JP2020023056A - Image recording device - Google Patents

Abstract

To prevent deterioration of recorded image quality when recording an image in a recording medium by restarting conveyance of the recording medium after stopping the recording medium.SOLUTION: An image recording device 101 includes: a feed roller 109 and a conveyance roller 908 which convey a recording medium 911; a recording head 905 which records an image in the recording medium 911 conveyed by the feed roller 109 and the conveyance roller 908; and a main controller 1001 which sets target speed that speed should reach until recording is started on the basis of a deceleration distance to be a moving distance of the recording medium 911 from the start of deceleration of the recording medium 911 conveyed by the feed roller 109 and the conveyance roller 908 up to the stop when the conveyance of the recording medium 911 is restarted after stopping the recording medium 911 during conveyance and recording in the recording medium 911 is performed after restarting the conveyance.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3

Description

  The present invention relates to an image recording device that records an image on a recording medium.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, various methods such as a wire dot method, a thermal method, a thermal transfer method, and an ink jet method have been proposed as a recording method in an image recording apparatus that performs recording on a recording medium such as a paper or a plastic sheet. Among such recording methods, an ink jet method of discharging ink from a discharge port to perform recording on a recording medium is a low-noise, non-impact method, and can perform high-density and high-speed recording.

  Further, as a recent inkjet type image recording apparatus, there is a line recording type image recording apparatus in which a long line head composed of a plurality of nozzles for the width of a recording medium is fixed in a width direction perpendicular to a conveying direction of the recording medium. A recording device is known (for example, Patent Document 1). In such a line recording type image recording apparatus, recording media on a plurality of cards stacked on a paper feed table are continuously conveyed toward a line head at a predetermined speed, and are recorded by a single scan by the line head. Complete. Thereby, the throughput can be dramatically improved.

  Conventionally, there is a line recording type image recording apparatus that temporarily stops conveyance of a recording medium and generates image data to be recorded on the recording medium, and then resumes conveyance of the recording medium and records an image on the recording medium. Are known.

JP-A-11-170623

  However, in a conventional image recording apparatus that resumes conveyance of a recording medium and records an image on the recording medium, depending on the type of the recording medium, the recording medium moves to a recording position during acceleration before the conveyance speed reaches a predetermined speed. May reach you. In such a case, there is a problem that the ink landing position is shifted by ejecting the ink to a recording medium whose conveyance is unstable due to acceleration and the image quality is deteriorated.

  SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide an image recording apparatus capable of preventing deterioration of the quality of a recorded image when transporting is resumed after the recording medium is stopped and an image is recorded on the recording medium.

  An image recording apparatus according to an aspect of the invention includes a conveyance unit that conveys a recording medium, a recording unit that records an image on the recording medium conveyed by the conveyance unit, and a recording medium that stops the recording medium being conveyed. Is the moving distance of the recording medium from the start of the deceleration of the recording medium conveyed by the conveying means to the stop thereof when performing recording on the recording medium after resuming the conveyance. Control means for setting, based on the deceleration distance, a target transport speed to be reached before recording is started.

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, when restarting conveyance after stopping a recording medium and recording an image on a recording medium, the fall of the quality of a recorded image can be prevented.

1 is a schematic diagram illustrating a configuration of an image recording system according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating a configuration of an image recording apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of an image recording apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing a recording process according to the embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of a transport speed determination table according to the embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating a transition of the transport speed of the image recording apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

<Configuration of image recording system>
The configuration of the image recording system according to the embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to FIG.

  The image recording system has an image recording device 101 and a host computer PC.

  The image recording apparatus 101 is connected to a host computer PC via a cable 107, receives various data or control commands transmitted from the host computer PC, and performs a recording operation based on the received various data or control commands. Here, the image recording apparatus 101 is an example of an ink-jet card recording apparatus using a long line head. The configuration of the image recording apparatus 101 will be described later in detail.

  Here, the control command includes a format command, an image data command, a registration start command, and the like. The format command is a command for designating a development position and a development size of data to be recorded. The image data command is a command that includes image data that is bitmap data of a recording image and specifies the data length of the image data. The registration start command indicates the end of the recording data and starts the registration.

  The host computer PC generates various data or control commands and transmits them to the image recording apparatus 101 via the cable 107.

<Configuration of Image Recording Device>
The configuration of the image recording apparatus 101 according to the embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to FIGS.

  The image recording apparatus 101 includes a paper feed tray 102, an upper cover 103, a front cover 104, a power switch 105, an operation panel 106, a recording unit 108, a feed roller 109, a paper discharge unit 110, an LCD 111 And Further, the image recording apparatus 101 has a feed port 901, a detection sensor 902, a transport belt 903, a sensor 904, a recording head 905, an ink tank unit 906, and a power supply unit 907.

  Further, the image recording apparatus 101 includes a transport roller 908, a transport motor 909, a driven roller 910, a main controller 1001, a ROM 1002, a RAM 1003, an image buffer 1004, and a head drive circuit 1005. . Further, the image recording apparatus 101 includes a feed motor 1006, a rotary encoder 1010, a feed mechanism drive circuit 1011, a transport mechanism drive circuit 1012, and an input / output circuit 1013. Further, the image recording apparatus 101 has an LED 1014, a CGROM 1015, a key 1016, and an LCD drive circuit 1018.

  The feed roller 109 and the transport roller 908 constitute a transport unit that transports the recording medium 911.

  The recording medium 911 is placed on the paper feed tray 102.

  The upper cover 103 opens and closes so that the line head and the transport unit can be opened to the outside.

  The front cover 104 opens and closes so that a tank unit that stores ink supplied to the line head can be opened to the outside.

  The power switch 105 enables the image recording apparatus 101 when turned on, and stops the operation of the image recording apparatus 101 when turned off.

  The operation panel 106 includes an LCD 111 and the like, and enables setting of an operation environment in the image recording apparatus 101 and recording image data.

  The recording unit 108 conveys the recording medium 911 conveyed from the paper feed tray 102 by the feeding roller 109 and records an image on the conveyed recording medium 911.

  The feeding roller 109 rotates by receiving a driving force from a feeding motor 1006 and performs a feeding operation of conveying the recording medium 911 placed on the sheet feeding tray 102 to the recording unit 108.

  The paper discharge unit 110 stores a recording medium 911 that is conveyed from the recording unit 108 and discharged.

  The LCD 111 displays the status of the image recording apparatus 101, an operation menu, and the like under the control of the main controller 1001 via the input / output circuit 1013.

  A recording medium 911 placed on the paper feed tray 102 is inserted into the feed port 901.

  The detection sensor 902 detects the recording medium 911 inserted into the feeding port 901 and outputs a detection result to the main controller 1001 via the input / output circuit 1013.

  The conveyance belt 903 conveys the recording medium 911 by rotating in the direction of the arrow in FIG. 2 as the conveyance roller 908 rotates.

  The sensor 904 detects the recording medium 911 conveyed by the conveyance belt 903, and outputs a detection result to the main controller 1001 via the input / output circuit 1013.

  The recording head 905 as a recording unit discharges ink onto the recording medium 911 conveyed by the conveyance belt 903 when the head driving circuit 1005 operates.

  The ink tank unit 906 is connected to the recording head 905 by a tube (not shown). When a recovery motor (not shown) is driven, the ink stored inside supplies the ink to the recording head 905 via the tube.

  The power supply unit 907 is provided behind the ink tank unit 906 and supplies power to various motors such as an electric circuit board (not shown), the recording head 905, and the transport motor 909.

  The transport roller 908 performs a transport operation of receiving a driving force from the transport motor 909 and rotating to rotate the transport belt 903.

  The transport motor 909 rotates the transport roller 908 when driven by the control of the transport mechanism drive circuit 1012.

  The driven roller 910 rotates following the rotation of the transport belt 903. The driven roller 910 is pressed upward by a spring (not shown) and conveys the recording medium 911 while nipping the recording medium 911 with the conveyance belt 903. The driven roller 910 moves up and down by a spring contracting according to the thickness of the recording medium 911, and can convey various recording media 911 having different thicknesses without slipping.

  The main controller 1001 as a control unit controls the operation of the image recording apparatus 101 by executing a control program stored in the ROM 1002, and executes a recording process described later.

  The ROM 1002 is capable of electrically rewriting data in block units, and stores a control program.

  The RAM 1003 is a work memory that mainly provides a work area for the main controller 1001.

  In the image buffer 1004, image data of each color component is developed into a bitmap by the main controller 1001.

  The head drive circuit 1005 drives the recording head 905 to discharge ink from the recording head 905 under the control of the main controller 1001.

  The feed motor 1006 is driven by the control of the feed mechanism drive circuit 1011 to rotate the feed roller 109.

  The rotary encoder 1010 is provided on a rotation shaft of the transport roller 908, and rotates in synchronization with the rotation of the transport roller 908. The rotary encoder 1010 has slits (not shown) formed at intervals along the rotation direction, and outputs an encoder signal to the main controller 1001 via the input / output circuit 1013 according to the rotation. The rotary encoder 1010 is configured such that the interval between the slits is the same as the recording resolution in the transport direction of the recording medium 911, and the ability to detect the amount of movement of the transport belt 903 is equal to the recording resolution.

  The feed mechanism driving circuit 1011 operates under the control of the main controller 1001 to drive the feed motor 1006 or stop driving the feed motor 1006.

  The transport mechanism drive circuit 1012 operates under the control of the main controller 1001 to drive the transport motor 909 or stop driving the transport motor 909.

  The input / output circuit 1013 inputs and outputs signals and the like between the main controller 1001 and the detection sensor 902, the sensor 904, the rotary encoder 1010, the LED 1014, the key 1016, or the LCD 111.

  The LED 1014 notifies the power-on state and the occurrence of an error or a warning under the control of the main controller 1001 via the input / output circuit 1013.

  The CGROM 1015 stores font data in a bitmap format.

  The key 1016 is operated to select a menu displayed on the LCD 111, or to determine the selected menu.

  The LCD drive circuit 1018 operates under the control of the main controller 1001 to control the drive of the LCD 111.

<Operation of image recording apparatus>
The operation of the image recording apparatus 101 according to the embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail.

  The main controller 1001 controls the transport mechanism driving circuit 1012 when the detection result of detecting the recording medium 911 inserted into the feeding port 901 is obtained from the detection sensor 902 via the input / output circuit 1013 and the transport motor 909 is driven. Thus, the image recording apparatus 101 conveys the recording medium 911 while nipping the recording medium 911 between the conveyance belt 903 and the driven roller 910 pressed upward by a spring (not shown). The main controller 1001 manages the transport position of the recording medium 911 based on an encoder signal input from the rotary encoder 1010 via the input / output circuit 1013.

  Next, when the main controller 1001 obtains a detection result of detecting the recording medium 911 from the sensor 904 via the input / output circuit 1013, the main controller 1001 stops driving the transport motor 909 and stops transporting the recording medium 911.

  Next, the main controller 1001 develops the bitmap font data stored in the CGROM 1015 and the image data stored in the ROM 1002 into a bitmap in the image buffer 1004 as a recorded image.

  Next, the main controller 1001 drives the conveyance motor 909 again to restart the conveyance of the recording medium 911, and according to the tip position information based on the tip position of the recording medium 911 detected by the sensor 904, the head drive circuit 1005 Control.

  Then, when the recording medium 911 reaches the recording position, the main controller 1001 records an image on the recording medium 911 based on the image data developed in the image buffer 1004.

<Recording process>
The recording process according to the first embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to FIG.

  The recording process shown in FIG. 4 is performed after the main controller 1001 starts execution of the control program stored in the ROM 1002 and various initialization processes are normally performed when the power of the image recording apparatus 101 is turned on. Be started.

  First, the main controller 1001 starts the feeding operation by controlling the feeding mechanism driving circuit 1011 to drive the feeding motor 1006, and determines whether or not the detection sensor 902 has detected the recording medium 911 ( S1).

  When the detection sensor 902 does not detect the recording medium 911 (S1: No), the main controller 1001 repeats the processing of step S1.

  On the other hand, when the detection sensor 902 detects the recording medium 911 (S1: Yes), the main controller 1001 determines that the recording medium 911 has been inserted into the feeding port 901, and starts measuring the acceleration distance (S2). .

  Next, the main controller 1001 controls the transport mechanism drive circuit 1012 to drive the transport motor 909 to rotate the transport rollers 908, thereby starting the feeding of the recording medium 911 (S3).

  Next, the main controller 1001 periodically measures the number of pulses of the encoder signal input at a predetermined time from the rotary encoder 1010 to determine whether the transported recording medium 911 has reached the target speed as the target transport speed. It is determined whether or not it is (S4). Here, the target speed is a speed that should be reached before recording is started. The predetermined time is, for example, 1 msec. The target speed is, for example, 300 mm / sec.

  When the target speed has not been reached (S4: No), the main controller 1001 repeats the process of step S4.

  On the other hand, when the target speed has been reached (S4: Yes), the main controller 1001 calculates the acceleration distance based on the number of pulses of the encoder signal input from the rotary encoder 1010 (S5). Here, the acceleration distance is a movement distance of the recording medium 911 from when the feeding roller 109 starts accelerating until the target speed which is a predetermined conveyance speed is reached. Specifically, the main controller 1001 calculates the acceleration distance by subtracting the number of pulses of the encoder signal input at the start of the acceleration distance measurement from the number of pulses of the encoder signal input when the target speed is reached.

  Next, the main controller 1001 determines whether the sensor 904 has detected the leading end of the recording medium 911 (S6).

  When the sensor 904 does not detect the leading end of the recording medium 911 (S6: No), the main controller 1001 repeats the process of step S6.

  On the other hand, when the sensor 904 detects the leading end of the recording medium 911 (S6: Yes), the main controller 1001 starts deceleration distance measurement (S7), and controls the transport mechanism drive circuit 1012 to control the transport motor 909. The driving is stopped (S8).

  Next, the main controller 1001 determines whether or not the recording medium 911 has stopped (S9).

  When the recording medium 911 is not stopped (S9: No), the main controller 1001 repeats the process of step S9.

  On the other hand, when the recording medium 911 stops (S9: Yes), the main controller 1001 calculates the deceleration distance based on the number of pulses of the encoder signal input from the rotary encoder 1010 (S10), and performs the feeding operation. To end. Here, the deceleration distance is a moving distance of the recording medium 911 from when the feeding roller 109 starts decelerating until it stops. Specifically, the main controller 1001 calculates the deceleration distance by subtracting the number of pulses of the encoder signal input at the start of the deceleration distance measurement from the number of pulses of the encoder signal input when the conveyance is stopped.

  Next, the main controller 1001 acquires the ID of the image form to be recorded stored in the RAM 1003, and copies the image data of the image form to be recorded from the ROM 1002 to the image buffer 1004 based on the acquired ID. The main controller 1001 reads out bitmap data corresponding to the variable information data stored in the RAM 1003 from the CGROM 1015, and performs a recording data developing process of developing the read bitmap data in the image buffer 1004 (S11). The main controller 1001 performs print data development processing to create image data to be printed on one sheet of the recording medium 911.

  Next, the main controller 1001 executes a conveyance speed determination process (S12). Specifically, the main controller 1001 determines the target speed based on the acceleration distance calculated in step S5, the deceleration distance calculated in step S10, and the transport speed determination table stored in the ROM 1002. The determined target speed is a transport speed that can be reached before the recording head 905 starts recording an image on the recording medium 911 when the transport is restarted.

  FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example of the conveyance speed determination table when the distance between the position of the sensor 904 in the image recording apparatus 101 and the recording position by the recording head 905 is 100 mm. In this case, when the acceleration / deceleration distance obtained by adding the deceleration distance and the acceleration distance is less than 100 mm, the main controller 1001 conveys the recording medium 911 at a conveyance speed of 300 mm / sec from the conveyance speed determination table. On the other hand, when the acceleration / deceleration distance is 100 mm or more, the main controller 1001 conveys the recording medium 911 at a conveyance speed corresponding to each acceleration / deceleration distance in the conveyance speed determination table. Accordingly, the main controller 1001 conveys the recording medium 911 at a smaller target speed as the acceleration / deceleration distance increases.

  When the acceleration / deceleration distance is 150 mm or more (predetermined distance or more), it is difficult to stably convey the recording medium 911 at a conveyance speed of less than 150 mm / sec. Therefore, in this case, the main controller 1001 conveys and discharges the recording medium 911 at a conveying speed of 300 mm / sec without recording on the recording medium 911 by the recording head 905.

  The relationship between the acceleration / deceleration distance and the transport speed in the transport speed determination table is determined based on experimental results obtained by transporting various recording media 911 in the image recording apparatus 101. Further, when the target speed obtained as described above is lower than the predetermined speed, the main controller 1001 may convey and discharge the recording medium 911 at a conveying speed of 300 mm / sec without recording.

  Next, the main controller 1001 starts the transport operation by controlling the transport mechanism drive circuit 1012 to drive the transport motor 909, and executes a transport start process of transporting the recording medium 911 at the determined transport speed (S13). ).

  Next, the main controller 1001 determines whether the recording medium 911 has reached the recording position (S14).

  When the recording medium 911 has not reached the recording position (S14: No), the main controller 1001 repeats the process of step S14.

  On the other hand, when the recording medium 911 has reached the recording position (S14: Yes), the main controller 1001 performs a recording process (S15). At this time, the recording medium 911 that has reached the recording position has reached the set target speed by setting an appropriate target speed in step S12.

  Next, the main controller 1001 executes a discharge process (S16), ends the transport operation, and ends the recording process.

  6A shows the transition of the conveyance speed when a thin envelope is inserted as the recording medium 911, and FIG. 6B shows that the thick envelope is used as the recording medium 911. The transition of the conveyance speed at the time of insertion is shown. The distance between the position of the sensor 904 and the recording position by the recording head 905 in the image recording apparatus 101 in FIG.

  As shown in FIGS. 6A and 6B, the image recording apparatus 101 stops transporting the recording medium 911, restarts the transport of the recording medium 911, and resumes the transporting of the recording medium 911. Record to

  As shown in FIG. 6A, when a thin envelope is inserted, acceleration and deceleration of the feeding operation are completed in a short period, and similarly, acceleration in the transport operation is completed in a short period. Therefore, in this case, by setting the target speed to 300 mm / sec, the recording medium 911 can be stably conveyed at the target speed of 300 mm / sec in the recording area after the conveyance is resumed.

  On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 6B, when a thick envelope is inserted, the inclination of acceleration and deceleration in the feeding operation is small, so that the conveyance stop position is immediately before the recording start position. When a thick envelope is inserted, the acceleration in the transport operation is slow. Therefore, when the target speed is set to 300 mm / sec and the recording medium 911 is accelerated to 300 mm / sec, as shown by a broken line in FIG. The recording starts during acceleration.

  Therefore, in this case, the main controller 1001 sets 200 mm / sec, which is smaller than 300 mm / sec determined by the above-described conveyance speed determination processing, as the target speed, and accelerates the recording medium 911 to 200 mm / sec. This can prevent the recording medium 911 from reaching the recording start position during acceleration.

  As described above, by conveying the recording medium 911 at the target speed determined based on the acceleration distance and the deceleration distance, it is possible to convey the recording medium 911 with a different conveyance load at a stable conveyance speed and record an image. High quality images can be formed.

  In the present embodiment, the recording medium 911 to be conveyed by the feed roller 109 and the conveyance roller 908 should reach the position before the start of recording based on the deceleration distance of the recording medium 911 from the start to the stop of the recording medium 911. Set the target speed. Accordingly, when the conveyance is restarted after the recording medium 911 is stopped and the image is recorded on the recording medium 911, it is possible to prevent the quality of the recorded image from deteriorating.

  The present invention is not limited to the above embodiments, and it goes without saying that various modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the invention.

  Specifically, in the above-described embodiment, in a recording apparatus in which one of the acceleration distance and the deceleration distance can be fixed regardless of the type of the recording medium, the target is set based on the other of the acceleration distance and the deceleration distance. The speed may be determined.

  Further, in the above embodiment, the speeds of the feeding operation and the transporting operation are the same, but a recording apparatus having different speeds of the feeding operation and the transporting operation may be used. That is, the distance to reach the transport speed in the transport operation is predicted from the acceleration distance or the deceleration distance during the paper feed operation, and if the predetermined transport speed is not reached before reaching the image recording position, the transport speed is reduced. Thus, a recorded image with good image quality can be formed.

  In the above-described embodiment, the conveyance of the recording medium 911 is restarted after the conveyance of the recording medium 911 is stopped. However, the conveyance of the recording medium 911 may be restarted after the conveyance of the recording medium 911 is stopped during the conveyance operation. In addition, after the conveyance of the recording medium 911 is stopped during the feeding operation, the conveyance of the recording medium 911 may be restarted during the conveyance operation.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 101 Image recording apparatus 102 Paper feed tray 103 Upper cover 104 Front cover 105 Power switch 106 Operation panel 107 Cable 108 Recording part 109 Feed roller 110 Paper discharge part 111 LCD
901 feed port 902 detection sensor 903 transport belt 904 sensor 905 recording head 906 ink tank unit 907 power supply unit 908 transport roller 909 transport motor 910 driven roller 911 recording medium 1001 main controller 1002 ROM
1003 RAM
1004 Image buffer 1005 Head drive circuit 1006 Feed motor 1008 Recording head 1010 Rotary encoder 1011 Feed mechanism drive circuit 1012 Transport mechanism drive circuit 1013 Input / output circuit 1014 LED
1015 CGROM
1016 key 1018 LCD drive circuit

Claims (9)

Conveying means for conveying the recording medium,
Recording means for recording an image on the recording medium conveyed by the conveying means,
After stopping the recording medium being conveyed, the conveyance of the recording medium is resumed, and when recording on the recording medium after resuming the conveyance, the deceleration of the recording medium conveyed by the conveyance unit is started. Control means for setting a target transport speed to be reached before recording is started, based on a deceleration distance that is a movement distance of the recording medium from when the recording medium stops.
An image recording apparatus comprising: The control means includes:
Before starting recording an image on the recording medium by the recording unit, setting the target transport speed at which the transport unit that has resumed the transport can reach,
The image recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein: The control means includes:
Setting the target transport speed based on an acceleration / deceleration distance obtained by adding the deceleration distance and an acceleration distance that is a moving distance of the recording medium until the transport speed reaches a predetermined transport speed after restarting the transport.
The image recording apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, wherein: The control means includes:
The target transport speed is reduced as the acceleration / deceleration distance increases,
The image recording apparatus according to claim 3, wherein: The control means includes:
When the target transport speed is lower than a predetermined speed, a recording medium is transported and discharged by the transport unit without causing the recording unit to record an image,
The image recording apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein: The control means includes:
Create the image data to be recorded on the recording medium by the recording means after stopping the recording medium being transported, restart the transport after creating the image data,
The image recording apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein: The transport means,
Performing a feeding operation and a conveying operation of the recording medium,
The image recording apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein: The transport means,
Stopping the recording medium being conveyed in the feeding operation, and accelerating to the target conveyance speed in the conveyance operation,
The image recording apparatus according to claim 7, wherein: An encoder that outputs an encoder signal in synchronization with the conveyance of the recording medium in the conveyance unit,
The control means includes:
Calculating the deceleration distance based on the encoder signal,
The image recording apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 8, wherein:

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