30 having the print head 31 perform scanning in a figure direction while carrying an optical disk 11 in a predetermined carrying direction. On the other hand, the position of the printing area 11A is detected, and when the detected position of a printing area 11A is displaced in the carrying direction, the printing position of image data for printing is corrected. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a printing apparatus that prints an image, an optical disk duplicating apparatus including the printing apparatus, and a control method for the printing apparatus.

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, as a disk-type recording medium such as a CD (Compact Disc) or a DVD, an ink absorber that absorbs printing ink is attached to a label surface to enable printing on the label surface. An apparatus for printing an image on the label surface of such a disk type recording medium is also known (see, for example, Patent Document 1).
JP 2003-132589 A

  By the way, in a printing apparatus that performs printing on a disk type recording medium, the print head and the disk type are caused by various causes such as misalignment when the disk type recording medium is transported and the disk type recording medium is not set at the correct position. When the relative position with respect to the recording medium is shifted, ink or the like may protrude outside the printable area. Since the disc base made of synthetic resin is exposed outside the printable area, if the ink protrudes from the printable area, the protruded ink may not be fixed and the inside of the printing apparatus may be soiled. It was.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above-described circumstances, and in a printing apparatus that prints an image on a label surface of a disk type recording medium, ink or the like does not protrude outside a printable area formed on the label surface. The purpose is to do so.

In order to solve the above problems, the present invention provides a printing apparatus that prints an image in a printable area provided on one surface of an optical disc type recording medium, and stores data in which a print position in the printable area is associated with an image. The print data storage means for storing and the carriage mounted with the print head while scanning the optical disc type recording medium in a predetermined transport direction are scanned in a digit direction substantially perpendicular to the transport direction to the print data storage means. Based on the stored data, a print control means for printing an image on the printable area by the print head, a position detection means for detecting the position of the printable area, and the print detected by the position detection means When the position of the printable area is shifted from the predetermined position in the transport direction, the position of the printable area at the time of printing is corrected. To provide a printing apparatus characterized by comprising: a correction unit.
According to this configuration, while the optical disk type recording medium is transported in a predetermined transport direction, the carriage loaded with the print head is scanned in the digit direction substantially perpendicular to the transport direction, and the print data stored in the print data storage means can be printed. When the print head prints an image in the printable area based on the data in which the print position in the area is associated with the image, the position detection unit detects the position of the printable area in the carriage scanning direction, and detects it. When the position of the printable area is shifted from the predetermined position in the transport direction, the position of the printable area at the time of printing is corrected by the correction unit. As a result, when the relative position between the printable area and the print head is shifted in the transport direction, the relative position shift is compensated without performing complicated processing such as correcting the data stored in the print data storage unit. it can. For this reason, printing can be performed without attaching ink or the like outside the printable area, and contamination inside the apparatus can be prevented.

In the present invention, the correction means transports the optical disk type recording medium during printing based on the difference between the position of the printable area detected by the position detection means and the position of the printable area stored in advance. The position may be corrected.
In this case, since the transport position of the optical disk type recording medium is corrected based on the difference between the pre-stored position and the printable area, the relative position deviation between the printable area and the print head can be easily detected and reliably compensated. it can.

In the present invention, the carriage is provided with a sensor for detecting the presence / absence of the printable area at a position facing the carriage, and the position detection means detects the sensor while scanning the carriage. The position of the printable area may be obtained based on the state.
In this case, since the position of the printable area is detected by scanning the carriage using the sensor mounted on the carriage, the position of the printable area can be reliably and promptly detected. With this configuration, the number and size of sensors can be reduced, and furthermore, the position of the printable area can be detected by the same operation as during printing, so there is no need to provide a new drive unit or the like. Therefore, it can be realized easily and at low cost by effectively using the configuration of a normal printing apparatus.

In the present invention, the position detection means obtains both end positions in the digit direction of the printable area based on the detection state of the sensor during scanning of the carriage, and from the both end positions in the digit direction of the printable area. A front end position in the transport direction of the printable area may be detected by determining a center position and transporting the disc type recording medium transport path with the carriage positioned at the determined center position.
In this case, the both ends of the printable area in the digit direction of the printable area are obtained using a sensor mounted on the carriage, the center position in the digit direction is further obtained, and the disc is recorded in the state where the carriage is positioned at this center position. , The leading end position of the printable area in the transport direction is detected. Accordingly, it is possible to reliably detect a shift in the transport direction using a sensor moved in the digit direction. Further, the tip position of the printable area can be reliably detected by using a configuration that can be easily realized at a low cost by the configuration of a normal printing apparatus.

In the above configuration, the position detection unit detects the position of the printable area before printing by the print control unit is started, and the print control unit performs printing by the print control unit using the position detection unit. If there is an amount of deviation exceeding a predetermined threshold value between the position of the printable area detected before the start of printing and the position of the printable area stored in advance, printing is not started. It may be a thing.
In this case, if there is a deviation exceeding the threshold value, that is, if the position of the printable area is extremely displaced, printing is not started. For this reason, printing is not performed for a large misalignment caused by an installation error of the optical disk type recording medium, so that it is possible to reliably prevent internal contamination and damage and to eliminate unnecessary printing. Throughput can be improved.

In the above configuration, the data stored in the print data storage unit by the correction unit when the position of the printable area detected by the position detection unit deviates from a predetermined position in the transport direction. A correction mode for correcting the print position, and a print stop mode for stopping printing when the position of the printable area detected by the position detection unit is shifted from a predetermined position in the transport direction. It may be configured to be switchable and executable.
In this case, the correction mode for correcting the print position of the data stored in the print data storage means by the correction means, and the position of the printable area detected by the position detection means are shifted from the predetermined position in the transport direction. In this case, since it is possible to switch between a print stop mode for stopping printing, it is possible to improve convenience by making it possible to select an operation suitable for the user's request.

The present invention provides an optical disc duplicating apparatus for recording information in an information recording area provided on one side of an optical disc type recording medium and printing an image on a printable area provided on the other side. Print data storage means for storing data in which print positions and images are associated with each other, and a carriage on which a print head is mounted substantially perpendicular to the transport direction while transporting the optical disc type recording medium in a predetermined transport direction. Print control means for scanning in the digit direction and printing an image on the printable area by the print head based on data stored in the print data storage means, and position detection for detecting the position of the printable area And the position of the printable area detected by the position detecting means are deviated from the predetermined position in the transport direction. If you are, to provide an optical disc duplicator system being characterized in that and a correcting means for correcting the position of the printable area during printing.
According to this configuration, while the optical disk type recording medium is transported in a predetermined transport direction, the carriage loaded with the print head is scanned in the digit direction substantially perpendicular to the transport direction, and the print data stored in the print data storage means can be printed. When the print head prints an image in the printable area based on the data in which the print position in the area is associated with the image, the position of the printable area is detected by the position detection unit, and the detected printable area Is shifted from the predetermined position in the transport direction, the printing position is corrected. Thus, when the relative position between the printable area and the print head is shifted in the transport direction, the print position is corrected without performing complicated processing such as correcting the data stored in the print data storage unit. Can compensate for the deviation. For this reason, printing can be performed without attaching ink or the like outside the printable area, and contamination inside the apparatus can be prevented.

The present invention also relates to a control method for a printing apparatus that prints an image in a printable area provided on one surface of an optical disk type recording medium, wherein the print head is conveyed while the optical disk type recording medium is conveyed in a predetermined conveyance direction. Is scanned in a digit direction substantially perpendicular to the transport direction, and an image is printed on the printable area by the print head based on data in which a print position in the printable area is associated with an image. While printing, the position of the printable area is detected, and when the detected position of the printable area is deviated from the predetermined position in the transport direction, the position of the printable area at the time of printing is corrected. To provide a method for controlling a printing apparatus.
According to this method, while the optical disk type recording medium is transported in a predetermined transport direction, the carriage on which the print head is mounted is scanned in the digit direction substantially perpendicular to the transport direction, so that the print position and the image in the printable area are obtained. When the print head prints an image on the printable area based on the associated data, the position of the printable area is detected, and the detected position is deviated from the predetermined position in the transport direction. Correct the print position. Thus, when the relative position between the printable area and the print head is shifted in the transport direction, the print position is corrected without performing complicated processing such as correcting the data stored in the print data storage unit. Can compensate for the deviation. For this reason, printing can be performed without attaching ink or the like outside the printable area, and contamination inside the apparatus can be prevented.

  According to the present invention, even when the relative position between the printable area and the print head is shifted, the ink or the like is attached to the outside of the printable area by correcting the image data to be printed in the printable area. Printing can be executed without any problems, and contamination inside the apparatus can be prevented.

FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of an optical disc duplicating apparatus 1 according to an embodiment to which the present invention is applied.
The optical disc duplicating apparatus 1 shown in FIG. 1 records data on an optical disc 11 as an optical disc type recording medium and prints an image in a printable area provided on the optical disc 11.

The optical disk 11 is an optical recording medium capable of additionally recording and reading data using laser light or the like, and specific examples include CD-R, CD-RW, DVD ± R, DVD ± RW, DVD- It is an optical disk called a RAM or a next-generation DVD. These optical recording media use one or a plurality of substrates made of synthetic resin such as polycarbonate, and a recording layer, a reflective layer, etc. are laminated on the substrate to form a disk shape having a diameter of 120 mm (millimeters), for example. Is done.
One disk surface of the optical disk 11 is a recording surface for recording data by laser light, and the other disk surface is a label surface, and a printable area 11A (FIG. 2) capable of receiving ink is formed on the label surface. Has been. The printable area 11A on the label surface is formed by applying a receiving material that receives ink to form a receiving layer, or by attaching a sheet including a receiving layer that receives ink. The receiving layer is configured using, for example, an ink swelling type component mainly composed of a polymer or a gap absorption type component mainly composed of an inorganic pigment.

The optical disc duplicating apparatus 1 includes a plurality of data recording devices 12 that record data by irradiating a recording surface of the optical disc 11 with a laser, and a plurality of printing devices 2 that print images on the optical disc 11. Here, the image includes characters and images.
The optical disk duplicating apparatus 1 is loaded on the first stacker 13 on which a plurality of unused optical disks 11 are loaded, on the second stacker 14 on which the optical disks 11 that have undergone data recording and printing are loaded, and on the first stacker 13. A transport unit 15 is provided for transporting the optical disc 11 to the data recording device 12 and the printing device 2 and transporting the optical disc 11 on which data has been recorded and printed to the second stacker 14.

  The transport unit 15 includes a handling unit 15A that grips the clamp area 11C (FIG. 2) of the optical disc 11, an arm 15B that supports the handling unit 15A, and a drive unit 15C that drives the arm 15B. The drive unit 15C moves the arm 15B up and down along the rod-shaped guide 15D and rotates it around the guide 15D, thereby causing the optical disk 11 to move to the first stacker 13, the data recording device 12, the printing device 2, and the like. And the second stacker 14.

  Data such as an image to be printed on the optical disk 11 by the printing apparatus 2 is transmitted to the control unit 10 from the personal computer 16 (FIG. 8) externally connected to the optical disk duplicating apparatus 1, and is transmitted from the control unit 10 to the printing apparatus 2. .

FIG. 2 is an external perspective view showing the configuration of the printing apparatus 2. 2 and the subsequent drawings indicate the scanning direction of a carriage 30 (FIG. 3), which will be described later, and Y indicates the transport direction of the disc tray 20.
As shown in FIG. 2, the main body 21 of the printing apparatus 2 has a front opening 22 into which the optical disk 11 is inserted, and a disk tray 20 is attached to the front opening 22. The disc tray 20 is formed with a recess 20A into which the optical disc 11 is fitted. With the optical disc 11 set in the recess 20A, the disc tray 20 is conveyed into the main body 21 and printing on the optical disc 11 is performed.
Further, a switch 23 for turning on / off the power of the printing apparatus 2 is disposed on the upper surface of the main body 21. Further, an opening panel 24 covering the front opening 22 is disposed on the front surface of the main body 21 so as to be openable and closable.

  As described above, one disk surface of the optical disk 11 is a recording surface, and the other disk surface is a label surface, and is set on the disk tray 20 so that the label surface faces upward. At this time, the printable area 11 </ b> A formed on the label surface of the optical disk 11 is exposed on the upper surface side of the disk tray 20.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view showing the configuration of the printing apparatus 2.
As shown in FIG. 3, a plurality of legs 25 that support the main body 21 in contact with the installation surface are provided on the bottom surface of the main body 21 of the printing apparatus 2.
In FIG. 3, the conveyance path W along which the disc tray 20 inserted from the front opening 22 is conveyed inside the main body 21 is indicated by phantom lines. The transport path W extends substantially linearly from the front side to the back side of the main body 21, and the first transport unit 41 and the second transport unit 45 are disposed along the transport path W. The first transport unit 41 is positioned on the front opening 22 side of the printing apparatus 2, and the second transport unit 45 is positioned on the back side of the printing apparatus 2 and grips and transports the disc tray 20.

  The first transport unit 41 is adjacent to the transport drive roller 42 positioned below the transport path W, the transport driven roller 43 positioned above the transport path W so as to face the transport drive roller 42, and the transport driven roller 43. And a conveyance follower auxiliary roller 44 arranged in this manner. The conveyance driven roller 43 and the conveyance driven auxiliary roller 44 are urged toward the conveyance driving roller 42 by a roller holder (not shown). For this reason, in the first transport unit 41, the disc tray 20 on the transport path W is sandwiched between the transport drive roller 42, the transport driven roller 43, and the transport driven auxiliary roller 44. The conveyance drive roller 42 is connected to a conveyance motor 40 (FIGS. 7 and 8) described later via a gear (not shown) and a drive belt (not shown), and is driven by the conveyance motor 40. The conveyance driven roller 43 and the conveyance driven auxiliary roller 44 are driven rollers that are rotatably supported by the roller holder (not shown).

  The second transport unit 45 includes a transport driving roller 46 positioned below the transport path W and a transport driven roller 47 positioned above the transport path W so as to face the transport drive roller 46. The transport driven roller 47 is urged toward the transport drive roller 46 by a roller holder 48. For this reason, the second transport unit 45 is configured such that the disc tray 20 on the transport path W is sandwiched between the transport drive roller 46 and the transport driven roller 47. The conveyance drive roller 46 is connected to a conveyance motor 40 (FIGS. 7 and 8), which will be described later, via a gear (not shown) and a drive belt (not shown), and is driven by the conveyance motor 40. The conveyance driven roller 47 is a driven roller that is rotatably supported by the roller holder 48.

Further, the printing apparatus 2 is provided with a carriage 30 that reciprocates along a carriage guide shaft 33 that extends in the width direction of the main body 21. The carriage 30 is mounted with a print head 31 that discharges ink facing the conveyance path W and an ink cartridge 32 that supplies ink to the print head 31.
The carriage 30 engages with an endless belt 35 that is stretched substantially parallel to the carriage guide shaft 33, is driven by the endless belt 35, and reciprocates in the scanning direction indicated by a symbol X in FIG. 2. The endless belt 35 is hung on a pulley 37 (FIGS. 4 and 5) attached to a rotating shaft of a carriage drive motor 36 (FIGS. 4 and 5) on one end side outside the scanning range of the carriage 30. It is driven by the rotation operation of the drive motor 36. The scanning direction of the carriage 30 is substantially perpendicular (substantially perpendicular) to the extending direction of the conveyance path W.
A predetermined number of digits are virtually set in the scanning range of the carriage 30. In this embodiment, 80 digits are set, one end of the scanning range is a 0 (zero) digit position, and the other end is an 80 digit position. The 0-digit position is on the right side in FIG. 2, and the 80-digit position is on the left side in FIG. The scanning direction of the carriage 30 and the digit direction described in the present embodiment are synonymous.

  The print head 31 performs printing on the label surface of the optical disk 11 by ejecting ink droplets of a predetermined color, and includes a nozzle opening row 50 (FIG. 4) to be described later for each ink color. The print head 31 protrudes toward the conveyance path W, and ejects ink at a printing position indicated by a symbol P in FIG. The printing position P is located between the first transport unit 41 and the second transport unit 45. The ink cartridge 32 includes a tank for storing ink ejected by the print head 31, and the ink cartridge 32 for the number of colors used in the printing apparatus 2 is mounted side by side on the carriage 30.

FIG. 4 is a top view excluding the ink cartridge 32 in the vicinity of the carriage 30, and FIG. 5 is a side view in the vicinity of the carriage 30, particularly a side view as seen from the 0 digit side. FIG. 6 is an enlarged view of a main part of the print head 31, (A) is a front view of the print head 31 as viewed from the front side of the printing apparatus 2, and (B) is a bottom view of the print head 31.
As shown in these drawings, the print head 31 has a number of nozzle opening rows 50 corresponding to the number of colors of ink used in the printing apparatus 2 arranged in the scanning direction. In each nozzle opening row 50, nozzle openings 51, which are fine holes, are arranged in a direction substantially perpendicular to the scanning direction of the carriage 30.

The carriage 30 is provided with a disk position sensor 55 on the surface facing the conveyance path W. The disk position sensor 55 includes a light emitting unit that emits light toward the transport path W, and a light receiving unit that detects reflected light reflected by the optical disk 11 on the transport path W. Type optical sensor. The disk position sensor 55 is aligned with the print head 31 on the bottom surface of the carriage 30 and emits light directly below it, that is, directly below the carriage 30 to detect reflected light.
The disk position sensor 55 is connected to the control circuit 200 via a circuit mounted on the substrate 52 mounted on the carriage 30, and the detection value of the disk position sensor 55 can be acquired by the MPU 201 (FIG. 8) of the control circuit 200. It has a configuration.
Further, as shown in FIG. 4, the disk position sensor 55 is disposed on the 80-digit position side of the print head 31. Therefore, when the carriage 30 is moved from the 0-digit position to the 80-digit position, the disk position sensor 55 passes over the optical disk 11 before the print head 31.

In the disk-shaped optical disk 11, a center hole 11B is opened at the center position of the disk surface, and the periphery of the center hole 11B is a clamp area 11C where a synthetic resin substrate is exposed. The clamp area 11C is gripped when the optical disk 11 is transported by the transport unit 15 (FIG. 1), for example. The printable area 11A is formed on almost the entire board surface except for the center hole 11B and the clamp area 11C, and the outer end of the printable area 11A is located very close to the outer peripheral edge of the substrate constituting the optical disc 11, or It reaches the outer edge.
When the label surface of the optical disk 11 is irradiated with light from the disk position sensor 55, the irradiated light is reflected at a constant reflectance in the printable area 11A. This is because the printable area 11A is usually white or silver so that the print quality is improved. In the center hole 11B, the irradiation light is not reflected as a matter of course. The reflectance in the clamp area 11C is clearly different from the reflectance in the printable area 11A. Therefore, based on the amount of reflected light detected by the disk position sensor 55, it can be easily determined whether or not there is a printable area 11A immediately below the disk position sensor 55.
Further, a rotation detection unit 53 (FIG. 5) is attached to the carriage drive motor 36. The rotation detection unit 53 is a rotary encoder, for example, and detects the rotation angle of the rotation shaft of the carriage drive motor 36.

FIG. 7 is a top view showing how the carriage 30 scans.
As shown in FIG. 7, the carriage 30 is driven by the carriage drive motor 36 via the endless belt 35 and reciprocated in the scanning direction indicated by the symbol X. In the state where the printing operation or the like is not performed, the carriage 30 stops at the end position on the 0-digit side and stands by, and is moved from the 0-digit position toward the 80-digit position at the start of the operation.
Here, the process of moving the carriage 30 in one direction is called a path, the path from the 0-digit position to the 80-digit position is called the forward path, and the path from the 80-digit position to the 0-digit position is the return path. Called the path.

  The disc tray 20 on which the optical disc 11 is placed is moved in the carrying direction indicated by the symbol Y by a carrying drive roller 46 driven by the carrying motor 40 and a carrying drive roller 42 (FIG. 3). The position of the disc tray 20 can be detected by the transport position sensor 54 (FIG. 8). The transport position sensor 54 detects, for example, a rotary encoder that detects the rotation angle of the transport motor 40, a linear encoder that detects the position of the disk tray 20 itself, or the presence or absence of the disk tray 20 at a specific position in the transport path W. It is an optical sensor.

In this configuration, the position in the digit direction of the printable area 11A can be specified based on the detection value of the disk position sensor 55 while the carriage 30 is scanned.
First, by performing arithmetic processing based on the rotation angle of the carriage drive motor 36 detected by the rotation detection unit 53 (FIG. 5), the known length of the endless belt 35, and the diameter of the pulley 37, the carriage 30 is processed. , And the position of the carriage 30 in the digit direction is specified. Next, the timing at which the edge of the printable area 11 </ b> A is detected is specified from the change in the detection value of the disk position sensor 55. Based on the position of the carriage 30 at the specified timing, the position of the edge of the printable area 11A in the digit direction can be obtained.

  FIG. 8 is a block diagram showing a control system of the optical disc duplicating apparatus 1. FIG. 8 is a functional block diagram and does not limit a specific implementation mode. That is, each functional unit in the drawing may be realized by independent hardware, or may be realized by cooperation of hardware and software. In this case, a plurality of functional units are realized by common hardware. It may be realized.

The control unit 10 that controls the optical disc duplicating device 1 controls the data recording device 12 (FIG. 1), the transport unit 15 (FIG. 1), and the printing device 2 and also controls the entire control unit 10 (MPU unit). ) 101, ROM 102 that stores in advance various control programs executed by MPU 101, RAM 103 that temporarily stores various programs and various data, EEPROM 104 that stores various data in a nonvolatile manner that can be updated, and data recording device 12, a communication interface 105 for performing communication between the transport unit 15 and the printing apparatus 2, an external storage unit 106 configured by a hard disk drive or the like and having a large storage capacity, and a bus 107 connecting these units to each other It is equipped with.
The communication interface 105 included in the control unit 10 is connected to the data recording device 12, the transport unit 15, and the control circuit 200 of the printing device 2 via a predetermined communication line (not shown). A personal computer 16 is connected to the communication interface 105 so that the personal computer 16 can control the optical disc duplicating apparatus 1. Further, image data to be printed in the printable area 11 </ b> A by the printing apparatus 2 is input from the personal computer 16 to the control unit 10, and this image data is output to the control circuit 200 via the communication interface 105. .

  The control circuit 200 included in the printing apparatus 2 includes an MPU 201 that controls each unit, a ROM 202 that stores various control programs executed by the MPU 201 in advance, a program such as various control programs executed by the MPU 201, and a control unit from the personal computer 16. RAM 203 for temporarily storing image data and the like input via 10, EEPROM 204 for nonvolatile storage of various information including disk position data 204 A indicating the position of optical disk 11 at the time of printing, and control unit 10 A communication interface 205 is connected to the communication interface 105 and transmits / receives various information to / from the communication interface 105, and a driver circuit 206. These units are connected to each other via a bus 207.

When image data is input from the personal computer 16 via the control unit 10, the MPU 201 expands the image data as print image data 203 A that matches the size and shape of the printable area 11 A and stores the image data in the RAM 203. . Here, the RAM 203 functions as a print data storage unit. The print image data 203A is data in which an image printed in the printable area 11A is associated with a print position in the printable area 11A. For example, printing is performed for each dot corresponding to the print position in the printable area 11A. This is data in a bitmap data format in which a color is specified. Based on the print image data 203A, the position in the digit direction and the transport direction of the printable area 11A and the print color to be printed at the position are determined.
The MPU 201 refers to a look-up table stored in advance in the EEPROM 204, and according to the print color determined by the print image data 203A, the ink amount (the size of the ink droplets and the number of ink droplets) for each color ejected from the print head 31. Control).

The disk position data 204A stored in the EEPROM 204 is information indicating the position of the optical disk 11 when printing is performed by the print head 31, and is information indicating the position of the edge of the printable area 11A in the digit direction, that is, the scanning direction of the carriage 30. It is.
As described above, since the optical disk 11 has a disk shape, the position of the edge of the printable area 11A in the digit direction differs depending on the position of the optical disk 11 in the transport direction. For this reason, the disk position data 204A includes data in which the position in the transport direction of the disk tray 20 is associated with the position of the edge of the printable area 11A in the digit direction.

The driver circuit 206 includes a transport motor 40 that transports the disk tray 20, a carriage drive motor 36 that scans the carriage 30, and a head drive unit 38 that controls the ink ejection operation by the print head 31, and is controlled by the MPU 201. The power supply voltage is supplied to each of these driving units to control the operation.
The driver circuit 206 also includes a rotation detection unit 53 that detects the rotation angle of the rotation shaft of the carriage drive motor 36, a conveyance position sensor 54 that detects the conveyance position of the disk tray 20, and the disk position mounted on the carriage 30. The detection unit is connected to the sensor 55, controls each of these detection units under the control of the MPU 201, converts the detection value into digital data, and outputs the digital data to the MPU 201.

In the optical disc duplicating apparatus 1 configured as described above, the position of the printable area 11A may be shifted in the transport direction of the optical disc 11. This is due to a shift in the transport mechanism of the disc tray 20, an abnormal mounting state of the optical disc 11 on the disc tray 20, and the like. In response to such a shift, the optical disc duplicating apparatus 1 can be executed by switching between two operation modes. That is, the optical disc duplicator 1 detects a shift in the transport direction and corrects the printing position in a direction to compensate for the shift, and a print stop that stops without executing printing when the shift in the transport direction is detected. Switch between modes.
Switching of the operation mode is instructed by control information input from the personal computer 16 to the control unit 10, for example. In other words, the user may specify by operating the personal computer 16, or may be set in advance in the personal computer 16 corresponding to the type of image data to be printed and the type of the optical disk 11.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing the operation of the optical disc duplicating apparatus 1 according to the embodiment, and specifically shows the printing operation executed by the printing apparatus 2 in the correction mode. When executing the printing operation shown in FIG. 9, the MPU 201 functions as a print control unit, a position detection unit, and a correction unit.
The printing operation described below prints an image in the printable area 11A under the control of the MPU 201, and compensates for this deviation when the position of the printable area 11A deviates from the position indicated by the disk position data 204A. This is an operation for correcting the printing position as much as possible.

First, when image data output from the personal computer 16 to the control unit 10 is input to the control circuit 200 via the control unit 10, the MPU 201 expands the image data to generate print image data 203A. And stored in the RAM 203 (step S11).
Subsequently, when the optical disk 11 is set on the disk tray 20 by the transport unit 15 under the control of the MPU 101 (step S12), the MPU 201 drives the transport motor 40 to transport the optical disk 11 (step S13). In this step S13, the MPU 201 moves the disc tray 20 until the position where the length in the transport direction of the optical disc 11 is about a quarter reaches the print position P (FIG. 3) corresponding to the position immediately below the print head 31. Transport.
Here, the MPU 201 drives the carriage drive motor 36 to scan the carriage 30, energizes the disk position sensor 55 during the scanning to acquire the detection value, and the positions of both ends in the digit direction of the printable area 11 </ b> A. Is detected (step S14).

Thereafter, the MPU 201 calculates the center position in the digit direction of the printable area 11A from the positions of both ends of the printable area 11A detected in step S14 (step S15). The center position calculated here corresponds to the center of the center hole 11B of the optical disc 11.
Then, the MPU 201 drives the carriage drive motor 36 to move the carriage 30 to the center position calculated in step S15 (step S16). More specifically, the MPU 201 moves the carriage 30 so that the disk position sensor 55 mounted on the carriage 30 is located immediately above the center position calculated in step S15.
Here, the MPU 201 slowly moves the disk tray 20 in the transport direction while energizing the disk position sensor 55 to acquire the detection value (step S17), and the disk position sensor 55 moves the printable area 11A in the transport direction. The tip position is detected (step S18). That is, in step S13, the optical disk 11 has already been transported by about ¼, so that the optical disk 11 is moved to the original position (position where the optical disk 11 is set on the disk tray 20) while the disk position sensor 55 is energized. When it is moved, the tip of the printable area 11A eventually passes directly below the disk position sensor 55. Therefore, the tip position of the printable area 11A can be detected based on the position of the optical disk 11 (disk tray 20) at the moment when the printable area 11A is no longer detected by the disk position sensor 55.

  Thereafter, the MPU 201 calculates a deviation amount in the transport direction between the position detected in step S18 and the position indicated by the disk position data 204A (step S19). Here, it is preferable that the calculated amount of deviation takes a positive or negative value according to the direction of deviation because the magnitude of the deviation and the direction of deviation can be expressed together. For example, when the detected position of the printable area 11A is shifted by 2 mm toward the back side of the data recording device 12 with respect to the position of the disk position data 204A, the amount of shift is expressed as “+2”, and the data recording device 12 If it is shifted by 3 mm toward the front opening 22 side, the shift amount may be expressed as “−3”.

  Further, the MPU 201 determines whether or not the deviation amount calculated in step S19 is a deviation amount that cannot be corrected (step S20). When the amount of deviation calculated in step S19 is remarkably large, for example, there may be a situation where the optical disk 11 is not correctly set on the disk tray 20, and a normal printing result is obtained even when the printing image data 203A is corrected. Not always. For this reason, the MPU 201 determines that correction is not possible when there is a significant shift. This determination is performed, for example, by comparing the threshold value stored in advance in the EEPROM 204 with the deviation amount calculated in step S19. The threshold value is an amount indicating a range that can be dealt with by performing correction for shifting the printing position as described above. Specifically, the threshold value is, for example, about several mm to 0.1 mm, and is stored in the EEPROM 204 in advance. ing. This allowable amount may be set fixedly or may be variable. In the case of variable, an arithmetic expression for obtaining the allowable amount may be stored in the EEPROM 204, and the MPU 201 may calculate the allowable amount as necessary.

  Here, if the deviation amount is in a correctable range, or if there is no deviation (step S20; No), the MPU 201 needs to correct the printing position based on the deviation amount calculated in step S19. It is determined whether or not (step S21). This determination is performed based on, for example, whether the calculated deviation amount exceeds the allowable amount stored in the EEPROM 204 in advance. If the shift amount of the printable area 11A is small, ink does not adhere outside the printable area 11A even if correction is not performed. For this reason, in step S21, it is determined whether or not correction is necessary based on whether or not there has been a shift that may cause ink adhesion. Here, the allowable amount is set in advance to an amount that does not allow ink to adhere to the outside of the printable area 11 </ b> A. Specifically, the allowable amount is, for example, about several mm to 0.1 mm, and is stored in the EEPROM 204 in advance. . This allowable amount may be fixedly set according to the size of the print image with respect to the area of the printable area 11A, the position in the transport direction of the disc tray 20, or the like. In the case of variable, an arithmetic expression for obtaining an allowable amount is stored in the EEPROM 204 and every time a print image is input from the control unit 10 to the MPU 201 or every time the transport motor 40 is driven to transport the disk tray 20. The allowable amount may be calculated.

When the MPU 201 determines that correction is necessary (step S21; Yes), the print position is shifted in the transport direction by an amount that can compensate for the shift amount calculated in step S15 for the print image data 203A. The position of the printable area 11A is obtained, the conveyance motor 40 is driven, and the disc tray 20 is conveyed until the printable area 11A reaches the shifted print start position (step S22), and further conveyed from there to the printing position. (Step S23). The transport in the process from step S22 to step S23 is performed by transporting the disc tray 20 by a relative transport amount from the position in step S22. That is, in step S22, the disc tray 20 is moved to a position deviated from the disc position data 204A by an amount that can compensate for the deviation, and thus deviates from the absolute position of the disc position data 204A. For this reason, while correcting the printing position, it is necessary to perform conveyance based on the relative conveyance amount with reference to the position in step S22.
If it is determined that correction is not necessary (step S21; No), the MPU 201 conveys the disc tray 20 to the normal printing position (step S23).

Here, the MPU 201 determines whether there is data for printing in the next one-way pass in the printing image data 203A (step S24).
In this step S24, since it is determined whether or not there is data of a portion to be printed in the printable area 11A in the subsequent processing, there is naturally data when the conveyance is first performed in step S23.
If there is not enough data to be printed next in the print image data 203A, that is, if all the print image data 203A has been printed (step S24; No), the MPU 201 proceeds to step S27 and prints. Is finished, the process proceeds to step S28, the disc tray 20 is ejected to the outside of the printing apparatus 2, and this process is finished.

Further, when the process of step S23 is first performed and then the process proceeds to step S24, and when the process of step S23 is performed after the second time and there is print image data 203A for next printing (step S24; Yes), the MPU 201 performs printing by the print head 31 while scanning the carriage 30 (step S25). That is, the MPU 201 moves the carriage 30 from the 0-digit position and prints the forward path, and when the carriage 30 reaches the end position on the 80-digit side, prints the backward path. As a result, an image is printed in each round-trip pass.
Thereafter, the MPU 201 returns to step S23, and performs printing for the next and subsequent lines.

  On the other hand, when the amount of deviation is large and correction is impossible (step S20; Yes), the MPU 201 outputs control information indicating that a deviation has occurred to the control unit 10 via the communication interface 205, thereby enabling personalization. A user operating the computer 16 outputs a warning (step S26), the printing is finished (step S27), the disc tray 20 is ejected outside the printing apparatus 2 (step S28), and this process is finished.

  As described above, in the correction mode, the misalignment in the transport direction of the printable area 11A is detected and the misalignment amount is obtained. The disc tray 20 is transported by an amount that can compensate for the misalignment amount, and the transport position is used as a reference. Execute printing. Thereby, the shift of the printing position can be eliminated without performing any arithmetic processing for correcting the printing image data 203A. In addition, if the amount of deviation is so large that correction is impossible, printing is stopped before printing is performed, and printing is stopped without performing printing. it can.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing the operation of the optical disc duplicating apparatus 1 according to the embodiment, and specifically shows the printing operation executed by the printing apparatus 2 in the print stop mode. When executing the printing operation shown in FIG. 10, the MPU 201 functions as a print control unit, a position detection unit, and a correction unit.
The printing operation described below prints an image in the printable area 11A under the control of the MPU 201, and stops printing when the position of the printable area 11A is shifted from the position indicated by the disk position data 204A. Is the action.

First, when image data output from the personal computer 16 to the control unit 10 is input to the control circuit 200 via the control unit 10, the MPU 201 expands the image data to generate print image data 203A. And stored in the RAM 203 (step S31).
Subsequently, when the optical disk 11 is set on the disk tray 20 by the transport unit 15 under the control of the MPU 101 (step S32), the MPU 201 drives the transport motor 40 so that the length of the optical disk 11 in the transport direction is approximately 4 minutes. The disc tray 20 is conveyed until the position of about 1 reaches a printing position P (FIG. 3) corresponding to the position immediately below the print head 31 (step S33).
Here, the MPU 201 scans the carriage 30 and energizes the disk position sensor 55 during scanning to acquire detection values, and detects the positions of both ends in the digit direction of the printable area 11A (step S34).

The MPU 201 calculates the center position in the digit direction of the printable area 11A from the positions of both ends of the printable area 11A detected in step S34 (step S35). The center position calculated here corresponds to the center of the center hole 11B of the optical disc 11. Then, the MPU 201 moves the carriage 30 to the center position calculated in step S35 (step S36). Here, the MPU 201 slowly moves the disk tray 20 in the transport direction while energizing the disk position sensor 55 to acquire the detection value (step S37), and the disk position sensor 55 moves the printable area 11A in the transport direction. The tip position is detected (step S38).
Thereafter, the MPU 201 calculates a deviation amount in the transport direction between the position detected in step S18 and the position indicated by the disk position data 204A (step S39).
The operations in steps S31 to S39 are the same as those in steps S11 to S19 described with reference to FIG.

  Here, the MPU 201 determines whether or not the position of the printable area 11A is shifted based on the shift amount calculated in step S19 (step S40). In step S40, for example, the calculation is performed based on whether or not the calculated deviation amount exceeds the allowable amount stored in the EEPROM 204 in advance. If the deviation amount of the printable area 11A is small, ink does not adhere to the outside of the printable area 11A without correction, and printing can be executed. Therefore, the deviation amount calculated in step S39 can be small. For example, printing may be executed assuming that there is no deviation. For this reason, in step S40, it is determined whether or not there is a deviation exceeding an allowable amount at which ink adhesion cannot occur. Here, the allowable amount is set in advance to an amount that does not allow ink to adhere to the outside of the printable area 11 </ b> A. Specifically, the allowable amount is, for example, about several mm to 0.1 mm, and is stored in the EEPROM 204 in advance. . This allowable amount may be fixedly set according to the size of the print image with respect to the area of the printable area 11A, the position in the transport direction of the disc tray 20, or the like. In the case of variable, an arithmetic expression for obtaining an allowable amount is stored in the EEPROM 204 and every time a print image is input from the control unit 10 to the MPU 201 or every time the transport motor 40 is driven to transport the disk tray 20. The allowable amount may be calculated.

When the MPU 201 determines that there is no deviation (step S40; Yes), the transport motor 40 is driven to transport the disc tray 20 until the printable area 11A reaches the print start position (step S41). Transport is performed to the printing position (step S42).
Here, the MPU 201 determines whether there is data for printing in the next one-way pass in the printing image data 203A (step S43).
In this step S43, since it is determined whether or not there is data for a portion to be printed in the printable area 11A in the subsequent processing, there is naturally data when the conveyance is first performed in step S42.
If there is not enough data to be printed next in the print image data 203A, that is, if all the print image data 203A has been printed (step S43; No), the MPU 201 proceeds to step S46 and prints. , The process proceeds to step S47, the disk tray 20 is ejected out of the printing apparatus 2, and the process is terminated.

Further, when the process of step S42 is first performed and then the process proceeds to step S43, and when the process of step S42 is performed after the second time and there is print image data 203A for next printing (step S43; Yes), the MPU 201 performs printing by the print head 31 while scanning the carriage 30 (step S44). That is, the MPU 201 moves the carriage 30 from the 0-digit position and prints the forward path, and when the carriage 30 reaches the end position on the 80-digit side, prints the backward path. As a result, an image is printed in each round-trip pass.
Thereafter, the MPU 201 returns to step S42, and performs printing on and after the next line.

On the other hand, if it is determined that the position of the printable area 11A has shifted (step S40; Yes), the MPU 201 outputs control information indicating that the shift has occurred to the control unit 10 via the communication interface 205. Thus, a warning is output to the user operating the personal computer 16 (step S45), printing is terminated (step S46), the disc tray 20 is ejected outside the printing apparatus 2 (step S47), and this process is terminated. To do.
According to this print stop mode, printing is stopped when a relative position shift (position shift) in the transport direction between the printable area 11A and the print head 31 occurs, so that ink adheres outside the printable area 11A. Without this, it is possible to prevent the inside of the disc tray 20 or the printing apparatus 2 from being damaged. Further, if printing is stopped and the optical disk 11 is ejected, the next optical disk 11 can be quickly set on the disk tray 20 and printing can be continued, and a reduction in throughput can be minimized.

  As described above, according to the optical disk duplicating apparatus 1 according to the embodiment to which the present invention is applied, the printing apparatus 2 transports the disk tray 20 on which the optical disk 11 is mounted, and the carriage 30 on which the print head 31 is mounted is defined as the transport direction. In a printing operation in which an image is printed on the printable area 11A of the optical disk 11 by scanning in a substantially perpendicular direction, the position of the printable area 11A in the transport direction is detected, and this position is shifted from the position of the disk position data 204A. The correction mode for correcting the print position of the printable area 11A or the print stop mode for stopping printing can be executed.

In the correction mode, the disc tray 20 is transported by an amount that can compensate for the deviation amount, and printing is executed with this transport position as a reference. Therefore, printing can be performed without performing any arithmetic processing for correcting the printing image data 203A. Position shift can be eliminated. As a result, even when the optical disc 11 is misaligned, printing can be executed without attaching ink to the outside of the printable area 11A, and the disc tray 20 or the printing apparatus 2 can be printed without reducing the throughput. Internal contamination can be prevented. Further, by correcting the position of the printable area 11A at the time of printing, there is an advantage that the deviation can be reliably compensated without performing complicated processing such as correcting the printing image data 203A itself.
Further, since a deviation is detected before printing is performed and printing is not started when the detected position deviation exceeds a threshold value, a large deviation is caused due to an abnormality such as the optical disc 11 not being properly set on the disc tray 20. If it occurs, do not print. Thus, unreasonable printing is not performed when an abnormality occurs and the printing apparatus 2 is not damaged or damaged, and throughput can be improved by omitting unnecessary printing.

In the print stop mode, printing is stopped when a relative position shift occurs in the transport direction between the printable area 11A and the print head 31, so that the ink is not attached outside the printable area 11A and the disk The inside of the tray 20 or the printing apparatus 2 can be prevented from being damaged. Further, if printing is stopped and the optical disk 11 is ejected, the next optical disk 11 can be quickly set on the disk tray 20 and printing can be continued, and a reduction in throughput can be minimized.
Since the correction mode operation and the print stop mode operation can be switched and executed, for example, when the optical disc 11 is inexpensive, the print stop mode is executed and the optical disc 11 is replaced to reduce the throughput. If it is desired to give priority to printing even if the optical disc 11 is misaligned, the correction mode may be executed. As described above, since the operation mode can be selected according to the convenience of the user, the convenience can be improved.

Further, the optical disc duplicating apparatus 1 determines the transport position of the optical disc 11 during printing based on the difference between the detected position of the printable region 11A and the position of the printable region 11A defined in the disc position data 204A stored in advance. Therefore, it is possible to easily detect the relative position shift between the printable area 11A and the print head 31 and reliably compensate for it.
Further, the optical disc duplicating apparatus 1 obtains the center position in the digit direction of the printable area 11A based on the position of the edge of the printable area 11A in the scanning direction of the carriage 30, and the carriage 30 is positioned at this center position. The front end position in the transport direction of the printable area 11A is detected by transporting the disc tray 20 and the deviation between the detected position and the position indicated by the disk position data 204A is calculated.
Accordingly, the printable area 11A and the print head are caused by a shift in the transport position when the disk tray 20 is transported or an abnormal position of the optical disk 11 due to the optical disk 11 not being properly placed on the disk tray 20. When a relative position shift (position shift) with respect to 31 occurs, this shift can be reliably detected, and the position shift can be reliably compensated.
In particular, by performing the detection in the above-described procedure, it is possible to efficiently and reliably detect the deviation in the transport direction using the disk position sensor 55 mounted on the carriage 30 that is moved in the digit direction.
Further, the number of sensors can be reduced as compared with the case where a plurality of sensors are provided in the width direction of the disk tray 20 or a case where a large sensor capable of detecting the entire width direction of the disk tray 20 is used. Further, since the position of the printable area 11A can be detected by scanning the carriage 30 in the same manner as during printing, there is no need to provide a new drive unit or the like. Therefore, it can be realized easily and at low cost by effectively using the configuration of a normal printing apparatus.

Further, the disk position sensor 55 is disposed on the carriage 30 so as to face the optical disk 11 and is located on the side of the print head 31 along the scanning direction of the carriage 30, so that printing can be performed at a position close to the print head 31. The position of the region 11A can be detected, and a misalignment that causes a problem during printing can be reliably detected.
Further, by detecting the front end position of the printable area 11A before starting printing, it is possible to correct the print position when printing the first line, and the first line is also outside the printable area 11A. Ink can be prevented from adhering.

In the above embodiment, one disk position sensor 55 is provided on the lower surface of the carriage 30 on the side of the print head 31. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, a plurality of disk position sensors 55 are provided. The sensor may be provided.
Hereinafter, this configuration example will be described as a modification.

[Modification]
FIG. 11 is a diagram showing a configuration according to a modification of the embodiment to which the present invention is applied, and is a top view particularly excluding the ink cartridge 32 in the vicinity of the carriage 30.
The optical disc duplicating apparatus 1 according to this modification has the same configuration as that of the optical disc duplicating apparatus 1 according to the first embodiment except for the points described later with reference to FIG. The common components are denoted by the same reference numerals, and illustration and description thereof are omitted.

In the configuration shown in FIG. 11, two sensors, that is, the 0-digit disk position sensor 56 and the 80-digit disk position sensor 57 are arranged on the same surface as the protruding surface of the print head 31 in the carriage 30 toward the conveyance path W side. Are arranged.
The 0-digit disk position sensor 56 and the 80-digit disk position sensor 57 are exposed on the bottom surface of the carriage 30, are arranged along the scanning direction of the carriage 30, and are positioned on both sides of the print head 31. The 0-digit disk position sensor 56 is on the 0-digit position side of the print head 31, and the 80-digit disk position sensor 57 is on the 80-digit position side of the print head 31. The 0-digit disk position sensor 56 and the 80-digit disk position sensor 57 are reflective optical sensors similar to the disk position sensor 55 according to the first embodiment.

  According to this configuration, when the disk tray 20 is transported until the position of approximately ¼ of the printable area 11A reaches the print position P before the start of printing, both end positions in the digit direction of the printable area 11A are detected. The operation of (Step S14 in FIG. 9 and Step S34 in FIG. 10) can be performed at high speed using two sensors. The operation of detecting the leading end position in the transport direction of the printable area 11A while transporting the disc tray 20 (steps S17 to S18 in FIG. 9 and steps S37 to S38 in FIG. 10) is performed using the detection values of the two sensors. By comparing, it can be performed more accurately. In this case, the carriage 30 may be arranged so that the center in the digit direction of the printable area 11A is positioned between the two sensors (the zero digit disk position sensor 56 and the 80 digit disk position sensor 57). .

In addition, embodiment mentioned above and a modification show the one aspect | mode of this invention to the last, A deformation | transformation and application are arbitrarily possible within the scope of the present invention.
For example, in the above embodiment and the modification, in order to further improve the throughput, when the printable area 11A is printed on a plurality of optical disks 11, only the first optical disk 11 described above is shown in FIG. The printing operation shown in FIG. 10 may be performed, and normal printing may be performed on the second and subsequent optical disks 11. Also in this case, since the misalignment caused by the transport mechanism of the disc tray 20 can be reliably compensated, printing can be performed without attaching ink outside the printable area 11A.
Further, in the above-described embodiment and the modification, it has been described that the print image data 203A is developed and generated in the RAM 203 every time a printing operation is started. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and a plurality of image data 203A are generated. When the same image is printed on the optical disc 11, the print image data 203 </ b> A is generated in the first printing operation to start printing of the plurality of optical discs 11, and then the print image data 203 </ b> A that has already been generated is generated. Should be used. In this example, when correction is performed to shift the printing position of the print image data 203A, the print image data 203A before correction and the print image data 203A after correction are stored separately in the RAM 203. It may be left.
In the above-described embodiment and the modification, the case where the present invention is applied to the ink jet printing apparatus 2 has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and various recordings such as a sublimation printer and a thermal transfer printer are used. Applicable to all printing apparatuses having a configuration for printing an image by scanning a print head among apparatuses (printers), and can also be applied to a printing apparatus incorporated in another device. It is. In addition, it is needless to say that other detailed configurations in the above embodiment can be arbitrarily changed.

1 is a schematic diagram of an optical disc duplicating apparatus according to an embodiment. 1 is an external perspective view illustrating a configuration of a printing apparatus. FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a configuration of a printing apparatus. It is a top view of the vicinity of the carriage. It is a side view of the vicinity of the carriage. It is a principal part enlarged view of a head. It is a top view which shows the mode of scanning of a carriage. It is a block diagram which shows the control system of an optical disk duplicate apparatus. 6 is a flowchart illustrating an operation of the printing apparatus in a correction mode. 6 is a flowchart illustrating an operation of the printing apparatus in a print stop mode. It is a top view of the carriage vicinity which concerns on a modification.

Explanation of symbols

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Optical disk duplicating apparatus, 2 ... Printing apparatus, 10 ... Control unit, 11 ... Optical disk (optical disk type recording medium), 11A ... Printable area, 12 ... Data recording apparatus, 13 ... 1st stacker, 14 ... 2nd stacker, DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 15 ... Conveyance unit, 16 ... Personal computer, 20 ... Disc tray, 21 ... Main body, 30 ... Carriage, 31 ... Print head, 32 ... Ink cartridge, 33 ... Carriage guide shaft, 35 ... Endless belt, 36 ... Carriage drive motor, 37 ... pulley, 38 ... head drive unit, 40 ... conveyance motor, 41 ... first conveyance unit, 45 ... second conveyance unit, 50 ... nozzle opening row, 51 ... nozzle opening, 52 ... substrate, 53 ... rotation detection unit, 54 ... Conveying position sensor, 55 ... Disc position sensor, 56 ... 0-digit disk position sensor, 57 ... 80-digit sensor Position sensor, 200 ... control circuit, 201 ... MPU (print control means, position detection means, correction means), 203 ... RAM (print data storage means), 203A ... image data for printing, 204 ... EEPROM, 204A ... disk position data.

Claims (8)

In a printing apparatus for printing an image on a printable area provided on one surface of an optical disk type recording medium,
Print data storage means for storing data in which a print position and an image in the printable area are associated with each other;
While transporting the optical disc type recording medium in a predetermined transport direction, a carriage mounted with a print head is scanned in a digit direction substantially perpendicular to the transport direction, and based on data stored in the print data storage means, Print control means for printing an image on the printable area by the print head;
Position detecting means for detecting the position of the printable area;
Correction means for correcting the position of the printable area at the time of printing when the position of the printable area detected by the position detection means is deviated from a predetermined position in the transport direction;
A printing apparatus comprising:   The correction means corrects the transport position of the optical disc type recording medium during printing based on the difference between the position of the printable area detected by the position detection means and the position of the printable area stored in advance. The printing apparatus according to claim 1. The carriage is provided with a sensor for detecting the presence or absence of the printable area at a position facing the carriage,
The position detecting means obtains a position of the printable area based on a detection state of the sensor while scanning the carriage;
The printing apparatus according to claim 1 or 2. The position detecting means includes
Obtaining both end positions of the printable area in the digit direction based on the detection state of the sensor while scanning the carriage,
Obtain the center position in the digit direction of the printable area from the both end positions,
Detecting the tip position of the printable area in the transport direction by transporting the disk-type recording medium transport path in a state where the carriage is positioned at the determined center position;
The printing apparatus according to claim 3. The position detection means detects the position of the printable area before printing by the print control means is started,
The print control means has a predetermined interval between the position of the printable area detected before the printing by the print control means is started by the position detection means and the position of the printable area stored in advance. Do not start printing when there is an amount of deviation that exceeds the threshold,
The printing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein: When the position of the printable area detected by the position detection unit is deviated from the predetermined position in the transport direction, the correction unit corrects the print position of the data stored in the print data storage unit. Correction mode,
When the position of the printable area detected by the position detection unit is deviated from a predetermined position in the transport direction, the print stop mode for stopping printing can be switched and executed.
The printing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein: In an optical disc duplicate apparatus for recording information in an information recording area provided on one side of an optical disc type recording medium and printing an image in a printable area provided on the other side,
Print data storage means for storing data in which a print position and an image in the printable area are associated with each other;
While transporting the optical disc type recording medium in a predetermined transport direction, a carriage mounted with a print head is scanned in a digit direction substantially perpendicular to the transport direction, and based on data stored in the print data storage means, Print control means for printing an image on the printable area by the print head;
Position detecting means for detecting the position of the printable area;
Correction means for correcting the position of the printable area at the time of printing when the position of the printable area detected by the position detection means is deviated from a predetermined position in the transport direction;
An optical disc duplicating apparatus comprising: A control method for a printing apparatus for printing an image on a printable area provided on one surface of an optical disk type recording medium,
While transporting the optical disc type recording medium in a predetermined transport direction, a carriage mounted with a print head is scanned in a digit direction substantially perpendicular to the transport direction so that the print position in the printable area is associated with the image. Based on the obtained data, the print head prints an image on the printable area, while detecting the position of the printable area, and the detected position of the printable area is changed from a predetermined position in the transport direction. Correcting the position of the printable area at the time of printing,
A control method for a printing apparatus.

Images