JP2009292128A - Recorder, and recording method in recorder - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a recorder and a recording method, capable of promoting drying of a liquid on a recording face by air blow, and capable of restraining effectively a liquid flow with the liquid flowing by the air blow just after deposited on the recording face. <P>SOLUTION: An air blowing unit 41 and a negative pressure suction mechanism 42 are provided in both sides with a platen 17 therebetween along a width direction, under the condition where an air blowing port 41a and a suction port 47 of the respective are opposed each other. A recording unit 18 is provided with a shielding mechanism 53 for shielding the air flow from the air blowing unit 41. A shielding plate 54 constituting the shielding mechanism 53 is attached movably along a scanning direction with respect to a carriage 20. An ink flowing area LA of generating easily an ink flow is varied in response to a kind of a recording medium, when blown with the air flow just after an ink droplet is shot, and the shielding plate 54 is slide-driven to be extended to a scanning-directional rear side with respect to the carriage 20 by an amount capable of shielding the air flow to the ink flowing area LA. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a recording apparatus and a recording method provided with a blowing unit for performing recording by attaching a liquid to a target and blowing air to promote drying of the attached liquid.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, ink jet printers record characters, images, and the like by ejecting ink droplets as a liquid from a recording head and attaching them to a transported target (such as paper) (for example, Patent Documents). 1-4).

  In addition, the ink recording surface needs to be dried early in order to ensure high print image quality. However, if the target is made of a material such as glossy paper or film that hardly absorbs ink, the ink recording surface may be dried. It is relatively slow, and ink bleeding or flow occurs before drying, and it is difficult to obtain a relatively high print quality. Further, as a factor that hinders drying, the presence of a diffusion layer formed near the surface of the ink recording surface by evaporating the solution or solvent component in the ink on the target may be mentioned. The diffusion layer is close to the saturated vapor pressure, and since such a diffusion layer covers the surface of the ink recording surface, it is difficult for the solution and solvent components in the ink to evaporate from the ink recording surface, which causes the drying of the ink to be delayed. ing.

In order to solve this type of problem, for example, Patent Documents 1 to 3 disclose an ink jet printer including a blower that blows air along the surface of a target immediately after printing and promotes drying by the blown air flow. ing. In these printers, a blower is provided in the recording head, and the recording head is configured to blow air from the blower while moving.
JP 2007-253613 (paragraphs 0010, 0011, etc., FIG. 1 and FIG. 4, etc.) JP 2003-211652 A JP 2001-341296 A Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2001-191507 (for example, FIG. 5)

  However, in the case of the configuration in which the air is blown to the rear side in the traveling direction of the recording head as in Patent Documents 1 to 3, or in the structure in which the air is blown to the recording medium along the paper transport direction as in Patent Document 4, the ink immediately after landing. For example, if the recording medium (target) is made of a material that is difficult for ink to permeate, such as a film, the ink recorded on the recording medium flows in the blowing direction. As a result, there is a problem in that the print quality is deteriorated.

  Further, Patent Document 4 discloses a deflector. This deflector prevents the ink droplet flight path from being bent and can block the air flow to the ink droplet flight area, but has a low ink permeability such as a film. In the case of using a recording medium (target) made of a material, an area in which the ink dots immediately after ink droplet landing is in the form of droplets can be formed on the rear side in the moving direction of the recording head for a while. However, depending on the deflector, it was not possible to prevent wind to such an area that could be formed on the rear side of the recording head in the traveling direction, and there was a problem that ink immediately after landing caused flow.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned problems, and the object thereof is to promote the drying of the liquid on the recording surface by air blowing, and also, the liquid flow immediately after the adhesion on the recording surface flows by the air blowing. An object of the present invention is to provide a recording apparatus and a recording method that can be effectively suppressed.

  In order to solve the above problems, in the recording apparatus of the present invention, a recording unit that performs recording by adhering a liquid to a target, a moving unit that relatively moves the recording unit and the target, and a target by the recording unit On the recording surface immediately after the liquid adhesion, which is formed on the rear side in the relative movement direction of the recording means in the air blowing area of the air blowing means, and the air blowing means for sending the air current to the recording surface of the target to promote the drying of the liquid attached thereon The gist of the present invention is to provide a liquid flow suppressing means that suppresses an air flow to a liquid flow region that is an area and in which a liquid can flow by the air flow. Note that the suppression of the airflow by the liquid flow suppressing means is not limited to completely blocking the airflow, but also includes weakening the airflow to a level of wind speed at which no liquid flow occurs.

  According to the present invention, the liquid is attached from the recording means to the target while the recording means and the target move relative to each other, whereby the target is recorded. By sending an air flow from the blowing means to the recording surface of the target, drying of the liquid adhering to the target is promoted. The air flow to the liquid flow area where the liquid can flow by the air flow is suppressed by the liquid flow suppressing means in the area on the recording surface immediately after the liquid adhering that is formed on the rear side in the relative movement direction with respect to the target of the recording means in the air blowing area of the air blowing means. Is done. As a result, the air flow to the liquid flow region is suppressed, so that the liquid flow caused by the blowing in the liquid flow region can be effectively suppressed.

  In the recording apparatus of the present invention, the liquid flow suppressing means includes information acquisition means for acquiring at least one of the target type and the liquid type as control information, and the liquid is controlled according to the control information. It is preferable to adjust an area where airflow to the flow region should be suppressed.

  According to this invention, the liquid flow suppressing means acquires at least one of the target type and the liquid type as control information by the information acquiring means, and suppresses the air flow to the liquid flow region according to the control information. Adjust the power area. Therefore, there is no concern that the ink flow is generated by changing the area for suppressing the air flow according to the size (area width) of the liquid flow area determined according to at least one of the target type and the liquid type. It is possible to avoid unnecessarily suppressing the air flow up to the region.

In the recording apparatus according to the aspect of the invention, it is preferable that the liquid flow suppressing unit is a blocking unit that blocks an air flow from the blowing unit toward the liquid flow region.
According to this invention, the airflow from the blower means toward the liquid flow region can be shielded by the shielding means. For example, in the configuration in which the driving of the air blowing means is stopped, a delay occurs until the wind speed decreases, or a delay occurs when the wind speed is returned. The seed delay does not occur so much, and the airflow to the liquid flow region can be suppressed without disturbing the airflow to other regions.

  Furthermore, in the recording apparatus according to the aspect of the invention, the shielding unit drives the shield so that the shield that shields the airflow to the liquid flow region and the area that should shield the airflow to the liquid flow region can be adjusted. It is preferable to include means for controlling the driving means so as to adjust the area where the airflow should be shielded.

  According to the present invention, the control unit controls the driving unit so as to adjust the area where the airflow should be shielded, thereby driving the shield so that the area where the airflow to the liquid flow region should be shielded can be adjusted. Therefore, the area where the shield should shield the airflow to the liquid flow area is adjusted, and it is possible to avoid unnecessary airflow shielding to areas other than the liquid flow area.

  In the recording apparatus of the present invention, the air blowing means has a direction intersecting the relative movement direction as the air blowing direction, the shield is provided in the recording means so as to be movable in the relative movement direction, and the control means includes The driving unit is preferably controlled so that the shield extends rearward in the relative movement direction of the recording unit.

  According to the present invention, the shield provided in the recording means moves relative to the recording means so as to extend rearward in the relative movement direction with respect to the target of the recording means by controlling the driving means. Shield the airflow to. Since the shielding member is provided in the recording unit, for example, even when the recording unit moves, the shielding unit can move integrally with the recording unit. Therefore, the shielding unit is different from the recording unit and the recording unit. It is relatively easy to configure.

  In the recording apparatus of the present invention, the shield is configured to be openable and closable between a closed position that shields the airflow of the air blowing means and an open position that does not shield the airflow, and the air outlet of the air blowing means and the target The drive means is configured to be capable of individually opening and closing the plurality of shields, and the control means includes the plurality of shields in the plurality of shields. It is preferable to control the driving means so as to close the shield corresponding to the liquid flow region and open the shield not corresponding to the liquid flow region.

  According to the present invention, the control means controls the driving means so as to close the shield corresponding to the liquid flow area among the plurality of shields and open the shield not corresponding to the liquid flow area, so that the liquid flow area The airflow to can be shielded.

  In the recording apparatus of the present invention, the shield is configured to be movable along a blower port of the blower unit along a path between the blower unit and the target transport path, and the control unit includes the control unit, It is preferable to control the driving unit so that the shield moves along a movement of the recording unit at a position where the shielding unit can block the airflow to the liquid flow region.

  According to the present invention, the control unit controls the drive unit, so that the shield moves following the movement of the recording unit at a position where the air flow to the liquid flow region can be blocked. Thereby, the airflow to the liquid flow area can be shielded.

  Furthermore, in the recording apparatus of the present invention, it is preferable that the recording unit is configured to discharge a liquid, and further includes a windproof unit that shields the airflow to the flight region of the liquid discharged from the recording unit.

  According to this invention, the airflow to the liquid flight region of the recording means is shielded by the windproof means by the windproof means. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the landing position of the liquid ejected from the recording unit from being shifted by the air current.

  The present invention is also a recording method in a recording apparatus comprising: a recording unit that performs recording by adhering a liquid to a target; and a moving unit that relatively moves the recording unit and the target. On the recording surface immediately after the liquid adhesion, which is formed on the rear side in the relative movement direction of the recording means in the air blowing area by the air blowing step in order to promote drying of the liquid adhered on the target, and in the air blowing area by the air blowing step. And a liquid flow suppressing step for suppressing airflow to the liquid flow region where the liquid can flow by the airflow. According to the present invention, it is possible to obtain the same effects as those of the recording apparatus.

(First embodiment)
Hereinafter, a first embodiment in which the present invention is applied to a lateral scan type ink jet printer will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a schematic side view of an ink jet printer, and FIG. 2 is a schematic plan view thereof.

  As shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, an ink jet printer (hereinafter simply referred to as “printer 11”) as a recording apparatus (liquid ejecting apparatus) has a long continuous recording medium (hereinafter simply referred to as “recording”) as a target. A medium supply unit 13 for supplying a medium 12), a printing unit 14 for printing on the recording medium 12 fed out from the medium supply unit 13 and intermittently stopped, and a recording medium 12 after printing from the printing unit 14 A discharge unit 15 is provided for winding up to discharge.

  The printing unit 14 includes a flat platen 17 that is horizontally arranged on a base 16 a of a table-like main body frame 16 having a plurality of legs (not shown), and a recording medium 12 that is arranged on the platen 17. And a recording unit 18 as recording means for performing recording by ejecting ink as liquid. The recording unit 18 is guided by a pair of guide rails 19 (shown in FIG. 2) arranged on both sides of the platen 17 in the width direction (that is, the medium width direction Y which is the up-down direction in FIG. 2), It is provided so as to be capable of reciprocating along a scanning direction X parallel to the conveying direction).

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the recording unit 18 includes a carriage 20 and a recording head 21 supported on the lower portion of the carriage 20. The carriage 20 reciprocates in the scanning direction X while being guided by both guide rails 19 by power transmitted from a carriage motor 76 (see FIG. 10) via a power transmission mechanism (not shown). In this embodiment, the recording head 21 is supported so as to be slidable in the medium width direction Y with respect to the carriage 20, and can be moved relative to the platen 17 in two directions of the scanning direction X and the medium width direction Y. However, it may be configured to be movable only in the scanning direction X.

  Further, the printer 11 is provided with a tank or an ink cartridge (not shown) for individually storing inks of respective colors (cyan, magenta, yellow, black) as liquids. On the lower surface (nozzle formation surface) of the recording head 21, nozzle rows 21a (see FIG. 2) in which a large number of nozzle openings are formed at a constant nozzle pitch in the medium width direction Y are the same number as the ink color (in this example, 4 rows). The recording head 21 performs recording by ejecting ink supplied from each tank or ink cartridge toward the stopped recording medium 12 while moving in the scanning direction X. The printing unit 14 is provided with a maintenance device 22 that cleans the recording head 21 and the like at a position upstream of the platen 17 in the conveyance direction. The recording head 21 may be of a multi-head type in which a plurality of unit heads are arranged in a staggered manner along the medium width direction Y.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the medium supply unit 13 is rotatably supported by a support plate 16 b extending from the main body frame 16, and a feed drive shaft 23 to which a medium supply roll 24 is attached. , A relay roller 25 for guiding the recording medium 12 fed from the roll 24 by the rotational drive of the feed drive shaft 23, a drive roller 26, an elevating roller 27, and a relay roller 28. The recording medium 12 is conveyed via the rollers 25 to 28 onto the platen 17 where printing is performed.

  Printing by the recording unit 18 is performed in a state in which the recording medium 12 is stopped on the platen 17, and the raising and lowering rollers 27 are interlocked with the rotation of the feeding drive shaft 23 and the driving roller 26 that are rotationally driven in the feeding direction during the printing. Is lowered, the recording medium 12 having a conveyance length of one time is fed out in advance. When one printing is completed and winding by the medium discharge unit 15 is started, the lifting roller 27 is lifted in conjunction with this, so that the conveyance length for one feeding that has been fed out in advance is recorded. The medium 12 is conveyed into the printing unit 14.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the upper surface of the relay roller 28, the upper surface of the platen 17, and the upper surface of the conversion roller 29 are flush with each other, and the recording medium 12 conveyed to the printing unit 14 is arranged horizontally on the platen 17. Is done. Then, the recording medium 12 at the time of printing is adsorbed on the platen 17 by negative pressure acting on the back surface thereof through a number of negative pressure suction holes (not shown) formed in the platen 17, and the adsorbed state is released after printing is completed. Is done.

  The discharge unit 15 includes a conversion roller 29, a reverse roller 30, a relay roller 31, a drive roller 32, and relay rollers 33 and 34 that define a discharge path for discharging the printed recording medium 12 from the platen 17, a medium winding A take-up drive shaft 36 for attaching the take-up roll 35 is provided. Each time printing is completed, the drive roller 32 and the take-up drive shaft 36 are rotationally driven in the take-up direction, and the recording medium 12 after printing passes through the rollers 29 to 34 from the upper surface of the platen 17. It is wound up on the roll 35 intermittently by the conveyance length of the batch. As shown in FIG. 1, a guide device 37 for positioning the recording medium 12 in the medium width direction Y is provided at a position upstream of the relay roller 28 in the transport direction. The printing unit 14 is accommodated in a printing chamber 38 that is partitioned on the base 16a.

  A forced drying device 39 is disposed below the conversion roller 29, and the recording medium 12 after printing passes through the forced drying device 39 and is forcedly dried. Before the forced drying by the forced drying device 39, the recording surface of the recording medium 12 is preliminarily dried in the printing unit 14. Next, the preliminary drying mechanism in the printing unit 14 which is a characteristic part of the printer 11 will be described.

  As shown in FIG. 1, a heater 40 is provided on the back side (the lower side in FIG. 1) of the platen 17. The platen 17 is heated by energizing the heater 40 and functions as a hot platen that heats the recording medium 12 adsorbed on the surface (upper surface) thereof and promotes drying of ink on the recording surface.

  In the printer 11 of this embodiment, plain paper, glossy paper, film, or the like is used as the recording medium 12. Further, as the medium width size, various sizes in the range of Lo to Lx are used, for example. In this embodiment, Lo to Lx are in the range of about 50 to 400 mm, for example.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the printer 11 is provided with a blowing mechanism for promoting drying of the ink on the recording medium 12 by blowing as an ink drying unit other than the hot platen. On both sides of the platen 17 in the width direction (medium width direction Y), a blower unit 41 as a blower unit constituting a blower mechanism and a negative pressure suction mechanism 42 are disposed to face each other.

  The blower unit 41 is fixedly arranged over the range of the print area PA (printable area) in the transport direction (scanning direction X). The blower unit 41 includes a plurality of (three in this embodiment) blowers 45 having therein a fan 44 that can be rotated by driving a fan motor 43 (see FIG. 10), and an air flow generated by the rotation of the fan 44. A long air guide 46 that guides in a direction orthogonal to the scanning direction X (conveyance direction) and blows a substantially horizontal air flow along the recording surface of the recording medium 12 on the platen 17 is provided. The blower guide 46 is joined in a state communicating with the front opening of the box-shaped housing 45a constituting the blower 45, and has a long hole-like blower opening 41a extending along the scanning direction X (conveyance direction) at the tip thereof. is doing. An air flow is blown out from the blower opening 41a of the blower unit 41 in a direction parallel to the medium width direction Y.

  On the other hand, the negative pressure suction mechanism 42 includes a suction port 47 that is positioned opposite to the blower port 41a of the blower unit 41 in the medium width direction Y and has a length substantially equal to the blower port 41a and the scanning direction X (conveyance direction). I have. The negative pressure suction mechanism 42 communicates with a negative pressure generating device through a flow path (both not shown), and air is introduced into the suction port 47 by the negative pressure introduced into the negative pressure suction mechanism 42 from the negative pressure generating device. A suction air flow that draws in is generated. Then, the air flow blown from the blower port 41a of the blower unit 41 is sucked into the suction port 47 of the negative pressure suction mechanism 42, whereby the upper surface of the recording medium 12 on the platen 17 is moved from the blower port 41a to the medium width direction. A laminar flow of the air that crosses Y and flows into the suction port 47 is generated.

  In the case of the lateral scan type printer 11, the nozzle row 21 a of the recording head 21 is parallel to the medium width direction Y as shown in FIG. 2, so that the blowing direction from the blowing unit 41 (air flow direction) is The direction is the same as the direction of the nozzle row 21a (nozzle row direction). By making the air blowing direction the same as the nozzle row direction, the longitudinal direction of the recording unit 18 is parallel to the air blowing direction, and the recording unit 18 that moves in the scanning direction X during printing in this state causes the air flow to flow in the flow direction. By crossing so as to be substantially orthogonal, the recording unit 18 is less likely to induce turbulence when crossing the air flow. A print area PA (see FIG. 2) (recording area) is defined as the maximum area that the recording head 21 can print. The print execution area to be printed on the recording medium 12 is set in accordance with the medium size within the print area PA.

  The reason why the blowing by the blowing unit 41 promotes the drying of the ink is as follows. On the upper layer of the recording surface of the recording medium 12, a diffusion layer (boundary layer) having a layer thickness of, for example, about 10 to 20 mm formed by evaporation of a solution or solvent (for example, water) in the ink is formed. Since the diffusion layer has a vapor pressure close to the saturation vapor pressure, the evaporation rate of the solution or solvent from the ink on the recording surface is significantly reduced. For this reason, even if the recording medium 12 is heated by the platen 17, the evaporation rate of the solution or solvent in the ink on the recording medium 12 is reduced, and therefore, drying of the ink is difficult to be promoted.

  In the present embodiment, an air flow is blown from the blower unit 41 along the recording surface of the recording medium 12, and this kind of diffusion layer is blown away and removed from the recording surface, thereby promoting the drying speed of the ink. ing. In this embodiment, the wind speed of the airflow from the blower opening 41a of the blower unit 41 is set to 4 m / second or more effective for removing the diffusion layer, and for example, the airflow control is performed in the range of the wind speed of 4 to 15 m / second. Yes. Of course, the setting of the wind speed can be changed as appropriate.

  FIG. 3 is a schematic perspective view of the printing unit. As shown in FIG. 3, the guide device 37 for positioning the recording medium 12 conveyed on the platen 17 in the medium width direction Y is positioned upstream of the platen 17 in the conveying direction of the recording medium 12. Is arranged. The guide device 37 is located below the relay roller 28 (upstream in the transport direction), extends in the medium width direction Y by a length approximately equal to the length in the width direction of the platen 17, and one end side of the guide member 48. And a movable guide 50 that is engaged and guided in the guide hole 48a of the guide member 48 and is slidably mounted in the medium width direction Y. The fixed guide 49 is set so that the end position on the air blowing port 41a side in the range in the medium width direction Y of the print area PA is set as a reference position when the recording medium 12 is positioned in the width direction. For this reason, as shown in FIG. 3, the recording medium 12 is positioned in a state where the recording medium 12 is always brought close to the blower unit 41 regardless of the size of the medium, with one end in the width direction being supported by the fixed guide 49.

  On the upper surface of the recording medium 12 shown in FIG. 3, ink dots formed by landing ink droplets ejected from the nozzles of the recording head 21 on the recording medium 12 are schematically drawn. In the case where the recording medium 12 is made of a material having a low ink permeability such as a film, for example, the ink is kept in a droplet state on the recording surface until the ink is dried to some extent, and when the air flow is blown, the ink flow Will occur. The ink dots immediately after landing that may cause such an ink flow are shaded, and the ink dots that do not have the worry of the ink flow are drawn in white. The ink dot size is, for example, a dot diameter of about 10 to 100 μm, and the ink dots shown in FIG. 3 are schematically different from the actual size.

  A windproof member 51 for preventing the airflow from the blower unit 41 from hitting the nozzle formation surface of the recording head 21 is attached to the recording unit 18 of the present embodiment. As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the windproof member 51 includes a surface of the recording head 21 on the side facing the air blowing port 41 a and both surfaces intersecting the scanning direction X (surface parallel to the air blowing direction). It consists of a substantially U-shaped member in plan view. That is, the wind-proof member 51 includes a wind-proof plate portion 51a facing the air blowing port 41a, and an air flow received on the front side in the head traveling direction when the recording unit 18 moves in the scanning direction X. Of the windproof side plate portion 51b that prevents the airflow from flowing into the flight region).

  As shown in FIG. 4, the windbreak plate portion 51 a extends downward to a position below the upper surface of the platen 17, so that airflow can be reliably prevented from leaking to the upper surface side of the platen 17. On the other hand, the wind-proof side plate portion 51b has a downward extension length so that the lower end thereof does not contact the recording surface of the recording medium 12 even at the assumed minimum gap between the recording head 21 and the recording medium 12. Is set. Therefore, the wind-proof side plate portion 51 b is configured to be able to face the recording surface of the recording medium 12 with a slight gap that does not contact the surface of the recording medium 12. The wind-proof member 51 prevents the air flow from reaching the ink ejection area of the recording head 21, thereby preventing the ink droplet flight path due to the air flow from being bent and preventing the print quality from being deteriorated by the air flow. It is possible. In addition, when the air flow reaches the lower area of the recording head 21, the ink in the nozzles is exposed to the air flow and the ink in the nozzles tends to increase in viscosity, which may cause ink discharge failure. It is also possible to avoid the possibility of ink discharge failure due to the air flow.

  Here, if the recording medium 12 is plain paper, the landed ink droplet is immediately absorbed and absorbed by the paper fiber, and no droplet remains on the recording surface immediately after the landing. However, when the recording medium 12 is made of a material having low ink permeability such as glossy paper or film, immediately after ink droplet landing (a predetermined time within a range of, for example, 50 to 1000 milliseconds after ink droplet landing) Ink remains on the recording surface in the form of droplets. If a relatively strong air flow effective for removing the diffusion layer, for example, at a wind speed of 4 m / second or more, is sprayed on the recording medium 12 made of a material having a low ink permeation absorbency, for example, when the wind speed is 4 m / second or more, the droplet-shaped ink May flow on the recording surface and the print image quality may be significantly reduced. Therefore, in the present embodiment, in the recording medium 12 (for example, glossy paper or film) in which the ink flow is highly likely to occur due to the air flow immediately after ink droplet landing, the air blowing area (that is, the printing area PA) of the air blowing unit 41. Among them, a shielding mechanism 53 is provided for shielding an air flow to an ink flow area LA (an area immediately after liquid landing) that is determined to generate an ink flow based on a preliminary experiment result.

  FIGS. 5A and 5B are schematic side views illustrating the configuration and operation of the shielding mechanism, and FIGS. 6 and 7 are schematic plan views illustrating the configuration and operation. 6 and 7 schematically show ink dots formed by ink droplets ejected from the nozzles of the recording head 21 landing on the recording medium 12 made of a film. The ink dots in the flow area are shaded, and the ink dots in the ink stationary area where there is no worry about ink flow are drawn in white.

  As shown in FIGS. 5, 6, and 7, the shielding mechanism 53 includes a sliding shielding plate (hereinafter simply referred to as a “shielding plate 54”) slidably provided on the carriage 20 in the present embodiment. That is, as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, a shielding plate 54 is attached to the front surface of the carriage 20 so as to be movable in the scanning direction X with respect to the windproof plate portion 51a. The shielding plate 54 is arranged in such a direction that its side surface (shielding surface) faces the air blowing port 41a, and moves in the scanning direction X with respect to the end surface of the carriage 20 (specifically, the end surface of the windproof member 51) via the slide mechanism 55. It is attached as possible. A small linear motor 79 (see FIG. 10) is attached to the carriage 20 side, and the shielding plate 54 reciprocates in the scanning direction X by the power of the linear motor 79.

  In this example, as the slide mechanism 55, for example, a roller type is employed in which the shielding plate 54 is sandwiched by a plurality of rollers (rollers) and the shielding plate 54 is slid using the rolling of the rollers. Of course, the slide mechanism is not limited to the roller type but may be a rail type. The sliding drive method of the shielding plate is not limited to the linear motor type sliding mechanism using a linear motor, and the power of the electric motor is transmitted to the shielding plate via a belt type power transmission mechanism or a wire type power transmission mechanism. This may be a slide drive system. Further, the actuator used as a power source for the shielding plate 54 is not limited to a motor, and a solenoid, an air cylinder, or the like can be employed.

  As shown in FIGS. 5 to 7, the shielding plate 54 prevents the recording head 21 from blocking the air flow to the ink flow area on the rear side in the traveling direction of the recording head 21 according to the traveling direction of the recording head 21. Slide control is performed to extend in the direction opposite to the traveling direction.

  As shown in FIGS. 5A and 6, when the traveling direction of the recording head 21 (head traveling direction) is the same positive direction as the transport direction, the linear motor 79 is used to start scanning in that direction. Driven in the negative direction, the shielding plate 54 slides backward in the head moving direction (negative direction) (leftward in FIG. 5A and downward in FIG. 6). Then, the carriage 20 moves in the forward direction while shielding the airflow AF to the ink flow area LA at the portion of the shielding plate 54 that extends to the rear side in the head traveling direction.

  Further, as shown in FIGS. 5B and 7, when the traveling direction of the recording head 21 is a negative direction opposite to the transport direction, the linear motor 79 moves in the positive direction when scanning in that direction is started. When driven, the shielding plate 54 slides and moves rearward in the head traveling direction (forward direction) (rightward in FIG. 5B and upward in FIG. 6). Then, the carriage 20 moves in the negative direction while shielding the airflow AF to the ink flow area LA at the portion of the shielding plate 54 that extends to the rear side in the head traveling direction. Details of the control of the sliding direction and the sliding amount of the shielding plate 54 will be described later.

  In the present embodiment, the wind speed of the airflow from the blower unit 41 is changed according to the medium size (medium width) of the recording medium 12. 8 and 9 are schematic plan views of the printing unit for explaining the wind speed control according to the medium size. FIG. 8 illustrates wind speed control when the medium width of the recording medium 12 is narrow, and FIG. 9 illustrates wind speed control when the medium width of the recording medium 12 is wide.

  As shown in FIG. 8, the wind speed is lowered in the case of the recording medium 12 with a narrow medium width, while the wind speed is increased in the case of the recording medium 12 with a wide medium width. This is because a wind speed higher than the standard is required to blow the diffusion layer over the entire width of the recording medium 12 in the medium width direction Y (air blowing direction). The wind speed gradually decreases as the distance from the air blowing port 41a increases. However, when the necessary air speed is secured up to the end opposite to the depth direction parallel to the air blowing direction, the air speed at the air blowing port 41a is wide. It is necessary to raise it so much. For this reason, the rotational speed control of the fan motor 43 is performed so that the air speed at the air blowing port 41a is increased as the medium width of the recording medium 12 becomes wider so that the air flow having the necessary wind speed can be secured up to the front end of the recording medium 12 in the blowing direction. It is carried out. That is, in the case of the recording medium 12 having a wide medium width, the rotational speed of the fan motor 43 is increased, and in the case of the recording medium 12 having a narrow medium width, the rotational speed of the fan motor 43 is decreased. Control is performed to increase the rotation speed.

  FIG. 10 is a block diagram illustrating an electrical configuration of the printer 11. As shown in FIG. 10, the printer 11 includes a controller 70 that controls the entire printer. The controller 70 is electrically connected to a feeding motor 71, a driving motor 72, a lifting roller motor 73, a driving motor 74, and a winding motor 75 of the conveyance driving system. By driving these motors, feeding driving is performed. The shaft 23, the drive roller 26, the lifting roller 27, the drive roller 32, and the take-up drive shaft 36 are driven to rotate.

  The controller 70 also includes a carriage motor 76 for the scanning drive system, the recording head 21, a plurality of (three in this example) fan motors 43 for the blower drive system, a negative pressure generating motor 78 constituting a negative pressure generating device, and A linear motor 79 for driving the shielding plate is electrically connected. When the controller 70 drives and controls the carriage motor 76, the carriage 20 moves in the scanning direction X, and in the course of this movement, the recording head 21 is driven to eject ink droplets from the nozzles to perform a printing operation. Note that the recording head 21 has the same number of ejection drive elements as the number of nozzles corresponding to each nozzle. The ejection drive element is composed of, for example, a piezoelectric vibration element or an electrostatic drive element. When a voltage pulse having a predetermined voltage waveform is applied, the discharge drive element vibrates by an electrostrictive action or an electrostatic drive action, and ink drops are ejected from the nozzles by the vibration pressure. Discharge. Of course, the discharge driving element may be a heater that discharges ink droplets from the nozzles by heating the ink in the nozzle passage and utilizing the expansion of bubbles generated by boiling in the ink.

  Further, the controller 70 drives the fan motor 43 to start the air blowing of the air blowing unit 41 and controls the rotational speed of the fan motor 43 to control the wind speed of the air flow blown from the air blowing port 41a. Further, the controller 70 drives the negative pressure generating motor 78 to activate the negative pressure suction mechanism 42, and controls the rotational speed of the negative pressure generating motor 78 after the activation to draw the suction airflow drawn into the suction port 47. To control the flow rate. Further, the controller 70 controls the sliding drive of the shielding plate 54 by controlling the driving of the linear motor 79.

  The controller 70 is electrically connected to a heater 40 for heating the platen and a heater 80 for warm air. The controller 70 energizes the heater 40 to heat the platen 17, and energizes the heater 80 to blow warm air from the blower unit 41.

  The controller 70 also has a linear encoder 82 for detecting the position of the recording head 21 in the scanning direction X as an input system, and the rotation of one roller (for example, the relay roller 28 or the conversion roller 29) constituting the conveyance drive system. The encoder 83 and the paper width sensor 84 are electrically connected, and a detection signal is input from these.

  The controller 70 includes a computer 86 (microcomputer), motor drive circuits 87 to 92, 94 to 96, and heater drive circuits 97 and 98. The computer 86 includes a CPU 101 (central processing unit), a memory 102, a position counter 103, a transport counter 104, a counter 105, a position counter 106, and the like. The CPU 101 executes a control program stored in the memory 102 and drives and controls the motors 71 to 79 via the motor drive circuits 87 to 92 and 94 to 96. Further, the CPU 101 drives and controls the recording head 21 via the head driving circuit 93. Further, the CPU 101 controls energization of the heaters 40 and 80 via the heater drive circuits 97 and 98.

  Further, the CPU 101 inputs the A-phase and B-phase encoder pulses that are 90 degrees out of phase from the linear encoder 82, and checks whether the level of the B-phase is Hi or Low when the A-phase pulse rises or falls, for example. Thus, it is grasped whether the traveling direction of the recording head 21 is the positive direction away from the home position (origin position) or the negative direction toward the home position.

  Further, the CPU 101 resets the position counter 103 when it is detected that the recording head 21 is at the home position. The position counter 103 is incremented every time a pulse edge is input from the linear encoder 82 while the recording head 21 is moving in the positive direction, and the position is increased every time a pulse edge is input from the linear encoder 82 while the recording head 21 is moving in the negative direction. The counter 103 is decremented. Thus, the CPU 101 grasps the position (head position Xh) in the scanning direction X of the recording head 21 with the home position as the origin from the count value of the position counter 103.

  In addition, the CPU 101 increments the conveyance counter 104 every time a pulse edge is input from the encoder 83 to grasp the conveyance position of the recording medium 12 and monitors the conveyance position while predetermining the recording medium 12 for each printing. Drive control of the motors 73 to 75 when carrying the carry amount is performed. Control of the motors 71 to 73 when the recording medium is fed out is performed based on a detection signal from a medium detection sensor (not shown).

  Further, the CPU 101 counts the number of pulse edges of the A-phase / B-phase encoder pulses input per unit time from the linear encoder 82 by the counter 105, thereby moving the recording head 21 from the count value per unit time. The speed (head moving speed Vh) (that is, the carriage moving speed) is grasped.

Further, the CPU 101 counts the number of motor steps of the linear motor 79 by the position counter 106 so as to grasp the position of the shielding plate 54 from the count value.
In addition, print data is input to the controller 70 of the printer 11 from a host device (not shown) via the interface 107. The print data includes print condition information, control commands, and recording data (raster data). Based on these data, the CPU 101 performs various controls necessary for printing operations such as conveyance control, carriage control, and recording head control. Do. Note that command analysis related to print data, development processing of recording data, and the like may be performed by an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit).

  The CPU 101 analyzes the print data and obtains print condition information including a medium size (for example, continuous paper width) and a medium type (for example, plain paper, glossy paper, film, etc.) in addition to control commands.

  When the CPU 101 acquires the medium width of the recording medium 12 from the printing condition information, the CPU 101 controls the rotation speed of the fan motor 43 according to the medium width. In the case of the present embodiment, as shown in FIGS. 3 to 9, the fixed guide 49 of the guide device 37 is positioned at one end on the side where the blower unit 41 is arranged in the medium width direction Y of the printing area PA. The recording medium 12 is positioned in the medium width direction Y with the air outlet 41a side as a position reference. For this reason, the distance from the air blowing port 41a to the leading end of the recording medium 12 in the air blowing direction (also referred to as “necessary air blowing distance”) varies depending on the medium width. Further, since it is necessary to blow an air flow at a speed higher than the necessary wind speed from the air blowing port 41a to the front end of the recording medium 12 in the blowing direction, the fan is not used in the recording medium 12 having a wide medium width and a long necessary distance from the air blowing port 41a. Although the motor 43 is rotated at a high speed, the fan motor 43 is set to rotate at a low speed in the recording medium 12 having a narrow medium width that can shorten the necessary air blowing distance. Therefore, the rotational speed of the fan motor 43 is changed according to the medium size (medium width) of the recording medium 12.

  Specifically, the memory 102 stores table data TD shown in FIG. 11 in which the rotation speed of the fan motor 43 is set for each medium width. In the table data TD, fan motor rotational speeds V1, V2, V3, V4, and V5 are set corresponding to the medium width ranks W1, W2, W3, W4, and W5, respectively. The medium width rank indicates a range of the medium width. For example, when the medium width rank W2 is 150 to 200 mm, the recording medium 12 to which the medium width falls within the range belongs to the medium width rank W2. In the case of this medium width rank W2, the controller 70 drives and controls the fan motor 43 at the rotation speed V2. As a result, the air flow blown from the blower unit 41 is sprayed so as to appropriately spread over the entire area of the recording medium 12 in the medium width direction (the blowing direction depth direction), and the diffusion layer is applied from the recording surface of the recording medium 12 to the medium width direction. It can be removed over the entire Y range.

  Further, the memory 102 stores map data MD shown in FIG. 12 that is referred to when the slide position of the shielding plate 54 is controlled. In the graph of the map data MD shown in FIG. 12, the horizontal axis represents the air blocking time Ts after ink landing, and the vertical axis represents the fan motor rotational speed Vm. Based on the fan motor rotation speed Vm determined from the medium width with reference to the table data TD in FIG. 11, the post-ink landing wind shielding time Ts is obtained with reference to the map data MD. Here, the wind-insulating time Ts after ink landing is the elapsed time from the ink landing time required until the landed ink does not flow even if the air flow is blown at a wind speed determined from the fan motor rotation speed Vm at that time. This corresponds to the time during which the ink immediately after landing needs to be shielded by the shielding plate 54. The shielding length L obtained by multiplying the air blocking time Ts after ink landing by the head moving speed Vh is the size (width) in the scanning direction X of the ink flow area LA that needs to be shielded by the shielding plate 54.

  The graph shown in FIG. 12 shows a curve indicating a map of medium types “plain paper”, “glossy paper”, and “film”. For example, taking a film as an example, the area above the curve of the film is an “ink flow area” where ink flow occurs, and the area below this curve including the curve is an “ink rest area” where no ink flow occurs. It has become. This curve is a line in which the minimum time in the ink stationary region (elapsed time after ink landing that does not generate ink flow) determined from the fan motor rotation speed Vm can be selected as the wind-insulating time Ts after ink landing. Note that the curves in the graph of FIG. 12 are set so that a value at which ink flow does not occur reliably is selected in consideration of variations in wind speed, variations in ink drying speed, and the like.

  Also, as can be seen from the glossy paper curve shown in FIG. 12, the glossy paper requires a relatively short wind-insulating time Ts after ink landing compared to the film. Further, as can be seen from the curve of plain paper, in the case of plain paper, zero is selected as the wind shielding time Ts after ink landing regardless of the value of the fan motor rotation speed Vm. This is because, in the case of plain paper, the ink that has landed is immediately permeated and absorbed by the paper fiber, and no air flow is generated even if an air flow with a certain high wind speed is blown. On the other hand, the film has extremely low penetrability and the ink liquid remains on the surface after landing, so the solvent etc. evaporates and the volume of the liquid decreases or the liquid thickens to some extent. It is necessary to wait for an air flow having a wind speed determined from the fan motor rotation speed Vm at that time until no flow is generated. In this map data MD, only three types of media are shown, but in reality, a slightly larger number of types of media are set.

Next, the liquid flow prevention process executed by the CPU 101 will be described based on the flowchart shown in FIG.
First, in step S10, the medium size is acquired. In this example, the medium width is acquired based on the detection result of the paper width sensor 84.

  In step S20, the fan motor 43 is driven at a rotational speed corresponding to the medium size. That is, the CPU 101 refers to the table data TD in the memory 102 based on the medium width rank to which the medium size belongs, and acquires the fan motor rotational speed Vm, and uses the acquired instruction data corresponding to the acquired fan motor rotational speed Vm as the motor. The fan motor 43 is driven and controlled by giving a command to the drive circuit 94.

  In step S30, the medium type is acquired. In this example, the medium type is acquired from the print condition information included in the print data. For example, one of plain paper, glossy paper, and film is acquired as the medium type.

  In step S40, a wind blocking time Ts after ink landing (hereinafter, also simply referred to as “wind blocking time Ts after landing”) is obtained. That is, the CPU 101 refers to the map data MD in the memory 102 and acquires the post-landing wind shielding time Ts based on the medium type and the fan motor rotational speed Vm at that time. For example, as shown in FIG. 12, if the medium type is a film and the fan motor rotation speed Vm is “V4”, the post-landing wind shielding time Ts is acquired as “T4 (milliseconds)”.

  In the next step S50, the head moving speed Vh (that is, the carriage moving speed) is acquired. The CPU 101 uses the counter 105 to count the number of pulse edges of the A-phase / B-phase encoder pulses input from the linear encoder 82 per unit time, thereby grasping the head moving speed Vh from the count value per unit time.

  In step S60, the shielding length L is calculated. Here, the shielding length L corresponds to an extension length for extending the shielding plate 54 to the rear side in the traveling direction of the recording unit 18. Specifically, the shielding length L is the reference point of the position of the last nozzle row 21a in the print head traveling direction (more precisely, the landing position of the ink droplets ejected from the last nozzle row) among the plurality of nozzle rows 21a. (Origin), which corresponds to the distance from the reference point (origin) according to the head traveling direction to the rear end position of the ink flow area LA formed on the rear side in the traveling direction. The CPU 101 calculates this shielding length L by L = Vh × Ts.

  In step S70, the head moving direction is determined. That is, the CPU 101 checks whether the level of the other (B phase) pulse is Hi or Low when one (for example, A phase) pulse edge is detected among the A phase and B phase encoder pulses input from the linear encoder 82. Thus, the head moving direction (that is, the carriage moving direction) is grasped. If the head moving direction is the positive direction, the process proceeds to step S80, and if the head moving direction is the negative direction, the process proceeds to step S90.

  In step S80, the shielding plate 54 is extended in the negative direction by the shielding length L. That is, the CPU 101 grasps the current position of the shielding plate 54 from the count value of the position counter 106, and is necessary for the movement from the current position to the position advanced in the negative direction by the shielding length L from the reference point in the negative direction. The number of motor steps is calculated, the number of motor steps is commanded to the motor drive circuit 96, and the linear motor 79 is driven in the negative direction by a drive amount corresponding to the number of motor steps. As a result, the shielding plate 54 slides from the negative reference point to a position extending in the negative direction (rear side of the head traveling direction) by the shielding length L.

  On the other hand, if the head moving direction is the negative direction, the shielding plate 54 is extended in the positive direction by the shielding length L in step S90. That is, the CPU 101 grasps the current position of the shielding plate 54 from the count value of the position counter 106, and is necessary for the movement from the current position to the position advanced in the positive direction by the shielding length L from the reference point in the positive direction. The number of motor steps is calculated, the number of motor steps is commanded to the motor drive circuit 96, and the linear motor 79 is driven in the forward direction by a drive amount corresponding to the number of motor steps. As a result, the shielding plate 54 slides to a position extending from the reference point in the positive direction by the shielding length L in the positive direction (rear side in the head traveling direction).

  At this time, the head moving speed Vh decelerates as it approaches the reverse position (or stop position), but the linear motor 79 is driven and controlled based on the extension length L calculated from the decelerated head moving speed Vh. Then, the position of the shielding plate 54 is controlled following the deceleration of the recording unit 18 so that the extension length L is shortened as the head moving speed Vh decreases. This is the same in the acceleration process after the reversal of the recording unit 18, and the position of the shielding plate 54 is controlled so that the extension length L thereof becomes longer as the recording unit 18 is accelerated. As a result, even in the acceleration / deceleration area of the recording unit 18, it is possible to prevent the air flow to an area other than the ink flow area (ink stationary area) from being unnecessarily blocked.

As described above in detail, according to the first embodiment, the following effects can be obtained.
(1) A blower unit 41 having a blower port 41a extending along a print area PA (recording region) on both sides of the platen 17 in a direction orthogonal to the scanning direction X (conveyance direction), and the blower port 41a. A negative pressure suction mechanism 42 (suction unit) having a suction port 47 is disposed, and an air flow is blown onto the recording surface of the recording medium 12 so as to cross the medium width direction. Therefore, the diffusion layer formed on the upper surface of the ink recording surface can be blown off by the air flow to promote ink evaporation, and as a result, the ink can be efficiently dried. The recording unit 18 is provided with a shielding mechanism 53, and the air flow to the ink flow area LA that is formed on the rear side in the traveling direction of the recording unit 18 can be shielded by the shielding plate 54. For this reason, even if an air flow is blown at a relatively high wind speed, it is possible to prevent the ink immediately after landing from flowing, and to prevent a decrease in print quality due to the ink flow.

  (2) Since the shielding plate 54 is slidably provided and the sliding position of the shielding plate 54 is adjusted according to the size of the ink flow area LA corresponding to the medium type, the area other than the ink flow area LA can be adjusted. Unnecessary shielding of the airflow can be avoided.

  (3) Since the lower end of the shielding plate 54 extends below the upper surface of the platen 17, it is possible to effectively suppress leakage of the airflow from the blower unit 41 onto the platen 17. it can. For example, when the shielding plate is positioned near the upper surface of the platen 17 or the printing area PA, the air flow passing through the gap between the shielding plate and the platen 17 or the gap between the shielding plate and the recording medium 12. However, such a problem can be avoided. In addition, since it is possible to effectively suppress the air flow that has passed through the gap from flowing through the gap between the wind-proof member 51 and the recording medium 12 to the lower region of the recording head 21, the air flow of the ink droplets ejected from the nozzles can be effectively suppressed. It is also possible to avoid flying bends caused by, and thickening and drying of ink in the nozzles caused by airflow.

  (4) A configuration in which the shielding mechanism 53 is attached to the recording unit 18 is adopted. For this reason, the movement stroke of the shielding board 54 can be shortened and the shielding mechanism 53 can be comprised comparatively compactly. Further, since the shielding plate 54 can accurately follow the recording unit 18 without positional deviation as compared with the configuration in which the shielding plate is separate from the recording unit 18, for example, the shielding plate becomes a problem when the shielding plate has a separate configuration. However, it is easy to avoid a situation in which the recording unit 18 cannot be tracked and the ink flow area LA cannot be reliably blocked.

  (5) Since the windproof member 51 is provided, the airflow received from the front side in the traveling direction when the recording unit 18 moves can be windproof. Therefore, it is possible to avoid flight bending due to the air flow of the ink droplets ejected from the nozzles, and thickening and drying of the ink in the nozzles due to the air flow.

  (6) The fan motor 43 is controlled to a rotational speed Vm corresponding to the medium width (medium size) of the recording medium 12, and when the medium width is wide, the rotational speed Vm is increased to increase the wind speed of the air flow. The air blowing control is adopted in which the rotational speed Vm is lowered to lower the wind speed of the air flow when the speed is short. Therefore, the air flow can be blown at the necessary wind speed over the entire width of the medium, the diffusion layer is removed over the entire width of the medium, and the evaporation of the solvent and the dispersion medium (water, etc.) in the ink is promoted. The drying of the ink can be promoted uniformly throughout the entire area.

  (7) For example, in the case of a wide medium width, if an air flow is to be blown at a relatively high wind speed over the entire width direction, it is necessary to considerably increase the wind speed near the air blowing port. The ink flow is worried. However, in this embodiment, since the air flow to the ink flow area LA is shielded by the above-described shielding mechanism 53, there is no fear that the ink flow occurs. Therefore, the air flow can be blown at a high wind speed without worrying about the ink flow. As a result, the drying of the ink can be effectively promoted even with the recording medium 12 such as a film having little ink permeability.

  (8) Further, when the medium width is narrow, the ink flow area LA can be made relatively narrow by relatively reducing the wind speed (rotational speed Vm) of the air flow AF. For this reason, the area | region to be shielded can be reduced as much as possible, and the solvent etc. of an ink can be dried efficiently.

  (9) The blowing direction was set to a direction parallel to the nozzle row direction. For this reason, the area where the airflow is blocked by the recording unit 18 can be narrowed, and the area where the airflow is actually blown in the blowing area can be secured relatively wide. Therefore, the diffusion layer can be blown out over a wider range, and the ink can be efficiently dried by promoting the evaporation of the solvent or the like in the ink. Further, the laminar flow of the air flow can be made difficult to be disturbed by the recording unit 18 that moves across the air flow. For example, when the laminar flow is disturbed by the recording unit 18 and turbulent flow is generated, for example, it is feared that air due to the turbulent flow flows into the back side of the shielding plate 54 and induces ink flow, but it is easy to avoid the occurrence of turbulent flow. Therefore, there is no worry that this kind of ink flow occurs.

(Second embodiment)
The second embodiment is an example applied to a lateral scan type printer. In the case of this embodiment, the liquid flow suppressing means (shielding means) is different from the first embodiment. Since the configuration of the printer 11 is the same as that of the first embodiment, only different components will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 14 is a schematic plan view of a printer as a recording apparatus, and FIG. 15 is a schematic front view partially broken.

  As shown in FIG. 14, the blower unit 111 is arranged along the print area PA on one side (lower side in FIG. 14) of both sides in the width direction of the platen 17. The air blowing port 111 a is set at a height position and a direction in which an air flow substantially perpendicular to the scanning direction X can be generated along the surface of the recording medium 12.

  Between the blower unit 111 and the platen 17, a shielding mechanism 112 capable of shielding the air flow from the blower port 111a is provided. The shielding mechanism 112 of this example includes a plurality of shutters 113 capable of shielding the air flow from the air outlet 111a and a plurality of actuators 114 that individually drive the shutters 113 to open and close.

  As shown in FIGS. 14 and 15, the shutter 113 is rotatably attached to the air outlet side tip of the housing 115 of the air blowing unit 111. As shown in FIG. 15, the shutter 113 has a substantially L shape in a side view, and has a lever portion 113 a that extends from the rotation center on the base end side toward the outside of the housing 115. The shutter 113 is urged in the opening direction (clockwise in FIG. 15) by urging means (for example, a spring) (not shown). The actuator 114 is disposed on the housing 115, and a retractable drive shaft 114a abuts on the lever portion 113a. When the actuator 114 is driven in a direction to extend the drive shaft 114a, the drive shaft 114a pushes the lever portion 113a against the urging force of the urging means, the shutter 113 is closed, and the actuator 114 retracts the drive shaft 114a. When driven, the drive shaft 114a is retracted and the shutter 113 is opened by the restoring force of the urging means. Thus, each shutter 113 is individually opened / closed by driving the corresponding actuator 114. A plurality of fans 44 and fan motors 43 similar to those in the first embodiment are built in the housing 115 of the blower unit 111. Each actuator 114 is driven and controlled by the controller 70 similar to the first embodiment.

  The recording unit 18 is provided with a U-shaped windproof member 51 on the side wall of the carriage 20 in a plan view. The wind-proof member 51 has a wind-proof plate 51a facing the air outlet 111a, while the lower ends of the wind-proof side plates 51b located on both sides in the scanning direction X of the recording unit 18 are located slightly above the top surface of the recording medium 12. Is extended downward so that its lower end is positioned below the upper surface of the platen 17, and the wind-proof member 51 having this wind-proof plate portion 51 a can effectively prevent the inflow of airflow into the region directly below the recording head 21. It is like that.

  The CPU 101 in the controller 70 grasps the position (head position) of the recording unit 18 from the count value of the position counter 103. The CPU 101 refers to the table data TD of FIG. 11 stored in the memory 102, obtains the fan motor rotational speed Vm corresponding to the medium width at that time, and drives and controls the fan motor 43 at the rotational speed Vm. An air flow is blown from the blower unit 111 at a wind speed corresponding to the medium width. Further, the CPU 101 refers to the map data MD in FIG. 12 and obtains a post-ink landing wind shielding time Ts corresponding to the fan motor rotational speed Vm at that time. Then, the CPU 101 obtains a shielding length L (= Vh × Ts) from the head moving speed Vh and the after-ink landing wind shielding time Ts.

  In the shutter 113, a wind shielding sharing range is individually determined in an air blowing area from the air blowing port 111a (in this example, substantially equal to the printing area PA). The CPU 101 calculates the wind shielding start position Xstart (= Xh−D1) from the head position Xh when the head moving direction is positive, and the wind shielding start position Xstart (= Xh + D1) from the head position Xh when the head moving direction is negative. ) Is calculated. Here, D1 is a constant for achieving the closing timing of the shutter 113 with respect to the head position Xh. Further, the CPU 101 obtains the position coordinate Xo of the reference point in the first embodiment from the head position Xh according to the head movement direction at that time, and when the head movement direction is the positive direction, the negative point reference point coordinate Xo The wind shielding stop position Xstop (= Xo−L) is calculated from the shielding length L. When the head movement direction is negative, the wind shielding stop position Xstop (= Xo + L) is calculated from the coordinate Xo of the reference point in the positive direction and the shielding length L. ) (However, the coordinate Xo of the reference point is different between the positive direction and the negative direction). Note that the wind shield start position Xstart and the wind shield stop position Xstop are calculated as values that can open and close the shutter 113 at a timing when the ink flow area LA is reliably shielded.

  The CPU 101 monitors the coordinates of the wind shield start position Xstart that changes as the recording unit 18 moves, and when the wind shield start position Xstart sequentially enters each wind shield share range corresponding to each shutter 113, the wind shield share range. At the timing of entering, the actuator 114 corresponding to the shutter 113 that shares the wind shield sharing range is driven in the shutter closing direction. As a result, the corresponding shutters 113 are sequentially closed at a timing slightly before the ink flow area LA formed on the rear side in the traveling direction of the recording unit 18 reaches the wind shield sharing range of each shutter 113. Further, the CPU 101 drives the actuator 114 corresponding to the shutter 113 that shares the wind shield sharing range in the shutter opening direction at the timing when the wind shield stop position Xstop comes out of the wind shield sharing range. As a result, the corresponding shutters 113 are sequentially opened at the timing when the ink flow area LA has passed the wind shield sharing range.

  Thus, the corresponding shutter 113 is sequentially closed at a timing slightly before the ink flow area LA formed on the rear side in the traveling direction of the recording unit 18 reaches the wind shield sharing range of each shutter 113, and the ink flow area LA is wind shield sharing. By sequentially opening the corresponding shutter 113 at the timing when the range is passed, the air flow to the ink flow area LA is blocked by the closed shutter 113. In the acceleration / deceleration process near the reversal position of the recording unit 18, the shielding length L changes according to the speed change of the head moving speed Vh, and the opening / closing timing of the shutter 113 is controlled according to the change of the shielding length L. Is done. For this reason, even in the acceleration / deceleration process of the recording unit 18, it is possible to avoid unnecessary shielding of the area other than the ink flow area LA from the air flow.

  Therefore, according to the second embodiment, although the configuration of the shielding mechanism is different from that of the first embodiment, the shielding mechanism 112 can achieve the same effects as the first embodiment, such as the suppression of ink flow. It is done. For example, since the speed of the fan motor 43 is controlled at a rotational speed Vm corresponding to the medium width, an air flow can be blown at a necessary wind speed over the entire width direction of the recording medium 12, and evaporation of the ink solvent or the like can be prevented. It is possible to efficiently perform over the entire direction, and to prevent uneven drying of the ink in the medium width direction.

(Third embodiment)
Next, the structure of 3rd embodiment is demonstrated based on FIG. This embodiment is different from the first and second embodiments in the liquid flow suppressing means. The shielding means constituting the liquid flow suppressing means is provided separately from the recording unit 18 as in the second embodiment, except that the shielding mechanism is self-propelled.

  FIG. 16 is a schematic plan view of the printing unit. As shown in FIG. 16, the shielding mechanism 121 includes a guide rail 122 laid between the blower unit 41 and the platen 17, and a plate-shaped shielding body 123 that moves on the guide rail 122. The shield 123 is transmitted with power for traveling through a power transmission mechanism (not shown) using the electric motor 124 as a power source, and can reciprocate along the guide rail 122 over a range that can cover the printing area PA. ing. The electric motor 124 is driven and controlled by a controller 70 (see FIG. 10) similar to that described in the first embodiment.

  The CPU 101 in the controller 70 grasps the head position Xh from the count value of the position counter 103. The CPU 101 refers to the table data TD of FIG. 11 stored in the memory 102, obtains the fan motor rotational speed Vm corresponding to the medium width at that time, and drives and controls the fan motor 43 at the rotational speed Vm. For this reason, the airflow of the wind speed according to the medium width is sprayed along the recording surface of the recording medium 12 from the ventilation opening 41a. Further, the CPU 101 refers to the map data MD in FIG. 12 and obtains a post-ink landing wind shielding time Ts corresponding to the fan motor rotational speed Vm at that time. Then, the CPU 101 obtains a shielding length L (= Vh × Ts) from the head moving speed Vh and the after-ink landing wind shielding time Ts.

  The CPU 101 calculates the position coordinates Xo of the reference point corresponding to the head movement direction from the head position Xh. That is, when the head movement direction is positive, the negative reference point coordinate Xo = Xh + D1 is calculated, and when the head movement direction is negative, the positive reference point coordinate Xo = Xh-D1 is calculated. When the head moving direction is the positive direction, the electric motor 124 is driven and controlled so that the range of the shielding length L can be shielded from the coordinate Xo of the reference point in the negative direction in the negative direction (rear side of the head traveling direction). The position of the body 123 is controlled. Further, when the head moving direction is a negative direction, the electric motor 124 is driven and controlled so that the range of the shielding length L can be shielded from the coordinate Xo of the reference point in the positive direction in the positive direction (rear side of the head traveling direction). The position of the body 123 is controlled.

  Thus, when the recording unit 18 reciprocates in the scanning direction X during printing, the shield 123 moves so as to follow this, and at this time, the shield 123 extends to the rear side in the head advancing direction with respect to the recording head 21. By following only after a delay, the shield 123 shields the ink flow area LA formed on the rear side in the head traveling direction from the air flow AF. At this time, in the acceleration / deceleration area of the recording unit 18, the head moving speed Vh changes and the extension length L changes, and the delay amount of the shield 123 with respect to the recording head 21 changes according to the changed extension length L. . Therefore, unnecessary shielding of the air flow by the shield 123 is avoided even in the acceleration / deceleration region of the recording unit 18. Note that the recording unit 18 is provided with the same windproof member 51 as in the second embodiment, and the windproof member 51 prevents the inflow of the airflow AF to the region immediately below the recording head 21.

(Fourth embodiment)
Next, a fourth embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. This embodiment is an example applied to a line printer. FIG. 17 is a schematic side view of a line printer. FIG. 18 is a schematic plan view of the printing unit for explaining the air blowing control when the medium width is narrow, and FIG. 19 is a schematic plan view of the printing unit for explaining the air blowing control when the medium width is wide.

  As shown in FIG. 17, the line printer 131 includes a medium supply unit 13, a medium discharge unit 15, and a printing unit 132. The medium supply unit 13 and the medium discharge unit 15 have the same configuration as that of the lateral scan type printer 11 in the first embodiment. The printing unit 132 has basically the same configuration, but only the configuration of the recording unit is different because the line recording method is adopted. The line recording type recording unit 133 is arranged at a predetermined recording position in the scanning direction X during printing, and prints by ejecting ink droplets from the nozzles of the recording head 21 to the recording medium 12 conveyed at a constant speed. Apply. The recording head 21 is not limited to the configuration in which the nozzle row 21a extends over the entire area of the print area PA in the medium width direction. For example, the recording head 21 can be a multi-unit having a plurality of unit heads arranged in a staggered pattern along the medium width direction. A head type can also be used. Furthermore, in this example, the recording unit 133 can be moved to the maintenance device 22, but the recording unit 133 may be fixed on the base 16a. Further, the lifting roller 27 of this example moves up and down so as to eliminate slack based on the difference between the feeding speed of the recording medium 12 from the roll 24 and the conveying speed of the recording medium 12 on the platen 17.

  As shown in FIG. 18, the blower unit 135 is disposed along the printing area PA on the outer side in the width direction of the platen 17, and the negative pressure suction mechanism 136 is disposed at a position facing this with the platen 17 interposed therebetween. The blower unit 135 and the negative pressure suction mechanism 136 have the same configuration as that of the first embodiment. However, in the case of the line recording method, the portion (printing surface) on which the recording head 21 performs printing is downstream in the transport direction. Therefore, the air blowing port 135a and the suction port 136a are opposed to each other across the area on the downstream side in the transport direction.

  In addition, a windproof member 137 is provided in the recording unit 18 so as to avoid the inflow of the air flow AF to the region immediately below the recording head 21. Further, a shielding mechanism 53 similar to that of the first embodiment is provided on the wall surface of the windbreak member 137 facing the air blowing port 135a. That is, the shielding plate 54 is attached to the recording unit 133 via the slide mechanism 55 so as to be reciprocally movable in a direction parallel to the transport direction.

  Further, the electrical configuration of the line printer 131 is basically the same as that of the lateral scan type printer 11 in the first embodiment except for the difference in electrical configuration due to the difference in the recording method. For example, the configuration is basically the same except that the carriage motor, which was a lateral scan type, is eliminated.

  The CPU 101 in the controller 70 executes the liquid flow suppression process shown in the flowchart in FIG. The CPU 101 refers to the table data TD in FIG. 11 based on the medium width rank determined from the medium size (medium width) detected by the paper width sensor 84, and obtains the fan motor rotation speed Vm corresponding to the medium width rank W. Then, the fan motor 43 is driven at the acquired rotation speed Vm. As a result, as shown in FIG. 18, when the medium width of the recording medium 12 (the width in the blowing direction) is narrow, the fan motor 43 is driven at a low rotational speed Vm (for example, V1). A flow AF is sprayed along the recording surface of the recording medium 12. On the other hand, when the medium width of the recording medium 12 is wide as shown in FIG. 19, the fan motor 43 is driven at a high rotational speed Vm (for example, V5), and an air flow AF with a high wind speed is generated from the blower unit 135. Sprayed along the recording surface.

  Further, the CPU 101 acquires the medium type, and obtains the post-ink landing wind shielding time Ts according to the medium type and the fan motor rotation speed Vm with reference to the map data MD. Then, the shielding length L (= Vh × Ts) is obtained from the head moving speed Vh and the post-landing wind shielding time Ts.

  Then, the CPU 101 determines the head moving direction. If the head moving direction is the positive direction, the shielding plate 54 is extended in the negative direction by the shielding length L. That is, the CPU 101 grasps the current position of the shielding plate 54 from the count value of the position counter 106, and is necessary for the movement from the current position to the position advanced in the negative direction by the shielding length L from the reference point in the negative direction. The number of motor steps is calculated, the number of motor steps is commanded to the motor drive circuit 96, and the linear motor 79 is driven in the negative direction by a drive amount corresponding to the number of motor steps. As a result, the shielding plate 54 slides from the negative reference point to a position extending in the negative direction (rear side of the head traveling direction) by the shielding length L.

  On the other hand, when the head moving direction is the negative direction, the shielding plate 54 is extended by the shielding length L in the positive direction. That is, the CPU 101 grasps the current position of the shielding plate 54 from the count value of the position counter 106, and is necessary for the movement from the current position to the position advanced in the positive direction by the shielding length L from the reference point in the positive direction. The number of motor steps is calculated, the number of motor steps is commanded to the motor drive circuit 96, and the linear motor 79 is driven in the forward direction by a drive amount corresponding to the number of motor steps. As a result, the shielding plate 54 slides to a position extending from the reference point in the positive direction by the shielding length L in the positive direction (rear side in the head traveling direction).

  Thus, also in the line printer 131, an air flow AF (laminar flow) from the air blowing port 135a of the air blowing unit 135 to the suction port 136a of the negative pressure suction mechanism 136 is generated, and no diffusion layer is formed on the recording surface after ink landing. . For this reason, evaporation of the solvent of the ink on the recording surface is promoted.

  When the medium width is narrow as shown in FIG. 18, even if the air flow AF has a low wind speed, the necessary wind speed is required until the recording medium 12 reaches the leading end in the blowing direction (that is, over the entire area in the medium width direction). Can be secured. Further, as shown in FIG. 19, when the medium width is wide, an air flow AF with a high wind speed is generated. Therefore, even if the medium width is wide, the recording medium 12 reaches the leading end in the blowing direction (that is, the entire area in the medium width direction). The necessary wind speed can be secured. Therefore, the ink drying unevenness hardly occurs in the medium width direction in the recording medium 12 having any medium width.

  Further, when the medium width is narrow, the wind speed of the air flow AF (that is, the fan motor rotation speed Vm) is relatively lowered, so that the air flow received by the ink near the air blowing port 135a becomes relatively weak, and the ink flow area LA. Can be made relatively narrow. For this reason, the airflow shielding area of the shielding plate 54 can be reduced as much as possible to effectively promote the evaporation of the ink solvent and the like.

  Further, when the medium width is wide, the wind speed of the air flow AF (that is, the fan motor rotation speed Vm) is relatively high, so that the air flow received by the ink near the air blowing port 135a is relatively strong, but the ink flow region. Since the LA becomes relatively wide and the airflow shielding area by the shielding plate 54 relatively increases, the ink flow can be reliably avoided. In addition, in this line printer 131, the same operational effects as in the first embodiment can be obtained.

(Fifth embodiment)
Next, a fifth embodiment will be described. This embodiment is an example applied to a serial printer. FIG. 20 is a schematic front view of a serial printer, and FIG. 21 is a schematic side view partially broken.

  As shown in FIGS. 20 and 21, in a serial recording type ink jet printer (hereinafter referred to as a serial printer 141) as a recording apparatus, a carriage 143 is attached to a guide shaft 142 installed in a main body case in the main scanning direction. Guided in the left-right direction in FIG. An endless timing belt 144 to which the carriage 143 is fixed on the back side is wound around a pair of pulleys 145 and 146, and a carriage motor (hereinafter referred to as “CR motor 147”) in which one pulley 145 and a drive shaft are connected. ) Is driven forward / reversely, the carriage 143 reciprocates in the main scanning direction X1.

  A recording head 148 that ejects ink is provided below the carriage 143. A platen 149 that defines the distance between the recording head 148 and the recording medium 12 is disposed at a lower position facing the recording head 148. The carriage 143 is connected to each ink cartridge (not shown) through a tube, and the recording head 148 ejects (discharges) each color ink supplied from each ink cartridge from each nozzle constituting the nozzle row for each color. A heater 150 is provided on the back surface of the platen 149. Further, the nozzle row direction of the recording head 148 is orthogonal to the main scanning direction X1. The recording head 148 constitutes a recording unit.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 21, a paper feed motor (not shown) is driven to rotate the paper feed roller 151 and the paper discharge roller 152, so that the recording medium 12 is conveyed in the sub-scanning direction Y1. . Then, a printing operation in which ink is ejected from the nozzles of the recording head 148 toward the recording medium 12 while the carriage 143 is reciprocated in the main scanning direction X1, and the recording medium 12 is conveyed by a predetermined conveyance amount in the sub-scanning direction Y1. By repeating the paper feeding operation almost alternately, printing of characters, images, and the like is performed on the recording medium 12.

  In the serial printer 141, a linear encoder 153 that outputs a number of pulses proportional to the moving distance of the carriage 143 is disposed so as to extend along the guide shaft 142, and the carriage obtained by using the output pulse of the linear encoder 153. Based on the moving position, moving speed, and moving direction of 143, speed control and position control of the carriage 143 are performed. Further, an ejection timing signal that determines the timing of ejecting ink from the nozzles of the recording head 148 based on the output pulse of the linear encoder 153 is generated. Note that a maintenance device 22 that performs nozzle cleaning of the recording head 148 and the like is disposed immediately below the carriage 143 when it is located at the home position.

  In the case of this example, the recording medium 12 shown in FIG. 20 has the maximum width, and the range equal to the width area of the recording medium 12 is the printing area. The linear encoder 153 includes a code plate 153a having a slit and a sensor 153b, and an encoder pulse is output from the sensor 153b.

  As shown in FIG. 21, the airflow AF is blown toward the recording surface of the recording medium 12 at the downstream position in the transport direction and the upstream position in the transport direction with the movement path of the carriage 143 sandwiched in the transport direction Y1. A unit 155 and a negative pressure suction mechanism 156 are respectively disposed. The air blowing port 155 a is set at a height slightly above the upper surface of the platen 149, and the suction port 156 a that opens at the tip of the guide portion 157 extending from the negative pressure suction mechanism 156 faces the upper surface of the recording medium 12. Further, the tube portion 156b extending from the side surface of the negative pressure suction mechanism 156 is connected to a negative pressure generator (not shown). When the fan motor 43 is driven to rotate, an air flow AF from the air blowing port 155 a to the suction port 156 a is blown along the recording surface of the recording medium 12. A windproof member 158 having a U-shape in plan view is attached to the carriage 143 so as to surround the recording head 148 on both sides orthogonal to the main scanning direction X1 and on the side facing the air blowing port 155a. The airflow AF does not flow into the region immediately below

  As shown in FIGS. 20 and 21, the carriage 143 is provided with a shielding mechanism 53 similar to that of the first embodiment on the surface facing the air blowing port 155 a. That is, the shielding plate 54 is attached to the carriage 143 through the slide mechanism 55 so as to be reciprocally movable in the main scanning direction X1. Further, the lower end of the shielding plate 54 extends downward from the upper surface of the platen 149. The serial printer 141 also includes a controller 70 similar to that described in the first embodiment. However, in this embodiment, the rotational speed of the fan motor 43 is set to be constant. This is because the blowing direction from the blowing port 155a is set not in the width direction of the recording medium 12 but in the direction parallel to the transport direction Y1. For this reason, the CPU 101 in the controller 70 does not perform step S10 in the flowchart shown in FIG. 13 and drives the fan motor 43 at a constant rotational speed in step S20 regardless of the medium width. Then, the airflow AF is blown in the direction (nozzle row direction) intersecting the main scanning direction X1 along the recording surface of the recording medium 12 over the entire width of the printing area.

  Further, the CPU 101 executes the processing of steps S30 to S90 in FIG. 13, and performs slide control of the shielding plate 54 during printing. Therefore, when the carriage 143 reciprocates in the main scanning direction X1 during printing, the shielding plate 54 slides backward in the head moving direction with respect to the recording head 148, and the ink flow area LA immediately after ink landing is changed from the air flow AF. Shield. As a result, the air flow AF is sprayed over the entire width of the printing area, so that the diffusion layer is effectively removed, and evaporation of the ink solvent after landing is promoted.

The said embodiment is not limited above, It can also change into the following aspects.
(Modification 1) The size of the liquid flow area (ink flow area LA) may be adjusted according to information other than the type (material) of the target. For example, the size of the liquid flow region may be adjusted according to the type of liquid (ink), or the size of the liquid flow region may be adjusted according to a combination of the target type and the liquid type.

  (Modification 2) In the first, fourth and fifth embodiments, the shielding plate may be fixed to the recording unit. For example, the shielding plate is fixed in a state where it is extended rearward in the traveling direction with respect to the recording head so as to ensure the longest possible extension length L. For example, in the lateral scan type printer 11 and the serial printer 141, the shielding plate is fixed in a state of extending on both sides in the scanning direction of the recording head, and in the line printer 131, the shielding plate is extended downstream in the conveyance direction of the recording head. Fix in the state where Even in such a configuration in which the shielding plate is fixed to the recording unit, the ink flow area LA can be shielded from the air flow, so that it is possible to avoid a decrease in print quality due to the ink flow due to the air flow.

  (Modification 3) The shielding mechanism may be a multi-stage slide system. When employing a multi-stage slide system, for example, a 2-stage or 3-stage slide system is preferred. If the shield plate is a one-stage slide type as in the first embodiment, a part of the shield plate may extend forward in the traveling direction of the recording head when the recording medium has a narrow ink flow area. In this case, the air flow is unnecessarily shielded. However, with this multi-stage slide system, the extension length of the shielding plate to the rear side in the traveling direction of the recording head can be adjusted without accompanying a part of the shielding plate to the front side in the head traveling direction. Unnecessary shielding of the air flow by the shielding plate can be avoided, and ink drying can be further promoted.

(Modification 4) In the line printer or the serial printer, the shielding mechanism of the second embodiment or the third embodiment may be adopted.
(Modification 5) In the first to fourth embodiments, the wind speed control for controlling the fan motor rotation speed Vm according to the medium width may be abolished.

  (Modification 6) The negative pressure suction mechanism may be eliminated. If the wind speed from the air outlet is increased, the necessary air speed can be secured up to the tip of the depth in the air blowing direction, and if there are no obstacles that the airflow collides on the opposite side of the air outlet and the platen, Laminar airflow is ensured.

  (Modification 7) The wind speed control is not limited to being performed according to the medium width. Further, wind speed control may be performed according to the medium type. You may employ | adopt the wind speed control which makes a wind speed high the recording medium of a material with a low liquid osmosis | permeability absorption. For example, the fan motor rotation speed Vm is controlled according to the medium type, or the fan motor rotation speed Vm is controlled according to both the medium width and the medium type. In the latter case, the flow rate of the airflow from the blowing means is lowered as the medium type has a narrower medium width and a lower liquid permeation absorbability. With this configuration, it is possible to effectively promote the drying of the liquid on the recording surface even when a recording medium of a medium type having low liquid permeation absorbability is used.

  (Modification 8) The blowing direction is not limited to the nozzle row direction. For example, a direction that intersects the nozzle row direction, such as a direction orthogonal to the nozzle row direction, may be set as the air blowing direction. If an air stream is blown along the recording surface of the recording medium, the diffusion layer can be efficiently removed. For example, in a line recording type recording apparatus (line printer or the like), air may be blown toward the upstream side from a position downstream in the recording medium conveyance direction with respect to the recording head.

  (Modification 9) Although the air blowing direction from the air blowing port is set along the recording surface of the recording medium, the present invention is not limited to this. It is only necessary to finally blow an air flow along the recording surface of the recording medium. For example, the air flow may be blown onto the guide plate from the air blowing port, and the air flow guided by the guide plate may flow along the recording surface of the recording medium. In this case, the guide plate constitutes a part of the air blowing means.

  (Modification 10) When the air blowing means is fixedly arranged along the recording area, it is not always necessary to arrange the air blowing means over the entire recording area. For example, the air blowing means may be arranged only in an area where it is necessary to blow an air flow to promote drying of the liquid on the recording surface in the recording area. In short, it suffices if air blowing means is arranged along a part of the circumference of the recording area so that air can be blown to the recording area.

  (Modification 11) The gas blown along the recording surface of the recording medium is not limited to air. Other gases such as nitrogen, helium, and oxygen may be used. In this case, as the gas, a gas suitable for the purpose can be appropriately selected according to the purpose other than the promotion of drying such as oxidation prevention of the recording dots on the recording surface. Further, it may be a mixed gas obtained by mixing a plurality of gas elements at a predetermined ratio, or a compound gas (such as carbon dioxide).

(Modification 12) It is also possible to employ a configuration in which the rotation of some of the fans that perform air blowing to the area immediately after the liquid adhesion is stopped in order to suppress the air blowing to the area immediately after the liquid adhesion among the plurality of fan motors.
(Modification 13) The present invention is not limited to the ink jet recording apparatus (liquid ejecting apparatus). For example, it may be a recording apparatus having a recording means for attaching a liquid to a target with a dispenser, or a recording apparatus having a recording means for applying a liquid to a target. In short, any recording apparatus having recording means for performing recording by attaching a liquid such as ink to a target is sufficient.

  (Modification 14) The recording medium 12 as a target is not limited to a continuous recording medium such as continuous paper. A cut recording medium such as a cut sheet (cut sheet) may be used. Further, the recording medium 12 is not limited to paper and film, and may be a disc such as a CD or a DVD or a cloth.

  (Modification 15) A configuration in which the extension length L of the shielding plate changes depending on the type of ink can also be adopted. For example, in an inkjet recording apparatus for industrial production, various inks such as an ink containing a metal powder for wiring and an ink containing a pixel material are used as a liquid to be ejected (liquid material). The ink drying performance after landing is affected by the ink type. For this reason, map data as shown in FIG. 12 is prepared for each ink type. For example, even if the recording medium is the same, the penetrability of the ink into the recording medium differs depending on the wettability of the ink with respect to the recording medium, and the ink having poor wettability compared to the ink with good wettability according to the wettability of the ink used Is set so that the extension length L becomes longer.

  (Modification 16) In the above-described embodiment, the recording apparatus is embodied as an ink jet printer. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and fluid other than ink (liquid or functional material particles are dispersed or mixed in the liquid). It is also possible to embody the present invention in a serial type liquid discharge device that discharges a liquid, a fluid such as a gel, or a solid that can be discharged as a fluid. For example, a liquid material ejecting apparatus that ejects a liquid material in the form of dispersed or dissolved materials such as electrode materials and color materials (pixel materials) used for manufacturing liquid crystal displays, EL (electroluminescence) displays, and surface-emitting displays. Further, it may be a liquid ejecting apparatus for ejecting a bio-organic material used for biochip manufacturing, or a liquid ejecting apparatus for ejecting a liquid as a sample used as a precision pipette. In addition, a transparent resin liquid such as UV curable resin is used to form a liquid ejection device that ejects lubricating oil pinpoint to precision machines such as watches and cameras, and micro hemispherical lenses (optical lenses) used in optical communication elements. A liquid ejecting apparatus for ejecting a liquid on the substrate, a liquid ejecting apparatus for ejecting an etching solution such as acid or alkali to etch the substrate, and a liquid ejecting apparatus for ejecting a fluid such as a gel (eg, physical gel). There may be. The present invention can be applied to any one of these liquid ejection devices.

The technical idea grasped from the embodiment and each modification will be described below.
(1) Time acquisition means for obtaining a post-liquid landing elapsed time during which the liquid after landing on the target can flow by an air flow, speed detection means for detecting a relative movement speed between the recording means and the target, and the liquid landing An area size obtaining unit that obtains an area size in the relative movement direction of the liquid flow area from a post-elapsed time and the relative movement speed is further provided, and the control unit is configured to block the shielding within a range according to the area size. The recording apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the driving unit is controlled in accordance with the region size so that a body can shield an airflow.

  (2) The recording means has a nozzle row comprising a plurality of nozzles for discharging liquid to adhere to the target, and the air blowing means is set so that the air blowing direction is substantially parallel to the nozzle row direction of the recording means. The recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the recording apparatus is a recording apparatus.

  (3) A recording method in a recording apparatus comprising recording means for attaching a liquid to a target for recording, and moving means for moving the recording means and the target relative to each other, the recording means placing the target on the target A blowing step of sending an air flow to the recording surface of the target to promote drying of the adhered liquid, and a region immediately after the liquid deposition that is formed on the rear side of the recording means relative to the recording medium in the blowing area of the blowing means. A step of acquiring a region width of a liquid flow region in which liquid can flow by an air flow, and a control step of controlling an area in which the liquid flow suppression unit suppresses the air flow from the blowing unit according to the region width of the liquid flow region And a recording method in a recording apparatus.

FIG. 2 is a schematic side view of the printer according to the first embodiment. Similarly, a schematic plan view of the printer. The model perspective view of a printing part. FIG. (A), (b) The model side view explaining operation | movement of a shielding mechanism. The schematic plan view explaining operation | movement of a shielding mechanism. The schematic plan view explaining operation | movement of a shielding mechanism. FIG. 4 is a schematic plan view of a printing unit for explaining wind speed control when the medium width is narrow. The schematic plan view of the printing part for demonstrating the wind speed control in case a medium width is wide. FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating an electrical configuration of the printer. The table data figure in which the fan motor rotational speed according to the medium width was set. FIG. 6 is a map data diagram in which a wind shielding time after ink landing is set according to a medium type and a fan motor rotation speed. The flowchart which shows a liquid flow prevention process. The schematic plan view which shows the printing part of the printer in 2nd embodiment. The model front view in which the printing part was also partially broken. The schematic plan view which shows the printing part of the printer in 3rd embodiment. The model side view of the line printer in 4th embodiment. The schematic plan view of the printing part for demonstrating the ventilation control in case a medium width is narrow. The schematic plan view of the printing part for demonstrating the ventilation control in case a medium width is wide. The model front view of the serial printer in 5th embodiment. The model side view in which the serial printer was also partially broken.

Explanation of symbols

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 11 ... Printer as recording apparatus, 12 ... Recording medium as target, 13 ... Medium supply unit, 14 ... Printing part, 15 ... Medium discharge unit, 16 ... Main body frame, 17 ... Platen, 18 ... Recording unit as recording means , 19 ... guide rails constituting moving means, 20 ... carriage, 21 ... recording head constituting recording means, 21a ... nozzle row, 24 ... rolls, 25 to 28 ... rollers, 29 to 34 ... rollers, 37 ... guide devices , 40 ... heater, 41 ... air blowing unit as air blowing means, 41a ... air blowing port, 42 ... negative pressure suction mechanism, 43 ... fan motor constituting the air blowing means, 44 ... fan, 47 ... suction port, 49 ... fixed guide, 50 ... movable guide, 51 ... windproof member as windproof means, 51a ... windproof plate part, 51b ... windproof side plate part, 53 ... liquid flow suppressing means Shielding mechanism as shielding means, 54... Liquid flow suppression means and shielding means and shielding plate as shielding body, 55... Slide mechanism, 70... Controller as control means, 72. Winding motor, 76... Carriage motor constituting moving means, 78... Negative pressure generating motor, 79... Linear motor as driving means while constituting liquid flow suppressing means and shielding means, 80. Encoder, 83 ... encoder, 84 ... paper width sensor, 87-92, 94-96 ... motor drive circuit, 93 ... head drive circuit, 97, 98 ... heater drive circuit, 101 ... constituting control means and as information acquisition means CPU, 102 ... Memory, 103 ... Position counter, 104 ... Transport counter, 105 ... Counter, 10 ... Position counter, 111 ... Blower unit as blower means, 111a ... Blower port, 112 ... Constructing liquid flow suppressing means and shielding mechanism as shielding means, 113 ... Constructing liquid flow suppressing means and shielding means and shielding body , 114 ... acting liquid flow suppressing means and shielding means and actuator as driving means, 121 ... shielding mechanism constituting liquid flow suppressing means and shielding means, 122 ... liquid flow suppressing means and shielding means , A guide rail constituting the liquid flow restraining means and the shielding means, 124 an electric motor constituting the liquid flow restraining means and the shielding means and driving means, and 131 a line printer as the recording device, 132: Printing unit, 133 ... Recording unit as recording means, 135 ... Blower unit as blower means, 135a ... Blower port, 136 ... Negative pressure suction mechanism, 136a ... Suction port, 137 ... Windproof member as windproof means, 141 ... Serial printer as recording device, 142 ... Movement means Guide shaft, 143 ... carriage constituting recording means, 144 ... timing belt constituting moving means, 148 ... recording head constituting recording means, 149 ... platen, 150 ... heater, 151 ... paper feed roller, 152 ... paper discharge Roller, 153... Linear encoder, 155... Air blowing unit as air blowing means, 155a... Air blowing port, 156... Negative pressure suction mechanism, 156a. PA: Print area as recording area, LA: Ink flow area as liquid flow area, X: Scanning direction Y ... medium width direction, X1 ... main scanning direction, Y1 ... conveyance direction (sub scanning direction).

Claims (9)

A recording means for applying a liquid to the target and recording;
Moving means for relatively moving the recording means and the target;
An air blowing means for sending an air flow to the recording surface of the target to promote drying of the liquid attached on the target by the recording means;
Liquid flow suppression means for suppressing airflow to a liquid flow area in the airflow area of the airflow means, which is an area on the recording surface immediately after the liquid adhering to the rear side in the relative movement direction of the recording means and in which liquid can flow by airflow. And a recording apparatus.   The liquid flow suppression means includes information acquisition means for acquiring at least one of the target type and the liquid type as control information, and should suppress airflow to the liquid flow region according to the control information The recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the area is adjusted.   The recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the liquid flow suppressing unit is a blocking unit that blocks an air flow from the blowing unit toward the liquid flow region. The shielding means includes a shielding body that shields an airflow to the liquid flow region;
Driving means for driving the shield so as to adjust an area in which the airflow to the liquid flow region should be shielded;
The recording apparatus according to claim 3, further comprising a control unit that controls the driving unit so as to adjust an area in which the airflow is to be shielded. The blowing means has a direction crossing the relative movement direction as a blowing direction,
The shield is provided in the recording means so as to be movable in the relative movement direction;
The recording apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the control unit controls the driving unit so that the shield extends rearward in the relative movement direction of the recording unit. The shield is configured to be openable and closable between a closed position that shields the airflow of the blower means and an open position that does not shield the airflow, and the airflow between the blower opening of the blower means and the transport path of the target. It is arranged along the mouth,
The drive means is configured to be able to individually open and close the plurality of shields,
The control means controls the driving means so as to close a shield corresponding to the liquid flow region among the plurality of shields and open a shield not corresponding to the liquid flow region. 4. The recording device according to 4. The shield is configured to be movable along a blower port of the blower unit along a route between the blower unit and the target conveyance route,
5. The control unit according to claim 4, wherein the control unit controls the driving unit so as to move following the movement of the recording unit at a position where the shield can block an air flow to the liquid flow region. Recording device.   8. The recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the recording unit is configured to discharge a liquid, and further includes a windproof unit that shields the airflow to a flying region of the liquid discharged from the recording unit. The recording device according to item. A recording method in a recording apparatus comprising: a recording unit that performs recording by attaching a liquid to a target; and a moving unit that relatively moves the recording unit and the target,
An air blowing step for sending an air flow to the recording surface of the target to promote drying of the liquid attached on the target by the recording means;
Liquid flow suppressing step for suppressing air flow to a liquid flow area where the liquid can flow by the air flow, which is an area on the recording surface immediately after the liquid adhering to the rear side in the relative movement direction of the recording means in the air blowing area by the air blowing step. And a recording method in a recording apparatus.

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