JP2014100873A - Image formation apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an image formation apparatus capable of ensuring switching a carriage position to a carriage descent position and setting a correct reference position of the carriage position even if the carriage position is unclear when the apparatus is turned on.SOLUTION: In an ink-jet-recording control device 200 of an ink jet printer, a reference position of a carriage position for position information from a linear encoder 122 is set as a position at which a carriage 100 is stopped by abutting a terminal end of an operable range in a main scan direction against one side plate of an apparatus mechanism in movement of the carriage 100. When a printing control unit 208 serving as a carriage-main-scan moving control unit controls a main-scan motor drive unit 209 to drive a main scan motor 105 and the reference position of the carriage position is determined first when the control device 200 is turned on after power supply to the device 200, the position at which the carriage 100 is abutted against one side plate after the carriage 100 is moved in one direction at a low speed, stopped at a first abutment position, and then moved again in the same direction at a high speed is set as a terminal position, i.e., the reference position.

Description

  The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus that can set a correct carriage reference position after power is supplied to the apparatus.

  Conventionally, in order to print clearly on recording paper by an ink jet printer which is a general-purpose form of an image forming apparatus, it is necessary to keep the interval between the recording head and the recording paper accurately and constant, for example, plain paper and envelope When the thickness of the recording paper is different as in the above relationship, a method of automatically raising and lowering the recording head surface according to the thickness of the recording paper has been proposed.

  As a well-known technique for setting the reference position of such a recording head or a carriage including the recording head, for example, “home position control of an ink jet printer that can accurately perform positioning control of the home position and can be manufactured at low cost. Apparatus, and an inkjet printer provided with the apparatus "(Patent Document 1).

  In the technology according to Patent Document 1 described above, the carriage is moved to the printer side plate on which the fixed pressing member is installed, and the carriage height is changed by pressing the rotating member of the carriage against the fixed pressing member. Since the reference position of the carriage is unknown when the power is supplied, the carriage is moved to the side plate at a low speed after the power is turned on, and the position where the carriage hits the side plate is set as the reference position of the carriage position.

  More specifically, the technique disclosed in Patent Document 1 aims at accurately determining the reference position of the carriage position, and is provided on one side of the carriage movement direction and stops the movement of the abutting carriage. A right side plate) and a movement amount count detecting means which is provided on the carriage and detects the movement amount of the carriage relative to the ink jet printer main body as a numerical value at fixed intervals, and detects the carriage from a certain position. Of the movement amount count detecting means for moving the carriage from the stopping position to a certain position, using the count value of the moving amount detecting means at the position where the carriage is stopped by the stopping member as the first count value. When the count value is the second count value and the first count value and the second count value are compared and equal In which the position of 衝止 member and the reference position of the count start.

  However, in this method of determining the reference position of the carriage position, when the carriage is moved to the side plate side at a low speed when the power is turned on, the carriage is caused by some trouble (for example, when the power cable is pulled out while the carriage is raised). In the raised position, torque is insufficient due to the low speed, the rotating member does not rotate, and the carriage stops at the position where the rotating member of the carriage contacts the fixed pressing member. In such a case, there is a problem that a malfunction occurs in the operation of the device, for example, the carriage collides with the side plate on the opposite side during printing.

  The present invention has been made to solve such a problem, and its technical problem is that even when the carriage position is unknown when the power is turned on, the operation is surely switched to the carriage lowered position so that the correct carriage position is set. An object of the present invention is to provide an image forming apparatus capable of setting a reference position.

  In order to solve the above technical problem, a first means of the present invention includes a carriage that forms an image by ejecting ink from an inkjet recording head to a recording sheet while moving in a predetermined direction, and a position of the carriage. Position information acquisition means for acquiring information, a carriage main scanning moving unit that moves the carriage in the main scanning direction perpendicular to the sub-scanning direction that is the recording paper conveyance direction, and one end side of the carriage movement range, the inkjet A capping unit that covers the nozzles that eject ink droplets by the recording head, a carriage lowering mechanism that moves the carriage toward the recording sheet on the same side of the moving range of the carriage as the capping unit, and movement of the carriage One side of the range that is away from the recording paper surface on the opposite side of the capping section And a carriage main scanning movement control unit for controlling movement of the carriage in the main scanning direction, the carriage position for the position information acquired by the position information acquisition unit The reference position is a position where the carriage main scanning movement control unit stops at the end of the operable range in the main scanning direction by abutting against one side plate of the device mechanism when the carriage moves. When the reference position of the carriage position is first determined later, the carriage is moved in one direction at a low speed, stopped at the first contact position, and then moved again in the same direction at a high speed to stop against the one side plate. The above-mentioned position is set as the end, and is set as the reference position.

  The second means of the present invention includes a carriage that forms an image by ejecting ink from an inkjet recording head to a recording sheet while moving in a predetermined direction, and position information acquisition that acquires position information of the carriage. Means, a carriage main scanning moving unit that moves the carriage in the main scanning direction orthogonal to the sub-scanning direction as the recording paper conveyance direction, and one end side of the carriage moving range, and ejects ink droplets by the ink jet recording head A capping unit that covers the nozzle to be moved, a carriage lowering mechanism that moves the carriage toward the recording paper surface on the same side as the capping unit on the one side of the carriage movement range, and one end side of the carriage movement range. A carriage that moves the carriage away from the recording paper on the opposite side of the capping section An image forming apparatus including a lifting mechanism and a carriage main scanning movement control unit that controls movement of the carriage in the main scanning direction, wherein the reference position of the carriage position for the position information acquired by the position information acquisition unit is The carriage main scanning movement control unit is a position where the carriage main scanning movement controller is stopped at the end of the operable range in the main scanning direction by being abutted against one side plate of the device mechanism when the carriage is moved. When determining the reference position of the position, the carriage moved in one direction at a low speed and stopped at the first abutting position, then moved by a predetermined distance in the opposite direction to the one direction, stopped, and then moved again for the first time. It is characterized in that a position where it is moved in the one direction at a high speed and stopped by hitting the one side plate is set as a terminal and used as the reference position.

  According to the image forming apparatus of the present invention, the setting of the reference position of the carriage position when the power is turned on when the detection position by the encoder sensor is unknown is devised, and when the reference position of the carriage position is first determined after the power supply of the apparatus is determined, After moving the carriage in one direction at a speed and stopping at the first abutting position, it is moved again in the same direction at a high speed to hit the one side plate of the device mechanism and the position where it stopped is the operable range in the main scanning direction As a result, even if the carriage position is unknown when the power is turned on, it is surely switched to the carriage lowered position for correct operation. The reference position of the carriage position can be set.

1 is a plan view showing a schematic configuration of an ink jet printer according to Embodiment 1 of an image forming apparatus of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a functional block diagram illustrating a basic configuration of an inkjet recording control device that is a control device for the inkjet printer illustrated in FIG. 1 including peripheral devices. 3 is a flowchart showing a gap setting process for a carriage during printing by a print control unit provided in the inkjet recording control apparatus shown in FIG. 2. It is an external view of the principal part mechanism from the side surface which showed the sliding part of the carriage and slide rail in the inkjet printer shown in FIG. FIG. 5 is an external perspective view in which a main part mechanism of FIG. 4 includes a rotating cam member. It is an external view for demonstrating the mechanical operation | movement relationship between the rotation member of the rotation cam member shown in FIG. 5, and a fixed pushing member. FIG. 2 is a schematic view from the upper surface direction for explaining a state in which the carriage moves to a carriage lowering position at a main part of the ink jet printer shown in FIG. 1. FIG. 2 is a schematic view from the upper surface direction for explaining a state in which the carriage is moved to a carriage raised position at a main part in the ink jet printer shown in FIG. 1. FIG. 2 is a schematic view from the upper surface direction shown for explaining a positional relationship between a side plate abutting position in the device mechanism and a carriage rising / lowering position in a main part of the ink jet printer shown in FIG. 1. FIG. 10 is a schematic view from the upper surface direction shown for explaining the positional relationship when the carriage described in FIG. 9 hits one side plate. It is the schematic diagram from the upper surface direction shown in order to demonstrate the positional relationship in which the rotation member of a rotation cam member contacts the fixed pushing member before the operation state of FIG. FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram from the upper surface direction shown to explain the state of the first stage of carriage movement under the control of a print control unit provided in the inkjet recording control apparatus shown in FIG. 2. FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram from the upper surface direction shown to explain a state of a later stage of carriage movement under the control of a print control unit provided in the inkjet recording control apparatus shown in FIG. FIG. 14 is a flowchart illustrating an operation process related to control of the print control unit described in FIGS. 12 and 13. FIG. It is the schematic diagram from the upper surface direction shown in order to demonstrate the mode of the first stage of the carriage movement by control of the printing control part with which the control apparatus for inkjet recording of the inkjet printer which concerns on Example 2 of this invention is equipped. FIG. 16 is a flowchart illustrating an operation process related to control of the print control unit described in FIG. 15. FIG. It is the schematic diagram from the upper surface direction shown in order to demonstrate the mode of the first stage of the carriage movement by control of the printing control part with which the control apparatus for inkjet recording of the inkjet printer which concerns on Example 3 of this invention is equipped. FIG. 18 is a flowchart illustrating an operation process related to the control of the print control unit described in FIG. 17. FIG. It is the flowchart which showed the operation | movement process which concerns on control of the printing control part with which the control apparatus for inkjet recording of the inkjet printer which concerns on Example 4 of this invention is equipped.

  Hereinafter, the image forming apparatus of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings, with some examples.

  FIG. 1 is a plan view showing a schematic configuration of an ink jet printer according to Embodiment 1 of the image forming apparatus of the present invention. The schematic configuration of this ink jet printer shows the basic configuration of a general ink jet recording apparatus. The carriage 100 is held by a slide rail 104 integrated with a sheet metal, and a driving pulley 106 and a driven pulley 107 are driven by a main scanning motor 105. It has a function of moving and scanning in the main scanning direction via the timing belt 102 that is interposed therebetween.

  For example, the carriage 100 includes a plurality of recording heads 118 including four liquid ejection heads that eject ink droplets of each color of yellow (Y), cyan (C), magenta (M), and black (K). The nozzle hole array of the nozzle hole surface in which the ink discharge ports (nozzle holes) are formed is arranged in the sub-scanning direction in the vertical direction of the drawing sheet on the same plane as the main scanning direction in the horizontal direction of the drawing sheet. It is attached towards. Here, the case where independent droplet discharge heads are used will be described. However, one or a plurality of head configurations having a plurality of nozzle hole arrays for discharging recording liquid droplets of the respective colors may be employed. Further, the number of colors and the arrangement order are not limited to those disclosed here.

  As the ink-jet head constituting the recording head 118, a piezoelectric actuator such as a piezoelectric element, a thermal actuator that uses a phase change caused by film boiling of a liquid using an electrothermal transducer such as a heating resistor, and a metal phase change caused by a temperature change. For example, a shape memory alloy actuator to be used, an electrostatic actuator using an electrostatic force, or the like provided as pressure generating means for generating a pressure for discharging a droplet can be applied.

  Further, the carriage 100 is provided with an encoder scale 103 having slits along the main scanning direction, and the carriage 100 is provided with an encoder sensor 117 for detecting the slits of the encoder scale 103, and thereby, the carriage 100 in the main scanning direction. The linear encoder which detects the position of is comprised.

  On the other hand, in order to convey the recording paper 108, a conveyance belt 101 is provided as a conveying means for electrostatically attracting the recording paper 108 and conveying it at a position facing the recording head 118. The transport belt 101 is driven by the sub-scanning motor 111 as the transport roller 109 is rotationally driven via a timing belt 114 passed between the transport drive pulley 112 and the transport roller pulley 113.

  The conveyor belt 101 is provided with a wheel encoder 115 formed with slits on the same axis as the conveyor roller 109, and an encoder sensor 116 for detecting the slit of the wheel encoder 115 is provided on a side plate that is schematically illustrated, thereby sub-scanning the conveyor belt 101. It constitutes a wheel encoder that detects the position of the direction. The conveyor belt 101 is an endless belt, and is configured to wrap around the conveyor roller 109 and the tension roller 110 so as to circulate in the sub-scanning direction. )

  As the structure of the conveyor belt 101, a single-layer belt or a multilayer belt having two or more layers can be applied. However, in the case of a single-layer structure belt, the entire layer is preferably formed of an insulating material in order to contact the recording paper or the charging roller. In the case of a multilayer belt, it is preferable that the side that contacts the recording paper or the charging roller is formed of an insulating layer, and the side that does not contact the recording paper or the charging roller is formed of a conductive layer.

  FIG. 2 is a functional block diagram showing the basic configuration of the inkjet recording control device 200 serving as a control device for the inkjet printer, including peripheral devices.

  The ink jet recording control apparatus 200 includes a printer driver 119 as a peripheral device, an operation panel 120, a head driver 121 connected to a carriage 100 including a recording head 118, a main scanning motor 105 connected to the carriage 100, a linear encoder 122, A charging roller 123, a sub-scanning motor 111 connected to the conveyor belt 101, and a wheel encoder 115 are provided.

  More specifically, the inkjet recording control apparatus 200 is responsible for controlling the entire apparatus and a host interface (I / F) 201 for transmitting and receiving data and signals to and from the printer driver 119 on the host side. , A CPU 202 having a control function related to a transport operation of the recording paper 108 and a moving operation of the recording head 118, a ROM 203 storing a program executed by the CPU 202 and other fixed data, and a RAM 204 temporarily storing input image data and the like. In addition, detection pulses from NVRAM 205, linear encoder 122 and wheel encoder 115 as rewritable non-volatile memory for holding data even while the apparatus is powered off, and detection signals from various other sensors are input. I / O 206 and image data And a, a ASIC207 for processing input and output signals for controlling the entire image processing and other devices such as various signal processing and rearrangement against.

  Further, the inkjet recording control apparatus 200 generates a drive waveform for driving the recording head 118 and outputs image data for selectively driving the pressure generating unit of the recording head 118 and various data associated therewith to the head driver 121. A printing control unit 208, a main scanning motor driving unit 209 for driving the main scanning motor 105, an AC bias supply unit 210 for supplying an AC bias to the charging roller 123, and sub scanning for driving the sub scanning motor 111. A motor drive unit 211. Incidentally, an operation panel 120 for inputting and displaying information necessary for the apparatus is connected to the ink jet recording control apparatus 200, and each unit including the operation panel 120 is connected by a common bus.

  The ink jet recording control apparatus 200 receives print data generated by a printer driver 119 on the host side of an information processing apparatus such as a personal computer (PC), an image reading apparatus such as an image scanner, and an imaging apparatus such as a digital camera. When the data is received by the host interface (I / F) 201 via a cable or a network, the CPU 202 reads and analyzes the print data in the reception buffer included in the received data, and performs necessary image processing, data rearrangement processing, and the like by the ASIC 207. The print control unit 208 outputs image data and drive waveforms to the head driver 121 at a required timing. The generation of dot pattern data for image output may be performed, for example, by storing font data in the ROM 203, or the image data is developed into bid map data by the printer driver 119 on the host side and transferred to the apparatus. However, the printer driver 119 is used here. The drive waveform generation unit of the print control unit 208 includes a D / A converter and an amplifier that perform D / A conversion on the drive pulse pattern data stored in the ROM 203 and read out by the CPU 202, and includes one drive pulse or a plurality of drive pulses. A drive waveform composed of drive pulses is output to the head driver 121. The head driver 121 generates drive pulses constituting a drive waveform provided from the drive waveform generation unit of the print control unit 208 based on image data (dot pattern data) corresponding to one line of the recording head 118 input serially. The recording head 118 is driven by selectively applying to the pressure generating means of the recording head 118. Here, the head driver 121 includes, for example, a shift register that inputs serial data that is a clock signal and image data, a latch circuit that latches a register value of the shift register using a latch signal, and an output value of the latch circuit that changes the level. Level conversion circuit (level shifter) to be controlled, and a switch selection circuit having an analog switch array configuration in which on / off is controlled by the level conversion circuit, and included in the drive waveform by controlling on / off of the analog switch array The required drive pulse is selectively applied to the pressure generating means of the recording head 118.

  FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing a process for setting a gap to the carriage during printing by the print control unit 208 provided in the inkjet recording control apparatus 200.

  In general, an inkjet printing apparatus is often provided with a mechanism that can change the gap between the recording head 118 and the platen in accordance with the thickness of the recording paper to be printed. In the gap setting (activity) by the print control unit 208 shown in FIG. 3, the processing is started by the start node (step S100), and it is determined whether or not the thick paper is selected as the printing paper (recording paper 108) (step S101). Do. As a result of the determination, if thick paper is selected, the gap is set to be large (step S104) and then the process proceeds to printing (step S106). If thick paper is not selected, the printer driver 119 continues to use the gap. It is determined whether or not “Large” has been selected (step S102). As a result of this determination, if the gap size is selected, the gap size is set (step S104) and then the process proceeds to printing (step S106). If the gap size is not selected, the printer main body is continuously selected. It is determined whether or not the gap size is selected on the operation panel 120 (step S103). If the gap size is selected as a result of this determination, the gap size is set (step S104), and then the process proceeds to printing (step S106). If the gap size is not selected, the gap size is set (step S104). After S105), the process proceeds to print execution (step S106). In any case, after printing is executed (step S106), the process is ended by the end node (step S107).

  FIG. 4 is an external view of a main part mechanism from the side surface showing a sliding part between the carriage 100 and the slide rail 104 in the ink jet printer shown in FIG. Referring to FIG. 4, the first sliding portion shown in the region E <b> 1 is a rotation stop surface that receives a moment due to the weight of the carriage 100. The second sliding portion shown in the region E2 serves as a positioning surface that positions the carriage 100 in the sub-scanning direction. The third sliding portion shown in the region E3 is a surface that determines the height direction of the carriage 100. A mechanism for switching the gap between the recording head 118 and the platen is provided by adding a separate rotating cam member to the third sliding and rotating the rotating cam member to switch the sliding surface. Can do.

  FIG. 5 is an external perspective view of the main mechanism shown in FIG. Referring to FIG. 5, the rotating cam member shown in the region E <b> 4 has sliding surfaces with different distances from the center in order to make the height of the carriage 100 variable. Further, the rotating cam member shown in the region E5 is provided with rotating members for rotating the cam portion only by the operation of the carriage 100 in the main scanning direction at both ends so as to sandwich the sliding surface. The rotating cam member shown in FIG. 5 has a function of lowering the gap when the rotating member located on the right side of the paper surface is actuated and raising the gap when the rotating member on the left side of the paper surface is activated.

  FIG. 6 is an external view for explaining the mechanical operation relationship between the rotating member and the fixed pressing member of the rotating cam member shown in FIG. Referring to FIG. 6, here, the carriage 100 moves toward the fixed pressing member 212 fixed in the device mechanism, so that the fixed pressing member 212 and the rotating member come into contact with each other, and the operation in the main scanning direction is rotated. It can be converted into a rotational motion of the member, and this shows that the sliding surface of the sliding portion is changed and the function of switching the gap of the carriage 100 is obtained.

  FIG. 7 is a schematic view from the upper surface direction for explaining the manner in which the carriage 100 is moved to the carriage lowering position at the main part of the ink jet printer shown in FIG. Similarly, FIG. 8 is a schematic view from the upper surface direction for explaining the manner in which the carriage 100 is moved to the carriage raised position at the main part of the ink jet printer shown in FIG. Here, the case where the right end is the carriage lowering position and the left end is the carriage raising position will be described as an example of the raising position and the lowering position of the carriage 100. However, a structure in which these relationships are reversed left and right may be used.

  Referring to FIG. 7, when the carriage 100 is moved to the carriage lowering position, the rotating member of the rotating cam member comes into contact with the above-described fixed pressing member, and the carriage 100 is lowered. Referring to FIG. 8, on the contrary, when the carriage 100 is moved to the carriage ascending position, the rotating member of the rotating cam member comes into contact with the above-described fixed pressing member, and the carriage 100 is raised.

  FIG. 9 is a schematic diagram from the upper surface direction shown for explaining the positional relationship between the side plate abutting position in the device mechanism and the carriage rising / lowering position in the main part of the ink jet printer shown in FIG. Here, it is shown that when the carriage 100 moves to the right side from the carriage lowering position, it strikes the side plate (right side), and when it moves to the left side from the carriage raised position, it strikes the side plate (left side). At this time, the contact relationship between the fixed pressing member 212 provided at a predetermined position on one side plate (right side) and the rotating member 213 of the rotating cam member provided in the carriage 100 will be described later.

  FIG. 10 is a schematic view from the top surface shown for explaining the positional relationship when the carriage 100 described in FIG. 9 abuts against one side plate (right side). Referring to FIG. 10, when the carriage 100 moves further to the right side from the carriage lowering position, it strikes the side plate, and the carriage 100 stops at the illustrated position. The stop position here is set as a reference position of the carriage position. Incidentally, here, as the carriage 100 is lowered, the rotation member 213 of the rotation cam member intersects with the fixed pressing member 212 after contacting.

  FIG. 11 is a schematic view from the upper surface direction for explaining the positional relationship in which the rotating member 213 of the rotating cam member contacts the fixed pressing member 212 before the operation state of FIG. Referring to FIG. 11, when the carriage 100 moves from the left side to the carriage lowering position, the rotating member 213 and the fixed pressing member 212 come into contact with each other, and the carriage 100 is lowered.

  However, when the power is turned on with the position detected by the encoder sensor 117 as the position information acquisition means in a state where the carriage 100 is in the raised position, the moving speed of the carriage 100 is low and torque shortage occurs, and the rotating cam member Although the rotating member 213 and the fixed pressing member 212 come into contact with each other, the carriage 100 may stop at the position shown in FIG. 11 without being lowered. In such a case, the stop position is erroneously recognized as the reference position of the carriage position. If the carriage position reference position is misrecognized, then the image printing position on the recording paper is shifted, or the left side plate is collided during printing.

  Therefore, in the inkjet recording control apparatus 200 of the inkjet printer according to the first embodiment, the reference position of the carriage position for the position information acquired by the linear encoder 122 (encoder sensor 117) is set in the main scanning direction when the carriage 100 is moved. The printing control unit 208 serving as a carriage main scanning movement control unit controls the main scanning motor driving unit 209 to set the main scanning motor 105 at a position where it stops against one side plate of the device mechanism at the end of the operable range. When the reference position of the carriage position is first determined when the power is turned on after supplying power to the apparatus, the carriage 100 is moved in one direction (right direction) at a low speed, stopped at the first contact position, and then again. Move at high speed in the same direction and hit one side plate (right side) to stop it And then, in which a reference position.

  FIG. 12 is a schematic view from the upper surface direction shown to explain the state of the first stage of carriage movement under the control of the print control unit 208 provided in the inkjet recording control apparatus 200. Referring to FIG. 12, here, under the control of the printing control unit 208, the carriage 100 is moved to one side plate (right) side at a low speed when the power is turned on, and first the rotating member 213 and the fixed pressing member 212 of the rotating cam member are moved. Stops at the position where it touches. When the power is turned on while the carriage 100 is in the raised position, the carriage 100 stops at a position having a predetermined distance ΔX from one side plate (right) surface.

  FIG. 13 is a schematic diagram from the upper surface direction shown to explain the state of the latter stage of carriage movement under the control of the print control unit 208 provided in the inkjet recording control apparatus 200. Referring to FIG. 13, here, under the control of the printing control unit 208, it is further moved to the right side by a predetermined interval ΔX from the position where it was stopped in FIG. 12, hitting one side plate (right) and stopped. A state is shown in which the position is the end of the operable range in the main scanning direction and is set as a reference position. By performing the control as described above, the carriage 100 can be reliably lowered.

  FIG. 14 is a flowchart illustrating an operation process related to control of the print control unit 208 provided in the inkjet recording control apparatus 200 of the inkjet printer according to the first embodiment. The control of the print control unit 208 is started when the apparatus is turned on. First, the carriage 100 is moved at a low speed in one direction (right side) in the main scanning direction (step S201) and then rotated first. The position where the cam member rotating member 213 and the fixed pressing member 212 come into contact with each other and stopped at a predetermined distance ΔX from one side plate (right) (step S202) and then stopped. The carriage 100 is moved by a predetermined interval ΔX at a higher speed (step S203).

  In the ink jet recording control apparatus 200 of the ink jet printer according to the second embodiment, as in the first embodiment, the reference position of the carriage position for the position information acquired by the encoder sensor 117 is set in the main scanning direction when the carriage 100 is moved. The printing control unit 208 serving as a carriage main scanning movement control unit controls the main scanning motor driving unit 209 to stop at the end of the operable range at the end of the operation range. When the main scanning motor 105 is driven and the reference position of the carriage position is first determined when the power is turned on after supplying power to the apparatus, the carriage 100 is moved in one direction (right direction) at a low speed and stopped at the first contact position. Then, after moving a predetermined distance in the direction opposite to the one direction (left direction) and stopping, the one direction that moved first again The position stop abuts against the one side plate (right side) is moved at high speed to a terminal, in which a reference position.

  FIG. 15 is a schematic view from the upper surface direction shown for explaining the state of the first stage of carriage movement under the control of the print control unit 208 provided in the ink jet recording control apparatus 200 of the ink jet printer according to the second embodiment of the present invention. FIG. Here, when the predetermined interval ΔX is a distance that can sufficiently accelerate the carriage 100 as in the case of the first embodiment described with reference to FIGS. 12 and 13, it is ensured by moving by the predetermined interval ΔX. It can abut against one side plate (right), but if the predetermined distance ΔX is not a distance that can sufficiently accelerate the carriage 100, the movement of the carriage 100 cannot reach a high speed, and the one side plate ( This is a countermeasure against the possibility of being unable to hit (right).

  Therefore, referring to FIG. 15, here, under the control of the printing control unit 208, when the power is turned on, the carriage 100 is moved to one side plate (right) at a low speed, and the rotating member 213 and the fixed pushing member of the rotating cam member are first moved. It shows a state in which the member 212 is temporarily stopped at a position of a predetermined interval ΔX where the member 212 comes into contact with and then stopped by moving a predetermined distance ΔY in a direction opposite to one direction (left side). Thereafter, the main scanning is performed at the position where the carriage 100 is moved by a predetermined distance ΔY + a predetermined interval ΔX at a high speed toward the one side plate (right) which has been operated first again, and abuts against one side plate (right side) and stopped. The reference position is the end of the operable range in the direction. By performing the control as described above, a sufficient acceleration distance can be secured, and the carriage 100 can be reliably lowered.

  FIG. 16 is a flowchart illustrating an operation process related to the control of the print control unit 208 provided in the inkjet recording control apparatus of the inkjet printer according to the second embodiment. The control of the print control unit 208 according to the second embodiment is started by turning on the power of the apparatus. First, after performing the process of moving the carriage 100 in one direction (right side) in the main scanning direction at a low speed (step S301), One direction (right side) after performing a process of stopping (step S302) at a predetermined distance ΔX from one side plate (right) of the position where the rotating member 213 and the fixed pressing member 212 of the rotating cam contact and come into contact with each other The carriage 100 is moved by a predetermined distance ΔY in the opposite direction (left side) and stopped (step S303), and then the carriage 100 is moved at a higher speed from the stopped position by a predetermined distance ΔY + a predetermined interval ΔX (step S303). S304) Processing is performed.

  In the ink jet recording control apparatus 200 of the ink jet printer according to the third embodiment, the carriage 100 moves the reference position of the carriage position for the position information acquired by the encoder sensor 117 as in the first and second embodiments. At this time, the printing control unit 208 serving as a carriage main scanning movement control unit is positioned at the end of the operable range in the main scanning direction and stopped by being abutted against one side plate of the device mechanism. In the first embodiment, when the main scanning motor 105 is driven to determine the reference position of the carriage position when the apparatus is powered on after the power is supplied to the apparatus, the power is turned on while the carriage 100 is in the carriage lowered position. When control is performed to move in one direction (right side) by a predetermined interval ΔX as in the case of the second embodiment, the carry As a response may not be able to move to the right because of the state where di 100 hits the side plate (right), those treated as normal processing without treated as JAM.

  FIG. 17 is a schematic view from the top direction shown to explain the state of the first stage of carriage movement under the control of the print control unit 208 provided in the inkjet recording control apparatus 200 of the inkjet printer according to Embodiment 3 of the present invention. FIG. Referring to FIG. 17, here, when the power is turned on under the control of the printing control unit 208 in a state where the carriage 100 is in the carriage lowered position, the rotating member 213 and the fixed pushing member of the rotating cam member are placed in the carriage lowered position. Since no load is generated due to contact with 212, the movement in the first one direction (right side) reaches the position where the carriage 100 hits the side plate (right).

  This state is different from the case where the carriage 100 stops at the carriage lowered position due to the movement in the first direction (right side) when the power is turned on in the state where the carriage 100 described in FIG. 11 exists at the carriage raised position. Unlike the first and second embodiments, when control is performed to move in one direction (right side) by a predetermined interval ΔX, the carriage 100 hits one side plate (right) at a predetermined interval ΔX = 0. Since it remains in the state, it cannot move in one direction (right side).

Therefore, in the control of the print control unit 208 according to the third embodiment, if the carriage 100 cannot be moved in one direction (right side) in the latter stage, it is normally handled as JAM (operation stop) instead of being treated as JAM. Treat as normal processing. If the movement distance is zero or less than the end position, the operation is stopped. FIG. 18 is a flowchart showing an operation process related to the control of the print control unit 208 here. The control of the print control unit 208 according to the third embodiment is started by turning on the power of the apparatus. First, after performing processing of moving the carriage 100 in one direction (right side) in the main scanning direction at a low speed (step S401), A process of stopping at a predetermined distance ΔX from one side plate (right) corresponding to the position where the rotating member 213 of the rotating cam member and the fixed pressing member 212 are in contact with each other (step S402) is performed, and then stopped. The carriage 100 is moved from the position thus moved at a higher speed by a predetermined interval ΔX (step S403). Here, since it is assumed that the power is turned on while the carriage 100 is in the carriage lowered position, the carriage 100 collides with the side plate (right) and stops before moving the predetermined interval ΔX (step S404). Therefore, after that, it is determined whether or not the power is on (step S405).

  If the result of this determination is that the power is not on, the JAM is set (step S408). If the power is on, the JAM is not set (step S409). The stop position obtained by the process of stopping at the position of the predetermined distance ΔX from the side plate (right) (step S402) is set as the side plate abutting position (reference position) (step S407).

  In the ink jet recording control apparatus 200 of the ink jet printer according to the fourth embodiment, the carriage 100 is handled as JAM when the carriage 100 cannot be moved in one direction (right side) in the operation process related to the control of the print control unit 208 of the third embodiment. First, it solves the problem of handling as normal processing.

  Specifically, since the carriage 100 has reached one side plate (right) at the time of movement shown in FIG. 17 described in the third embodiment and cannot move further to the right side, one side plate is temporarily assumed. Even if it does not reach the predetermined interval ΔX on the (right) side, it moves beyond a distance of “greater than 0 ΔX” exceeding zero and less than the predetermined interval ΔX. In consideration of the fact that there is a problem that actually has to be JAM, such as being collided with the JAM, it has a function to make it JAM when it stops after moving a distance of “greater than 0 and less than ΔX” is there.

  FIG. 19 is a flowchart illustrating an operation process related to the control of the print control unit 208 provided in the inkjet recording control apparatus of the inkjet printer according to the fourth embodiment of the present invention. The control of the print control unit 208 according to the fourth embodiment is started by turning on the power of the apparatus. First, after performing a process of moving the carriage 100 in one direction (right side) in the main scanning direction at a low speed (step S501), A process of stopping at a predetermined distance ΔX from one side plate (right) corresponding to the position where the rotating member 213 of the rotating cam member and the fixed pressing member 212 are in contact with each other (step S502) is performed, and then stopped. Processing is performed to move the carriage 100 from the position thus moved at a predetermined interval ΔX (step S503). Again, since it is assumed that the power is turned on while the carriage 100 is in the carriage lowered position, the carriage 100 collides with the side plate (right) and stops before moving the predetermined interval ΔX (step S504). Therefore, after that, it is determined whether or not the power is on (step S505).

  If the result of this determination is that the power is not on, the JAM is set (step S509), but if the power is on, the movement distance will continue to exceed 0 (zero) and the predetermined interval ΔX It is determined whether it is less than 0 and less than ΔX indicating less than (step S506). If the result of this determination is that it is greater than 0 and less than ΔX, JAM is performed (step S509). If it is not less than 0 and not greater than ΔX, JAM is not performed (step S507). The stop position obtained by the process of stopping at the position of the predetermined distance ΔX from the side plate (right) (step S502) is set as the side plate abutting position (reference position) (step S508).

  The image forming apparatus of the present invention is not limited to the form of the ink jet printer described in each embodiment, and other forms such as an apparatus that prints on a multifunction machine or a cloth other than recording paper are within the technical scope. It is included.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 100 Carriage 101 Conveyance belt 102,114 Timing belt 103 Encoder scale 104 Slide rail 105 Main scanning motor 106 Drive pulley 107 Followed pulley 108 Recording paper 109 Conveyance roller 110 Tension roller 111 Sub scanning motor 112 Conveyance drive pulley 113 Conveyance roller pulley 115 Wheel encoder 116 117 Encoder Sensor 118 Recording Head 119 Printer Driver 120 Operation Panel 121 Head Driver 122 Linear Encoder 123 Charging Roller 200 Inkjet Recording Control Device 201 Host Interface (I / F)
202 CPU
203 ROM
204 RAM
205 NVRAM
206 I / O
207 ASIC
208 Print Control Unit 209 Main Scanning Motor Driving Unit 210 AC Bias Supply Unit 211 Sub Scanning Motor Driving Unit 212 Fixed Push Member 213 Rotating Member

JP 2003-200570 A

Claims (4)

A carriage that forms an image by ejecting ink onto the recording paper from the ink jet recording head while moving in a predetermined direction, position information acquisition means for acquiring positional information of the carriage, and the carriage on the recording paper A carriage main scanning movement unit that moves in the main scanning direction orthogonal to the sub-scanning direction that is the conveyance direction, and a capping unit that is disposed on one end side of the carriage movement range and covers the nozzles that eject ink droplets by the inkjet recording head A carriage lowering mechanism for moving the carriage in a direction approaching the recording paper surface on one end side of the carriage movement range and on the same side as the capping unit, and one end side of the carriage movement range on the capping section. Move the carriage away from the recording paper surface on the opposite side A carriage lifting mechanism to, an image forming apparatus having a carriage main scanning movement control unit for controlling the movement in said main scanning direction of the carriage,
The reference position of the carriage position for the position information acquired by the position information acquisition means is abutted against one side plate of the device mechanism at the end of the operable range in the main scanning direction when the carriage is moved and stopped. The position
When the carriage main scanning movement control unit first determines the reference position of the carriage position after supplying power to the apparatus, the carriage main scanning movement control unit moves the carriage in one direction at a low speed, stops at the first abutting position, and then again in the same direction. An image forming apparatus characterized in that a position where it is moved at a high speed and stopped by hitting the one side plate is defined as a reference position. A carriage that forms an image by ejecting ink onto the recording paper from the ink jet recording head while moving in a predetermined direction, position information acquisition means for acquiring positional information of the carriage, and the carriage on the recording paper A carriage main scanning movement unit that moves in the main scanning direction orthogonal to the sub-scanning direction that is the conveyance direction, and a capping unit that is disposed on one end side of the carriage movement range and covers the nozzles that eject ink droplets by the inkjet recording head A carriage lowering mechanism for moving the carriage in a direction approaching the recording paper surface on one end side of the carriage movement range and on the same side as the capping unit, and one end side of the carriage movement range on the capping section. Move the carriage away from the recording paper surface on the opposite side A carriage lifting mechanism to, an image forming apparatus having a carriage main scanning movement control unit for controlling the movement in said main scanning direction of the carriage,
The reference position of the carriage position for the position information acquired by the position information acquisition means is abutted against one side plate of the device mechanism at the end of the operable range in the main scanning direction when the carriage is moved and stopped. The position
When the carriage main scanning movement control unit first determines a reference position of the carriage position after supplying power to the apparatus, the carriage main scanning movement control unit moves the carriage in one direction at a low speed and stops at the first abutting position and then stops the one direction. After moving at a predetermined distance in the opposite direction and stopping, the position moved once again at a high speed in one direction and hitting the one side plate and stopped is regarded as the reference position. An image forming apparatus.   3. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the carriage main scanning movement controller cannot reach the position of the end when moving to the end at a high speed during an operation of determining a reference position of the carriage position. In this case, the image forming apparatus is characterized in that the first stop position at the low speed is set as the reference position.   4. The image forming apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the carriage main scanning movement controller is not able to reach the position of the end when moving to the end at a high speed during an operation of determining a reference position of the carriage position. An image forming apparatus characterized in that the operation is stopped when the moving distance is zero or less than the position of the terminal.