JP2014034118A - Printer - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To reduce the weight of a printer, and to decrease a cost.SOLUTION: A printer 11 includes: a scanning portion for reciprocating a carriage 18 in a scanning direction according to rotations of a carriage motor 40; a carrying portion for carrying paper P in a sub scanning direction by rotating a carrying motor 33; a paper reversing portion 50 for reversing the front and back sides of the paper P; a gap deciding portion 85 for deciding a gap value indicating an interval between a recording head 20 and the paper P on the basis of print condition information; and a gap adjusting portion 82 for moving the recording head 20 to adjust the interval according to the rotations of the carriage motor 40, when the carrying motor 33 rotates in the other direction. When performing two-sided printing, the gap deciding portion 85 decides the gap value on the basis of print setting conditions applied to one surface of the paper P which is a predetermined medium. The gap adjusting portion 82 adjusts the interval to be the gap value before starting printing to the paper P, and keeps the interval till both sides are printed.

Description

  The present invention relates to a printing apparatus.

Printing devices that scan and print on media facing recording heads that eject ink droplets, such as inkjet printers, support postcards, envelopes, cardboard, optical disks, etc. in addition to plain paper as printable media. Yes.
When the distance between the recording head and the medium is large, the ejected ink droplets may scatter to the parts as mist, and the scattered mist may adhere to the medium. The distance between the recording head and the medium depends on the medium. It is necessary to adjust appropriately.
By the way, many recent inkjet printers have a double-sided printing function capable of printing on both front and back sides of a medium. The duplex printing function means that after printing on the surface of the media to be printed is completed, the media is transported to the reversing device without being discharged, the media is reversed by the reversing device, and then conveyed to the recording unit again. Printing is performed on the back side.
For example, as shown in Patent Document 1 below, an apparatus that has a double-sided printing function and can set the distance between the recording head and the support surface of the medium on the front surface and the back surface has been proposed.
Such an apparatus includes at least an ASF motor for feeding the medium in addition to an LF motor for conveying the medium and reversing the medium and a CR motor for reciprocating the recording head. The distance between the recording head and the support surface of the media is also adjusted using power.

JP 2010-47014 A

  However, in the above recording apparatus, it is necessary to use three motors as power sources in order to adjust the distance between the recording head and the medium, and the number of motors can be reduced by 2 to reduce the weight and cost of the ink jet printer. It was difficult to consolidate into two motors.

  SUMMARY An advantage of some aspects of the invention is to solve at least a part of the problems described above, and the invention can be implemented as the following forms or application examples.

[Application Example 1]
A printing apparatus according to this application example prints by ejecting ink droplets onto a medium that moves in a sub-scanning direction that is opposed to a recording head that moves in a scanning direction and that crosses the scanning direction, based on print job data. A scanning unit that reciprocates the recording head in the scanning direction according to rotation of the first rotating unit, and a second rotating unit that rotates in one direction to move the medium in the sub-scanning direction. A reversing unit for reversing the front and back of the medium in conjunction with rotation of the second rotating means, and the recording head and the medium based on printing condition information included in the print job data. The determination unit that determines a gap value indicating a distance from the supporting surface to be supported, and the second rotation unit rotates in the other direction, and the interval according to the rotation of the first rotation unit. Prescribe An adjustment unit that adjusts the interval by moving the recording head in the gap direction, and when the printing condition information instructs printing on both the front and back surfaces of the medium, In the case of a medium, the gap value is determined based on a print setting condition applied to one surface of the predetermined medium, and the adjustment unit causes the recording head to drop the ink droplets on the medium. Before the ejection, the position of the recording head is adjusted so that the interval becomes the gap value, and the position of the recording head is held until both sides of the medium are printed.

  According to such a configuration, by linking the two rotation means of the second rotation means for transporting the medium and the first rotation means for reciprocating the recording head in the scanning direction, Even when printing on both sides of the medium, the distance between the recording head and the medium can be adjusted appropriately, so that the printing apparatus can be reduced in weight and cost.

[Application Example 2]
In the printing apparatus according to the application example described above, the determination unit may reduce the interval among the two gap values determined based on the print setting conditions applied to the front and back surfaces of the predetermined medium. It is preferable to determine the gap value.

  According to such a configuration, when performing double-sided printing, the distance between the recording head and the medium is reduced and printing is performed on the medium, so that scattering of ink droplets to the surroundings due to mist of ink droplets can be suppressed.

[Application Example 3]
In the printing apparatus according to the application example, it is preferable that the scanning unit sandwiches a carriage including the recording head between a plurality of guide members, and the guide member guides the carriage in the scanning direction.

  According to such a configuration, since the plurality of guide members sandwich and support the carriage, the guide accuracy is improved as compared with the case of cantilever support.

[Application Example 4]
In the printing apparatus according to the application example, the adjustment unit converts the power in the scanning direction generated by the rotation of the first rotation unit into the gap direction by a cam member, and moves the recording head in the gap direction. It is preferable to make it.

  According to such a configuration, the rotational power of the first rotating means can be efficiently converted into power for adjusting the interval between the recording head and the medium by the cam member.

1 is a perspective view of a printer according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 3 is a side cross-sectional view illustrating a paper conveyance path of the printer according to the embodiment of the invention. FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing the inside of the printer according to the embodiment of the invention. The perspective view seen from the housing bottom side of the carriage. The perspective view of a gap adjustment part. 1 is a block diagram showing an electrical configuration of a printer according to an embodiment of the present invention. (A) explains when the switching lever is advanced in the carriage movement area, and (B) is a diagram explaining when the switching lever is retracted in the carriage movement area. 6 is a flowchart for explaining print processing of a printer. 6 is a flowchart for explaining print preparation processing of a printer.

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

(Embodiment)
Hereinafter, an embodiment in which a printing apparatus is embodied as a printer will be described with reference to FIGS.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the printer 11 includes a device main body 12 having a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape, and an operation panel 13 provided on the front surface (right surface in FIG. 1) of the device main body 12 and used for a user input operation. Yes. The operation panel 13 is configured to be capable of rotating forward with respect to the front surface of the apparatus main body 12 with the upper portion as a rotation axis. The operation panel 13 includes a display unit 14 made of a liquid crystal panel or the like and an operation unit 15 made up of a plurality of operation switches. The operation unit 15 includes a power switch 15a for turning on / off the power of the printer 11, a selection switch 15b for selecting and operating a desired selection item on the menu screen displayed on the display unit 14, and the like. .

  As shown in FIG. 1, in a lower position of the operation panel 13 on the front surface of the apparatus main body 12, a feeding cassette 16 that can store a plurality of sheets of paper P as an example of a medium is detachable (can be inserted and removed). It is installed.

Further, in the apparatus main body 12, the carriage 18 is sandwiched and guided by a pair of guide rails 19 (FIG. 3) extending so as to extend in the scanning direction X intersecting the transport direction Y, and along the scanning direction X. And can be reciprocated. A recording head 20 for printing by an ink jet method is attached to the lower portion of the carriage 18. The recording head 20 has a plurality of nozzles that eject ink droplets onto the conveyed paper P.
The printed paper Pd is indicated by a white arrow in FIG. 1 from a discharge port exposed in a state where a cover 21 provided in a rotatable state with the lower part as a rotation shaft is opened on the front surface of the feeding cassette 16. Discharged in the direction. At this time, the printed stack is a single tray having a substantially square plate shape, and the stacker 23 (FIG. 2) housed in the apparatus main body 12 is previously drawn out from the cover 21 toward the outer side of the apparatus main body 12 and discharged. Sheet Pd is discharged onto the stacker 23.
An opening / closing type cover 22 is provided at the rear of the apparatus main body 12 so as to close an insertion port through which the paper P can be manually inserted, and the paper P can be manually inserted from the insertion port by opening the cover 22. It has become.
Next, components on the paper transport path will be described with reference to FIG. In FIG. 2, the stacker 23 is driven, and the cover 21 is pushed and released by the stacker 23 in the middle of protruding from the apparatus main body 12.
As shown in FIG. 2, the apparatus main body 12 includes a cassette feeding unit 25, a feeding unit 26, a media transport unit 27, a recording unit 28, and a feeding unit 29. Among these, the cassette feeding unit 25, the feeding unit 26, the media conveying unit 27, and the feeding unit 29 function as a conveying unit that conveys the paper P. The transport unit is configured such that power is transmitted from a transport motor 33 (see FIG. 6), which is a second rotating unit, via a gear train such as a gear.
The cassette feeding unit 25 includes a feeding cassette 16, a pickup roller 17 provided above the feeding cassette 16, and a separation unit provided at a position facing the front end of the paper P stored in the feeding cassette 16. 30.

  The pickup roller 17 is provided in a swinging portion 32 that swings around the swinging shaft 31, and is rotationally driven by the power transmitted from the transport motor 33. The pickup roller 17 rotates in contact with the uppermost sheet P stored in the feeding cassette 16, thereby feeding the uppermost sheet P from the feeding cassette 16 to the feeding path. At this time, the uppermost sheet P fed from the feeding cassette 16 by the rotation of the pickup roller 17 is separated from the subsequent sheets P by the separation unit 30.

  The feeding unit 26 provided on the downstream side of the feeding path of the separation unit 30 includes a feeding driving roller 34 driven by the transport motor 33, a separation roller 35, and a feeding driven roller 36. The separation roller 35 is in contact with the feed driving roller 34 and again separates the paper P, and reliably feeds only the uppermost paper P to the downstream side of the feed path.

  Further, the paper P sandwiched between the feeding driving roller 34 and the feeding driven roller 36 is conveyed to the media conveying unit 27. The media transport unit 27 includes a transport drive roller 37 that is also driven by the transport motor 33, and a transport driven roller 38 that is driven to rotate while being pressed against the transport drive roller 37. The media transport unit 27 feeds the paper P further downstream.

The recording unit 28 provided on the downstream side of the media transport unit 27 includes a carriage 18, a recording head 20, and a support base 39 that faces the recording head 20.
The carriage 18 is reciprocated in the scanning direction (X direction) while being guided by the pair of guide rails 19 by the power of the carriage motor 40 (see FIG. 6) which is the first rotating means. In contrast, a plurality of ink droplets are selectively ejected. At this time, the transport motor 33 rotates in one direction, so that the paper P moves in the sub-scanning direction (−Y direction), which is the transport direction, and an image is formed on the paper P. At this time, the upper surface of the support base 39 functions as a support surface for supporting the paper P. The carriage motor 40 and the pair of guide rails 19 constitute a scanning unit.

  The feeding section 29 provided on the downstream side of the support base 39 includes a first roller 41 driven by the transport motor 33 and a second roller 42 that rotates in contact with the first roller 41. Then, the printed sheet Pd is sent out by the feeding unit 29.

  The paper Pd recorded by the recording unit 28 is sandwiched between the first roller 41 and the second roller 42 and discharged to the stacker 23 provided on the front side of the apparatus main body 12.

  In addition, the printer 11 includes a paper reversing unit 50 (FIG. 6) as a reversing unit that reverses the paper P when printing on both the front and back sides of the paper P. Here, a method of reversing the paper P will be described. After the printer 11 records one side of the sheet P by the recording unit 28, the sheet P becomes the trailing end of the sheet when recording is performed on one side by the reverse feeding operation of the media conveying unit 27 and the feeding unit 29. The former side is the leading end and is returned to the upstream side of the media transport unit 27. Further, the paper P is sent to the reverse path 54 by the reverse feeding operation of the media transport unit 27. The paper P sent into the reversing path 54 is sandwiched between the feeding driving roller 34 and the reversing roller 52 and returned to the feeding path again.

The paper P returned to the feeding path is sent again to the media transport unit 27 on the downstream side of the feeding path by the feeding driving roller 34 through the separation roller 35 and the feeding driven roller 36. At this time, one side and the other side of the paper P are curved and reversed, and the other side faces the recording head 20. The paper P is sent to the recording unit 28 by the media transport unit 27. The sheet P on which the recording on the other side is performed by the recording unit 28 is sandwiched by the feeding unit 29 and discharged to the stacker 23 provided on the front side of the apparatus.
Next, FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the printer 11. The carriage 18 of the recording unit 28 is guided by a pair of guide rails 19 as “guide members” extending in the scanning direction of the recording head 20 and reciprocates in the scanning direction. The pair of guide rails 19 includes a main guide rail 166 attached to the apparatus main body 12 on the apparatus rear side, that is, the + Y direction side, and a sub guide rail 168 attached to the apparatus main body 12 on the apparatus front side, that is, the −Y direction side. The carriage 18 is held by a bridge structure.

  Next, FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the carriage 18 as seen from the bottom surface side of the apparatus main body 12. The carriage 18 is provided on the housing 188, an upper portion of the housing 188, an ink cartridge housing portion 190 for housing a plurality of ink cartridges, and an opening provided on the lower portion of the housing 188, facing the support base 39. And a gap adjusting unit 82 that adjusts the gap (gap) between the recording head 20 and the support surface of the support base 39 that supports the paper P.

  Next, the gap adjusting unit 82 will be described with reference to FIG. In the present embodiment, the gap adjustment unit 82 includes a main gap adjustment unit 94 disposed on the back side in the casing 188 of the carriage 18 and a sub-gap adjustment unit 96 disposed on the front side of the casing 188 of the carriage 18. And a synchronizing unit 98 that synchronizes the main gap adjusting unit 94 and the sub-gap adjusting unit 96.

The main gap adjusting unit 94 is provided with a rack 100 that extends in the scanning direction (X-axis direction in FIG. 5) and changes in the scanning direction. The sub gap adjusting unit 96 also extends in the scanning direction and changes in the scanning direction. A rack 102 is provided.
The main gap adjusting portion 94 abuts on the main guide rail 166 and slides with respect to the main guide rail 166 and engages with the sliding member 114 to form a stepped cam. 116 and a slide member 118 that engages with the cam member 116. Further, the sub gap adjusting unit 96 is different from the main gap adjusting unit 94 in that the slide member 118 is not provided.

The synchronization unit 98 is engaged with the first transmission gear 104 that engages with the rack 100, the second transmission gear 106 that engages with the first transmission gear 104, the second transmission gear 106, and the main gap adjustment unit 94. A pinion gear shaft 108 extending between the sub-gap adjusting portion 96, a third transmission gear 110 that engages with the pinion gear shaft 108, and a fourth transmission gear 112 that engages with the third transmission gear 110 and the rack 102. It is configured. The gap defined by the main gap adjusting unit 94 and the gap defined by the sub-gap adjusting unit 96 are synchronized.
The gap adjusting unit 82 applies a pressing force to the casing 188 of the carriage 18, and the slide member 118 slides in the X-axis direction with respect to the slide member 114 of the carriage 18, or the cam member 116 slides. By sliding in the -X direction with respect to 114, the gap is configured to change within a predetermined range in accordance with the cam shape.

  Next, the electrical configuration of the printer 11 will be described with reference to FIG. As shown in FIG. 6, the printer 11 includes a controller 70 that performs various controls. The controller 70 is communicably connected to the host device 200 via the communication interface 71. The controller 70 controls the printing operation and the like of the printer 11 based on the print job data received from the host device 200. The host device 200 is assumed to be a personal computer, for example, and incorporates a printer driver 201. The host device 200 includes an input unit 202 including a keyboard and a mouse, and the user operates the input unit 202 to input print condition information on a setting screen displayed on the monitor (not shown) by the printer driver 201. In the present embodiment, the print condition information includes a paper type, a paper size, a print mode for instructing print quality, a setting for duplex printing for performing printing on both front and back surfaces, and the like.

  The printer driver 201 generates print image data of an image for which printing is designated based on the print condition information, and generates print job data by adding a control command including the print condition information as a header to the print image data. The generated print job data is transmitted to the printer 11.

  The controller 70 is connected to the display unit 14, the carriage motor 40, and the transport motor 33 as an output system. The controller 70 is connected with an operation unit 15 including a power switch 15a, a linear encoder 72, a rotary encoder 73, and a paper detection sensor 74 as an input system.

  The controller 70 includes a computer 75, a display driver 76, a head driver 77, and motor drivers 78 and 79. The computer 75 drives the recording head 20 via the head driver 77 based on the print job data, and draws an image or the like based on the print image data by ejecting ink droplets from the recording head 20. Further, the computer 75 drives and controls the carriage motor 40 via the motor driver 78 and controls the movement of the carriage 18 in the scanning direction X. At this time, the computer 75 counts the input pulses from the linear encoder 72 with a counter (not shown), thereby grasping the movement position of the carriage 18 with the home position as the origin, for example.

Further, the computer 75 drives the transport motor 33 via the motor driver 79. Here, a power transmission switching unit 81 is interposed on the power transmission path of the transport motor 33.
Here, the power transmission switching unit 81 will be described with reference to FIGS. 7 (A) and 7 (B). The main guide rail 166 includes a sliding surface 170, a support surface 172 erected in the Z direction from an end of the sliding surface 170 on the apparatus rear side (Y direction side), and a device front side of the sliding surface 170 ( A guide surface 174 erected in the Z direction from the end portion on the −Y direction side, and a restriction extending from the upper end portion of the guide surface 174 to the back side of the apparatus (the Y direction side) so as to face the sliding surface 170. Part 176.

The power transmission switching unit 81 has a switching lever 152. The switching lever 152 is provided in the vicinity of one side end of the movable range of the carriage 18 in the X-axis direction. The main guide rail 166 constituting the guide member is provided with an opening 154 corresponding to the position where the switching lever 152 is provided. The switching lever 152 is attached to the swing shaft 156 so as to swing around the swing shaft 156.
The power transmission switching unit 81 switches the transmission destination according to the rotation direction of the transport motor 33. That is, as illustrated in FIG. 7A, when the transport motor 33 rotates in one direction, the power transmission switching unit 81 rotates the switching lever 152 in one direction by the rotation of the transport motor 33, thereby moving the carriage 18. Project into the moving area. In this case, the transport motor 33 rotates in a direction to transport the paper P from the downstream direction to the upstream direction. When the switching lever 152 is rotated, the front end portion 152a of the switching lever 152 is brought into contact with the protrusion 148 of the gap adjusting unit 82. When the carriage motor 40 is rotated in this state, the gap adjusting unit 82 is turned on. The pressing force is transmitted to.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 7B, when the transport motor 33 rotates in the opposite direction (forward direction) to one direction, the power transmission switching unit 81 rotates the switching lever 152 in the reverse direction. The tip 152a is returned to a state where it does not come into contact with the protrusion 148. In this case, the transport motor 33 rotates in a direction to transport the paper P from the upstream direction to the downstream direction.

Returning to FIG. 6, the gap adjusting unit (adjusting unit) 82 adjusts the gap by moving the recording head 20 using the pressing force transmitted from the switching lever 152. The gap adjusting unit 82 adjusts the distance between the ejection surface of the recording head 20 and the support surface of the medium to a predetermined set value (gap value) according to the printing condition information such as the type, size, and printing mode of the medium. The recording head 20 is moved in a direction (gap direction) that defines the gap.
In the present embodiment, the gap adjusting unit 82 operates based on an instruction from the controller 70. The controller 70 instructs the gap adjusting unit 82 to operate before starting printing for each print job data.

When the printing condition information included in the print job data instructs double-sided printing, the gap adjustment unit 82 instructs gap adjustment before printing the front surface of the paper P, and performs gap adjustment before printing the back surface of the paper P. The interval is maintained by holding the position of the recording head 20 adjusted on the surface without giving an instruction. This is because when the paper P is turned upside down, the position of the paper P needs to be maintained because the paper P is in an area where the paper P is transported by the rotation of the transport motor 33, and the transport motor 33 is used for the purpose of switching the gap. This is because it cannot be rotated. Therefore, in duplex printing, the gap value set at the time of printing the first surface is maintained at the same value at the time of printing the next back surface.
In this embodiment, the range of the gap value is about several millimeters, and the first level (−), second level (TYP), and third level (in order from the state in which the recording head 20 and the support base 39 are closest to each other). +) And 4th level (++) are assumed, but not limited thereto.

In the present embodiment, a gap determination unit 85 (to be described later) determines the level of the gap value, and the gap adjustment unit 82 adjusts the gap value to be the determined value. Generally, the first level is set when the print target is a photograph and high-definition printing is performed, and the second level is set when the print target is characters and high-speed printing is performed. The third level (+) is set when the medium is thick paper, and the fourth level (++) is set when the medium is a CD-ROM medium.
As the recording head 20 and the support base 39 are separated from each other, when ink droplets are ejected from the recording head 20, ink mist scatters to nearby rollers or the like, and the scattered mist scatters on the back surface of the printing surface of the paper P. It is known that it tends to adhere.

In the present embodiment, based on the control of the print control unit 84, the switching lever 152 is rotated in the direction opposite to the direction in which the transport motor 33 rotates when transporting the paper P, and the switching lever 152 is the casing 188 of the carriage 18. The carriage motor 40 rotates in a state where the carriage motor 40 is in contact with the casing 188 of the carriage 18. As a result, the power transmitted from the switching lever 152 in contact with the casing 188 of the carriage 18 is converted into the vertical movement of the recording head 20 in accordance with the cam shape of the cam member 116, and the gap adjusting unit 82 is in any of four stages. Or a single gap value.
In this embodiment, when the gap value is switched from the first level to the fourth level, that is, the direction in which the recording head 20 and the support base 39 are separated from each other, the switching lever 152 abuts on one side surface of the carriage 18. To be controlled. When the gap value is switched from the fourth level to the first level, that is, the direction in which the recording head 20 and the support base 39 are approached, the switching lever 152 rotates after moving to the other side of the carriage 18. And is controlled to come into contact with one side surface.

  The sheet reversing unit 50 has a function of reversing the front and back of the sheet P, which is a cut sheet, when the transport motor 33 and the reversing roller 52 perform predetermined rotation based on an instruction from the motor driver 79. When the print job data instructs double-sided printing, the computer 75 first prints one side of the paper P, and the paper reversing unit 50 receives the printed paper P while the first roller 41 holds it, and reverses the front and back. To do. The reversed paper P is conveyed again to the recording unit 28, and the other side is printed and discharged.

A computer 75 shown in FIG. 6 includes, for example, a CPU, an ASIC (specific application IC), a RAM, a ROM, a nonvolatile memory, and the like. Various programs are stored in the ROM or the nonvolatile memory. The computer 75 implements a plurality of functional units illustrated in FIG. 6 by the CPU executing a program stored in the ROM or the non-volatile memory.
In the present embodiment, the computer 75 includes a main control unit 83, a print control unit 84, and a memory 86 as a plurality of functional units. These are not limited to the software configuration using the computer 75, and may be a hardware configuration such as an electronic circuit (for example, a custom IC), or a configuration based on cooperation between software and hardware.

As shown in FIG. 6, the main control unit 83 includes a job reception unit 87, an error detection unit 88, and a power control unit 90.
The job receiving unit 87 receives print job data from the host device 200 and prints image data input to the printer 11 from a portable memory device such as a memory card or USB memory connected to the printer 11. Receive print job data. The error detection unit 88 detects an error such as a paper jam, and the power control unit 90 controls power supply to each unit in the printer 11.
The print control unit 84 includes a head control unit 91, a carriage control unit 92, a conveyance control unit 93, and a gap determination unit 85.

The head control unit 91 controls the recording head 20 via the head driver 77 based on the print image data received from the main control unit 83 and performs control for ejecting ink droplets to the recording head 20.
The carriage control unit 92 controls the carriage motor 40 via the motor driver 78 and controls driving of the carriage 18 in the scanning direction X.
The conveyance control unit 93 controls the conveyance motor 33 via the motor driver 79, and controls paper feeding and conveyance, and rotation of the switching lever 152.

  The gap determination unit (determination unit) 85 determines a gap value based on the printing condition information. In addition, when the printing condition information instructs double-sided printing and the medium is a predetermined sheet (predetermined medium), the gap determination unit 85 determines a gap value based on a print mode assumed for the predetermined sheet. decide. In the present embodiment, a postcard is assumed as a predetermined sheet, and the gap determination unit 85 acquires print condition information included in the header of the print job data, and determines whether any of the following conditions is met. .

Condition 1. The media type that is set for printing is postcard paper.
Condition 2. The media size set for printing is postcard size.
Condition 3. Duplex printing is set.
Condition 4. It is not explicitly instructed not to increase the gap value.

  In general, when the medium is a postcard, the user instructs printing of the address or the like on the postcard address surface (front surface) in the normal print mode via the printer driver 201 and the communication surface (back surface). Instructs to print an object such as a photographic image in high definition mode. In the case of postcard printing, the printer driver 201 according to the present embodiment is designed to print the address side first and then print the back side. When performing double-sided printing corresponding to postcard printing, the gap adjusting unit 82 adjusts the gap before printing on the front surface and does not adjust the gap before printing on the back surface. Apply. Therefore, by determining the condition 1 to the condition 3, it can be determined whether or not the postcard is printed on the postcard. Furthermore, in condition 4, it can be confirmed that the user has not explicitly instructed to increase the gap value.

When the printing condition information satisfies all of conditions 1 to 4, the gap determination unit 85 is applied to avoid show-through when the printing mode is “high definition” before starting the printing process. Determine the gap value to the first level. As a result, the first level gap is also applied when printing the address side of the postcard, and the gap becomes smaller than when printing on one side of the printing surface.
In general, when the postal communication surface is printed in high definition and extensively, the phenomenon of postcard curling is confirmed, but the address surface is printed first according to the specifications of the printer driver 201, so that the gap is small. Even if it exists, it can avoid that the postcard and the recording head 20 contact.
In addition, since the postal address face has a smaller printing area than the communication face, the curl phenomenon that occurs when the address face is printed does not affect the printing of the communication face.

On the other hand, if the printing condition information does not satisfy one of the conditions 1 to 4, the gap determination unit 85 refers to the gap information table stored in the memory 86 and sets a gap value that matches the printing condition information. decide. In the gap information table, gap values corresponding to the paper type, paper size, and print mode are described.
Information on the gap value determined by the gap determination unit 85 is sent to the carriage control unit 92, and the rotation amount of the carriage motor 40 is determined so as to be the gap value determined by the gap adjustment unit 82.

  The memory 86 is assumed to be a RAM or a nonvolatile memory. The memory 86 stores reference data necessary for each control unit 83 and 84 to perform various controls such as a gap information table. Further, the memory 86 stores calculation results by the control units 83 and 84, a flag for state management, and the like.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart for explaining a series of printing processes. When this process is started, first, when receiving the print job data, the computer 75 executes a print preparation process (step S300). Details of the print preparation process will be described with reference to a flowchart of the print preparation process shown in FIG.
When the print preparation process is started, the computer 75 determines whether or not the printing condition information included in the print job data is set to automatically perform duplex printing (step S302).

If duplex printing is not set (No in step S302), the process proceeds to step S312.
On the other hand, if double-sided printing is set (Yes in step S302), the computer 75 determines whether it is explicitly instructed not to increase the gap value. In the present embodiment, a rubbing avoidance mode that can be set on the setting screen of the printer driver 201 is assumed as a setting that does not increase the gap value. Accordingly, the computer 75 determines whether or not the rubbing avoidance mode is set in the printing condition information included in the print job data (step S304).

If the rubbing avoidance mode is set (Yes in step S304), the process proceeds to step S312.
On the other hand, if the rubbing avoidance mode is not set (No in step S304), the computer 75 determines whether or not the media size is set to the postcard size in the print condition information included in the print job data. (Step S306).
If the media size is not set to the postcard size (No in step S306), the process proceeds to step S312.
On the other hand, if the media size is set to the postcard size (Yes in step S306), the computer 75 determines whether the media type is set to postcard paper in the print condition information included in the print job data. Determination is made (step S308).
If the media type is not set to postcard paper (No in step S308), the process proceeds to step S312.
On the other hand, if the media type is set to postcard paper (Yes in step S308), the computer 75 sets the gap value to the first level (step S310) and ends the print preparation process.
In step S312, the computer 75 refers to the gap information table, sets the gap acquired from the gap information table, and ends the print preparation process.

Returning to FIG. 8, the computer 75 feeds the paper P to be printed and transports it to the printable position (step S320).
Next, the computer 75 performs printing on the printing target surface of the paper P (step S322). In this case, the gap value is the level set in the print preparation process in step S300.
Subsequently, the computer 75 determines whether or not the print condition information included in the print job data is a print job for performing double-sided printing (step S324).
If it is determined that the print job is not for duplex printing (No in step S324), the process proceeds to step S330.

On the other hand, if it is determined that the print job is to perform double-sided printing (Yes in step S324), the computer 75 reverses the paper P (step S326) and conveys it to the printable position.
Next, the computer 75 prints the printing target surface of the paper P, that is, the back surface of the surface printed in Step S322 (Step S328), and proceeds to Step S330.
When performing double-sided printing, the gap value set in the print preparation process in step S300 is maintained for the gap when printing the back side, and the gap is not adjusted according to the printing condition information on the back side. Therefore, the same gap value is obtained on both sides when printing on both sides.
In step S330, the computer 75 discharges the paper P and ends the series of processes.

According to the embodiment described above, the following effects can be obtained.
(1) Two motors, a carriage motor 40 that moves the carriage 18 in the scanning direction and a conveyance motor 33 that conveys the paper P in the sub-scanning direction, reverse the paper P for double-sided printing and adjust the gap. Therefore, the printer 11 can be easily reduced in size and weight.
(2) When performing double-sided printing on a postcard, before executing printing, set the gap to be a small gap that is applied to the print setting on the communication side, and the same gap for the address side and the communication side. Therefore, ink mist scattering to the conveyance area of the paper P can be suppressed.
(3) The adjustment of the gap is started by rotating the conveyance motor 33 in the direction opposite to the conveyance direction of the paper P. However, since the gap is not adjusted during the front surface printing and the back surface printing at the time of duplex printing, the conveyance motor 33 is adjusted. The paper P is transported in the reverse direction on the transport path by rotating in reverse, so that the position of the paper P can be prevented from shifting.
(4) Since the printer driver 201 prints the address surface having a smaller print area than the communication surface first, the carriage 18 is prevented from rubbing against the paper P when the communication surface is printed due to the curl phenomenon that occurs after the address surface is printed. it can.

An apparatus that implements the above-described method may be realized by a single apparatus or may be realized by combining a plurality of apparatuses, and includes various aspects.
Further, the liquid ejected from the recording head 20 is not limited to ink, and for example, a color material, a conductive paste, and a bio-organic substance can be assumed.

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 11 ... Printer, 12 ... Apparatus main body, 13 ... Operation panel, 14 ... Display part, 15 ... Operation part, 15a ... Power switch, 15b ... Selection switch, 16 ... Feed cassette, 17 ... Pickup roller, 18 ... Carriage, 19 ... guide rail, 20 ... recording head, 21 ... cover, 22 ... cover, 23 ... stacker, 25 ... cassette feeding section, 26 ... feeding section, 27 ... media transport section, 28 ... recording section, 29 ... feed section, DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 30 ... Separation part, 31 ... Swing shaft, 32 ... Swing part, 33 ... Conveyance motor, 34 ... Feeding drive roller, 35 ... Separation roller, 36 ... Feeding driven roller, 37 ... Conveyance driving roller, 38 ... Conveyance Follower roller, 39 ... support base, 40 ... carriage motor, 41 ... first roller, 42 ... second roller, 50 ... paper reversing section, 52 ... reversing roller, 54 ... reversing Road, 70 ... Controller, 71 ... Communication interface, 72 ... Linear encoder, 73 ... Rotary encoder, 74 ... Paper detection sensor, 75 ... Computer, 76 ... Display driver, 77 ... Head driver, 78, 79 ... Motor driver, 81 ... Power transmission switching unit, 82 ... Gap adjustment unit, 83 ... Main control unit, 84 ... Print control unit, 85 ... Gap determination unit, 86 ... Memory, 87 ... Job reception unit, 88 ... Error detection unit, 90 ... Power control unit 91: Head control unit, 92: Carriage control unit, 93: Transport control unit, 94: Main gap adjustment unit, 96: Sub-gap adjustment unit, 98 ... Synchronization unit, 100 ... Rack, 102 ... Rack, 104 ... First Transmission gear 106 ... second transmission gear 108 ... pinion gear shaft 110 ... third transmission gear 112 ... fourth Reaching gear, 114 ... sliding member, 116 ... cam member, 118 ... sliding member, 148 ... projection, 152 ... switching lever, 152a ... tip, 154 ... opening, 156 ... oscillating shaft, 166 ... main guide rail 168: Sub guide rail, 170: Sliding surface, 172: Support surface, 174 ... Guide surface, 176 ... Regulator, 188 ... Case, 190 ... Ink cartridge storage unit, 200 ... Host device, 201 ... Printer driver, 202: Input unit.

Claims (4)

A printing apparatus that prints by ejecting ink droplets onto a medium that faces a recording head that moves in a scanning direction and moves in a sub-scanning direction that intersects the scanning direction, based on print job data,
A scanning unit that reciprocates the recording head in the scanning direction according to the rotation of the first rotating unit;
A transport unit configured to transport the medium in the sub-scanning direction by rotating the second rotating unit in one direction;
A reversing unit for reversing the front and back of the medium in conjunction with the rotation of the second rotating means;
A determination unit that determines a gap value indicating an interval between the recording head and a support surface that supports the medium based on print condition information included in the print job data;
When the second rotating means rotates in the other direction, the recording head is adjusted in the gap direction that defines the interval according to the rotation of the first rotating means to adjust the interval. An adjustment unit,
When the printing condition information instructs printing on both sides of the medium,
The determining unit determines the gap value based on a print setting condition applied to one surface of the predetermined medium when the medium is a predetermined medium;
The adjusting unit adjusts the position of the recording head so that the gap becomes the gap value before the recording head ejects the ink droplets onto the medium, and both sides of the medium are printed. The printing apparatus is characterized in that the position of the recording head is held. The printing apparatus according to claim 1,
The determining unit determines the gap value that decreases the interval, out of the two gap values determined based on the print setting conditions respectively applied to the front and back surfaces of the predetermined medium. A printing device. The printing apparatus according to claim 1,
The printing apparatus, wherein the scanning unit sandwiches a carriage including the recording head with a plurality of guide members, and the guide members guide the carriage in the scanning direction. The printing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
The adjustment unit converts the power in the scanning direction generated by the rotation of the first rotating unit into the gap direction by a cam member, and moves the recording head in the gap direction.

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