JP2011189602A - Position correction apparatus and recording apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a position correction apparatus, along with a recording apparatus, capable of properly correcting displacement of processing position caused by a meandering of a target. <P>SOLUTION: The position correction apparatus 17 provided at a printer 11 includes: a moving mechanism 42 which moves a second head unit 16 performing recording at a recording position P2 along with a conveying direction Y to a cut paper 12 subjected to recording at a recording position P1; a first sensor 43 which detects a position of the cut paper 12 in a width direction in a detection position Q1; a second sensor 44 which detects the position of the cut paper 12 in the width direction in a detection position Q2; a conveyance information calculation part 57 to calculate a cycle of the meandering along with a conveyance of the cut paper 12 and a phase difference of the recording position P2 to the recording position P1; and a controller 50 which moves the second head unit 16 through a control of the moving mechanism 42 so as to match the phase of recording position P1 with the phase of the recording position P2. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2011,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a position correction apparatus and a recording apparatus.

Conventionally, in a recording apparatus such as an ink jet printer, recording paper (target) is transported along a transport direction by a transport belt wound around a transport roller, and recording is performed by recording heads arranged at a plurality of locations along the transport direction. Some papers were subjected to recording processing. (For example, patent document 1).

In the recording apparatus of Patent Document 1, in order to cope with the meandering of the recording paper due to a manufacturing error or the like of the transport roller, the meandering amount of the recording paper in the width direction orthogonal to the transport direction is detected, and the recording process by the recording head The execution position was moved along the width direction.

JP 2008-168497 A

By the way, the recording apparatus of Patent Document 1 prevents the recording position from being shifted due to meandering by making the separation distance between the recording heads coincide with the circumference of the transport roller in the transport direction.

However, the meandering state of the recording paper accompanying the conveyance may change due to the tensioning state of the conveyance belt, wear of the conveyance roller, or the like. For this reason, the recording apparatus of Patent Document 1 has a problem in that it is not possible to correct a shift in the recording position when the meandering state of the recording paper changes.

The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and an object thereof is to provide a position correction apparatus and a recording apparatus that can appropriately correct a shift in processing position caused by meandering of a target. is there.

In order to achieve the above object, the position correction apparatus of the present invention is more effective than the first position in the transport direction with respect to the target transported along the transport direction and subjected to the first process at the first position. Crossing the transport direction of the target at a first detection position corresponding to the moving mechanism, and a moving mechanism for moving the processing means for executing the second processing at the second downstream position along the transport direction. First detection means for detecting a position in the width direction, second detection means for detecting a position in the width direction of the target at a second detection position corresponding to the second position, the first detection means, Based on the detection result of the second detection means, a conveyance information calculation unit for calculating a meandering period accompanying the conveyance of the target and a phase difference between the second position and the first position, and the conveyance information calculation Based on the calculation result, as the first position and the second position and the phase match, and a control unit for moving the processing means through the control of the moving mechanism.

According to this configuration, when the target meanders along with the conveyance, the control unit controls the movement mechanism to move the processing unit along the conveyance direction, thereby causing the first position and the second position to move in the width direction. The phase of displacement at can be matched. Therefore, it is possible to appropriately correct the processing position shift caused by the meandering of the target.

In the position correction apparatus of the present invention, the control unit moves the processing means toward the downstream side in the transport direction.
According to this configuration, since the control unit moves the processing unit toward the downstream side in the transport direction, the control unit moves the processing unit between the detection by the second detection unit and the second processing by the processing unit. Time can be secured.

In the position correction apparatus of the present invention, the second detection means is configured to be movable together with the processing means.
According to this configuration, the second detection unit is configured to be movable together with the processing unit.
When the processing means is moved in accordance with the phase of the first position, the second detection means can be moved together with the processing means.

In the position correction apparatus of the present invention, the first detection position is the first detection position in the transport direction.
The second detection position is set on the upstream side of the position, and the second detection position is set on the upstream side of the second position and the downstream side of the first position in the transport direction.

According to this configuration, since the first detection position is set upstream of the first position in the transport direction, the tip position of the target can be detected by the first detection means. In addition, since the second detection position is set upstream of the second position and downstream of the first position in the transport direction, the period from the detection by the second detection means to the second process by the processing means. In addition, it is possible to secure time for moving the processing means.

In the position correction apparatus of the present invention, in the transport direction, the first separation distance of the first detection position with respect to the first position is equal to the second separation distance of the second detection position with respect to the second position.

According to this configuration, since the first separation distance is equal to the second separation distance, the phase difference between the second detection position and the first detection position is equal to the phase difference between the second position and the first position. Therefore, the conveyance information calculation unit needs to convert the phase difference between the second detection position and the first detection position into the phase difference between the second position and the first position in consideration of the first separation distance and the second separation distance. There is no.

In order to achieve the above object, a recording apparatus of the present invention includes a first recording unit that performs a recording process as a first process at a first position on a target that is transported along a transport direction; A second recording means as a processing means for executing a recording process as a second process at a second position downstream of the first position in the direction, and the position correcting device for correcting the second position. Prepare.

According to this configuration, when the target meanders along with the conveyance, the control unit controls the moving mechanism to move the second recording unit along the conveyance direction, so that the first position and the second position are changed. The displacement phase in the width direction can be matched. Therefore, it is possible to appropriately correct the recording position shift caused by the meandering of the target.

FIG. 3 is a side view schematically illustrating the configuration of the recording apparatus according to the first embodiment. FIG. 2 is a schematic plan view of the recording apparatus according to the first embodiment. FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram showing a lower surface side of a recording head. The flowchart which shows a position correction process. The graph which shows the detection result of a 1st sensor. The graph which shows the detection result of a 2nd sensor. FIG. 9 is a block diagram illustrating an electrical configuration of a recording apparatus according to a second embodiment.

(First embodiment)
A first embodiment in which the recording apparatus of the present invention is embodied in a line head type ink jet printer (hereinafter referred to as “printer”) will be described with reference to FIGS. In the following description, when referring to “front-rear direction”, “left-right direction”, and “up-down direction”, the direction indicated by an arrow in each figure is used as a reference.

As shown in FIG. 1, the printer 11 includes a feeding device 13 that feeds a cut sheet 12 as a target, a conveying device 14, a first head unit 15 as a first recording unit, a processing unit, and a first unit. A second head unit 16 as a two-recording unit and a position correction device 17 are provided.

The feeding device 13 includes a gate roller 20 including a pair of nip rollers 18 and 19 and a feeding motor 21 (see FIG. 2) for rotating the gate roller 20. The feeding device 13 feeds the cut sheet 12 toward the conveying device 14 by driving the feeding motor 21.

The conveying device 14 includes a driven roller 30, a driving roller 31, and a tension roller 32.
And an endless transport belt 33 and a transport motor 34 (see FIG. 2) connected to the drive roller 31 so that power can be transmitted. The conveyor belt 33 is wound around the driven roller 30, the driving roller 31, and the tension roller 32. The tension roller 32 is biased downward by a biasing member (not shown), thereby holding the tensioned state of the transport belt 33.

When the driving roller 31 rotates as the conveying motor 34 is driven,
While being rotated in the clockwise direction in FIG.
The upper surface of the conveyor belt 33 between the drive roller 31 and the drive roller 31 constitutes a conveyor surface 35. The transport device 14 is configured to transport the cut sheet 12 fed to the transport surface 35 along the transport direction Y (forward direction) by driving the transport motor 34.

As shown in FIG. 2, the conveying belt 33 has a plurality of vent holes 36,
A suction device (not shown) is disposed below the transport surface 35. Accordingly, the cut sheet 12 fed to the transport surface 35 is transported while being adsorbed to the transport belt 33 through the air holes 36. Instead of the suction device, a charging device for charging the conveyance belt 33 may be provided so that the cut sheet 12 is adsorbed to the conveyance belt 33 by an electrostatic adsorption force.

A plurality of liquid jet heads 40 are attached to the lower surface side of the first head unit 15 and the second head unit 16. The respective liquid ejecting heads 40 are arranged in a zigzag shape in a plan view, that is, along the width direction X (left-right direction), and alternately arranged on the upstream side and the downstream side in the transport direction Y. The second head unit 16 is disposed respectively.

As shown in FIG. 3, a plurality of nozzles 41 that eject ink as fluid are formed along the width direction X of the cut sheet 12 on the lower surface side of each liquid ejecting head 40. Further, the nozzle rows L1 to L4 are configured by the nozzles 41 arranged in the width direction X. This nozzle row L1
L4 is provided in a plurality of rows (four rows corresponding to four colors of black K, cyan C, magenta M, and yellow Y in this embodiment) along the transport direction Y for each ink color.

Note that the number of nozzles 41 and the number of nozzle rows constituting the nozzle rows L1 to L4 can be arbitrarily set. Further, the nozzles 41 positioned at both ends in the width direction X of the respective liquid ejecting heads 40 provided in the second head unit 16 are arranged at both ends in the width direction X of the liquid ejecting head 40 provided in the first head unit 15. Are arranged so as to overlap with the nozzle 41 located in the conveying direction Y.

As shown in FIG. 1, the first head unit 15 performs the recording process as the first process by ejecting ink droplets onto the cut sheet 12 being conveyed at the recording position P1 as the first position. It is supposed to run. Further, the second head unit 16 applies ink droplets to the cut sheet 12 subjected to the recording process at the recording position P1 at the recording position P2 as the second position downstream of the recording position P1 in the transport direction Y. The recording process as the second process is executed by injecting.

In other words, in the printer 11, the second head unit 16 performs the recording process on the portion of the recording area extending in the width direction X that has not been subjected to the recording process by the first head unit 15, so that the maximum paper width range is reached. Recording processing is possible. And nozzle row L
From 1 to L4, it is possible to form a color image by superimposing four color ink droplets on the cut sheet 12 being conveyed.

The position correction device 17 includes a moving mechanism 42 that moves the second head unit 16 along the transport direction Y, a first sensor 43 as a first detection unit, a second sensor 44 as a second detection unit, and control. Device 45. The moving mechanism 42 includes a motor 46 serving as a drive source and a power transmission mechanism 47 including a rack and pinion mechanism.

Here, the first head unit 15 is fixed to the main body case of the printer 11 (not shown), while the second head unit 16 is attached to the main body case of the printer 11 via the moving mechanism 42 of the position correction device 17. It is supported. The second head unit 16 moves forward in the downstream direction in the transport direction Y by the rotational drive of the motor 46 in the forward direction, and upstream in the transport direction Y by the rotational drive of the motor 46 in the reverse direction. It moves toward the rear side.

The first sensor 43 and the second sensor 44 are reflective optical sensors that are electrically connected to the control device 45, and each have a light source unit and a light receiving unit (not shown). In addition, the first sensor 43 and the second sensor 44 receive the reflected light of the light emitted downward from the light source unit, and output an electrical signal corresponding to the intensity of the reflected light to the control device 45. It is supposed to be.

The control device 45 includes a control unit 50, ROM 51, RAM 52, nonvolatile memory 53, first timer 54, second timer 55, and motor drive circuit 56. The ROM 51 stores a control program executed by the control unit 50, various threshold values, and the like. The RAM 52 temporarily stores calculation results of the control unit 50, various data to be processed by executing the control program, and the like.

When the control unit 50 receives the outputs from the first sensor 43 and the second sensor 44, the control unit 50 compares the output value with a threshold value stored in the ROM 51. That is, the cut sheet 12 conveyed along the conveyance direction Y reflects the light from the light source unit, and the output value output from the light receiving unit changes, whereby the cut sheet 12 is detected.

Then, the first sensor 43 detects the right end position (see FIG. 2) of the cut sheet 12 conveyed by the conveying device 14 at a detection position Q1 as a first detection position corresponding to the recording position P1 in the conveyance direction Y. To do. Further, the second sensor 44 has a recording position P in the transport direction Y.
2, the right end position (see FIG. 2) of the cut sheet 12 conveyed by the conveying device 14 is detected at a detection position Q <b> 2 as a second detection position corresponding to 2.

The first sensor 43 is fixed to the main body case of the printer 11,
The second sensor 44 is supported by the second head unit 16 through the connection portion 16a. That is, the second sensor 44 is configured to be movable together with the second head unit 16.

The detection position Q1 is set upstream of the recording position P1 in the transport direction Y. The detection position Q2 is set in the transport direction Y upstream of the recording position P2 and downstream of the recording position P1. In the transport direction Y, the separation distance L1 as the first separation distance from the recording position P1 of the detection position Q1 is the recording position P2 of the detection position Q2.
Is equal to the separation distance L2 as the second separation distance.

The first timer 54 and the second timer 55 measure the elapsed time with respect to the outputs of the first sensor 43 and the second sensor 44, respectively.
The control unit 50 incorporates a conveyance information calculation unit 57. The conveyance information calculation unit 57 calculates the meandering cycle Td accompanying the conveyance of the cut sheet 12, the phase difference of the recording position P2 with respect to the recording position P1, and the like based on the detection results of the first sensor 43 and the second sensor 44. The control unit 50 also moves the moving mechanism 4 via the motor drive circuit 56 based on the calculation result of the conveyance information calculation unit 57.
The second motor 46 is driven and controlled.

Next, the operation of the position correction device 17 will be described.
In the printer 11, a phenomenon may occur in which the conveyor belt 33 meanders with a predetermined amplitude and cycle due to manufacturing errors or wear of the rollers 30 to 32 constituting the conveyor device 14. When such a phenomenon occurs, the transport position of the cut sheet 12 is shifted, so that the recording position P1 by the first head unit 15 and the recording position P2 by the second head unit 16 are detected.
May be shifted in the width direction X, and the recording quality may be deteriorated.

Therefore, the control device 45 detects the meandering cycle Td of the transport belt 33 from the shift of the transport position in the width direction X of the cut sheet 12 detected by the first sensor 43 and the second sensor 44. . Further, based on the meandering cycle Td of the conveyor belt 33, the control unit 50
However, by moving the second head unit 16 along the transport direction Y, the shift of the recording position (ink droplet landing position on the cut sheet 12) due to meandering is corrected.

The second head unit 16 has an initial position set on the upstream side (rear side) in the movement range along the transport direction Y, and is always downstream in the transport direction Y in order to correct the recording position P2. It moves toward (front side). The rewritable nonvolatile memory 53 stores the moving distance (that is, the current recording position P2) of the second head unit 16 in the transport direction Y. When the moving distance of the second head unit 16 in the transport direction Y is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold stored in the ROM 51, an initialization operation is performed to return the second head unit 16 to the initial position after the recording process is completed. It has come to be.

Next, position correction processing by the control unit 50 will be described with reference to FIG.
As shown in FIG. 4, when the printer 11 receives an execution command for recording processing together with print data, the first sensor 43 and the second sensor 44 start a detection operation as step S11.

Next, as step S12, the control unit 50 determines whether or not the first sensor 43 has detected the cut sheet 12 (the leading end of the cut sheet 12). When the first sensor 43 detects the cut sheet 12, the control unit 50 makes a determination of YES and proceeds to step S13. On the other hand, when the first sensor 43 does not detect the cut sheet 12, the control unit 50 makes a NO determination, and the cut sheet 1
The determination is repeated until 2 is detected.

In step S <b> 13, the control unit 50 starts timing by the first timer 54.
Next, as step S14, as shown in FIG. 5, the conveyance information calculation unit 57 detects the detection position Q1.
Is calculated, and the calculated shift amount D1 is temporarily stored in the RAM 52 in association with the time measured by the first timer 54. Here, the deviation amount D1 is calculated as a difference between the right end position of the cut sheet 12 detected by the first sensor 43 and the reference position of the right end of the cut sheet 12 stored in the ROM 51.

Next, as step S15, when the cut sheet 12 is conveyed by the conveying device 14 and reaches the recording position P1, the first head unit 15 starts the recording process. It should be noted that the timing at which the cut sheet 12 reaches the recording position P1 is the elapsed time after the leading edge of the cut sheet 12 is detected by the first sensor 43 (the time measured by the first timer 54), and the cut sheet 12 It can be grasped from the conveyance speed.

Next, as step S16, the control unit 50 determines whether or not the second sensor 44 has detected the cut sheet 12 (the leading end of the cut sheet 12). When the second sensor 44 detects the cut sheet 12, the control unit 50 makes a determination of YES and proceeds to step S17. On the other hand, when the second sensor 44 does not detect the cut sheet 12, the control unit 50 makes a determination of NO and determines the cut sheet 1
The determination is repeated until 2 is detected.

In step S <b> 17, the control unit 50 starts measuring time by the second timer 55.
Next, as step S18, as shown in FIG. 6, the conveyance information calculation unit 57 detects the detection position Q2.
Is calculated, and the calculated shift amount D2 is temporarily stored in the RAM 52 in association with the time measured by the second timer 55. Here, the deviation amount D2 is calculated as a difference between the right end position of the cut sheet 12 detected by the second sensor 44 and the reference position of the right end of the cut sheet 12 stored in the ROM 51.

Next, as step S <b> 19, the conveyance information calculation unit 57 calculates the movement amount Mc of the second head unit 16. Specifically, the conveyance information calculation unit 57 calculates the meandering cycle Td accompanying the conveyance of the cut sheet 12 by Fourier transformation based on the detection results of the first sensor 43 and the second sensor 44 stored in the RAM 52.

Further, the conveyance information calculation unit 57 calculates the phase difference Dp (see FIG. 6) of the detection position Q2 with respect to the detection position Q1 as the phase difference between the recording position P2 and the recording position P1. That is, since the separation distance L1 from the detection position Q1 to the recording position P1 is equal to the separation distance L2 from the detection position Q2 to the recording position P2, the phase difference between the detection position Q2 and the detection position Q1 is equal to the recording position P1.
2 coincides with the phase difference for the recording position P1.

The conveyance information calculation unit 57 then moves the movement amount Mc of the second head unit 16 as a correction amount.
Is calculated. The moving amount Mc is obtained by Mc = conveying speed Vp of the cut sheet 12 × meandering period Td × phase difference Dp / 2π. For example, Vp = 500 (mm / s), Td = 0.01
When 9 (s) and Dp = π (rad), Mc = 500 × 0.019 × π / 2π = 4.75
(Mm).

Next, as step S20, the control unit 50 adjusts the position of the second head unit 16 so that the amount of movement Mc is obtained. That is, the control unit 50 moves the second head unit 16 toward the downstream side in the transport direction Y through the control of the moving mechanism 42 so that the phase of displacement in the width direction X coincides between the recording position P1 and the recording position P2. By doing so, the recording position P2 is corrected.

Next, as step S21, when the cut sheet 12 is conveyed by the conveying device 14 and reaches the recording position P2, the second head unit 16 starts the recording process at the recording position P2.
Note that the timing at which the cut sheet 12 reaches the recording position P2 is the elapsed time after the leading edge of the cut sheet 12 is detected by the second sensor 44 (the time measured by the second timer 55) and the cut sheet 12 It can be grasped from the conveyance speed.

Next, as step S22, the control unit 50 determines whether or not the recording time based on the print data has elapsed. If the controller 50 determines that the recording time has elapsed, the controller 50 determines YES and proceeds to step S23.

On the other hand, when determining that the recording time has not elapsed in step S22, the control unit 50 determines NO and returns to step S17. In step S18, the conveyance information calculation unit 57 calculates again the deviation amount D2 of the cut sheet 12 at the detection position Q2.

Here, when the recording position P2 is appropriately corrected in step S20 for the first time, the phase difference Dp is zero, so the movement amount Mc is also zero, and the second head unit 16 is not moved. . On the other hand, if the phase difference Dp remains, the movement amount Mc is calculated in the subsequent step S19, and the recording position P2 is corrected again by the movement of the second head unit 16 in step S20.

In step S <b> 23, the control unit 50 resets the first timer 54 and the second timer 55.
Next, as step S24, the control unit 50 determines whether or not the printing of the cut sheet 12 based on the execution command is completed for the set number of sheets. When the control unit 50 determines that the set number of recording processes have been completed, the control unit 50 determines YES and ends the process.

On the other hand, if the control unit 50 determines that the recording process for the predetermined number of sheets has not been completed, the control unit 50 determines NO and returns to step S12. In addition, the control unit 50 executes the processes of steps S12 to S23 for the next cut sheet 12. In step S24, the controller 5
If 0 determines that the recording process for the predetermined number of sheets has been completed, the process is terminated.

According to the embodiment described above, the following effects can be obtained.
(1) When the cut sheet 12 meanders along with the conveyance, the control unit 50 controls the moving mechanism 42 to move the second head unit 16 along the conveyance direction Y, whereby the recording position P1 and the recording are recorded. The phase of the displacement in the width direction X can be matched with the position P2. Therefore,
The recording position shift caused by the meandering of the cut sheet 12 can be corrected appropriately.

(2) Since the control unit 50 moves the second head unit 16 toward the downstream side in the transport direction Y, the second head unit 16 is detected between the detection by the second sensor 44 and the recording process by the second head unit 16. Time for moving the unit 16 can be secured.

(3) Since the second sensor 44 is configured to be movable together with the second head unit 16, when the second head unit 16 is moved in accordance with the phase of the recording position P1, the second sensor 44 is also the second sensor 44. The two head units 16 can be moved together. Therefore, after the second head unit 16 is moved, the second sensor 44 again detects the shift amount D2 at the detection position Q2, so that it can be confirmed whether or not the recording position P2 has been appropriately corrected.

(4) Since the detection position Q1 is set upstream of the recording position P1 in the transport direction Y, the leading edge position of the cut sheet 12 can be detected by the first sensor 43. Therefore, the first sensor 43 can also be used as a tip detection sensor for determining the start timing of the recording process. Further, since the detection position Q2 is set upstream of the recording position P2 and downstream of the recording position P1 in the transport direction Y, from detection by the second sensor 44 to recording processing by the second head unit 16. Between the second head unit 1
Time to move 6 can be secured.

(5) Since the separation distance L1 is equal to the separation distance L2, the phase difference between the detection position Q2 and the detection position Q1 is equal to the phase difference between the recording position P2 and the recording position P1. Therefore, the conveyance information calculation unit 57 does not need to convert the phase difference of the detection position Q2 from the detection position Q1 into the phase difference of the recording position P2 from the recording position P1 in consideration of the separation distances L1 and L2.

(6) Since the first sensor 43 and the second sensor 44 detect the meandering state of the cut sheet 12 and move the second head unit 16, it is possible to correct the recording position in real time for each cut sheet 12. it can. Therefore, in order to correct the recording position, test printing or the like is not performed, and time and the cut sheet 12 are not wasted.

(7) For example, when the second head unit 16 is reciprocated in the width direction X so as to follow the meandering of the cut sheet 12, if the meandering cycle is short (the frequency is high), the high-speed movement is achieved. Since this is necessary, there is a limit to the meandering cycle that can be handled. On the other hand, in this embodiment, the second
Since the head unit 16 is moved in the transport direction Y, the recording position can be appropriately corrected even when the meander cycle is short.

(8) For example, when detecting the meandering cycle of the conveyor belt 33 with a fixed sensor,
It is not possible to calculate the meandering cycle of the cut sheet 12 conveyed by the conveying device 14 that does not include the conveying belt. Further, when the sensor detects the eccentric state of the roller that conveys the cut sheet 12, the meandering state of the cut sheet 12 stretched over a plurality of rollers cannot be accurately grasped.

On the other hand, since the conveyance information calculation unit 57 calculates the meandering cycle Td based on the detection result for the cut sheet 12 as a detection target, it appropriately calculates the movement amount Mc regardless of the configuration of the conveyance device 14. can do. Even when there is a difference in the meandering state between the transport belt 33 and the cut sheet 12, the cut sheet 12 is set as a detection target, so that the recording position can be corrected appropriately.

(Second Embodiment)
Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. In the printer 11 of the second embodiment, the control device 140 that controls the operation of the printer 11 performs the second operation.
Movement control of the head unit 16 is performed.

Hereinafter, the electrical configuration of the control device 140 and the printer 11 provided in the printer 11 of the second embodiment will be described.
As shown in FIG. 7, the control device 140 includes CPUs 150 connected to each other via a bus 149,
A ROM 151, a RAM 152, a nonvolatile memory 153, a first timer 54 and a second timer 55, head drive circuits 156 and 157, and motor drive circuits 158 to 160 are provided.

The ROM 151 stores a control program executed by the CPU 150 and the like. Further, the RAM 152 temporarily stores calculation results of the CPU 150 and various data to be processed by executing the control program. In addition, the nonvolatile memory 153
In this, the moving distance (current recording position P2) in the transport direction Y of the second head unit 16 is stored.

The CPU 150 controls the ink droplet ejection operation by the first head unit 15 and the second head unit 16 via the head drive circuits 156 and 157. In addition, the CPU 150
The gate roller 20 is rotated by drivingly controlling the feeding motor 21 via the motor driving circuit 158, and the conveying belt 33 is rotated by drivingly controlling the conveying motor 34 via the motor driving circuit 159.

In the present embodiment, the CPU 150 constitutes a control unit and a conveyance information calculation unit. And
In the position correction process, the CPU 150 calculates the meandering cycle Td, the phase difference Dp, and the movement amount Mc of the cut sheet 12. In addition, the CPU 150 drives the motor 46 in the forward direction via the motor drive circuit 160 to move the second head unit 16 downstream in the transport direction Y.

According to the above-described embodiment, the following effects can be obtained in addition to the same effects as the above (1) to (8).
(9) The second head unit 1 is controlled by the control device 140 that controls the operation of the printer 11.
Therefore, the position correction device 17 does not need to be provided with a dedicated control device.

In addition, you may change the said embodiment into another embodiment as follows.
The separation distance L1 and the separation distance L2 may be different. In this case, the actually measured separation distances L1 and L2 are stored in the ROM or the like, and in step S19, the phase difference of the recording position P2 with respect to the recording position P1 is calculated based on the phase difference of the detection position Q2 with respect to the detection position Q1. By calculating, the movement amount Mc can be calculated.

The first sensor 43 and the second sensor 44 may detect the left end position of the cut sheet 12. Further, when a target with marks or lines written along the transport direction Y is detected, the displacement of the target in the width direction X is detected by detecting the marks and lines with the first sensor 43 and the second sensor 44. You may make it grasp.

The first sensor 43 and the second sensor 44 are not limited to reflective sensors, and any detection means such as a contact sensor can be employed.
The second sensor 44 may be fixed to the main body case of the printer 11.

In order to correct the recording position, the second head unit 16 may be moved toward the upstream side in the transport direction Y. For example, when the movement amount Mc is large, the movement time is long, so the movement is made downstream in the conveyance direction Y. On the other hand, when the movement amount Mc is small, the movement time is short, the upstream side in the conveyance direction Y. You may make it move to.
In this case, the execution frequency of the initialization operation for returning the second head unit 16 to the initial position can be reduced.

-Correction of the recording position can be executed at an arbitrary timing. For example, the correction of the recording position may be performed for each print job, or may be performed every time the printer 11 is activated or every predetermined period.

The conveyance device 14 may not include the conveyance belt 33 and may convey the cut sheet 12 by a roller.
-The target is not limited to cut paper, and long roll paper may be used.

-The number of head units is not limited to two, and may be three or more. For example, ink droplets of different colors may be ejected from each head unit, and the ink droplets of each color may be overlaid on the cut sheet 12.

The position correction device 17 is not limited to a recording device that performs a recording process, and performs various processes such as a processing process using a laser, a cutting process for cutting a target, a transfer process for transferring a foil, and a pasting process for attaching a seal. You may make it provide in the processing apparatus to perform. The processing is not limited to processing the target, and may be, for example, inspection processing for inspecting the processing result of each processing processing, imaging processing for capturing an image, or the like. In this case, the target is not limited to a sheet-like medium, and any shape can be adopted.

Three or more processing positions for performing processing may be continuously arranged, or different processing may be performed at a first position and a subsequent position such as a second position following the first position. That is, according to the present invention, when a plurality of processes are performed on one target in a superimposed manner, the displacement of each processing position caused by meandering of the target is achieved by matching the phase of displacement in the width direction X at each processing position. Can be appropriately corrected. When three or more processing units are provided, the detection unit may be provided for each processing unit, or a plurality of processing units may be moved based on the detection result of one detection unit.

In the above embodiment, the recording apparatus is embodied as an ink jet printer. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and other types of printers such as an electrophotographic method, and liquid ejection that ejects or ejects liquid other than ink. An apparatus may be employed, and the present invention can be used for various liquid ejecting apparatuses including a recording head that discharges a minute amount of liquid droplets. In addition, a droplet means the state of the liquid discharged from the said liquid ejecting apparatus, and shall also include what pulls a tail in granular shape, tear shape, and thread shape. The liquid here may be any material that can be ejected by the liquid ejecting apparatus. For example, it may be in the state when the substance is in a liquid phase, such as a liquid state with high or low viscosity, sol, gel water, other inorganic solvents, organic solvents, solutions, liquid resins, liquid metals (metal melts ) And a liquid as one state of a substance, as well as a material in which particles of a functional material made of a solid such as a pigment or metal particles are dissolved, dispersed or mixed in a solvent. Also,
Typical examples of the liquid include ink and liquid crystal as described in the above embodiment.
Here, the ink includes general water-based inks and oil-based inks, and various liquid compositions such as gel inks and hot melt inks. As a specific example of the liquid ejecting apparatus, for example, a liquid containing a material such as an electrode material or a color material used for manufacturing a liquid crystal display, an EL (electroluminescence) display, a surface emitting display, a color filter, or the like in a dispersed or dissolved state. It may be a liquid ejecting apparatus for ejecting, a liquid ejecting apparatus for ejecting a bio-organic material used for biochip manufacturing, a liquid ejecting apparatus for ejecting a liquid as a sample used as a precision pipette, a textile printing apparatus, a microdispenser, or the like. In addition, transparent resin liquids such as UV curable resin to form liquid injection devices that pinpoint lubricant oil onto precision machines such as watches and cameras, and micro hemispherical lenses (optical lenses) used in optical communication elements. A liquid ejecting apparatus that ejects a liquid onto the substrate or a liquid ejecting apparatus that ejects an etching solution such as an acid or an alkali to etch the substrate may be employed. The present invention can be applied to any one of these injection devices.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 11 ... Printer as recording apparatus, 12 ... Cut sheet as target, 15 ... 1st head unit as 1st recording means, 16 ... 2nd head unit as processing means and 2nd recording means, 17 ... Position correction Device: 42... Moving mechanism 43. First sensor as first detecting means 44. Second sensor as second detecting means 50... Control section 57... Transport information calculating section Dp. A separation distance as the first separation distance, L2... A separation distance as the second separation distance, P1... A recording position as the first position, P2... A recording position as the second position, Q1.
Detection position as the first detection position, Q2... Detection position as the second detection position, Td.
... width direction, Y ... conveying direction.

Claims (6)

Processing means for performing second processing at a second position downstream of the first position in the transport direction with respect to a target transported along the transport direction and subjected to the first processing at the first position; ,
A moving mechanism for moving along the transport direction;
First detection means for detecting a position in a width direction intersecting the transport direction of the target at a first detection position corresponding to the first position;
Second detection means for detecting a position of the target in the width direction at a second detection position corresponding to the second position;
A conveyance information calculation unit that calculates a meandering period associated with conveyance of the target and a phase difference of the second position with respect to the first position based on detection results of the first detection unit and the second detection unit;
And a control unit that moves the processing unit through control of the moving mechanism so that the phase at the first position matches the second position based on the calculation result of the conveyance information calculation unit. A position correction device. The position correction apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the control unit moves the processing unit toward a downstream side in the transport direction. The position correction apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the second detection unit is configured to be movable together with the processing unit. The first detection position is set upstream of the first position in the transport direction, and the second detection position is upstream of the second position in the transport direction and the first position The position correction apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the position correction apparatus is set downstream of the first position. The first separation distance of the first detection position with respect to the first position in the transport direction is equal to a second separation distance of the second detection position with respect to the second position. Position correction device. First recording means for performing a recording process as a first process at a first position on a target conveyed along the conveyance direction;
Second recording means as processing means for executing recording processing as second processing at a second position downstream of the first position in the transport direction;
A recording apparatus comprising: the position correction apparatus according to claim 1 for correcting the second position.

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