JP2019162740A - Transport device, transport system, and control method - Google Patents

Abstract

To inhibit variations of processing positions where a head unit performs processing to a transported object.SOLUTION: A transport device has a head unit, performs processing to a transported object with the head unit, and includes: a detection part which detects at least a height of the head unit; and an acceleration regulation part which regulates an acceleration of movement of the head unit based on the height of the head unit to achieve the above object.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

  The present invention relates to a transport apparatus, a transport system, and a control method.

  Conventionally, methods for performing various processes using a head unit are known. For example, a method of forming an image by a so-called ink jet method in which ink is ejected from a print head is known.

  For example, when the print head unit is used, the apparatus measures the vibration state of the print head unit. Then, the apparatus generates a drive waveform to which a correction value corresponding to vibration obtained by measurement is applied, and applies the drive waveform to the print head unit. Thus, a method is known in which printing defects such as periodic vertical stripes are made inconspicuous and the quality of printing is improved (for example, see Patent Document 1).

  However, there are cases where it is required to further improve the accuracy of the processing to be performed. On the other hand, in the conventional technology, the processing position where the processing is performed by the head unit may vary.

  An object of one aspect of the present invention is to provide an apparatus that can suppress variations in processing positions at which a head unit performs processing on an object to be transported in a transport apparatus such as a liquid discharge apparatus.

In order to solve the above-described problem, it is an aspect of the present invention.
A transport device that has a head unit and performs processing on the transported object by the head unit,
A detection unit for detecting at least the height of the head unit;
And an acceleration adjusting unit that adjusts an acceleration for moving the head unit based on a height of the head unit.

  It is possible to provide an apparatus capable of suppressing variations in processing position where the head unit processes the object to be conveyed.

It is the schematic which shows an example of the apparatus which discharges the liquid which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention. It is the schematic which shows the example of whole structure of the apparatus which discharges the liquid which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention. It is a top view which shows the structural example of the apparatus which discharges the liquid which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention. It is a block diagram which shows an example of the hardware constitutions for calculating the variation | change_quantity of the to-be-conveyed object which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows an example of the external shape of the liquid discharge head unit which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention. It is a block diagram which shows the hardware structural example which implement | achieves the detection apparatus which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention. It is an external view which shows an example of the sensor device contained in a detection apparatus. It is a functional block diagram which shows an example of a function structure of the detection apparatus which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention. It is a block diagram which shows an example of the correlation calculation method which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows an example of the search method of the peak position in the correlation calculation which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the example of a calculation result of the correlation calculation which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention. It is a block diagram which shows an example of the hardware constitutions of the control part which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention. It is a block diagram which shows an example of the hardware constitutions of the data management apparatus which the control part which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention has. It is a block diagram which shows an example of the hardware constitutions of the image output apparatus which the control part which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention has. It is a flowchart which shows an example of the process which adjusts the acceleration by the apparatus which discharges the liquid which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the example of the fluctuation amount of the height which the apparatus which discharges the liquid which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention detects. It is a figure which shows the example of a relationship between the dispersion | variation in the landing position which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention, and the variation | change_quantity of height. It is a figure which shows the example of a relationship between the variation | change_quantity of the height which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention, and acceleration. It is a timing chart which shows an example of the method of calculating the variation | change_quantity of the to-be-conveyed object by the apparatus which discharges the liquid which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention. It is the schematic which shows the 1st modification of the apparatus which discharges the liquid which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention. It is a block diagram which shows the 2nd modification of the conveying apparatus which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention. It is a block diagram which shows the 3rd modification of the apparatus which discharges the liquid which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. Note that, in the present specification and drawings, components having substantially the same functional configuration are denoted by the same reference numerals, and redundant description is omitted.

<Example of overall configuration>
Hereinafter, an example in which the head unit included in the transport apparatus is a liquid discharge head unit that discharges liquid will be described. Further, in the following description, an example in which the position at which the liquid discharge head unit discharges the liquid onto the web is referred to as a “processing position” will be described. In the following example, the transport device is a “device that ejects liquid”.

  FIG. 1 is a schematic view showing an example of an apparatus for ejecting liquid according to an embodiment of the present invention. In such an apparatus for ejecting liquid, the ejected liquid is a recording liquid such as aqueous or oil-based ink. Hereinafter, an example in which the apparatus for ejecting liquid is an image forming apparatus will be described.

  The apparatus 110 that discharges liquid conveys an object to be conveyed such as the web 120. In the example shown in the figure, the apparatus 110 for ejecting liquid forms an image by ejecting liquid onto the web 120 conveyed by the roller 130 or the like. When an image is formed, the web 120 can be said to be a recording medium. The web 120 is a so-called continuous paper printing medium or the like. That is, the web 120 is a roll-shaped sheet or the like that can be wound.

  For example, the device 110 for ejecting liquid is a so-called production printer. In the following description, an example will be described in which the roller 130 adjusts the tension of the web 120 and the web 120 is conveyed in the illustrated direction (hereinafter referred to as “conveying direction 10”). Further, in the figure, the direction orthogonal to the transport direction 10 is referred to as “orthogonal direction 20”. In this example, the device 110 that ejects liquid ejects ink of each of four colors, black (K), cyan (C), magenta (M), and yellow (Y), to a predetermined portion of the web 120. Inkjet printer for forming an image on

  FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of the overall configuration of a device for ejecting liquid according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in the figure, the device 110 for ejecting liquid has four liquid ejection head units for ejecting each of the four colors of ink.

  Each liquid discharge head unit discharges each liquid of each color to the web 120 conveyed in the conveyance direction 10. The web 120 is transported by two pairs of nip rollers, a roller 230, and the like. Hereinafter, of the two pairs of nip rollers, the nip roller installed on the upstream side of each liquid ejection head unit is referred to as a “first nip roller NR1”. On the other hand, a nip roller installed on the downstream side of the first nip roller NR1 and each liquid discharge head unit is referred to as a “second nip roller NR2”. Each nip roller rotates with a conveyed object such as the web 120 interposed therebetween, as shown in the figure. Thus, each nip roller and roller 230 is a mechanism or the like that conveys the web 120 and the like in a predetermined direction.

  The recording medium of the web 120 is preferably long. Specifically, the length of the recording medium is preferably longer than the distance between the first nip roller NR1 and the second nip roller NR2. Furthermore, the recording medium is not limited to the web. That is, the recording medium may be a sheet that is folded and stored, so-called “Z paper” or the like.

  Hereinafter, in the illustrated overall configuration example, each liquid discharge head unit is installed in the order of black (K), cyan (C), magenta (M), and yellow (Y) from the upstream side toward the downstream side. To do. That is, the liquid discharge head unit installed on the most upstream side (hereinafter referred to as “black liquid discharge head unit 210K”) is used for black (K). A liquid discharge head unit (hereinafter referred to as “cyan liquid discharge head unit 210C”) installed next to the black liquid discharge head unit 210K is used for cyan (C). Further, a liquid discharge head unit (hereinafter referred to as “magenta liquid discharge head unit 210M”) installed next to the cyan liquid discharge head unit 210C is used for magenta (M). Subsequently, the liquid discharge head unit (hereinafter referred to as “yellow liquid discharge head unit 210Y”) installed on the most downstream side is used for yellow (Y).

  Each liquid discharge head unit discharges each color ink to a predetermined portion of the web 120 based on image data or the like. This ink discharge position (hereinafter referred to as “discharge position”) is substantially equal to the position (hereinafter referred to as “landing position”) where the liquid discharged from the liquid discharge head unit lands on the recording medium. That is, the landing position is almost directly below the liquid discharge head unit. Hereinafter, an example in which a processing position where processing is performed by the liquid discharge head unit is set as a discharge position will be described.

  In this example, black ink is ejected to the ejection position of the black liquid ejection head unit 210K (hereinafter referred to as “black ejection position PK”). Similarly, cyan ink is ejected to the ejection position of the cyan liquid ejection head unit 210C (hereinafter referred to as “cyan ejection position PC”). Further, the magenta ink is ejected to the ejection position of the magenta liquid ejection head unit 210M (hereinafter referred to as “magenta ejection position PM”). The yellow ink is ejected to the ejection position of the yellow liquid ejection head unit 210Y (hereinafter referred to as “yellow ejection position PY”). For example, the controller 520 connected to each liquid discharge head unit performs control of each timing at which each liquid discharge head unit discharges ink, control of the actuator AC provided in each liquid discharge head unit, and the like. Note that the timing control and the actuator control may be performed by two or more controllers or circuits. The actuator will be described later.

  In the illustrated example, a plurality of rollers are installed for each liquid ejection head unit. As shown in the figure, for example, the plurality of rollers are respectively installed on the upstream side and the downstream side across the liquid discharge head units. Specifically, a roller (hereinafter referred to as a “first roller”) that supports the web 120 is installed on the upstream side of each ejection position in the transport path of the web 120 for each liquid ejection head unit. In addition, a roller (hereinafter referred to as “second roller”) that supports the web 120 downstream from each discharge position is installed.

  Thus, when the first roller and the second roller are installed, so-called “flapping” is reduced at each discharge position. The first roller and the second roller are, for example, driven rollers. Further, the first roller and the second roller may be rollers that are rotationally driven by a motor or the like.

  The first roller that is an example of the first support member and the second roller that is an example of the second support member may not be a rotating body such as a driven roller. That is, the first roller and the second roller may be support members that support the object to be conveyed. For example, the first support member and the second support member may be pipes or shafts having a circular cross section. In addition, the first support member and the second support member may be curved plates or the like in which a portion in contact with the object to be conveyed has an arc shape. Hereinafter, an example in which the first support member is the first roller and the second support member is the second roller will be described.

  Specifically, the first black roller CR1K is installed on the upstream side in the conveyance direction of the web 120 at the black discharge position PK. On the other hand, the second black roller CR2K is installed on the downstream side in the conveyance direction of the web 120 from the black discharge position PK.

  Similarly, a cyan first roller CR1C and a cyan second roller CR2C are respectively installed on the cyan liquid discharge head unit 210C. Further, a first magenta roller CR1M and a second magenta roller CR2M are installed for the magenta liquid ejection head unit 210M. Further, a yellow first roller CR1Y and a yellow second roller CR2Y are respectively installed on the yellow liquid discharge head unit 210Y.

  For example, as illustrated in FIG. 2, the apparatus 110 that ejects liquid includes a sensor device (SENK, SENC, SENM, SENY) (hereinafter referred to as “first sensor device”) for each liquid ejection head unit. Further, the apparatus 110 that ejects liquid may further include a sensor device (hereinafter referred to as “second sensor device SEN2”) upstream of the first sensor device, separately from the first sensor device. When the second sensor device SEN2 is provided, the second sensor device SEN2 is the most upstream sensor.

  As described above, in the example illustrated in FIG. 2, the apparatus 110 that ejects liquid includes a total of five sensor devices, including four first sensor devices and one second sensor device SEN2.

  In the following description, each of the first sensor device and the second sensor device may be simply referred to as “sensor device”. The sensor device is not limited to be installed at the illustrated configuration and illustrated position.

  In the following description, a total of five sensor devices will be described. Note that the number of sensor devices is not limited to five. That is, as shown in FIG. 2, the number of sensor devices may be greater than the number of liquid ejection head units by adding up the number of first sensor devices and second sensor devices. For example, two or more sensor devices may be installed for each liquid ejection head unit. Similarly, two or more second sensor devices may be installed. Further, the second sensor device SEN2 may be omitted.

  The sensor device includes an optical sensor OS that uses light such as visible light, laser, or infrared light. The optical sensor OS may be, for example, a CCD (Charge Coupled Device) camera or a CMOS (Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor) camera. That is, the sensor device includes, for example, a sensor that can detect surface information of the web 120. The apparatus that ejects the liquid can detect the surface information of the web 120 by the sensor device, and can detect the relative position, the moving speed, the moving amount, or a combination thereof based on a plurality of detection results. The sensor devices may be the same type or different types. In the following description, all sensor devices are of the same type.

  Further, the sensor device includes a laser light source, as will be described later. When laser light emitted from the light source overlaps and interferes with scattered waves scattered on the surface of the web 120, a speckle pattern or the like is generated. The optical sensor OS included in each sensor device captures such a speckle pattern and generates image data. The speckle pattern is an example of surface information on the web 120. As described above, the sensor device can detect a relative position, a moving speed, a moving amount, a combination thereof, or the like based on a change in the position of a pattern imaged by the optical sensor OS. The apparatus 110 that ejects liquid can determine the amount of movement for moving each liquid ejection head unit, the ejection timing at which each liquid ejection head unit performs processing, and the like.

  In the following description, the “position where the sensor device is installed” refers to a position where position detection or the like is performed by the sensor device. Therefore, it is not necessary to install all devices used for position detection or the like at the “position where the sensor device is installed”. That is, only the optical sensor OS may be installed at a position where detection is performed as a sensor device, and other devices may be installed at other positions connected to the optical sensor OS via a cable or the like. On the other hand, all the devices used for detection may be installed at a “position where the sensor device is installed”. The black sensor device SENK, the cyan sensor device SENC, the magenta sensor device SENM, the yellow sensor device SENY, and the second sensor device SEN2 illustrated in FIG. 2 are examples of positions where the sensor devices are installed. Furthermore, in the following description, each sensor device may be simply referred to as “sensor device”.

  In addition, the position where the first sensor device is installed is preferably a position close to each discharge position. When the first sensor device is installed at a position close to each discharge position, the distance between each discharge position and the first sensor device is shortened. When the distance between each ejection position and the first sensor device is shortened, errors in detection can be reduced. Therefore, the apparatus that ejects the liquid can accurately detect the position of the recording medium in the transport direction or the orthogonal direction by the first sensor device.

  In the following description, the sensor device installed for the black liquid discharge head unit 210K is referred to as “black sensor device SENK”. Similarly, a sensor device installed for the cyan liquid ejection head unit 210C is referred to as “cyan sensor device SENC”. Further, the sensor device installed for the magenta liquid ejection head unit 210M is referred to as “magenta sensor device SENM”. Furthermore, the sensor device installed for the yellow liquid ejection head unit 210Y is referred to as “yellow sensor device SENY”.

  Specifically, the position close to each discharge position is between each first roller and each second roller. In other words, in the illustrated example, the position where the black sensor device SENK is installed is preferably the inter-black roller INTK1. Similarly, the position where the cyan sensor device SENC is installed is preferably between the cyan rollers INTC1 as shown in the figure. Further, it is desirable that the position where the magenta sensor device SENM is installed is the magenta roller INTM1 as illustrated. Furthermore, the position where the yellow sensor device SENY is installed is preferably between the yellow rollers INTY1, as shown in the figure. As described above, when the first sensor device is installed between the rollers, the first sensor device can detect the position of the recording medium at a position close to each ejection position. In many cases, the moving speed is relatively stable between the rollers. Therefore, a device that ejects liquid can accurately detect the position of the recording medium in the orthogonal direction.

  Furthermore, it is desirable that the position where the first sensor device is installed is a position closer to the first roller than the discharge position between the rollers. That is, it is desirable that the position where the first sensor device is installed is upstream of each discharge position, as shown in FIG.

  Specifically, the position where the black sensor device SENK is installed is between the black discharge position PK and the position where the first black roller CR1K is installed (hereinafter referred to as “black upstream section INTK2”). Is desirable. Similarly, the position where the cyan sensor device SENC is installed is preferably between the cyan discharge position PC and the position where the cyan first roller CR1C is installed (hereinafter referred to as “cyan upstream section INTC2”). . Further, the position where the magenta sensor device SENM is installed is preferably between the magenta discharge position PM and the position where the first magenta roller CR1M is installed (hereinafter referred to as “magenta upstream section INTM2”). Furthermore, the position where the yellow sensor device SENY is installed is preferably between the yellow discharge position PY and the position where the first yellow roller CR1Y is installed (hereinafter referred to as “yellow upstream section INTY2”). .

  When the first sensor device is installed in the black upstream section INTK2, the cyan upstream section INTC2, the magenta upstream section INTM2, and the yellow upstream section INTY2, the apparatus for ejecting liquid positions the recording medium in the orthogonal direction. It can be detected with high accuracy. When the first sensor device is installed at such a position, the first sensor device is installed upstream from each landing position. For this reason, the apparatus for ejecting liquid can first detect the position of the recording medium with accuracy by the first sensor device on the upstream side, the timing at which each liquid ejection head unit ejects, the amount of movement to move each liquid ejection head unit, or These combinations can be calculated.

  That is, when the position is detected on the upstream side and then the web 120 is transported to the landing position on the downstream side, the adjustment of the timing for discharging the liquid, the movement of the liquid discharge head unit, or a combination thereof is performed during that time. Done. Therefore, each liquid discharge head unit can accurately change the landing position in the transport direction, the orthogonal direction, or both directions.

  If the position immediately below each liquid ejection head unit is the position where the first sensor device is installed, color misregistration may occur due to a delay in the control operation. Therefore, if the position where the first sensor device is installed is upstream of each landing position, the device that ejects liquid can reduce color misregistration and improve image quality. In addition, there are cases where the vicinity of each landing position or the like is a position where the first sensor device or the like is installed. Therefore, it is desirable that the position where the first sensor device is installed is closer to each first roller than each landing position.

  On the other hand, the position of the sensor device may be, for example, directly below each liquid ejection head unit. In this way, when the sensor device is directly below, the accurate movement amount immediately below can be detected by the sensor device. Therefore, if the control operation or the like can be performed quickly, it is desirable that the sensor device is located closer to the position immediately below each liquid discharge head unit. On the other hand, the sensor device may not be directly under each liquid discharge head unit, and the same calculation is performed even when the sensor device is not directly under.

  If the error can be tolerated, the position of the sensor device may be a position immediately below each liquid discharge head unit or between each first roller and each second roller and downstream from the position immediately below.

  On the other hand, the positions where the second sensor devices SEN2 are installed are positions where the intervals between the sensor devices are substantially equal when the intervals between the first sensor devices are approximately equal. It is desirable. Hereinafter, an example shown in FIG. 2 will be described. Specifically, the interval between the black sensor device SENK and the cyan sensor device SENC, the interval between the cyan sensor device SENC and the magenta sensor device SENM, and the interval between the magenta sensor device SENM and the yellow sensor device SENY are: In some cases, the first sensor devices are installed so as to be substantially equally spaced. On the other hand, the position where the second sensor device is installed is such that the interval between the second sensor device SEN2 and the black sensor device SENK and the interval between the black sensor device SENK and the cyan sensor device SENC are substantially equal. It is desirable that The detection accuracy by each sensor device is often calculated based on the interval between the sensor devices. Therefore, when the intervals between the sensor devices are substantially equal, the detection accuracy by the sensor devices can be made uniform.

  In addition, it is desirable that the position where the second sensor device is installed is a position on the downstream side of the roller having the winding or the like. For example, when the web winds around a roller or the like, the web often fluctuates. For this reason, it is desirable that the second sensor device detects after winding has occurred, that is, on the downstream side. If it does in this way, the influence of the fluctuation | variation by winding etc. can be decreased by the detection result by a 2nd sensor device. In the example shown in FIG. 2, the roller that is likely to wind is the roller 230. As shown in the figure, the web 120 is likely to fluctuate if there is a roller or the like with a tight winding angle. Therefore, in the example illustrated in FIG. 2, as illustrated, the position where the second sensor device is installed is preferably a position downstream of the roller 230.

  Further, for example, as shown in the figure, for each liquid discharge head unit, a “height sensor” that measures the height of each liquid discharge head unit is installed. In the illustrated example, the height sensor for black is “black height sensor SHK”. Also, “cyan height sensor SHC” for cyan, “magenta height sensor SHM” for magenta, and “height sensor SHY for yellow” for yellow. Details of the height sensor will be described later.

  FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram illustrating an arrangement example of sensor devices and actuators in an apparatus for ejecting liquid according to an embodiment of the present invention. For example, each sensor device is arranged near the end in the width direction (orthogonal direction) of the web 120 and overlaps the web 120 when viewed from a direction perpendicular to the recording surface of the web 120 as illustrated. It is desirable to be done. Each sensor device is arranged at the arrangement positions PS1, PS2, PS3, PS4, PS20, and the like. Further, in this configuration, the controller 520 controls each of the actuators AC1, AC2, AC3, and AC4, so that each liquid discharge head unit can be moved in a direction orthogonal to the direction in which the web 120 is conveyed. It is.

  As shown in FIG. 2, each sensor device is provided on the back side of each liquid discharge head unit (the side opposite to the side where each liquid discharge head unit is installed with respect to the web 120).

  Further, actuator controllers CTL1, CTL2, CTL3, and CTL4 that control the actuators are connected to the actuators AC1, AC2, AC3, and AC4.

  The actuator is, for example, a linear actuator or a motor. The actuator may include a control circuit, a power supply circuit, a mechanical component, and the like.

  The actuator controllers CTL1, CTL2, CTL3, and CTL4 are, for example, driver circuits.

  FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a hardware configuration for calculating the amount of variation of the conveyed object according to an embodiment of the present invention. The illustrated configuration is an example in which a device 110 that ejects liquid includes a plurality of actuators and a plurality of sensor devices. Further, the illustrated configuration is an example in which a controller 520 is mounted on the device 110 that discharges liquid. The controller 520 includes a CPU 221, a ROM (Read-Only Memory) 222, and a RAM (Random Access Memory) 223. Furthermore, as shown in the drawing, each device may have an interface serving as an I / O (Input / Output) in order to transmit and receive data and the like with other devices.

  The configuration is not limited to the illustrated example. That is, each device shown in the figure may be included in a device that ejects liquid or may be an external device.

  Moreover, each apparatus may be shared. For example, the CPU 221 or the like may be shared with a CPU or the like for realizing a detection unit described later, or may be separate.

  The CPU 221 is an example of an arithmetic device and a control device. Specifically, the CPU 221 acquires the detection results of each sensor, and performs calculations for calculating the amount of change in the conveyed object. The CPU 221 controls each actuator and performs control for moving each head unit.

  The ROM 222 and the RAM 223 are examples of storage devices. For example, the ROM 222 stores programs and data used by the CPU 221. The RAM 223 stores a program and the like used by the CPU 221 to perform calculations, and serves as a storage area for realizing each calculation.

  The speed detection circuit SCR is an electronic circuit that detects a moving speed or the like at which the object is conveyed. The speed detection circuit SCR may be the same as or different from the arithmetic device such as the CPU 221.

  FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of the outer shape of the liquid discharge head unit according to the embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 5A, FIG. 5A is a schematic plan view showing an example of four liquid discharge head units 210K to 210Y included in the apparatus 110 that discharges liquid.

  As shown in FIG. 5A, each liquid discharge head unit is a line-type head unit in this example. In other words, the apparatus 110 that ejects liquid has four liquid ejection head units 210K, 210C corresponding to black (K), cyan (C), magenta (M), and yellow (Y) from the upstream side in the transport direction 10. 210M and 210Y are arranged.

  In this example, the black (K) liquid discharge head unit 210K has four heads 210K-1, 210K-2, 210K-3, and 210K-4 arranged in a staggered manner in the orthogonal direction. Accordingly, the device 110 that ejects liquid can form an image in the entire region in the width direction (orthogonal direction) in the region (printing region) where the image is formed on the web 120. The configurations of the other liquid discharge head units 210C, 210M, and 210Y are the same as the configuration of the black (K) liquid discharge head unit 210K, and thus the description thereof is omitted.

  In this example, the example in which the liquid discharge head unit is configured by four heads has been described. However, the liquid discharge head unit may be configured by a single head.

<Example of detection device>
FIG. 6 is a block diagram illustrating a hardware configuration example that implements the detection device according to the embodiment of the present invention. For example, the detection apparatus 600 is realized by hardware such as a sensor device SEN and a controller 520 as illustrated.

  First, the sensor device SEN is used in the following configuration, for example.

  FIG. 7 is an external view showing an example of a sensor device included in the detection apparatus.

  The detection apparatus 600 shown in the figure has a configuration in which an object such as a web is illuminated to form a speckle pattern. Specifically, the sensor device has a light source LG composed of a plurality of light emitting units. The sensor device includes a CMOS image sensor for capturing an image showing a pattern and the like, and a telecentric imaging optical system (TO) for condensing and imaging a speckle pattern on the CMOS image sensor.

  For example, the optical sensor OS images a pattern. Then, the controller 520 performs processing such as cross-correlation calculation based on the imaged pattern and the pattern imaged by the optical sensor OS included in another sensor device. In this case, the controller 520 calculates the amount of movement and the like of the object moved from one optical sensor OS to the other optical sensor OS. In addition, the same optical sensor OS captures an image showing a pattern or the like at each of the separated times T1 and T2, and an image showing a speckle pattern taken at the time T1 and a speckle pattern taken at the time T2. Processing such as cross-correlation calculation may be performed using the image shown. In this case, the controller 520 outputs the amount of movement of the object from time T1 to time T2. In the illustrated example, the size of the sensor device is an example in which width W × depth D × height H is 15 × 60 × 32 [mm].

  The light source is not limited to an apparatus that uses laser light. For example, the light source may be an LED (Light Emitting Diode) or an organic EL (Electro-Luminescence). The pattern may not be a speckle pattern depending on the type of light source. Hereinafter, an example in which the pattern is a speckle pattern will be described.

  The CMOS image sensor is an example of hardware that realizes an imaging unit. In this example, the hardware for performing the correlation calculation is described as the controller 520. However, the correlation calculation may be executed by an FPGA circuit mounted on any sensor device.

  The control circuit 52 controls the optical sensor OS, the light source LG, and the like inside the sensor device SEN. Specifically, for example, the control circuit 52 outputs a trigger signal to the detection circuit 50 to control the timing at which the optical sensor releases the shutter. Further, the control circuit 52 performs control so that two-dimensional image data can be acquired from the optical sensor OS. Then, the control circuit 52 sends the two-dimensional image data generated by imaging by the optical sensor OS to the storage device 53 or the like. The control circuit 52 outputs a signal for controlling the irradiation range to the light source LG or the like. The control circuit 52 is, for example, an FPGA circuit.

  The storage device 53 is a so-called memory or the like. The storage device 53 preferably has a configuration capable of dividing the two-dimensional image data sent from the control circuit 52 and storing it in different storage areas.

  For example, the controller 520 performs calculation using image data or the like stored in the storage device 53.

  The control circuit 52 and the controller 520 are, for example, a CPU (Central Processing Unit) or an electronic circuit. Note that the control circuit 52, the storage device 53, and the controller 520 need not be different devices. For example, the control circuit 52 and the controller 520 may be one CPU or the like.

  FIG. 8 is a functional block diagram showing an example of the functional configuration of the detection apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. Hereinafter, as shown in the drawing, the detection unit 110F10 is realized by a combination of a black liquid discharge head unit 210K and a cyan liquid discharge head unit 210C among sensor devices installed for each liquid discharge head unit and a detection device including a controller. An example of this will be described. In this example, the image acquisition unit 52A, which is an image acquisition function included in the black sensor device SENK for the black liquid discharge head unit 210K, outputs image data captured at “A position”, and is used for the cyan liquid discharge head unit 210C. An example will be described in which the image acquisition unit 52B, which is an image acquisition function included in the cyan sensor device SENC, outputs image data captured at the “B position”.

  First, the image acquisition unit 52A for the black liquid ejection head unit 210K includes, for example, an imaging unit 16A, an imaging control unit 14A, an image storage unit 15A, a light source unit 51A, and the like. In this example, the image acquisition unit 52B for the cyan liquid ejection head unit 210C has the same configuration as the image acquisition unit 52A, for example, and includes an imaging unit 16B, an imaging control unit 14B, an image storage unit 15B, and the like. The Hereinafter, the image acquisition unit 52A will be described as an example, and redundant description will be omitted.

  The imaging unit 16A images the web 120 conveyed in the conveyance direction 10 as illustrated. The imaging unit 16A is realized by, for example, the optical sensor OS shown in FIG.

  The imaging control unit 14A includes a shutter control unit 141A, an image capturing unit 142A, and a setting unit 143A. Note that the imaging control unit 14A is realized by, for example, the control circuit 52 or the like.

  The image capturing unit 142A acquires image data captured by the imaging unit 16A.

  The shutter control unit 141A controls the timing at which the imaging unit 16A captures an image.

  The setting unit 143A performs setting so as to cut out part of the image output from the image capturing unit 142A. Alternatively, the setting unit 143A may be in the imaging unit 16A. In this case, the setting unit 143A sets a reading range.

  The image storage unit 15A stores the image data captured by the imaging control unit 14A. The image storage unit 15A is realized by the storage device 53, for example.

  The light source unit 51A irradiates the web with light such as laser light. The light source unit 51A is realized by, for example, the light source LG shown in FIG.

  The calculation unit 53F can calculate the position of the pattern of the web 120, the moving speed of the web 120, and the amount of movement of the web 120 based on the image data stored in the image storage units 15A and 15B. Composed. Further, the calculation unit 53F outputs data of the time difference Δt indicating the timing of releasing the shutter to the shutter control unit 141A. That is, the calculation unit 53F may output the shutter release timing to the shutter control unit 141A so that the image indicating the “A position” and the image indicating the “B position” are respectively captured with a time difference Δt. good. Note that the calculation unit 53F is realized by, for example, the controller 520 or an arithmetic device.

  The web 120 is a member having scattering properties on the surface or inside thereof. Therefore, when the web 120 is irradiated with light such as laser light from the light source unit 51A or the light source unit 51B, the reflected light is diffusely reflected. A pattern is formed on the web 120 by the diffuse reflection. That is, the pattern is a so-called speckle pattern called “speckle”. Therefore, when the web 120 is imaged, an image showing a speckle pattern is obtained. Since the position where the speckle pattern is present is known from this image, it is possible to detect where the predetermined position of the web 120 is relatively. This speckle pattern is generated because the irradiated laser beam interferes with the uneven shape formed on the surface or inside of the web 120.

  When the web 120 is conveyed, the speckle pattern of the web 120 is also conveyed. Therefore, when the same speckle pattern is detected at different times, the calculation unit 53F obtains the movement amount of the web 120 based on the detection result. That is, when the same speckle pattern is detected a plurality of times and the movement amount of the pattern is obtained, the calculation unit 53F can obtain the movement amount of the web 120. When the obtained movement amount is converted per unit time, the calculation unit 53F can obtain the movement speed at which the web 120 has moved.

  As illustrated in FIG. 8, the imaging unit 16 </ b> A and the imaging unit 16 </ b> B are installed at predetermined intervals in the transport direction 10. And the web 120 is imaged in each position via the imaging part 16A and the imaging part 16B.

  Assuming that the time difference captured by each image capturing unit is “Δt”, the shutter control unit 141A causes the image capturing unit 16A and the image capturing unit 16B to image the web 120 at intervals of the time difference Δt. Then, based on the pattern indicated by the image data generated by the imaging, the calculation unit 53F calculates the movement amount of the web 120. Specifically, it is assumed that the movement speed V [mm / s] is an ideal state with no deviation and the relative distance L [mm] is an interval in which the imaging unit 16A and the imaging unit 16B are installed in the transport direction 10. The following equation (1) can be expressed.

Δt = L / V (1)

In the above equation (1), the relative distance L [mm] is an interval between the imaging unit 16A and the imaging unit 16B and can be obtained in advance.

  The calculation unit 53F performs a cross-correlation operation on the image data D1 (n) and D2 (n) indicating the respective image data captured by the image acquisition units 52A and 52B. Hereinafter, the image data generated by the cross-correlation calculation is referred to as “correlation image”. For example, the calculation unit 53F calculates the shift amount ΔD (n) based on the correlation image.

  For example, the cross-correlation calculation is a calculation represented by the following equation (2).

D1 * D2 * = F-1 [F [D1] · F [D2] *] (2)

In the above equation (2), the image data D1 (n), that is, the image data captured at the “position A” is “D1”. Similarly, in the above equation (2), the image data D2 (n), that is, the image data captured at the “B position” is “D2”. Further, in the above equation (2), the Fourier transform is indicated by “F []”, and the inverse Fourier transform is indicated by “F-1 []”.
Furthermore, in the above equation (2), the complex conjugate is indicated by “*” and the cross-correlation operation is indicated by “★”.

  As shown in the above equation (2), when the cross-correlation calculation “D1 * D2” is performed on the image data D1 and D2, image data indicating a correlation image is obtained. If the image data D1 and D2 are two-dimensional image data, the image data indicating the correlation image is two-dimensional image data. When the image data D1 and D2 are one-dimensional image data, the image data indicating the correlation image is one-dimensional image data.

  In the correlation image, for example, when a broad luminance distribution becomes a problem, the phase only correlation method may be used. The phase only correlation method is, for example, a calculation represented by the following equation (3).

D1 * D2 * = F-1 [P [F [D1]] · P [F [D2] *]] (3)

In the above equation (3), “P []” indicates that only the phase is extracted from the complex amplitude. The amplitudes are all “1”.

  In this way, the calculation unit 53F can calculate the shift amount ΔD (n) based on the correlation image even with a broad luminance distribution.

  The correlation image indicates the correlation between the image data D1 and D2. Specifically, as the degree of coincidence between the image data D1 and D2 increases, a sharp peak, that is, a so-called correlation peak luminance is output at a position closer to the center of the correlation image. When the image data D1 and D2 match, the center and peak position of the correlation image overlap.

  Next, based on the result of the correlation calculation, information such as a position difference, movement amount, or movement speed between the image data D1 and the image data D2 at Δt is output. For example, in the orthogonal direction, it is possible to detect how much the web 120 has moved in the orthogonal direction between the image data D1 and the image data D2. Note that the result of the correlation calculation may be detected not as a movement amount but as a movement speed. In this way, the calculation unit 53F can calculate the movement amount of the cyan liquid discharge head unit 210C from the calculation result of the correlation calculation.

  Based on the calculation result of the calculation unit 53F, the moving unit 57F controls the actuator AC2 in FIG. 3 to control the landing position of the liquid. Moreover, the moving part 57F is comprised by the actuator controller, for example. Note that the moving unit 57F may be configured not only by the actuator controller but also by a combination with the controller 520 or the like. Further, the moving unit 57F may be configured by the controller 520.

  Furthermore, the calculation unit 53F can also determine how much the web movement amount in the transport direction has shifted from the relative distance L based on the result of the correlation calculation. That is, from the two-dimensional image data captured by the imaging units 16A and 16B, the calculation unit 53F may be used to detect the respective positions in the transport direction and the orthogonal direction. When the sensor device is also used in this way, the cost for installing the sensor device can be reduced in each direction. In addition, since the number of sensor devices can be reduced, space can be saved.

  Further, the calculation unit 53F calculates the discharge timing of the cyan liquid discharge head unit 210C based on the calculation of how much the conveyance amount of the web 120 is deviated from the ideal distance. Based on the calculation result, the control unit 54F controls the discharge by the cyan liquid discharge head unit 210C. Note that the liquid ejection timing is controlled by the second signal SIG2 for the cyan liquid ejection head unit 210C output by the controller 54F. When the ejection timing of the black liquid ejection head unit 210K is calculated, the control unit 54F controls the ejection timing of the black liquid ejection head unit 210K by the first signal SIG1 for the black liquid ejection head unit 210K. Note that the control unit 54F is realized by, for example, the controller 520 (FIG. 2) or the like.

  In addition, the apparatus for ejecting liquid may further include a measurement unit such as an encoder. Hereinafter, an example in which the measurement unit is realized by an encoder will be described. Specifically, the encoder is installed with respect to the rotation shaft of the roller 230, for example. In this way, the conveyance amount in the conveyance direction can be measured based on the rotation amount of the roller 230. When this measurement result is used in combination with the detection result by the sensor device, the apparatus that ejects the liquid can eject the liquid onto the web 120 with higher accuracy.

  Further, as shown in the figure, the apparatus for ejecting liquid is configured to include, for example, a height detection unit 55FA, a height detection unit 55FB, and an acceleration adjustment unit 56F.

  The height detector 55FA detects the height HK between the black liquid discharge head unit 210K and the web 120. Similarly, the height detection unit 55FB detects the height HC between the cyan liquid discharge head unit 210C and the web 120. For example, the reference height is set in advance in the height detection unit 55FA and the height detection unit 55FB. After the setting, when the height HK and the height HC fluctuate due to vibration or the like of the black liquid discharge head unit 210K and the cyan liquid discharge head unit 210C, the height detection unit 55FA and the height detection unit 55FB Detect fluctuation amount.

  The height detector 55FA and the height detector 55FB are realized by, for example, an optical displacement meter. Note that the height detection unit 55FA and the height detection unit 55FB may also be used as a sensor device. Furthermore, when there is a device that measures flapping of the web 120, the height detection unit 55FA and the height detection unit 55FB may be realized by a device that measures flapping. Further, the positions where the height detection unit 55FA and the height detection unit 55FB perform detection are not limited to the illustrated positions. That is, the height detection unit 55FA and the height detection unit 55FB may be at any position as long as the height HK and the height HC can be detected.

  Note that the height detection unit 55FA and the height detection unit 55FB may detect only the height. Further, when only the height is detected, the threshold value changes depending on the conveyance speed of the web 120 and the like.

  The acceleration adjusting unit 56F adjusts the acceleration with which the moving unit 57F moves the black liquid discharge head unit 210K and the cyan liquid discharge head unit 210C based on the fluctuation amount detected by the height detection unit 55FA and the height detection unit 55FB. . The acceleration adjusting unit 56F is realized by, for example, the controller 520 (FIG. 2).

  Details of height detection and acceleration adjustment will be described later.

  Further, the correlation calculation may be calculated as follows, for example.

<Example of correlation calculation>
FIG. 9 is a block diagram showing an example of a correlation calculation method according to an embodiment of the present invention. For example, when the calculation unit 53F performs the correlation calculation with the configuration shown in the figure, the relative position in the orthogonal direction of the web 120 at the position where the image data is imaged, the moving amount, the moving speed, or a combination thereof, or the image data It is possible to calculate a deviation amount and a moving speed of the web 120 from the ideal conveyance position at the timing when the image is captured.

  Specifically, as illustrated, the calculation unit 53F includes a first two-dimensional Fourier transform unit FT1, a second two-dimensional Fourier transform unit FT2, a correlation image data generation unit DMK, a peak position search unit SR, and a calculation unit. This is a configuration having a CAL and a conversion result storage unit MEM.

  The first two-dimensional Fourier transform unit FT1 transforms the first image data D1. Specifically, the first two-dimensional Fourier transform unit FT1 includes a Fourier transform unit FT1a for the orthogonal direction and a Fourier transform unit FT1b for the transport direction.

  The orthogonal direction Fourier transform unit FT1a performs one-dimensional Fourier transform on the first image data D1 in the orthogonal direction. Then, the Fourier transform unit FT1b for the transport direction performs one-dimensional Fourier transform on the first image data D1 in the transport direction based on the conversion result by the Fourier transform unit FT1a for the orthogonal direction. In this way, the Fourier transform unit FT1a for the orthogonal direction and the Fourier transform unit FT1b for the transport direction perform one-dimensional Fourier transform in the orthogonal direction and the transport direction, respectively. The first two-dimensional Fourier transform unit FT1 outputs the conversion result thus converted to the correlation image data generation unit DMK.

  Similarly, the second two-dimensional Fourier transform unit FT2 transforms the second image data D2. Specifically, the second two-dimensional Fourier transform unit FT2 includes a Fourier transform unit FT2a for orthogonal directions, a Fourier transform unit FT2b for transport directions, and a complex conjugate unit FT2c.

  The orthogonal direction Fourier transform unit FT2a performs one-dimensional Fourier transform on the second image data D2 in the orthogonal direction. Then, the Fourier transform unit FT2b for the transport direction performs one-dimensional Fourier transform on the second image data D2 in the transport direction based on the conversion result by the Fourier transform unit FT2a for the orthogonal direction. In this way, the Fourier transform unit FT2a for the orthogonal direction and the Fourier transform unit FT2b for the transport direction perform one-dimensional Fourier transform in the orthogonal direction and the transport direction, respectively.

  Next, the complex conjugate unit FT2c calculates the complex conjugate of the conversion result obtained by the Fourier transform unit FT2a for the orthogonal direction and the Fourier transform unit FT2b for the transport direction. Then, the second two-dimensional Fourier transform unit FT2 outputs the complex conjugate calculated by the complex conjugate unit FT2c to the correlation image data generation unit DMK.

  Subsequently, the correlation image data generation unit DMK outputs the conversion result of the first image data D1 output from the first two-dimensional Fourier transform unit FT1 and the second image output from the second two-dimensional Fourier transform unit FT2. Correlation image data is generated based on the conversion result of the data D2.

  The correlation image data generation unit DMK includes an integration unit DMKa and a two-dimensional inverse Fourier transform unit DMKb.

  The integrating unit DMKa integrates the conversion result of the first image data D1 and the conversion result of the second image data D2. Then, the integration unit DMKa outputs the integration result to the two-dimensional inverse Fourier transform unit DMKb.

  The two-dimensional inverse Fourier transform unit DMKb performs a two-dimensional inverse Fourier transform on the integration result obtained by the integration unit DMKa. In this way, when the two-dimensional inverse Fourier transform is performed, correlation image data is generated. Then, the two-dimensional inverse Fourier transform unit DMKb outputs the correlation image data to the peak position search unit SR.

  In the generated correlation image data, the peak position search unit SR searches for a peak position having a peak luminance (peak value) that is the steepest (that is, the rising edge is steep). First, the correlation image data is input with a value indicating the intensity of light, that is, the luminance. The luminance is input in a matrix.

  In the correlation image data, the luminance is arranged at the pixel pitch interval of the area sensor, that is, at the pixel size interval. Therefore, it is desirable that the search for the peak position is performed after performing so-called subpixel processing. Thus, when the subpixel processing is performed, the peak position can be searched with high accuracy. Therefore, the calculation unit 53F can output the position, the movement amount, the movement speed, and the like with high accuracy.

  For example, the search by the peak position search unit SR is performed as follows.

  FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of a peak position search method in correlation calculation according to an embodiment of the present invention. In the figure, the horizontal axis indicates the position in the transport direction in the image indicated by the correlation image data. On the other hand, the vertical axis indicates the luminance of the image indicated by the correlation image data.

  Hereinafter, three data of the first data value q1, the second data value q2, and the third data value q3 in the luminance indicated by the correlation image data will be described as an example. In other words, in this example, the peak position searching unit SR (FIG. 9) searches for the peak position P in the curve k connecting the first data value q1, the second data value q2, and the third data value q3.

  First, the peak position search unit SR calculates each difference in luminance of the image indicated by the correlation image data. And the peak position search part SR extracts the combination of the data value from which the difference value becomes the largest among the calculated differences. Next, the peak position search unit SR extracts a combination adjacent to a combination of data values having the largest difference value. In this way, the peak position search unit SR can extract three pieces of data as shown in the first data value q1, the second data value q2, and the third data value q3. When the curve k is calculated by connecting the three extracted data, the peak position search unit SR can search for the peak position P. In this way, the peak position search unit SR can search for the peak position P at a higher speed by reducing the amount of calculation such as subpixel processing. Note that the position of the combination of data values with the largest difference value is the steepest position. The subpixel processing may be processing other than the above processing.

  As described above, when the peak position search unit SR searches for a peak position, for example, the following calculation result is obtained.

  FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating a calculation result example of the correlation calculation according to the embodiment of the present invention. The figure shows the correlation strength distribution of the cross-correlation function. In the figure, the X axis and the Y axis indicate pixel serial numbers. A peak position such as the “correlation peak” shown in the figure is searched for by the peak position search unit SR (FIG. 9).

  Returning to FIG. 9, the calculation unit CAL calculates a relative position, a moving amount, a moving speed, or the like of the web. For example, the calculation unit CAL can calculate the relative position and the movement amount by calculating the difference between the center position of the correlation image data and the peak position searched by the peak position search unit SR.

  Further, the calculation unit CAL can calculate the movement speed by dividing the movement amount by time, for example.

  As described above, the calculation unit 53F can detect the relative position, the movement amount, the movement speed, and the like by the correlation calculation. Note that the detection method of the relative position, the movement amount, the movement speed, and the like is not limited to this. For example, the calculation unit 53F may detect a relative position, a movement amount, a movement speed, or the like as follows.

  First, the calculation unit 53F binarizes each luminance of the first image data and the second image data. That is, the calculation unit 53F sets “0” if the luminance is equal to or lower than a preset threshold value, and sets “1” if the luminance is larger than the threshold value. The calculation unit 53F may detect the relative position by comparing the binarized first image data and second image data.

  In addition, although the figure demonstrated the example which has a fluctuation | variation in a Y direction, when there exists a fluctuation | variation in a X direction, a peak position generate | occur | produces in the position shifted | deviated also to the X direction.

  The calculation unit 53F may detect the relative position, the movement amount, the movement speed, or the like by a detection method other than this. For example, the calculation unit 53F may detect the relative position from each pattern appearing in each image data by so-called pattern matching processing or the like.

<Example of control unit>
The controller 520 (FIG. 2), which is an example of the control unit, has a configuration described below, for example.

  FIG. 12 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a hardware configuration of a control unit according to an embodiment of the present invention. For example, the controller 520 includes a host device 71 that is an information processing device and the like, and a printer device 72. In the illustrated example, the controller 520 causes the printer device 72 to form an image on the recording medium based on the image data and control data input from the host device 71.

  The host device 71 is, for example, a PC (Personal Computer). The printer device 72 includes a printer controller 72C and a printer engine 72E.

  The printer controller 72C controls the operation of the printer engine 72E. First, the printer controller 72C transmits / receives control data to / from the host device 71 via the control line 70LC. Further, the printer controller 72C transmits / receives control data to / from the printer engine 72E via the control line 72LC. By transmitting and receiving this control data, various printing conditions and the like indicated by the control data are input to the printer controller 72C, and the printer controller 72C stores the printing conditions and the like using a register or the like. Next, the printer controller 72C controls the printer engine 72E based on the control data, and forms an image according to the print job data, that is, the control data.

  The printer controller 72C includes a CPU 72Cp, a print control device 72Cc, and a storage device 72Cm. The CPU 72Cp and the print control device 72Cc are connected by a bus 72Cb and communicate with each other. The bus 72Cb is connected to the control line 70LC via a communication I / F (interface) or the like.

  The CPU 72Cp controls the operation of the entire printer device 72 by a control program or the like. That is, the CPU 72Cp is an arithmetic device and a control device.

  Based on the control data transmitted from the host device 71, the print control device 72Cc transmits / receives data indicating a command or status to the printer engine 72E. Thereby, the print control device 72Cc controls the printer engine 72E.

  Data lines 70LD-C, 70LD-M, 70LD-Y and 70LD-K, that is, a plurality of data lines are connected to the printer engine 72E. Then, the printer engine 72E receives image data from the upper apparatus 71 via a plurality of data lines. Next, the printer engine 72E performs image formation for each color based on control by the printer controller 72C.

  The printer engine 72E includes data management devices 72EC, 72EM, 72EY, and 72EK, that is, a plurality of data management devices. The printer engine 72E includes an image output device 72Ei and a conveyance control device 72Ec.

  FIG. 13 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a hardware configuration of a data management apparatus included in a control unit according to an embodiment of the present invention. For example, the plurality of data management devices have the same configuration. Hereinafter, an example in which each data management device has the same configuration will be described, and the data management device 72EC will be described as an example. Therefore, the overlapping description is omitted.

  The data management device 72EC includes a logic circuit 72ECl and a storage device 72ECm. As shown in the figure, the logic circuit 72ECl is connected to the host device 71 via the data line 70LD-C. Further, the logic circuit 72ECl is connected to the print control device 72Cc via the control line 72LC. The logic circuit 72ECl is realized by an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit), a PLD (Programmable Logic Device), or the like.

  The logic circuit 72ECl stores the image data input from the host device 71 in the storage device 72ECm based on the control signal input from the printer controller 72C.

  The logic circuit 72ECl reads cyan image data Ic from the storage device 72ECm based on a control signal input from the printer controller 72C. Next, the logic circuit 72ECl sends the read cyan image data Ic to the image output device 72Ei.

  Note that the storage device 72ECm desirably has a capacity capable of storing image data of about three pages. When image data of about three pages can be stored, the storage device 72ECm can store image data input from the host device 71, image data during image formation, and image data for next image formation.

  FIG. 14 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a hardware configuration of an image output apparatus included in a control unit according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in the figure, the image output device 72Ei includes an output control device 72Eic, a black liquid discharge head unit 210K, a cyan liquid discharge head unit 210C, a magenta liquid discharge head unit 210M, and a yellow liquid discharge head that are liquid discharge head units for each color. Unit 210Y.

  The output control device 72Eic outputs the image data of each color to the liquid ejection head unit of each color. In other words, the output control device 72Eic controls the liquid discharge head unit of each color based on the input image data.

  The output control device 72Eic controls a plurality of liquid ejection head units simultaneously or individually. That is, the output control device 72Eic performs control to change the timing at which each liquid ejection head unit ejects liquid in response to timing input. The output control device 72Eic may control any of the liquid ejection head units based on a control signal input from the printer controller 72C. Further, the output control device 72Eic may control any of the liquid ejection head units based on an operation by the user.

  The printer device 72 is an example in which a route for inputting image data from the host device 71 and a route used for transmission / reception between the host device 71 and the printer device 72 based on the control data are different from each other.

  The printer device 72 may be configured to form an image with one black color, for example. In order to increase the speed of image formation when performing image formation with one black color, for example, a configuration including one data management device and four black liquid discharge head units may be used. In this way, black ink is ejected by each of the plurality of black liquid ejection head units. Therefore, it is possible to perform faster image formation as compared with a configuration in which one black liquid discharge head unit is used.

  The conveyance control device 72Ec is a motor or the like that conveys the web 120. For example, the conveyance control device 72Ec controls a motor or the like connected to each roller or the like to convey the web 120.

<Example of processing to adjust acceleration>
FIG. 15 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a process for adjusting acceleration by the apparatus for ejecting liquid according to an embodiment of the present invention. For example, an apparatus for ejecting liquid performs an overall process as shown in the figure.

  In step S01, the apparatus for ejecting liquid sets an initial value. Accordingly, the height of the liquid discharge head unit is a position set by the initial value. In this state, the amount of fluctuation in height becomes “0”, which is a reference.

  In step S02, the apparatus that ejects liquid starts image formation. Hereinafter, it is assumed that the apparatus for ejecting liquid is in a state where image formation is performed.

  In step S03, the device that discharges the liquid detects the amount of fluctuation in height. Specifically, the apparatus for ejecting liquid detects the height of the target liquid ejection head unit. The apparatus that ejects the liquid compares the reference (in this example, the initial value) with the detected height of the liquid ejection head unit, and sets the difference as the amount of variation in height.

  In step S04, the apparatus for ejecting liquid determines whether or not the amount of fluctuation in height is smaller than a threshold value. In other words, the apparatus for ejecting liquid determines whether or not the liquid ejection head unit is largely fluctuated due to vibration or the like.

  Next, when it is determined that the amount of variation in height is smaller than the threshold value (YES in step S04), the apparatus that ejects liquid ends the process. In this case, the apparatus that discharges the liquid may continue image formation and perform the processing from step S03 every predetermined period. On the other hand, if it is determined that the amount of fluctuation in height is not a value smaller than the threshold (NO in step S04), the apparatus that ejects liquid proceeds to step S05.

  In step S05, the device that discharges the liquid adjusts the acceleration. For example, an apparatus that ejects liquid changes the acceleration to a small value. Specifically, the apparatus for ejecting liquid sets the acceleration to be “½”. The adjustment rate is not limited to “½”, and it is desirable to consider the speed at which the object is transported, the processing speed by the head unit, the variation in processing by the head unit, or a combination thereof.

  When the above processing is performed, for example, the following processing result is obtained.

  FIG. 16 is a diagram illustrating an example of the amount of change in height detected by the apparatus for ejecting liquid according to an embodiment of the present invention. For example, it is assumed that an acceleration as shown in FIG. The state shown in FIG. 16A is an example when acceleration is large. Therefore, the slope is large in FIG. With such a setting, the followability of the head unit can be improved. When the height is detected in such a state, for example, a detection result as shown in FIG. 16B is obtained.

  FIG. 16B shows the fluctuation of the height of the head unit. Then, based on the detection result, the apparatus that discharges the liquid, for example, among the detection results, the height difference between the reference and the reference is the height variation amount (in the illustrated example, the height change). The fluctuation amount is HV1).

  As shown in FIG. 16A, when the acceleration is high, the height fluctuation amount HV1 also becomes a large value.

  On the other hand, when the acceleration is small, for example, detection results as shown in FIGS. 16C and 16D are obtained.

  FIG. 16C is a diagram showing the movement amount, as in FIG. As shown in the figure, the inclination of FIG. 16C is smaller than that of FIG. That is, the state illustrated in FIG. 16C is an example in which the acceleration is small as compared to FIG. For example, in the state shown in FIG. 16A, when the acceleration is set to be small in step S04, the state shown in FIG. When the height is detected in such a state, for example, a detection result as shown in FIG. 16D is obtained.

  FIG. 16D shows the fluctuation of the height of the head unit. And the apparatus which discharges a liquid is based on a detection result similarly to FIG.16 (B), for example, among the detection results, the height with the most difference between a reference | standard and the difference of a reference | standard are the variation | change_quantity of height. (In the example shown in the figure, the height variation amount is HV2.).

  As shown in the figure, the height fluctuation amount HV1 is larger than the height fluctuation amount HV2. For example, when the height variation amount is a large value, such as the height variation amount HV1, the processing position varies greatly. Therefore, when an image forming process is performed, the ink landing positions are likely to vary, and the image quality may deteriorate. For example, the dispersion of landing positions and the amount of fluctuation in height have the following relationship.

  FIG. 17 is a diagram illustrating a relationship example between the variation in the landing position and the amount of change in height according to an embodiment of the present invention. Hereinafter, the printing speed is “120 mm / min (millimeters per minute)” (that is, 2 mm / s (millimeters per second)), and the ink ejection speed is “7 mm / ms (millimeters per millisecond)”. An example of the condition will be described. The variation in the landing position is set to a target value “5 μm (micrometer)”. That is, in the following description, an example in which the variation in the landing position is within “5 μm” will be described.

  First, the target value TGP is set as shown in the figure. In the case of such a target value TGP, the variation of the landing position becomes a variation range TGT as shown in the figure. Specifically, the target value TGP is difficult to be realized unless the landing position variation range TGT is equal to or less than “0.005 mm (= 5 μm) / 2 mm / s = 0.005 ms (milliseconds)”.

  In order to make the landing position variation range TGT equal to or less than “0.0025 ms”, it is difficult to realize the height fluctuation amount unless the height fluctuation amount TGH as shown in the figure. Specifically, the height variation amount TGH is “7 mm / ms × 0.0025 ms = 0.0175 mm (= 17.5 μm)”. In this way, if the height fluctuation amount TGH is suppressed, variations in landing positions can be suppressed. The height variation amount and the acceleration have, for example, the following relationship.

  FIG. 18 is a diagram illustrating a relationship example between the amount of change in height and acceleration according to an embodiment of the present invention. Hereinafter, in the illustrated example, an acceleration ACC1 that is an example before adjustment and an acceleration ACC2 that is an example after adjustment are shown. In this example, the threshold value is “17.5 μm”, which is the above example.

Specifically, the acceleration ACC1 is “200 mm / s ² (millimeters per second per second)”. On the other hand, the acceleration ACC2 is “50 mm / s ² ”. That is, the acceleration ACC1 is set to “1/4” by adjustment to become the acceleration ACC2.

  As shown in the figure, when the movement amount is “20 μm”, the fluctuation amount is “18 μm” which is larger than “17.5 μm” when the acceleration is ACC1. Therefore, when the acceleration is ACC1, it is difficult to make the variation in the landing position below the target value “5 μm”. Note that this case is an example in which “NO” is determined in step S04.

  Therefore, the apparatus that discharges the liquid adjusts the acceleration ACC1 to obtain the acceleration ACC2 (step S05). As shown in the figure, when the acceleration is ACC2, the variation is “10 μm” which is a value smaller than “17.5 μm”. In this way, by adjusting the acceleration, it is possible to reduce the variation in the landing position, and to reduce the variation in the landing position to the target value “5 μm” or less. That is, the apparatus that discharges the liquid can suppress variations in processing positions at which the head unit processes the object to be conveyed.

  The acceleration adjustment rate is preferably determined based on conditions such as the speed at which the object is transported, the processing speed by the head unit, the variation in processing by the head unit, or a combination thereof. Variation in processing position (in the above example, variation in landing position), speed at which the object is conveyed (in the above example, printing speed), and processing speed by the head unit (in the above example) And the like, the relationship between the fluctuation amount shown in FIG. 18 and the acceleration and the relationship shown in FIG. 17 are also different. Therefore, the influence of acceleration differs for each condition. Therefore, it is desirable to set the acceleration adjustment rate in consideration of these conditions.

  Further, it is desirable that the threshold value is stored for each speed at which the object is conveyed. As described above, if conditions such as the speed at which the object is conveyed are different, even if the target value TGP is the same, the variation range TGT of the landing position becomes a different value. In many cases, the variation is more suppressed as the speed at which the object is conveyed increases. Therefore, it is desirable to set the threshold value according to the allowable variation for each speed.

<Example of calculating the amount of change in the transported object in the transport direction and the orthogonal direction>
FIG. 19 is a timing chart showing an example of a method for calculating the amount of variation of the conveyed object by the apparatus for ejecting liquid according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in the figure, the calculation unit 53F calculates the fluctuation amount based on the detection result using the plurality of fourth detection ranges. Specifically, based on the first detection result S1 and the second detection result S2, the calculation unit 53F outputs a calculation result indicating the variation amount. In the illustrated example, the detection result output by the upstream sensor device is the first detection result S1. On the other hand, the detection result output by the downstream sensor device is the second detection result S2.

  The fluctuation amount is calculated for each liquid discharge head unit. Hereinafter, an example in which the variation amount for the cyan liquid ejection head unit 210C (FIG. 2) is calculated will be described. In this example, the fluctuation amount is, for example, a detection result by the cyan sensor device SENC (FIG. 2) and a detection result by the black sensor device SENK (FIG. 2) installed one upstream from the cyan sensor device SENC. Based on the above. In the illustrated example, the first detection result S1 is a detection result by the black sensor device SENK. On the other hand, the second detection result S2 is a detection result by the cyan sensor device SENC.

  It is assumed that the distance between the black sensor device SENK and the cyan sensor device SENC, that is, the distance between the sensor devices is “L2”. Further, it is assumed that the moving speed detected by the speed detection circuit SCR is “V”. Furthermore, it is assumed that the movement time required for the conveyed object to be conveyed from the position of the black sensor device SENK to the position of the cyan sensor device SENC is “T2”. In this case, the travel time is calculated as “T2 = L2 / V”.

  The sampling interval by the sensor device is “A”. Further, the number of samplings between the black sensor device SENK and the cyan sensor device SENC is “n”. In this case, the sampling count is calculated as “n = T2 / A”.

  The calculation result shown in the drawing, that is, the fluctuation amount is “ΔX”. For example, as shown in the figure, when the detection cycle is “0”, the fluctuation amount is calculated by dividing the first detection result S1 before the movement time “T2” and the second detection result S2 of the detection cycle “0”. Calculated by comparison. Specifically, the fluctuation amount is calculated as “ΔX = X2 (0) −X1 (n)”. When the position of the sensor device is closer to the first roller than the landing position, the apparatus that ejects the liquid calculates a change in the position of the recording medium when the sheet moves to the position of the sensor device. To drive the actuator.

  Next, the apparatus for ejecting liquid controls the second actuator AC2 (FIG. 4) so as to compensate for the variation “ΔX”, and moves the cyan liquid ejection head unit 210C (FIG. 2) in the orthogonal direction. . In this way, even if the position of the transported object fluctuates, the apparatus that ejects liquid can form an image with high accuracy on the transported object. Further, as shown in the figure, when the fluctuation amount is calculated based on the two detection results, that is, the detection results of the two sensor devices, the fluctuation amount can be calculated without integrating the position information of each sensor device. Therefore, in this way, the accumulation of detection errors by each sensor device can be reduced.

  Note that the calculation of the fluctuation amount may be performed similarly in other liquid discharge head units. For example, the variation amount for the black liquid ejection head unit 210K (FIG. 2) is calculated by the first detection result S1 by the second sensor device SEN2 (FIG. 2) and the second detection result S2 by the black sensor device SENK. The Similarly, the fluctuation amount for the magenta liquid ejection head unit 210M (FIG. 2) is calculated by the first detection result S1 by the cyan sensor device SENC and the second detection result S2 by the magenta sensor device SENM. Further, the fluctuation amount for the yellow liquid ejection head unit 210Y (FIG. 2) is calculated by the first detection result S1 by the magenta sensor device SENM and the second detection result S2 by the yellow sensor device SENY.

  Further, the detection result used for the first detection result S1 is not limited to the detection result detected by the sensor device installed on the upstream side of the liquid discharge head unit to be moved. That is, the first detection result S1 may be a detection result detected by a sensor device installed upstream from the liquid discharge head unit to be moved. For example, the fluctuation amount for the yellow liquid ejection head unit 210Y is calculated by using the detection result by any one of the second sensor device SEN2, the black sensor device SENK, and the cyan sensor device SENC as the first detection result S1. May be.

  On the other hand, it is desirable that the second detection result S2 is a detection result by a sensor device installed at a position closest to the liquid discharge head unit to be moved.

  Further, the fluctuation amount may be calculated based on three or more detection results.

  As described above, when the liquid ejection head unit is moved based on the fluctuation amount calculated from the plurality of detection results, and the liquid is ejected onto the web, an image or the like is formed on the recording medium.

<Modification>
Note that the detection unit 110F10 captures images twice with one sensor device, compares the images generated by the respective image captures, and detects detection results such as the position of the web 120, the amount of movement, the movement speed, or a combination thereof. It may be output.

  The embodiment according to the present invention may be realized by a transport system such as a system that ejects liquid having one or more devices. For example, it is assumed that the black liquid discharge head unit 210K and the cyan liquid discharge head unit 210C are devices in the same casing. Assume that the magenta liquid discharge head unit 210M and the yellow liquid discharge head unit 210Y are devices in the same casing. A system that discharges liquid with such a configuration may be realized.

  Further, in the apparatus for ejecting liquid and the system for ejecting liquid according to the present invention, the liquid is not limited to ink, and may be another type of recording liquid or fixing processing liquid. In other words, the apparatus for ejecting liquid and the system for ejecting liquid according to the present invention may be applied to an apparatus for ejecting a liquid of a type other than ink.

  Therefore, the apparatus for ejecting liquid and the system for ejecting liquid according to the present invention are not limited to forming an image. For example, the formed object may be a three-dimensional structure.

<First Modification>
Note that the first support member and the second support member may be combined. For example, the first support member and the second support member may have the following configurations.

  FIG. 20 is a schematic diagram illustrating a first modification of the apparatus for ejecting liquid according to an embodiment of the present invention. Compared to FIG. 2, the arrangement of the first support member and the second support member is different in the illustrated configuration. As illustrated, the first support member and the second support member may be realized by, for example, the first member RL1, the second member RL2, the third member RL3, the fourth member RL4, and the fifth member RL5. . That is, the second support member provided on the upstream side of each liquid discharge head unit and the first support member provided on the downstream side of each liquid discharge head unit may be combined. Note that the first support member and the second support member may be combined with a roller or a curved plate.

<Second Modification>
For example, the transport device may perform processing such as reading on the transported object as follows.

  FIG. 21 is a block diagram showing a second modification of the transport apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. Hereinafter, as illustrated, a case where the web 120 is conveyed from the upstream side to the downstream side (from left to right in the drawing) will be described as an example.

  As shown in the figure, in this modification, the head unit includes a CIS (Contact Image Sensor) head.

  The head unit is composed of one or more CIS heads installed in the orthogonal direction 20. For example, as illustrated, the transport apparatus includes two head units such as a head unit HD1 and a head unit HD2. The number of head units is not limited to two, and may be three or more.

  As illustrated, each of the head unit HD1 and the head unit HD2 includes one or more CIS heads. Hereinafter, the head unit includes one CIS head. For example, the head unit may include a plurality of CIS heads at positions where the two CIS heads are staggered.

  The head unit HD1 and the head unit HD2 constitute a so-called scanner. Therefore, the head unit HD1 and the head unit HD2 read an image or the like formed on the surface of the web 120, and output image data indicating the read image or the like. The transport device can generate an image connected in the orthogonal direction 20 by connecting the image data output from the head units.

  In this example, the transport device includes a controller 520, a first actuator controller CT1, and a second actuator controller CT2. The controller 520, the first actuator controller CT1, and the second actuator controller CT2 are information processing apparatuses. Specifically, the controller 520, the first actuator controller CT1, and the second actuator controller CT2 have a hardware configuration including an arithmetic device such as a CPU, an electronic circuit, or a combination thereof, a control device, a storage device, an interface, and the like. The controller 520, the first actuator controller CT1, and the second actuator controller CT2 may be a plurality of devices or may be configured by the same device.

  Sensor devices SEN1 and SEN2 are installed for each head unit. And a conveyance apparatus can detect the surface information of the web 120 with a sensor device, and can detect the relative position between a plurality of detection results, a moving speed, a moving amount, or a combination thereof.

  In this example, a plurality of rollers are installed for the two head units HD1 and HD2. As shown in the drawing, the plurality of rollers are installed on the upstream side and the downstream side, respectively, with the two head units HD1 and HD2 interposed therebetween, for example.

  As described above, when the sensor device detects the inter-roller INT, the conveying device can detect the position of the web 120 at a position close to the processing position. Further, the inter-roller INT often has a relatively stable moving speed. Therefore, the transport apparatus can accurately detect the relative position, speed, amount of movement, or a combination thereof among a plurality of detection results in the transport direction, the orthogonal direction, or both directions.

  In addition, the position where the sensor device is installed is preferably a position closer to the first roller R1 than the processing position in the inter-roller INT. That is, it is desirable for the sensor device to perform detection upstream of the processing position. Specifically, in the illustrated example, the sensor device SEN1 is desirably installed at a position closer to the first roller R1 than the processing position where the head unit HD1 performs processing. That is, in the illustrated example, the sensor device SEN1 performs detection in a section between the processing position where the head unit HD1 performs processing and the first roller R1 (hereinafter referred to as “first upstream section INT1”). desirable.

  Similarly, in the illustrated example, the sensor device SEN2 is desirably installed at a position closer to the first roller R1 than the processing position where the head unit HD2 performs processing. That is, in the illustrated example, the sensor device SEN2 performs detection in a section between the processing position where the head unit HD2 performs processing and the first roller R1 (hereinafter referred to as “second upstream section INT2”). desirable.

  When sensor devices are installed in the first upstream section INT1 and the second upstream section INT2, the transport apparatus can detect the position of the object to be transported with high accuracy. When the sensor device is installed at such a position, the sensor device is installed upstream from the processing position. Therefore, the transport apparatus can first detect the surface information of the transported object by the sensor device on the upstream side. Based on the detection result, the transport device can calculate the processing timing by the head unit, the amount by which the head unit is moved, or both in the orthogonal direction, the transport direction, or both directions. That is, since the processing timing is calculated or the head unit is moved while the web 120 is transported to the processing position after the position of the transported object is detected on the upstream side, the transporting device is accurate. The processing position can be changed.

  When the sensor device is installed almost directly below the head unit, processing may be delayed due to processing time calculation or processing time such as moving the head unit. Therefore, if the position where the sensor device is installed is upstream from the processing position, the transport device can reduce delay in processing. Further, the processing position, that is, the vicinity immediately below the head unit may be restricted to a position where a sensor device or the like is installed. Therefore, the position where the sensor device is installed is preferably closer to the first roller R1 than the processing position, that is, upstream from the processing position.

  There is a case where light is emitted from the light source to the web 120 in both the processing by the head unit and the detection by the sensor device. And especially when the transparency of the web 120 is high, each light may become disturbance. Therefore, it may be desirable that the sensor device and the head unit are not on the same optical axis.

  On the other hand, when the transparency of the web 120 is not high, the position where the sensor device is installed may be, for example, directly below the head unit. In the illustrated example, the position immediately below the head unit is the back side of the processing position. That is, in the transport direction, the processing position and the position where the sensor device is installed are substantially the same, and one surface (front side) of the web 120 is a processing target, and the other surface (back surface) of the web 120 is a sensor. In some cases, the device may be a detection target.

  As described above, when the sensor device is directly under the head unit, an accurate movement amount directly under the head unit can be detected by the sensor device. Therefore, it is desirable that the sensor device be in a position close to the position immediately below the head unit if the respective lights are not disturbed and the control or the like can be performed quickly. On the other hand, the sensor device does not have to be almost directly below the head unit, and the same calculation is performed even when the sensor device is not directly below.

  If the error can be tolerated, the position where the sensor device is installed may be a position almost directly below the head unit or between the rollers INT and downstream of the head unit.

<Third Modification>
For example, the apparatus 110 that discharges the liquid may use a belt or the like as the transported object as follows.

  FIG. 22 is a block diagram showing a third modification of the apparatus for ejecting liquid according to an embodiment of the present invention. In this modification, the head units 350 </ b> C, 350 </ b> M, 350 </ b> Y, and 350 </ b> K eject ink droplets to form an image on the outer peripheral surface of the transfer belt 328. Hereinafter, the head units 350C, 350M, 350Y, and 350K are collectively referred to as a “head unit group 350”.

  Next, the drying mechanism 370 dries the image formed on the transfer belt 328 to form a film.

  Subsequently, in the transfer portion where the transfer belt 328 faces the transfer roller 330, the device 110 that discharges the liquid transfers the filmed image on the transfer belt 328 onto the paper P.

  The cleaning roller 323 cleans the surface of the transfer belt 328 after transfer.

  As described above, in this variation, in the apparatus for ejecting liquid, the head units 350C, 350M, 350Y, and 350K, the drying mechanism 370, the cleaning roller 323, the transfer roller 330, and the like are provided around the transfer belt 328.

  In this modification, the transfer belt 328 is stretched around a drive roller 321, a counter roller 322, four shape maintaining rollers 324, and eight support rollers 325C1, 325C2, 325M1, 325M2, 325Y1, 325Y2, 325K1, and 325K2, etc. It moves in the direction of the arrow in the figure following the drive roller 321 rotated by the transfer belt drive motor 327. The direction in which the transfer belt 328 moves due to the rotation of the driving roller 321 is defined as the moving direction.

  Further, the eight support rollers 325C1, 325C2, 325M1, 325M2, 325Y1, 325Y2, 325K1, and 325K2 provided to face the head unit group 350 are transferred belt 328 when ink droplets are ejected from each head unit 350. Maintain the tensile state of. The transfer motor 331 rotates the transfer roller 330.

  Further, in this modification, the sensor device 332C is disposed between the support roller 325C1 and the support roller 325C2 and on the upstream side in the moving direction of the transfer belt 328 from the ejection position of the head unit 350C. Further, the sensor device 332C includes a speckle sensor.

  The speckle sensor is an example of a sensor that images the surface of the transfer belt 328. Further, the sensor device 332M is also provided for the head unit 350M in the same positional relationship as the positional relationship of the support roller 325C1, the support roller 325C2, and the sensor device 332C with respect to the head unit 350C.

  In this modification, actuators 333M, 333Y, and 333K are provided in the head unit 350M, the head unit 350Y, and the head unit 350K, respectively. The actuator 333M is an actuator that moves the head unit 350M in a direction orthogonal to the moving direction of the transfer belt 328. Similarly, the actuators 333Y and 333K are actuators that move the head unit 350Y and the head unit 350K in directions orthogonal to the moving direction of the transfer belt 328, respectively.

  The control board 340 detects the movement amount of the transfer belt 328 in the orthogonal direction, the movement amount of the transfer belt 328 in the movement direction, and the like based on the image data acquired from the sensor devices 332C, 332M, 332Y, and 332K. The control board 340 controls the actuators 333M, 333Y, and 333K according to the amount of movement of the transfer belt 328 in the orthogonal direction, and moves the head units 350M, 350Y, and 350K in the orthogonal direction. Further, the control substrate 340 controls the ejection timing of the head units 350M, 350Y, and 350K according to the movement amount of the transfer belt 328 in the movement direction.

  Further, the control board 340 outputs drive signals to the transfer belt drive motor 327 and the transfer motor 331.

<Effect in the third modification>
According to this modification, even when the transfer belt 328 moves in the orthogonal direction perpendicular to the movement direction driven by the drive roller 321 during the movement of the transfer belt 328, the liquid is discharged according to the detected movement amount. The apparatus 110 that can move the head units 350M, 350Y, and 350K in the orthogonal directions. For this reason, the apparatus 110 that ejects liquid can form a high-quality image on the transfer belt 328.

  Further, even when the transfer belt 328 moves in a moving direction different from the assumed movement direction in the driving direction of the driving roller 321, the apparatus 110 that discharges the liquid according to the detected moving amount is used for the head units 350M, 350Y, and 350K. The discharge timing can be changed. For this reason, the apparatus 110 that ejects liquid can form a high-quality image on the transfer belt 328.

  In the above example, the movement amount in the orthogonal direction of the transfer belt 328 and the movement amount in the movement direction of the transfer belt 328 are calculated based on the image data acquired from the sensor devices 332C, 332M, 332Y, and 332K. When only such a movement amount is used, only one of the movement amounts may be calculated.

  In this modification, the head unit 350C does not include an actuator, but may include it. Then, by moving the head unit 350C in the orthogonal direction, it is possible to control the position in the direction orthogonal to the transfer direction of the transfer P when being transferred from the transfer belt 328 to the paper P.

  In the above example, an example in which an image is formed on the transfer belt 328 using a plurality of head units has been described. However, the present invention can also be applied to the case where an image is formed by one head unit.

  Further, the conveyed object is not limited to a recording medium such as paper. The material to be conveyed may be a material to which a liquid can adhere. For example, the material to which the liquid can be attached is not limited as long as the liquid such as paper, thread, fiber, fabric, leather, metal, plastic, glass, wood, ceramics, or a combination thereof can be attached temporarily.

  The present invention can also be applied to an apparatus that performs some processing on a transported object using line-shaped head units arranged in a direction orthogonal to the transport direction.

  For example, the embodiment according to the present invention may be a transport device that performs patterning processing on a substrate, which is a transported object, using a laser emitted from a head unit. Specifically, the transport apparatus first has laser heads arranged in a line in a direction orthogonal to the transport direction in which the substrate is transported. The transfer device detects the position of the substrate and moves the head unit based on the detection result. In this example, the processing position is the processing position at which the laser is irradiated on the substrate.

  Further, the transport device does not have to have a plurality of head units. That is, the present invention can be applied to a case where processing is continued at a reference position with respect to an object to be conveyed.

  Further, in the embodiment according to the present invention, it is realized by a program for causing a computer to execute a part or all of a control method such as ejecting liquid by a computer such as a transport device, a transport system, an information processing device, or a combination thereof. May be.

  The preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described in detail above, but the present invention is not limited to such specific embodiments, and various modifications can be made within the scope of the gist of the present invention described in the claims. Or it can be changed.

110 Liquid Discharge Device 120 Web 210K Black Liquid Discharge Head Unit 210C Cyan Liquid Discharge Head Unit 210M Magenta Liquid Discharge Head Unit 210Y Yellow Liquid Discharge Head Unit SENK Black Sensor Device SENC Cyan Sensor Device SENM Magenta Sensor Device SENY For Yellow Sensor device 520 Controller HV1, HV2 Height variation ACC1, ACC2 Acceleration

JP 2011-161911 A

Claims (11)

A transport device that has a head unit and performs processing on the transported object by the head unit,
A detection unit for detecting at least the height of the head unit;
A transport apparatus comprising: an acceleration adjusting unit that adjusts an acceleration for moving the head unit based on a height of the head unit. The acceleration adjusting unit includes:
The transport apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the acceleration is adjusted based on a speed at which the transported object is transported, a processing speed by the head unit, a variation in processing position by the head unit, or a combination thereof. The acceleration adjusting unit includes:
Each threshold is stored for each speed at which the object is conveyed,
The transport apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the acceleration is adjusted by comparing the threshold value with the variation amount of the height.   The transport device according to claim 1, wherein the detection unit uses an optical sensor.   The said detection part calculates | requires the detection result which shows the position of the said to-be-conveyed object, the moving speed, the amount of movement, or these combination based on the pattern which the to-be-conveyed object has. Transport device.   The transport device according to claim 5, wherein each of the detection units obtains the detection result for each of the head units based on the patterns detected at two or more different timings. The pattern is generated by interference of light applied to the uneven shape formed on the transported object,
The transport device according to claim 5, wherein the detection unit obtains the detection result based on an image obtained by capturing the pattern.   The transport apparatus according to claim 1, wherein when the processing is performed, an image is formed on the transported object.   The conveying apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the object to be conveyed is a continuous sheet that is long in the conveying direction. A transport system having a head unit and having one or more devices that perform processing on the transported object by the head unit,
A detection unit for detecting at least the height of the head unit;
A conveyance system comprising: an acceleration adjusting unit that adjusts an acceleration for moving the head unit based on a height of the head unit. A control method performed by a transport device that has a head unit and performs processing on the transported object by the head unit,
A detection procedure in which the conveying device detects at least the height of the head unit;
A control method including: an acceleration adjustment procedure for adjusting an acceleration for moving the head unit based on a height of the head unit.

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