JP2021142740A - Recorder - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide a recorder capable of properly adjusting an amount of gap between a supporting member and a recording head even if there are variations in assembly positions of the supporting member and the recording head.SOLUTION: A recorder 11 includes: a carrying unit for carrying a medium; a supporting member 60 for supporting the carried medium; a recording unit 50 having a recording head 52 that records in a portion of the medium that is being supported by the supporting member 60; a gap adjustment mechanism 70 capable of adjusting an amount of gap between the recording head 52 and the supporting member 60 in a multiple steps more than possible switching steps or steplessly; and a control unit for controlling the recording unit 50 and the gap adjustment mechanism 70. The gap adjustment mechanism 70 is configured to allow switching to an amount of gap corresponding to a medium type. The recording unit 50 is provided with a measurement unit 80 for measuring a height position of the supporting member 60. The control unit adjusts the amount of gap with respect to the height position of the supporting member 60 measured by the measurement unit 80 as a reference position.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 8

Description

The present invention relates to a recording device including a gap adjusting mechanism for adjusting a gap amount between a support member that supports a medium and a recording unit that records on the medium.

A recording device such as an inkjet printer has a transport unit that conveys a medium, a support member that supports the conveyed medium, and a recording unit that has a recording head that discharges and records a liquid to a portion of the medium supported by the support member. And. Further, some recording devices include a gap adjusting mechanism for adjusting the gap amount between the recording head and the support member. The gap adjustment mechanism adjusts the gap amount to an appropriate level according to the medium type.

In order for the gap adjustment mechanism to perform proper gap adjustment, it is necessary to adjust the recording unit to a reference height position with respect to the support member. Therefore, before shipping the recording device, the gap amount is measured by inserting a gauge between the recording head and the support member in a state where the recording unit is arranged at a predetermined height position on the control for adjusting the gap. The assembly position of the support member and the recording unit is adjusted so that the gap amount becomes an appropriate value corresponding to a predetermined height position. For example, the assembly height position of the recording unit is adjusted so that an appropriate gap amount can be obtained with respect to the support member.

For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a detection device that detects the adjustment amount of the gap between the recording head and the support member (platen) in a non-contact manner. This detection device is based on a light projecting unit that casts light on the support member side, a light receiving unit that receives light from the support member side and generates a voltage corresponding to the light, and a voltage value generated by the light receiving unit. A gap detecting means for detecting a gap value between a support member and a recording head, and an adjusting amount detecting means for detecting a gap adjusting amount based on the detected gap value are provided.

JP-A-2007-230012

However, according to the detection device described in Patent Document 1, although the adjustment amount of the gap can be detected in a non-contact manner, the adjustment work before shipment still needs to be performed manually by the operator, and the work load of the adjustment work is still required. There is a problem that is large. In addition, if the gauge used during the adjustment work comes into contact with the recording head, the recording head may be damaged. Further, the vibration during transportation of the shipped recording device may cause the assembly position of the support member and the recording unit to deviate, and in that case, the accuracy of the gap amount is lowered. In order to eliminate any one of these, there is a demand for a configuration that can be adjusted to an appropriate gap amount even if the adjustment work before shipment of the recording device is simplified or abolished.

A recording device that solves the above problems includes a transport unit that conveys a medium, a support member that supports the conveyed medium, and a recording unit that has a recording head that records on a portion of the medium supported by the support member. , A multi-stage or more than a switching stage in which the gap amount between the recording head and the support member and the measuring unit provided in the recording unit for measuring the height position of the support member is switched according to the medium type. The control unit includes a gap adjustment mechanism that can be switched to a gap amount according to the medium type by finely adjusting the gap steplessly, and a control unit that controls the recording unit and the gap adjustment mechanism. The gap amount is adjusted with the height position of the support member measured by the measuring unit as a reference position.

A recording device that solves the above problems includes a transport unit that conveys a medium, a support member that supports the conveyed medium, and a recording unit that has a recording head that records on a portion of the medium supported by the support member. , A switching step in which the gap amount between the recording head and the support member, which is provided in the recording unit and measures the reference position which is the height position of the support member, can be switched according to the medium type. A gap adjusting mechanism configured to be adjustable in many multi-step or stepless steps and a control unit for controlling the transport unit, the recording unit, and the gap adjusting mechanism are provided, and the control unit is supported by the support member. The medium is conveyed to a certain position, the medium height position, which is the height position of the surface of the medium, is measured by the measuring unit, and the medium thickness is acquired based on the difference between the reference position and the medium height position. The gap adjusting mechanism is controlled to adjust the gap amount according to the medium thickness.

The control method of the recording device that solves the above problems is

The perspective view of the recording apparatus in 1st Embodiment. The perspective view which shows the recording apparatus in the state which the housing is removed. The perspective view which shows the recording apparatus in the state which the housing is removed. The perspective view which shows the main part of the recording apparatus. The perspective view which shows the main part of the recording apparatus. The schematic side view which shows the gap adjustment mechanism. A perspective view of the recording unit as viewed from the bottom side. Schematic front view showing a recording device. The graph which shows the relationship between the rotation angle of a cam and a gap amount in a gap adjustment mechanism. The schematic side view which shows the recording part and the support member. The schematic side view which shows the recording part and the support member. A block diagram showing an electrical configuration of a recording device. A flowchart showing a reference position measurement process. A perspective view of the recording unit in the second embodiment as viewed from the bottom surface side. The graph which shows the relationship between the distance and the current output value in a non-contact type sensor. Schematic front view showing a recording device. The schematic front view which shows the recording apparatus at the time of detecting a medium. A perspective view of the recording unit according to the third embodiment as viewed from the bottom surface side. Schematic front view showing a recording device. The schematic side view which shows the recording part and the support member. The schematic side view which shows the state when the recording part descends and detects a support member. A perspective view of the recording unit according to the fourth embodiment as viewed from the bottom surface side. Schematic front view showing a recording device. The schematic front view which shows the recording apparatus at the time of detecting a medium. A flowchart showing a reference positioning processing routine. A flowchart showing a gap adjustment processing routine. The schematic front view which shows the recording part and the support member in 5th Embodiment. Schematic bottom view showing a recording unit.

(First Embodiment)
Hereinafter, the recording device according to the first embodiment will be described with reference to the drawings. In FIG. 1, assuming that the recording device 11 is placed on a horizontal plane, three virtual axes orthogonal to each other are defined as an X-axis, a Y-axis, and a Z-axis. The X-axis is a virtual axis parallel to the scanning direction of the recording head, which will be described later, and the Y-axis is a virtual axis parallel to the transport direction of the medium at the time of recording. The Z axis is a virtual axis parallel to the vertical direction. One direction parallel to the Y-axis is the transport direction of the medium during recording. On the Y-axis, the surface of the housing 12A on which the operation panel described later is arranged is also referred to as a front surface, and the surface opposite to the front surface is also referred to as a back surface. Further, the direction parallel to the X-axis in which the recording unit 50 reciprocates is the scanning direction X, the direction parallel to the Y-axis to which the medium M is conveyed during recording is the conveying direction Y, and the direction parallel to the Z-axis is the vertical direction Z. say.

<Configuration of recording device>
The recording device 11 shown in FIG. 1 is a serial recording type inkjet printer. As shown in FIG. 1, the recording device 11 includes a rectangular parallelepiped device main body 12 and an openable / closable cover 13 that covers the upper portion of the device main body 12. The recording device 11 of this example is a multifunction device, and has a recording unit 20 and a reading unit 30 arranged above the recording unit 20.

The device main body 12 has a rectangular parallelepiped housing 12A. A cassette 21 for accommodating a recording medium M (hereinafter, simply referred to as “medium M”) such as paper is inserted into the recess 14 in a detachable state in the lower part of the front surface of the housing 12A. A plurality of media M are housed in the cassette 21. In the example shown in FIG. 1, the cassettes 21 are provided in two stages side by side in the vertical direction Z. The number of cassettes 21 may be one, or may be three or more.

The medium M recorded by the recording device 11 is discharged from the discharge port 15 opened on the front surface of the housing 12A. The recorded medium M discharged from the discharge port 15 is loaded on the discharge tray 22. The discharge tray 22 is telescopic and is used in an extended position extended from the storage position shown in FIG. Further, the recording device 11 includes an operation panel 23 on the front surface of the housing 12A. The operation panel 23 includes a power switch 24 and a display unit 25 for displaying menus, various messages, and the like. Here, the display unit 25 is composed of a touch panel, and the operation function of the display unit 25 also serves as a part of the operation unit. The operation unit may be provided with one or a plurality of switch types.

As shown in FIG. 1, the reading unit 30 includes a platen cover 31. An automatic document feeder 32 (Auto Document Feeder) provided with a document tray 33 is provided above the document table cover 31. The scanning unit 30 has a sheet feeder type scanner function that feeds and reads the documents D on the document tray 33 one by one, and a flat that reads the document D placed on the document table that is exposed when the document table cover 31 is opened. It has a bed-type scanner function. The recording device 11 which is a multifunction device has a recording function of recording on the medium M by an inkjet method, and a copy recording function of recording an image of a document D read by the scanning unit 30 on the medium M by a scanner function.

As shown in FIG. 1, a liquid supply unit 27 is provided at one end of the front portion of the housing 12A. A plurality of liquid storage containers 28 (see also FIG. 2) for storing liquids such as ink are arranged in the liquid supply unit 27. The plurality of liquid storage containers 28 store inks of different colors such as black, cyan, magenta, and yellow. The liquid contained in the liquid storage container 28 is used by the recording device 11 to be discharged to the medium M for recording. The liquid supply unit 27 has a plurality of windows 27A on the front surface capable of visually recognizing the amount of liquid for each liquid storage container 28. The liquid supply unit 27 has a lid portion 27B that can be opened and closed at the upper portion. The liquid storage container 28 is, for example, a tank in which a liquid is stored. The liquid storage container 28 is not limited to the injection type capable of injecting a liquid, and may be a replaceable ink cartridge. Further, the liquid supply system is not limited to the off-carriage system in which the liquid storage container 28 is mounted on the apparatus main body side, but may be an on-carriage system in which the liquid storage container 28 is mounted on the carriage 51.

<Internal structure of recording device>
2 and 3 show the internal structure of the recording device 11 with the reading unit 30 and the housing 12A removed. As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the recording device 11 includes a feeding unit 41 that feeds the media M housed in the cassette 21 one by one. The recording device 11 includes a transport unit 42 that transports the medium M. The feeding unit 41 includes a feeding motor 43 (see FIG. 12) as a drive source. The transport unit 42 transports the fed medium M in the transport direction Y. Further, the recording device 11 includes a support member 60 that supports the conveyed medium M.

The support member 60 has a plurality of ribs 61 in the scanning direction X. The end faces of the plurality of ribs 61 are support faces 60A that support the medium M. The support member 60 has a detected area 62 at an end located outside the scanning direction X with respect to the region where the medium M is conveyed.

In FIG. 2, the transport unit 42 includes a transport roller pair 44 that transports the medium M in the transport direction Y, and a first discharge roller pair 45 and a second discharge roller pair 46 that are arranged at different positions in the transport direction Y. .. The transport roller pair 44 is arranged at a position upstream of the scanning region of the recording head 52 in the transport direction Y. Further, the discharge roller pairs 45 and 46 are arranged at positions downstream of the scanning region of the recording head 52. The transport unit 42 includes a power transmission mechanism 48 that transmits the power of the transport motor 47 (see FIG. 12) to the transport roller pair 44 and the discharge roller pairs 45 and 46. Further, the transport unit 42 includes an encoder 49 shown in FIG. 3 that detects the rotation of the transport rollers 44A constituting the transport roller pair 44 shown in FIG. The encoder 49 includes a disk-shaped scale plate 49A and a sensor 49B that detects the rotation of the scale plate 49A. The power of the transport motor 47 shown in FIG. 4 is transmitted to the transport roller 44A of the transport roller pair 44 and the drive roller 45A of the first discharge roller pair 45.

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, a recording unit 50 including a recording head 52 (see FIG. 7) for recording on the medium M is provided in the housing 12A. The recording head 52 records on a portion of the medium M supported by the support member 60. The recording unit 50 of the present embodiment is a serial recording type and can reciprocate in the scanning direction X. The recording unit 50 includes a carriage 51 that reciprocates in the scanning direction X. The recording device 11 includes a moving mechanism 53 that moves the carriage 51 in the scanning direction X. The recording head 52 is provided on the carriage 51 and records on the medium M. The support member 60 is arranged at a position facing the scanning region of the carriage 51. The liquid storage container 28 is supplied to the recording head 52 through a tube (not shown).

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the recording device 11 includes a main frame 16 extending along the scanning direction X and a first side frame 17 fixed to both ends of the main frame 16 in the longitudinal direction (see FIG. 2). And a second side frame 18. The carriage 51 is movably supported in the scanning direction X by a guide shaft 19 extending in the scanning direction X and a guide rail 16A formed by a part of the main frame 16. The carriage 51 moves between the first side frame 17 arranged at the end on the home position HP side and the second side frame 18 arranged at the end on the anti-home position AH side. The carriage 51 includes a guide portion 511 that is movably guided by the guide shaft 19 and the guide rail 16A, and a carriage body 512 in which the recording head 52 (see FIG. 2) is supported on the lower surface.

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the moving mechanism 53 includes a carriage motor 54 arranged near one end of the scanning direction X in the main frame 16. The carriage motor 54 is a drive source for the carriage 51. Further, the moving mechanism 53 includes an endless timing belt 55 that transmits the driving force of the carriage motor 54 to the carriage 51. The timing belt 55 extends along the guide shaft 19, and the carriage 51 is fixed to a part thereof. When the carriage motor 54 is driven in the forward direction, the carriage 51 moves forward in the first direction X1, and when the carriage motor 54 is driven in the reverse direction, the carriage 51 moves back in the second direction X2. A linear encoder 56 for detecting the position of the carriage 51 in the scanning direction X is provided in the vicinity of the guide shaft 19 along the scanning direction X. Further, a flexible flat cable 57 used for transmitting and receiving signals and supplying electric power is connected to the carriage 51.

In FIGS. 2 and 3, the recording unit 50 is located at the home position HP (home position), which is a standby position for waiting during non-recording when recording is not performed on the medium M. The position of the end portion on the X-axis opposite to the home position HP is the anti-home position AH of the carriage 51. When recording on the medium M, the carriage 51 reciprocates in the recording area PA (see FIG. 8) supported by the rib 61 of the support member 60 in the scanning area between the home position HP and the anti-home position AH.

The recording unit 50 shown in FIGS. 2 and 3 records an image or a document on the medium M by ejecting a liquid from the recording head 52 toward the medium M in the process of moving in the scanning direction X. Specifically, in the process of moving the carriage 51 in the scanning direction X, the recording head 52 discharges the liquid to record one scan on the medium M, and the transport unit 42 transports the medium M to the next recording position. It is recorded on the medium M by alternately repeating the carrying operation. The recorded medium M is discharged from the discharge port 15 by the transport unit 42, and is loaded on the discharge tray 22 (see FIG. 1).

Further, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the recording device 11 includes a gap adjusting mechanism 70 for adjusting the gap between the recording head 52 and the support member 60. The gap adjusting mechanism 70 adjusts the gap amount between the recording head 52 and the support member 60 by changing the height position of the carriage 51 with respect to the support member 60. The gap adjusting mechanism 70 of the present embodiment adjusts the height position of the recording head 52 by changing the height position of the guide shaft 19 that supports the carriage 51. The gap adjusting mechanism 70 is provided on the carriage 51 and moves the portion of the carriage body to which the recording head 52 is fixed relative to the portion of the carriage 51 supported by the guide shaft 19 in the vertical direction Z. It may be a method of adjusting the gap with.

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, a pair of support positions for supporting both ends of the guide shaft 19 penetrating the side frames 17 and 18 on the outside of the first side frame 17 and the second side frame 18, respectively. An adjusting member 71 is provided. The pair of support position adjusting members 71 have a support height adjusting function for adjusting the height position for supporting the guide shaft 19. However, the recording device 11 of the present embodiment has a gap adjusting function capable of appropriately adjusting the gap amount without accurately adjusting the supporting height of the guide shaft 19 by the pair of supporting position adjusting members 71. Therefore, in the present embodiment, the position adjusting function of the pair of support position adjusting members 71 is used or not used for simple adjustment of the guide shaft 19.

Here, the recording device 11 guides the main frame 16, the recording unit 50, and the support member 60 due to variations in the assembly positions when the assembly position of the recording unit 50 is not adjusted before shipment. The amount of gap between the recording head 52 and the support member 60 when the shaft 19 is at a predetermined reference rotation angle varies due to individual differences for each recording device 11. Therefore, conventionally, the adjustment function of the pair of support position adjusting members 71 is performed so that the gap amount between the recording head 52 and the support member 60 when the guide shaft 19 is at a predetermined reference rotation angle becomes the reference gap amount. The assembly position of the recording unit 50 was adjusted by adjusting the height position of the guide shaft 19 using the guide shaft 19.

In the present embodiment, the measurement unit 80, which will be described later, measures the height position of the support member 60 to measure the variation in the gap amount due to the individual difference of the recording device 11 when the guide shaft 19 is at a predetermined reference rotation angle. The problem is solved by adjusting the gap amount with the height position of the supported support member 60 as a reference position. Therefore, it is possible to omit the work of adjusting the assembling position of the recording unit 50 by adjusting the assembling height of the guide shaft 19, which has been conventionally performed before the recording device 11 is shipped. Since the gap amount can be adjusted appropriately without adjusting the assembling height of the guide shaft 19, the support position adjusting member 71 used for adjusting the assembling position of the guide shaft 19 is replaced. It may be a pair of guide shaft support members having no adjusting function.

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 4, the second side frame 18 is provided with an operated portion 72A protruding from the second regulation surface 18A in the second direction X2. The operated portion 72A is urged in the second direction X2 by the elastic force of a spring (not shown). By moving the carriage 51 to the end position where it abuts on the second regulation surface 18A in the first direction X1, the carriage 51 can be pushed in to push the operated portion 72A into the first direction X1. The operated portion 72A is arranged at the non-operating position shown in FIGS. 2 and 4 when the carriage 51 is away from the anti-home position AH, and when the carriage 51 moves to the anti-home position AH, the operated portion 72A is moved from the non-home position to the operating position. Pushed into. The operated portion 72A constitutes a part of the switching mechanism 72.

As shown in FIG. 4, the gap adjusting mechanism 70 includes a drive mechanism 73 that is driven by the power of a drive source and rotates the guide shaft 19. In the present embodiment, the gap adjusting mechanism 70 uses the transport motor 47, which is the drive source of the transport unit 42, as the drive source. The switching mechanism 72 is interposed between the power transmission mechanism 48 and the drive mechanism 73 that form the transport unit 42. The switching mechanism 72 is switched to a connected state in which the power transmission mechanism 48 and the drive mechanism 73 can transmit power by pushing the operated portion 72A from the non-operation position to the operation position. The drive mechanism 73 is connected to one end of the guide shaft 19 via a first cam mechanism 74 so as to be able to transmit power. The first cam mechanism 74 is in contact with the eccentric cam 76 fixed to one end of the guide shaft 19 and the cam surface 76A formed by the outer peripheral surface of the eccentric cam 76 with the contact portion 77A to support the eccentric cam 76. A unit 77 (see FIG. 6) is provided.

Further, as shown in FIG. 5, the other end of the guide shaft 19 is supported via the second cam mechanism 75. The second cam mechanism 75 supports the eccentric cam 76 in a state where the eccentric cam 76 fixed to the other end of the guide shaft 19 and the cam surface 76A formed by the outer peripheral surface of the eccentric cam 76 are in contact with each other at the contact portion 77A. It includes a contact portion 77. The contact portion 77 constitutes a part of the support position adjusting member 71 supported by the first side frame 17. By adjusting the mounting angle of the support position adjusting member 71 with respect to the first side frame 17, the support height of the contact portion 77 that supports the eccentric cam 76 is adjusted. The position when the carriage 51 hits the first regulation surface 17A of the first side frame 17 is positioned as the origin when measuring the position of the carriage 51 in the scanning direction X. In other words, the control unit 100 measures the carriage position, which is the position of the carriage 51 in the scanning direction X, with the carriage position when the carriage 51 abuts on the first regulation surface 17A as the origin.

When the transport motor 47 shown in FIG. 4 is driven in a state where the operated portion 72A is pushed to the operating position and the power transmission mechanism 48 and the drive mechanism 73 are connected, the guide shaft 19 is driven by the driving force. Axis rotation. When the guide shaft 19 rotates, the height position of the guide shaft 19 is changed via the first cam mechanism 74 and the second cam mechanism 75 provided at both ends of the guide shaft 19. When the height position of the guide shaft 19 is changed, the height position of the carriage 51 supported by the guide shaft 19 is changed by the same amount. As a result, the gap amount between the recording head 52 and the support member 60 is adjusted.

FIG. 6 shows the first cam mechanism 74. The first cam mechanism 74 and the second cam mechanism 75 have basically the same configuration except that they are arranged in a direction symmetrical with respect to a virtual surface passing through the center of the guide shaft 19 and orthogonal to the guide shaft 19. Is. Therefore, the first cam mechanism 74 will be described as an example. As shown in FIG. 6, the cam surface 76A of the eccentric cam 76 is an arc surface. The center C1 of the virtual circle including the arc surface is deviated by a predetermined distance from the axis C0 of the guide shaft 19. That is, the cam surface 76A of the eccentric cam 76 is eccentric with respect to the axial center C0 of the guide shaft 19. The eccentric cam 76 is a stepless cam whose height position of the guide shaft 19 can be steplessly adjusted by its rotation.

As described above, the gap adjusting mechanism 70 of the present embodiment includes an eccentric cam 76 provided as a cam portion on the guide shaft 19 as a shaft that movably supports the carriage 51, and is an eccentric cam due to the shaft rotation of the guide shaft 19. This is a mechanism for adjusting the amount of gap between the support member 60 and the recording unit 50 by changing the height position of the guide shaft 19 by rotating the 76.

The gap adjusting mechanism 70 is configured so that the gap amount between the recording head 52 and the support member 60 can be switched to the gap amount according to the medium type by finely adjusting the gap amount steplessly. That is, the gap adjusting mechanism 70 is configured so that the gap amount PG between the recording head 52 and the support member 60 can be finely adjusted steplessly. The gap adjustment mechanism 70 is not limited to the stepless adjustment method in which the gap amount PG can be adjusted steplessly, and the number of switching stages k in which the gap amount PG can be switched according to the medium type (k = 4 in this example). It may be a multi-step adjustment method that can be adjusted in more multi-steps. The gap adjusting mechanism 70 may have a number of stages in the range of, for example, 20 to 100, which is larger than the number of switching stages (4 stages in this example) in which the gap amount PG can be switched according to the medium type. As described above, the gap adjusting mechanism 70 may be configured so that the gap amount PG between the recording head 52 and the support member 60 can be finely adjusted in multiple stages, which is larger than the number of switching stages that can be switched according to the medium type. In other words, the gap adjustment mechanism 70 is configured so that the gap amount PG can be finely adjusted in multiple stages that can be switched at a switching pitch narrower than the minimum value of the switching interval when switching to a plurality of stages according to the medium type. May be done. Here, the minimum value of the switching interval refers to the minimum value among the intervals of the gap amounts PG1, PG2, PG3, and PG4 that can be switched according to the medium type in FIG. 9, which will be described later. The multi-stage may be any number of stages in which the gap amount can be adjusted at a switching pitch shorter than the minimum value of the switching interval. As a result, the gap adjusting mechanism 70 can finely adjust the height position of the recording head 52 with respect to the reference position G0. Therefore, even if the reference position G0 differs for each recording device 11, the height position of the recording head 52 can be finely adjusted for each medium type in advance. It is possible to adjust to the appropriate setting gap amount set in.

As shown in FIG. 7, a recording head 52 is fixed to the bottom portion 51A of the carriage 51. The recording head 52 has a nozzle surface 52A through which the nozzle 58N opens. The nozzle surface 52A is provided with a plurality of nozzle rows 58 having the same number as the number of ink colors. The nozzle row 58 has a plurality of nozzles 58N arranged along the transport direction Y. The recording unit 50 is provided with a measuring unit 80. In this embodiment, the measuring unit 80 is provided at the bottom of the recording unit 50. In the example shown in FIG. 7, the measuring unit 80 is provided at the end of the nozzle surface 52A. The measuring unit 80 measures the height position of the support member 60. In this example, the measuring unit 80 is composed of the sensor 81. The sensor 81 is, for example, a contact type sensor. Therefore, at the time of measurement, the recording unit 50 is lowered until the sensor 81 comes into contact with the support member 60. Further, the bottom portion 51A of the carriage 51 is provided with a width sensor 82 for detecting the side end of the medium M. The width sensor 82 is a non-contact type sensor. The width sensor 82 has an optical detection unit 82A. In the process of moving the carriage 51 in the scanning direction X, the width sensor 82 detects the side edge of the medium M. The recording unit 50 is supported in a state of being movable in the scanning direction X by a guide shaft 19 inserted through a cylindrical guide unit 51B provided on the back surface of the carriage 51.

As shown in FIG. 8, the carriage 51 stands by at the home position HP during non-recording, and moves to the medium M (see FIG. 1) by moving the recording area PA facing the support member 60 during recording. Record against it. The measurement position MP is set outside the scanning direction X with respect to the recording area PA. When the carriage 51 is at the measurement position MP, the convex portion 63 for measuring the reference position protrudes from the position where the sensor 81 faces. In the present embodiment, the measuring unit 80 includes the contact sensor 81, and measures the height position of the support member 60 at the measurement position MP other than the recording area PA recorded by the recording unit 50 on the medium M among the support members 60. do. This measurement is performed, for example, when the recording device 11 is turned on for the first time, or when a recording instruction is received for the first time. Further, the measurement is performed at a predetermined timing such as at a predetermined time interval or at a predetermined number of recordings after the reference position G0 of the support member 60 is measured and stored by the first measurement, and is periodically or irregularly performed. The reference position G0 may be updated periodically.

Specifically, when the carriage 51 is at the measurement position MP, the switching mechanism 72 is connected. In this state, when the transport motor 47, which is the drive source of the gap adjusting mechanism 70, is driven, the power is transmitted to the guide shaft 19 via the power transmission mechanism 48, the switching mechanism 72, and the drive mechanism 73, and the guide shaft 19 rotates about the axis. As the guide shaft 19 rotates, the guide shaft 19 moves up and down via the cam mechanisms 74 and 75, and the recording unit 50 supported by the guide shaft 19 also moves up and down. Specifically, when the switching mechanism 72 is in the connected state and the carriage motor 47 is driven in the reverse direction, which is the direction opposite to the forward rotation direction when the medium M is conveyed, the cam mechanisms 74 and 75 are formed. The carriage 51 descends or rises according to the rotation angle of the eccentric cam 76.

When the measuring unit 80 measures the reference position G0, which is the height position of the support surface 60A of the support member 60 on which the medium M is supported, the carriage 51 is in the measurement position MP shown by the alternate long and short dash line in FIG. Then, the carriage 51 is lowered until the measuring unit 80 comes into contact with the convex portion 63 of the support member 60. The control unit 100 monitors the height position of the descending recording head 52 based on the count value of the third counter 103, which will be described later, and the contact sensor 81 comes into contact with the surface to be measured 63A, which is the end surface of the convex portion 63. The height position of the convex portion 63 is detected from the count value when it is turned on. In this case, the protruding height of the convex portion 63 may be the same as or different from the protruding height of the rib 61. In the present embodiment, since the difference in height position between the measured surface 63A, which is the upper end surface of the convex portion 63, and the support surface 60A of the rib 61 is known, the height of the measured surface 63A of the convex portion 63 is set. From the measured height, the reference position G0, which is the height position of the support surface 60A of the rib 61, is calculated.

The recording unit 50 includes a carriage 51 that supports the recording head 52 and moves in the scanning direction X. The control unit 100 moves the carriage 51 to the measurement position MP, and causes the measurement unit 80 to measure the height position of the support member 60.

As shown in FIG. 8, in this example, the convex portion 63 for measuring the reference position is integrally configured with the support member 60, so that even if there is an assembly error of the support member 60 with respect to the frame or the like, the convex portion 63 The height position of the support surface 60A of the support member 60 can be measured by detecting the height position of the support member 60. Further, since the measuring unit 80 is fixed to the recording head 52, the measuring unit 80 can measure the height position of the support member 60 on the same scale as the recording head 52. The measurement target does not have to be the convex portion 63, and is a part of the support member 60, a member integrally assembled with the support member 60, a common frame or the like while satisfying a predetermined positional relationship with respect to the support member 60. It may be a member assembled in.

The recording device 11 includes a recording unit 50 and a control unit 100 (see FIG. 12) that controls the gap adjusting mechanism 70. The control unit 100 controls the gap adjusting mechanism 70, and adjusts the gap amount PG with the height position measured by the measuring unit 80 as the reference position G0. The control unit 100 acquires the medium type information that can specify the medium type, and adjusts the gap amount according to the medium type with respect to the reference position G0. Here, the measuring unit 80 measures the height position of the end surface of the convex portion 63 to be measured when the carriage 51 is at the measuring position MP, and the support member 60 supports the medium M from the measured value. The height position of the surface 60A is measured as the reference position G0.

Further, as shown in FIG. 8, a maintenance device 90 is arranged on the home position HP side where the carriage 51 stands by during non-recording. The maintenance device 90 has a cap 91. When the carriage 51 moves to the home position HP, the recording head 52 is in a capping state in which the cap 91 comes into contact with the nozzle surface 52A, so that the liquid in the nozzle 58N is prevented from drying. Further, in the capping state in which the cap 91 is in contact with the nozzle surface 52A, the liquid is forcibly discharged from the nozzle 58N by creating a negative pressure in a substantially closed space surrounded by the nozzle surface 52A and the cap 91. Cleaning is performed to remove the liquid such as thickened ink in the nozzle 58N and air bubbles in the liquid.

<Relationship between the rotation angle of the guide shaft and the gap amount>
FIG. 9 shows the relationship between the rotation angle of the guide shaft 19 and the gap amount PG. In this graph, the horizontal axis is the rotation angle of the guide shaft 19, and the vertical axis is the gap amount. As shown in FIG. 9, the gap amount PG between the recording head 52 and the support member 60 sequentially changes to the gap amounts PG1 to PG4 while the guide shaft 19 makes one rotation. Here, the size of the gap amount PG has a relationship of PG1 <PG2 <PG3 <PG4. The cam surface 76A of the eccentric cam 76 is an eccentric circle in a side view, and the gap amount PG can be adjusted steplessly by rotating the eccentric cam 76. Therefore, the gap amount PG changes as shown in FIG. 9 while the guide shaft 19 makes one rotation. That is, the gap amount PG changes continuously while the guide shaft 19 makes one rotation, and when the rotation angles of the guide shaft 19 are at θ1, θ2, θ3, and θ4, the first gap amount PG1 and the second gap amount PG, respectively. The gap amount PG2, the third gap amount PG3, and the fourth gap amount PG4 are taken. Next, the gap amount PG decreases continuously to reach the minimum gap. The rotation angle of the guide shaft 19 is detected based on the detection signal of the encoder 49 of the transport system. Here, in FIG. 9, the set gap amounts ΔPG1, ΔPG2, ΔPG3, and ΔPG4 are set as the set gap amount from the reference position G0. In the present embodiment, the reference position G0, which is the height position of the support surface 60A, varies depending on the individual difference of the recording device 11. The position where the set gap amounts ΔPG1, ΔPG2, ΔPG3, and ΔPG4 are added to the reference position G0 is set to the gap amounts PG1, PG2, PG3, and PG4 according to the medium type. That is, assuming that the subscript is "n", the gap amount PGn is indicated by PGn = G0 + ΔPGn (where n is 1, 2, ..., K). Here, k is the number of switching stages of the gap amount. These gap amounts PG1, PG2, PG3, and PG4 are indicated by height positions based on the origin height, which is the height position of the recording unit 50 when the origin detection unit 93 detects the origin. Specifically, the gap amount PG is indicated by a count value obtained by counting the pulse edges of the detection signal from the encoder 49 by the third counter 103 (see FIG. 12), which will be described later and is reset when the origin detection unit 93 detects the origin. Is done. Instead of the encoder 49 shared with the transport system, a dedicated encoder for detecting the rotation of the guide shaft 19 may be provided, and the rotation angle of the guide shaft 19 may be detected based on the detection signal of the encoder.

As shown in FIG. 10, when the recording unit 50 is at the measurement position MP, the sensor 81 constituting the measurement unit 80 faces the convex portion 63 for measuring the reference position. At this time, the recording unit 50 pushes the operated unit 72A (see FIGS. 2 and 4) into the operating position.

When the transport motor 47, which is the drive source of the gap adjusting mechanism 70, is driven, the guide shaft 19 rotates from the rotation angle shown in FIG. As the cam 76 rotates, the guide shaft 19 supported by the contact portion 77 via the eccentric cam 76 is lowered. As shown in FIG. 11, the carriage 51 descends as the guide shaft 19 descends, whereby the contact sensor 81 detects the convex portion 63 by contacting the surface to be measured 63A, which is the upper end surface of the convex portion 63.

The height position of the recording unit 50 is obtained from a count value obtained by the control unit 100 shown in FIG. 12 counting the number of pulse edges of the pulse included in the detection signal from the encoder 49. The control unit 100 acquires a reference position from the count value when the sensor 81 detects the convex portion 63 and turns on, that is, the height position of the recording unit 50 when the sensor 81 turns on. The reference position is obtained by converting it into, for example, the height position of the support surface 60A, which is the end surface of the rib 61 on which the medium M is supported. When the measurement is completed, the transfer motor 47 is driven in the direction opposite to the rotation direction when the recording unit 50 is lowered, so that the recording unit 50 is returned to the height position where the predetermined gap amount PG is obtained.

<Electrical configuration of recording device>
Next, the electrical configuration of the recording device 11 will be described with reference to FIG. As shown in FIG. 12, the recording device 11 includes a control unit 100 that controls the recording device 11. The control unit 100 performs various controls including recording control for the recording device 11. The control unit 100 is not limited to the one that performs software processing for all the processing executed by itself. For example, the control unit 100 may include a dedicated hardware circuit (for example, an integrated circuit for a specific application: ASIC) that performs hardware processing for at least a part of the processing executed by itself. That is, the control unit 100 includes one or more processors that operate according to a computer program (software), one or more dedicated hardware circuits that execute at least a part of various processes, or a combination thereof. It can be configured as a circuitry. The processor includes a CPU and a memory such as a RAM and a ROM, and the memory stores a program code or a command configured to cause the CPU to execute a process. Memory, or computer-readable medium, includes any available medium accessible by a general purpose or dedicated computer.

As shown in FIG. 12, a feed motor 43, a transfer motor 47, a carriage motor 54, and a recording head 52 are electrically connected to the control unit 100 as an output system. The control unit 100 controls the feed motor 43, the transfer motor 47, the carriage motor 54, and the recording head 52. The feed motor 43 is a drive source for the feed unit 41. The transfer motor 47 is a drive source for the transfer unit 42 and the gap adjusting mechanism 70.

When measuring the reference position G0, the control unit 100 moves the recording unit 50 to the measurement position MP by controlling the carriage motor 54, and then drives the transfer motor 47 to record via the gap adjusting mechanism 70. The head 52 is lowered, and the height position of the convex portion 63 is measured by the measuring unit 80.

Further, when driving the gap adjusting mechanism 70, the control unit 100 moves the recording unit 50 to the end position on the anti-home position AH side as in the case of measurement, and pushes the operated unit 72A to operate the switching mechanism. Put 72 in the connected state. Then, the control unit 100 adjusts the gap amount PG according to the medium type selected as one of the recording condition information at that time by driving the transfer motor 47.

An encoder 49, a linear encoder 56, a measurement unit 80, and an origin detection unit 93 are electrically connected to the control unit 100 as input systems. The encoder 49 is composed of a rotary encoder. The encoder 49 detects the rotation of the transport roller 44A and also detects the rotation of the guide shaft 19 when the switching mechanism 72 is in the connected state. The encoder 49 outputs a detection signal including a number of pulses proportional to the amount of rotation of the transport roller 44A (see FIG. 4). Further, the encoder 49 outputs a detection signal including a number of pulses proportional to the amount of rotation of the guide shaft 19 when the switching mechanism 72 is in the connected state.

Further, the linear encoder 56 includes a linear scale 56A (see FIG. 4) and an optical sensor (not shown) provided on the carriage 51. The linear scale 56A is formed with a large number of translucent slits at a minute constant pitch that can be read by an optical sensor. By optically reading the linear scale 56A, the optical sensor outputs a detection signal including a number of pulses proportional to the movement amount of the recording unit 50.

The measuring unit 80 measures the distance Z in the vertical direction from the height position of the recording head 52 provided with the measuring unit 80 to the support member 60. The measuring unit 80 of this example is a sensor 81 including a contact type sensor. The measuring unit 80 measures the distance from the predetermined height position of the recording unit 50 to the convex portion 63 of the support member 60 in the vertical direction Z. The sensor 81 provided on the lower surface of the recording unit 50 moves in the scanning direction X to the measurement position MP facing the convex portion 63 of the support member 60. The sensor 81 of this example detects the convex portion 63 by contacting the upper end of the convex portion 63 in the process of the recording unit 50 descending at the measurement position MP. That is, the sensor 81 outputs a detection signal when the recording unit 50 descends at the measurement position MP and comes into contact with the upper end of the convex portion 63.

The origin detection unit 93 detects the origin when the guide shaft 19 rotates. The origin detection unit 93 is in the detection state when the guide shaft 19 is at the origin angle, and is in the non-detection state when the guide shaft 19 is at a rotation angle other than the origin angle. The encoder 49 has another origin detection unit (not shown). In the disconnected state of the switching mechanism 72, the rotation angle between the guide shaft 19 and the transport roller 44A may deviate. Therefore, the origin detection unit on the encoder 49 side may not be able to accurately detect the rotation angle of the guide shaft 19 when the rotation angles of the guide shaft 19 and the transfer roller 44A deviate from each other. Therefore, even if the rotation angle between the guide shaft 19 and the transport roller 44A deviates, the origin detection unit 93 that detects the origin angle of the guide shaft 19 is dedicated to the guide shaft so that the rotation angle of the guide shaft 19 can be accurately detected. It is provided in.

The control unit 100 is a rotation position of the guide shaft 19 in which the set gap amounts ΔPG1 to ΔPG4 for each medium type are obtained by the reference position G0 obtained from the measurement result by the measuring unit 80 and the set gap amounts ΔPG1 to ΔPG4 for each medium type. Is stored in the non-volatile memory 104. That is, the non-volatile memory 104 stores the gap amounts PG1 to PG1 indicating the height position of the recording head 52 for obtaining the set gap amounts ΔPG1 to ΔPG4 for each medium type.

Specifically, the following values are set for each medium type. Here, the first medium type M1, the second medium type M2, the third medium type M3, and the fourth medium type M4 are used in order from the thinner medium thickness. G0 + ΔPG1 is set as the gap amount PG1 in the first medium type M1, G0 + ΔPG2 is set as the gap amount PG2 in the second medium type M2, G0 + ΔPG3 is set as the gap amount PG3 in the third medium type M3, and further. G0 + ΔPG4 is set as the gap amount PG4 in the four medium types M4. Here, the reference position G0 is different for each recording device 11. That is, since an individual reference position G0 is used for each recording device 11, if the gap amount PG set with reference to the reference position G0 is adjusted, the set gap amount ΔPG corresponding to the medium type selected at that time is used. Is obtained. The gap amount PG is individually associated with the rotation angle of the guide shaft 19 for each recording device 11.

As shown in FIG. 12, the control unit 100 has a first counter 101, a second counter 102, a third counter 103, and a non-volatile memory 104. The first counter 101 has an origin position at the position of the medium M when the tip of the medium M fed by the feeding unit 41 is detected by a medium detector (not shown), and the position of the front end or the rear end of the medium M. Count the value corresponding to. The first counter 101 counts the number of pulse edges of the detection signal input from the encoder 49 that detects the rotation of the transport roller 44A. Therefore, the count value of the first counter 101 indicates the position of the front end or the rear end of the medium M in the transport direction Y. The control unit 100 controls the feed, transport, and discharge of the medium M by controlling the motors 43 and 47 of the transport system based on the count values of the first counter 101.

The second counter 102 counts a value corresponding to the position of the carriage 51. The second counter 102 is reset at the origin position where the carriage 51 comes into contact with the first regulation surface 17A on the home position HP side. The second counter 102 counts the number of pulse edges of the detection signal input from the linear encoder 56. Therefore, the count value of the second counter 102 indicates the carriage position in the scanning direction X with the end position on the home position HP side of the carriage 51 as the origin. The control unit 100 controls the speed and position of the carriage 51 by controlling the carriage motor 54 based on the count value of the second counter 102.

The third counter 103 counts the rotation angle of the guide shaft 19. The third counter 103 is reset every time the origin detection unit 93 detects the origin angle of the guide shaft 19. That is, in this example, the encoder 49 that detects the rotation of the transport roller 44A is diverted to detect the rotation angle of the guide shaft 19. However, in order to accurately acquire the origin angle of the guide shaft 19, a dedicated origin detection unit 93 is used. The third counter 103 counts the number of pulse edges of the detection signal input from the encoder 49. Therefore, the control unit 100 acquires the rotation angle based on the origin angle of the guide shaft 19 from the count value of the third counter 103. The rotation angle of the guide shaft 19 is a value corresponding to the gap. Therefore, the control unit 100 acquires the gap amount PG according to the rotation angle of the guide shaft 19 from the count value of the third counter 103. A dedicated encoder for detecting the rotation of the guide shaft 19 may be provided.

The third counter 103 is also used for counting the distance measured by the measuring unit 80. The rotation angle of the guide shaft 19 counted by the third counter 103 is also a value indicating the height position of the recording unit 50. When the control unit 100 uses the measurement unit 80 to perform measurement, when the sensor 81, which is the measurement unit 80, detects the convex portion 63 and inputs a detection signal when the convex portion 63 is turned on, the control unit 100 receives a detection signal of the third counter 103 at that time. The count value, that is, the height position of the recording unit 50 is acquired as a reference position. The control unit 100 corrects the count value of the third counter 103 when the sensor 81 detects the convex portion 63, such as the difference in height between the convex portion 63 and the rib 61, and uses the corrected value as a reference. The position is G0. That is, the reference position G0 is acquired as the height position of the support surface 60A, which is the upper end surface of the rib 61 on which the medium M is supported.

In the non-volatile memory 104 shown in FIG. 12, various program PRs including a program for the reference position measurement process shown in the flowchart of FIG. 13 are stored. Further, as shown in FIG. 12, the non-volatile memory 104 stores the reference position data SP including the reference position G0 measured by the control unit 100 using the measurement unit 80. Further, the non-volatile memory 104 stores the set gap amount data SG including the set gap amount ΔPG. The data of the set gap amount ΔPG is table data showing the correspondence relationship between the medium type and the set gap amount ΔPG. That is, the non-volatile memory 104 stores the set gap amounts ΔPG1, ΔPG2, ΔPG3, and ΔPG4 corresponding to the medium type shown in FIG.

The control unit 100 refers to the set gap amount data SG stored in the non-volatile memory 104, and selects the set gap amount ΔPG according to the medium type at that time. The set gap amount ΔPG is a common value regardless of the individual difference of the recording device 11. That is, the gap amount according to the medium type to be provided between the support surface 60A and the nozzle surface 52A is shown. The control unit 100 adds the set gap amount ΔPG according to the medium type at that time to the reference position G0 to calculate the gap amount PG. The gap amount PG is acquired at the height position of the recording unit 50, that is, a count value indicating the rotation angle of the guide shaft 19.

Next, the operation of the recording device 11 will be described.
The recording device 11 is assembled at the manufacturing plant. For example, the support member 60 is assembled at a predetermined height position with respect to the frame at a predetermined horizontality.

Conventionally, in a pre-shipment inspection in a manufacturing factory, an operator makes sure that the gap amount between the recording head 52 and the support member 60 when the guide shaft 19 is at a predetermined reference rotation angle becomes a predetermined reference gap amount. A gauge was inserted between the support member 60 and the recording head 52, and the height position of the guide shaft 19 was adjusted by using the adjustment function of the pair of support position adjustment members 71. In this way, the reference position of the recording head 52 is set so that a predetermined reference gap amount can be obtained with respect to the support member 60.

In the present embodiment, the adjustment work for the reference positioning of the recording unit 50 by the operator can be omitted. Therefore, the position adjustment work by the pair of support position adjustment members 71 is not performed, or the position adjustment work is completed by a simple position adjustment work.

In the pre-shipment inspection at the manufacturing factory, the worker performs an operation of instructing the recording device 11 to execute the reference position measurement process. Upon receiving the instruction of the reference position measurement process, the control unit 100 executes the program of the reference position measurement process shown in the flowchart of FIG. In this reference position measurement process, the reference position G0 when adjusting the gap is set.

Further, the control unit 100 may execute the reference position measurement process shown in the flowchart in FIG. 13 when the power of the recording device 11 is turned on. However, the reference position measurement process may be executed when the power is turned on for the first time when the recording device 11 is used for the first time, or when the power is turned on after a predetermined time has elapsed from the previous power on. The reason for this is that the assembly position of the recording unit 50 rarely fluctuates every time the power is turned on. Therefore, the control unit 100 executes the program PR when a specific power is turned on. When the power is turned on, the carriage 51 is at the home position HP shown by the solid line in FIG. 8, and the cap 91 is in a capping state in which the cap 91 rises from the retracted position shown in FIG. 8 and comes into contact with the nozzle surface 52A of the recording head 52.

First, in step S11, the control unit 100 moves the carriage 51 to the measurement position in the first direction X1. The control unit 100 lowers the cap 91 to the retracted position shown in FIG. 8, and then drives the carriage motor 54 in the forward direction to move the carriage 51 toward the first direction X1 to the measurement position MP. When the carriage 51 is at the measurement position MP shown by the alternate long and short dash line in FIG. 8, the sensor 81 is in a position facing the convex portion 63 (see also FIG. 10). At this measurement position MP, the carriage 51 pushes the operated portion 72A, and the switching mechanism 72 is connected. As a result, the power of the transport motor 47 is connected to the guide shaft 19 via the power transmission mechanism 48 and the drive mechanism 73 so that the power can be transmitted.

In the next step S12, the control unit 100 makes a measurement. The control unit 100 reversely drives the transport motor 47 to rotate the guide shaft 19 in one direction and lower the recording unit 50. It is determined whether or not the sensor 81 descends to a position where it contacts the convex portion 63 and detects the convex portion 63. Prior to this, the recording unit 50 passes through a predetermined height position indicating the origin, and the third counter 103 is reset when the origin detection unit 93 detects the origin, and the pulse of the detection signal input from the encoder 49 after the reset. By counting the edges, the count value indicating the height position with respect to the origin height of the recording unit 50 is counted. When the sensor 81 constituting the measuring unit 80 detects the convex portion 63 and turns it on, the control unit 100 acquires the count value of the third counter 103 when the sensor 81 is turned on as a measured value.

In step S13, the control unit 100 calculates the reference position G0 based on the measured value. In the control unit 100, the height position of the surface to be measured 63A (see FIG. 11), which is the end surface of the convex portion 63, is the measured value indicated by the count value of the third counter 103, and the height of the convex portion 63 and the rib 61. The reference position G0 (see FIG. 9), which is the height position of the support surface 60A, is calculated by using the known information which is the difference between the two.

In step S14, the control unit 100 stores the reference position G0 in the non-volatile memory 104. In this way, the reference position G0 is stored in the non-volatile memory 104. Here, the assembling height of the recording unit 50 with respect to the support member 60 has not been adjusted, or since it is a simple adjustment, the accuracy of the height position of the recording head 52 is coarse. Further, the assembling height of the recording unit 50 with respect to the support member 60 is different for each recording device 11. The amount of gap between the recording head 52 and the support member 60 when the guide shaft 19 is at a predetermined reference rotation angle varies from individual to individual recording device 11.

After that, the user operates the operation unit displayed on the touch panel type display unit 25, or operates a pointing device such as a mouse from a host device (not shown) to instruct the recording device 11 to record. When this is done, the control unit 100 receives the recorded data. The recorded data includes recording condition information and image data. The recording condition information includes information such as a medium type, a medium size, and a recording mode. The control unit 100 controls the transport motor 47 and the carriage motor 54 based on the recording condition information and the like, and drives and controls the recording head 52 based on the image data to record the image and the like based on the image data on the medium M. do.

Prior to recording this image, the control unit 100 refers to the set gap amount data SG based on the medium type information included in the recording condition information, and is the medium at that time among the set gap amounts ΔPG1, ΔPG2, ΔPG3, and ΔPG4. Obtain one set gap amount ΔPG corresponding to the species. Then, when the current set gap amount is different from the acquired set gap amount ΔPG, the control unit 100 drives the carriage motor 54 to move the carriage 51 to the anti-home position AH and pushes the operated unit 72A. The switching mechanism 72 is connected. Next, the control unit 100 drives the conveyor motor 47, which is the drive source of the gap adjusting mechanism 70, and rotates the guide shaft 19 to switch the gap amount. At this time, the control unit 100 reads the data of the reference position G0, which is the height position of the support surface 60A for each recording device 11, from the non-volatile memory 104, and sets the read reference position G0 according to the medium type at that time. The height position of the recording head 52 is adjusted to the gap amount PG obtained by adding the set gap amount ΔPG.

In this way, if the medium M is the first medium type, the recording head 52 is adjusted to the height position of PG1 = G0 + ΔPG1. If the medium M is the second medium type, the recording head 52 is adjusted to the height position of PG2 = G0 + ΔPG2. Further, if the medium M is a third medium type, the recording head 52 is adjusted to the height position of PG3 = G0 + ΔPG3. If the medium M is the fourth medium type, the recording head 52 is adjusted to the height position of PG4 = G0 + ΔPG4. Here, the first medium type is, for example, plain paper, the second medium type is, for example, thick paper such as photo paper, the third medium type is, for example, an envelope, and the fourth medium type is, for example, a storage disk such as a CD-R or DVD. Although an example is shown in which the number of switching stages of the gap amount according to the medium type is four stages, the gap amount may be switched to a plurality of stages other than the four stages.

According to the first embodiment, the following effects can be obtained.
(1) The recording device 11 includes a transport unit 42, a support member 60, a recording unit 50 having a recording head 52, and a measuring unit 80 provided in the recording unit 50 to measure the height position of the support member 60. It includes a gap adjusting mechanism 70 and a control unit 100. The gap adjusting mechanism 70 is configured to be able to switch to a gap amount according to the medium type by steplessly adjusting the gap amount between the recording head 52 and the support member 60. The control unit 100 adjusts the gap amount by using the height position of the support member 60 measured by the measurement unit 80 as the reference position G0.

By the way, the gap amount between the support member 60 and the recording head 52 includes the variation due to the individual difference for each recording device 11 due to the variation in the assembling position of at least one of the support member 60 and the recording unit 50. According to this configuration, the measuring unit 80 measures the height position of the support member 60, and the measured height position of the support member 60 is set as the reference position G0 to obtain a gap amount according to the medium type. The adjustment mechanism 70 is controlled. Therefore, the gap amount between the support member 60 and the recording head 52 can be adjusted to an appropriate value even if the assembly positions of the support member 60 and the recording head 52 remain uneven. Therefore, even if the adjustment work for adjusting the assembling position of the recording unit 50 is simplified or abolished before the recording device 11 is shipped, the gap amount can be adjusted to an appropriate level.

Therefore, the work of adjusting the assembly position of the support member 60 and the recording unit 50 before shipment of the recording device 11 can be reduced or eliminated, and the work load of the adjusting work can be reduced. Further, conventionally, if the gauge used during the adjustment work comes into contact with the recording head 52, there is a concern that the recording head 52 may be damaged. However, since the adjustment work using the gauge can be abolished, damage to the recording head 52 can be prevented. .. Further, if the adjusted assembly position of the support member 60 and the recording unit 50 is displaced due to the vibration during transportation of the shipped recording device 11, the accuracy of the gap amount at the time of subsequent recording is lowered. It ends up. On the other hand, in the recording device 11 of the present embodiment, even if the assembly position is deviated, the reference position G0 is set according to the deviated assembly position, so that the gap amount can be adjusted with high accuracy at the time of recording.

(2) The control unit 100 adjusts the reference position G0 to a gap amount obtained by adding a set gap amount ΔPG according to the medium type specified from the acquired medium type information. Therefore, the gap amount can be adjusted to an appropriate level according to the medium type.

(3) The recording unit 50 includes a carriage 51 that supports the recording head 52 and moves in the scanning direction X. The control unit 100 moves the carriage 51 to the measurement position MP, and causes the measurement unit 80 to measure the height position of the support member 60. Therefore, in the serial recording type recording device 11, the gap amount can be adjusted to an appropriate level according to the medium type.

(4) The measuring unit 80 includes contact sensors 81 and 84, and the measuring unit 80 is a measurement position MP other than the recording area PA recorded by the recording unit 50 on the medium M among the support members 60. Measure the height position. For example, a recording material such as ink used for recording on the medium M may be attached to the recording region PA portion of the support member 60. Since the contact sensor 81 is brought into contact with the convex portion 63 which is the measured portion at the measurement position MP other than the recording area PA in the support member 60 to measure the height position of the support member 60, the contact sensor 81 is used as the support member. Compared with the configuration in which the recording area PA of 60 is brought into contact with a portion in the PA, the recording material such as ink is less likely to be transferred to the contact sensor 81 during measurement. Therefore, even if the medium M being recorded floats up and comes into contact with the contact sensor 81 of the recording unit 50, the medium M is unlikely to become dirty.

(Second Embodiment)
Next, the recording device 11 of the second embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 14 to 17. This embodiment is different from the first embodiment in that the sensor constituting the measuring unit 80 is a non-contact type sensor. Since it is a non-contact type sensor, it is not necessary to make contact with the measurement target, so the support surface 60A, which is the end face of the rib 61, is the measurement target. Since the support surface 60A is measured in a non-contact manner, there is no concern that the non-contact sensor will be contaminated by a liquid such as ink adhering to the support surface 60A of the rib 61.

As shown in FIG. 14, when the measuring unit 80 is composed of a non-contact type sensor, the width sensor 82 may be used as the non-contact type sensor, or a non-contact type sensor 83 different from the width sensor 82 is used. It may be configured. As shown in FIG. 14, the width sensor 82 has a detection unit 82A including a light emitting unit that emits light and a light receiving unit that receives the reflected light of the light emitted from the light emitting unit. When a non-contact sensor 83 different from the width sensor 82 is used as the measuring unit 80, the non-contact sensor 83 is arranged at the position shown by the alternate long and short dash line in FIG. 14 on the nozzle surface 52A of the recording head 52. May be good. The non-contact sensor 83 is arranged in an area of the nozzle surface 52A other than the arrangement area of the nozzle row 58. In the example shown in FIG. 14, the non-contact sensor 83 is arranged on the peripheral edge of the nozzle surface 52A. Here, the non-contact sensor 83 is, for example, an optical sensor, which is a light projecting unit that casts light on the support member 60 side and a light receiving unit that receives light from the support member 60 side and generates a voltage corresponding to the light. Has a part. The non-contact sensor 83 outputs the voltage generated by the light receiving unit as a detection signal. The non-contact sensor 83 may be a distance sensor of another type capable of detecting a distance, and may be an ultrasonic type or a magnetic type instead of the optical type. When the width sensor 82 and the non-contact sensor 83 are not particularly distinguished, the width sensor 82 is also referred to as a non-contact sensor 82.

FIG. 15 shows the detection characteristics of the width sensor 82. The horizontal axis of the graph shown in FIG. 15 is the distance L, and the vertical axis is the current output value. In this graph, in the range GA in which the distance L is 0.2 to 2.8 mm, the current output value has a characteristic that the larger the distance L, the larger the current output value with a uniform slope. That is, in the range GA where the detected distance L is 0.2 to 2.8 mm, the detected distance is uniquely determined from the current output value output from the non-contact type width sensor 82.

Further, the non-contact type sensor 83 is, for example, a distance sensor, and outputs a current output value corresponding to the detected distance. The sensor 83, which is a distance sensor, may be an optical distance sensor, an ultrasonic distance sensor, or a magnetic distance sensor.

As shown in FIG. 16, since the measuring unit 80 is composed of the non-contact sensor 82 or 83 and has the rib 61 as the measurement target, the support member 60 does not have the convex portion 63. In the present embodiment, the measuring unit 80 includes the non-contact type sensor 82 or 83, and the non-contact type sensor 82 or 83 is in the recording area PA in which the recording unit 50 of the support member 60 records on the medium M. The height position of the support member 60 is measured at the measurement position of. The measurement position is a position where the non-contact sensor 82 or 83 faces the support surface 60A, which is the end surface of the rib 61 that supports the medium M. The recording unit 50 measures the height position of the support surface 60A, which is the end surface of the rib 61, at a plurality of measurement positions including the first measurement position x1 and the second measurement position x2 in the scanning direction X. That is, the measuring unit 80 measures the reference position G0, which is the height position of the support surface 60A, at the plurality of measuring positions x1 and x2. For example, the average value of the height positions of the support surfaces 60A measured by the measuring unit 80 at a plurality of measuring positions having different positions in the scanning direction X is set as the reference position G0. Further, for example, when the height position of the support surface 60A measured by the measuring unit 80 at a plurality of measuring positions having different positions in the scanning direction X differs beyond the permissible value, the recording unit 50 moves in the scanning direction. The gap amount between the support member 60 and the recording head 52 is different at different positions in the scanning direction X.

When the gap amount is different at a plurality of positions different in the scanning direction X, the control unit 100 controls the ejection timing for ejecting the droplet from the nozzle 58N in order to suppress the misalignment of the dots due to the different gap amount. ..

The non-contact sensor 82 or 83 detects the distance to the rib 61 when the recording unit 50 is in a plurality of measurement positions including the measurement positions x1 and x2. At this time, the inclination of the movement path of the recording head 52 with respect to the support member 60 is detected from the difference in distance detected by the non-contact sensor 82 or 83 at a plurality of measurement positions having different positions in the scanning direction X. That is, the non-contact sensor 82 or 83 detects the gap amount between the nozzle surface 52A of the recording head 52 and the support surface 60A of the support member 60 at a plurality of measurement positions. If the gap amount is different between different positions in the scanning direction X, even if the ejection timing of the droplet from the nozzle 58N is the same, the timing at which the ejected droplet lands on the surface of the medium M is different. The position of the dot formed by landing is shifted in the scanning direction X.

Therefore, in the present embodiment, by controlling the ejection timing of the droplets ejected from the nozzle 58N, the positions of the dots formed by the ejected droplets landing on the surface of the medium M are aligned in the scanning direction X. In this case, the control unit 100 adjusts the discharge timing from the nozzle 58N according to the gap amount. That is, the control unit 100 is the second nozzle of the second nozzle at the position of the second gap amount smaller than the first gap amount than the first discharge timing when the recording head 52 is at the position of the first gap amount. Make it later than the discharge timing. As a result, it is possible to suppress the deviation of the dots in the scanning direction X, which is formed when the droplets ejected from the nozzle 58N land on the medium M.

Further, the control unit 100 may adjust the gap amount according to the thickness of the medium M. As shown in FIG. 17, the control unit 100 conveys the medium M to a position supported by the support member 60, measures the medium height position which is the height position of the surface of the medium M by the measuring unit 80, and uses the reference unit 80 as a reference. The medium thickness is acquired based on the difference between the position G0 and the medium height position. The control unit 100 controls the gap adjusting mechanism 70 to adjust the gap amount according to the medium thickness.

The control unit 100 specifies the medium type based on the medium thickness, and controls the gap adjusting mechanism 70 to adjust the gap amount between the support member 60 and the recording head 52 to a value corresponding to the medium type.

As shown in FIG. 17, the medium M is preliminarily transported to a position supported by the support surface 60A of the support member 60. The distance to the surface of the medium M is measured by the measuring unit 80. Specifically, the non-contact sensor 82 or 83 detects the distance to the support surface 60A, which is the end surface of the rib 61. At this time, since the width of the medium M is known from the medium size information, the control unit 100 moves the recording unit 50 to a position where the non-contact sensor 82 or 83 faces the medium M. The thickness of the medium M is detected from the distance detected by the non-contact sensor 82 or 83 located at a position facing the medium M. That is, the control unit 100 has a first distance L1 which is a distance to the support surface 60A detected by the non-contact type sensor 82 or 83 when the medium M is absent, and a non-contact type when the medium M is preliminarily conveyed. The thickness (medium thickness) of the medium M is measured by calculating the difference ΔL = L1-L2 from the second distance L2, which is the distance to the surface of the medium M detected by the sensor 82 or 83. Then, the control unit 100 adjusts the gap amount according to the measured medium thickness. The set gap amount data SG indicating the correspondence between the medium type and the set gap amount is stored in the non-volatile memory 104. Here, there is a medium M having the same medium type but a different medium thickness. For example, even if the medium type is "plain paper", there are some that have different thicknesses. For example, in "plain paper", even if the medium M having a thickness of 0.1 mm and the medium M having a thickness of 0.15 mm have the same gap amount (platen gap amount) between the support member 60 and the recording head 52, the medium The media gap amount, which is the gap amount between the surface of M and the nozzle surface 52A of the recording head 52, is different. Therefore, in the present embodiment, even if the medium type is the same, if the medium thickness is different, the media gap amount may be adjusted to be the same.

According to the second embodiment, the effects (1) to (3) in the first embodiment can be obtained in the same manner, and the following effects can be obtained.
(5) The recording device 11 is provided in the transport unit 42, the support member 60, the recording unit 50 having the recording head 52, and the recording unit 50, and measures the reference position G0 which is the height position of the support member 60. It includes a measuring unit 80, a gap adjusting mechanism 70, and a control unit 100. The gap adjusting mechanism 70 is configured so that the gap amount between the recording head 52 and the support member 60 can be adjusted steplessly. The control unit 100 conveys the medium M to a position supported by the support member 60, measures the medium height position which is the height position of the surface of the medium M by the measuring unit 80, and sets the reference position G0 and the medium height position. The medium thickness is acquired based on the difference from the above, and the gap adjusting mechanism 70 is controlled to adjust the gap amount according to the medium thickness. Therefore, the gap amount can be adjusted according to the medium thickness. Therefore, the gap amount between the medium M and the recording head 52 can be adjusted to an appropriate value, and the recording position accuracy when recording on the medium M is improved. Further, even if the medium type information given to the control unit 100 is incorrect or the medium type information is not given to the control unit 100, it is possible to record on the medium M with an appropriate gap amount.

(6) The control unit 100 identifies the medium type based on the medium thickness and controls the gap adjusting mechanism 70 to adjust the gap amount between the support member 60 and the recording head 52 to a value according to the medium type. do. Therefore, even in the recording device 11 in which the assembly position of the support member 60 and the recording unit 50 is not adjusted, the gap amount can be adjusted to an appropriate level according to the medium type at the time of recording. Further, even if the medium type information is not given or the given medium type information is incorrect, the gap amount can be adjusted according to the appropriate medium type.

(7) The control unit 100 controls the gap adjusting mechanism 70 and adjusts the amount of the media gap between the medium M and the recording head 52 to a value corresponding to the medium type and the medium thickness. Therefore, the appropriate media gap amount can be adjusted according to the medium type and the medium thickness. As a result, recording can be performed on the medium M with high recording accuracy.

(8) The measuring unit 80 includes the non-contact sensors 82 and 83, and the non-contact sensors 82 and 83 are supported at the measurement position in the recording area PA recorded by the recording unit 50 on the medium M among the support members 60. The height position of the member 60 is measured. Therefore, since the non-contact sensors 82 and 83, the height of the support member 60 is measured by measuring the height position of the rib 61, which is the measured portion of the support member 60, at the measurement position in the recording area PA of the support member 60. Even if the position is measured, it is unlikely that the non-contact sensors 82 and 83 will be soiled by a recording material such as ink. Therefore, even if the medium M floats up during recording and comes into contact with the non-contact sensors 82 and 83 of the recording unit 50, it is unlikely that the medium M will be contaminated with the recording material.

(Third Embodiment)
Next, the recording device 11 of the third embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 18 to 21. The basic configuration of the recording device 11 is the same as that of the first embodiment. The configuration of the measuring unit 80 and the measurement target and a part of the control using the measurement result are different from each of the above-described embodiments.

As shown in FIG. 18, a plurality of measuring units 80 are provided at different positions in the transport direction Y on the bottom of the recording unit 50. In the present embodiment, a plurality of measuring units 80 having different positions in the transport direction Y are provided on the nozzle surface 52A of the recording head 52 fixed to the bottom portion 51A of the carriage 51. In the example shown in FIG. 18, the measuring unit 80 is provided at an end portion of the nozzle surface 52A different in the transport direction Y. The measuring unit 80 measures the height position of the support member 60. In this example, the measuring unit 80 includes a plurality of sensors 84. That is, the measuring unit 80 is composed of the contact sensor 84.

As shown in FIG. 19, in the present embodiment, the measurement unit 80 includes the contact sensor 84, and the support member 60 is a support member at a measurement position MP other than the recording area PA recorded by the recording unit 50 on the medium M. Measure the height position of 60. When the recording unit 50 is at the measurement position MP, the measurement unit 80 detects the surface to be measured 63A, which is the end surface of the convex portion 63 protruding from the support member 60 to a position other than the recording area PA. Then, the height position of the surface to be measured 63A is measured. The control unit 100 uses known information that is the difference in height between the measured surface 63A and the support surface 60A from the height position of the measured surface 63A measured by the measuring unit 80, and the control unit 100 uses the known information of the height difference between the measured surface 63A and the support surface 60A to support the support surface 60A of the support member 60. The reference position G0, which is the height position of the above, is measured.

As shown in FIG. 18, the plurality of sensors 84 are provided at different positions in the transport direction Y of the medium M. The measuring unit 80 uses a plurality of sensors 84 to measure a plurality of height positions at a plurality of positions different in the transport direction Y on the support member 60. The control unit 100 acquires the reference position G0 and the inclination of the recording head 52 with respect to the support member 60 in the transport direction based on the plurality of height positions. In other words, the control unit 100 acquires the relative inclination of the support member 60 and the recording head 52 in the transport direction Y based on the plurality of height positions. Further, the recording head 52 shown in FIG. 18 has a nozzle row 58 as an example of a nozzle group including a first nozzle 58N and a second nozzle 58N having different positions in the transport direction Y. The first nozzle 58N and the second nozzle 58N may be any two nozzles 58N as long as the positions in the transport direction Y are different, or may be two nozzles 58N belonging to different nozzle rows 58.

The control unit 100 adjusts the gap amount with the position of the support member 60 facing the first nozzle 58N as a reference position. Further, the control unit 100 determines the discharge timing of the second nozzle according to the difference in the gap amount according to the relative inclination of the support member 60 and the recording head 52 in the transport direction with respect to the discharge timing of the first nozzle 58N. To shift.

As shown in FIG. 19, the carriage 51 stands by at the home position HP during non-recording, and moves to the medium M (see FIG. 1) by moving the recording area PA facing the support member 60 during recording. Record against it. The measurement position MP is set outside the scanning direction X with respect to the recording area PA. When the carriage 51 is in the measurement position MP, the convex portion 63 for measuring the reference position protrudes from the position where the sensor 84 faces.

At the time of measurement, the recording unit 50 is lowered until the sensor 84 comes into contact with the convex portion 63 to be measured. By providing a plurality of sensors 84 at different positions in the transport direction Y, the inclination of the nozzle surface 52A of the recording head 52 in the transport direction Y is detected.

When the carriage 51 is in the measurement position MP, the switching mechanism 72 is in the connected state. In this state, when the transport motor 47, which is the drive source of the gap adjusting mechanism 70, is driven, the driving force is transmitted to the guide shaft 19 via the power transmission mechanism 48, the switching mechanism 72, and the drive mechanism 73, and the guide is guided. The shaft 19 rotates about the shaft. As the guide shaft 19 rotates, the recording unit 50 moves up and down together with the guide shaft 19 via the cam mechanisms 74 and 75. Specifically, when the switching mechanism 72 is in the connected state and the carriage motor 47 is driven in the reverse direction, which is the direction opposite to the forward rotation direction when the medium M is conveyed, the cam mechanisms 74 and 75 are formed. The carriage 51 descends or rises according to the rotation angle of the eccentric cam 76.

When the measuring unit 80 measures the reference height of the support surface 60A on which the medium M is supported, the measuring unit 80 is in the state where the carriage 51 is at the measurement position MP shown by the alternate long and short dash line in FIG. The carriage 51 is lowered until it comes into contact with the convex portion 63 of the. The control unit 100 monitors the height position of the descending recording head 52 based on the count value of the third counter 103, and measures the time when the contact sensor 84 contacts the measured surface 63A of the convex portion 63 and turns on. The height position of the convex portion 63 is detected from the numerical value.

In this case, as in the first embodiment, the protruding height of the convex portion 63 may be the same as or different from the protruding height of the rib 61. Since the difference in height position between the measured surface 63A, which is the upper end surface of the convex portion 63, and the support surface 60A of the rib 61 is known, the control unit 100 has the measured surface 63A of the convex portion 63. From the height position, the reference position G0, which is the height position of the support surface 60A of the rib 61, is calculated.

As shown in FIG. 20, when the carriage 51 is in the measurement position MP, a pair of convex portions 63 are located at positions facing the lower side of the two contact sensors 84 having different positions in the transport direction Y and the vertical direction Z. Have been placed. Between the pair of convex portions 63, there are concave portions 64 that are recessed lower than the surface to be measured 63A, which is the upper end surface of the convex portions 63. The recess 64 faces the nozzle row 58 formed on the nozzle surface 52A of the recording head 52. The surface to be measured 63A, which the plurality of contact sensors 84 come into contact with, is at a position higher than the portion of the recording unit 50 other than the contact sensor 84 facing each other when the recording unit 50 is lowered during measurement. In the present embodiment, the surface to be measured 63A is at a position higher than the portion of the recording head 52 other than the contact sensor 84 facing the portion when the recording unit 50 is lowered during measurement. The support member 60 includes a pair of convex portions 63 to be measured on both sides of the recess at a position outside the recording region PA in the scanning direction X. A plurality of contact sensors 84 may be provided on the lower surface of the carriage 51. In this case, the surface to be measured 63A may be at a position higher than the portion of the recording unit 50 that faces the recording head 52, which is a portion other than the contact sensor 84 when the recording unit 50 is lowered during measurement.

Therefore, as shown in FIG. 21, when the recording unit 50 descends until the contact sensor 84 detects the measured surface 63A of the convex portion 63, the portion of the nozzle surface 52A other than the contact sensor 84 is convex. There is no need to worry about contact with the part 63. In particular, since the nozzle row 58 faces the concave portion 64, there is no concern that it will come into contact with the convex portion 63.

As shown in FIG. 20, the plurality of contact type sensors 84 are made elastic. The contact sensor 84 includes an elastic member 85 that can shrink when it comes into contact with the surface to be measured 63A of the convex portion 63. In this example, the elastic member 85 is a spring. The contact sensor 84 is urged downward by the elastic member 85. When the contact sensor 84 comes into contact with the surface to be measured 63A, the contact sensor 84 retracts so as to be sunk above the position at the time of detection against the urging force of the elastic member 85. The elastic member 85 may be made of rubber.

As shown in FIG. 21, when the support member 60 and the recording head 52 are tilted in the transport direction Y, when the recording unit 50 is lowered during measurement, one of the contact sensors 84 is first measured by the convex portion 63. It comes into contact with the surface 63A and enters the detection state. After that, when the recording unit 50 is further lowered, the other contact type sensor 84 comes into contact with the measured surface 63A of the convex portion 63 to enter the detection state. At this time, one of the contact-type sensors 84 that first contacted the surface to be measured 63A retracts so as to sink upward against the urging force of the elastic member 85, so that the other contact-type sensor 84 moves to the surface to be measured. The recording unit 50 can be further lowered until it comes into contact with 63A. As a result, even if the contact sensor 84 is used, the positions of the two convex portions 63, which are located at different positions in the transport direction Y, are different in the transport direction Y by measuring the descending distance until they come into contact with the measured surface 63A. The height positions of the two convex portions 63 are measured. Since the difference between the height position of the convex portion 63 and the height position of the rib 61 is known, the control unit 100 determines the support member 60 from the height position of the measured surface 63A of the convex portion 63 that has been measured. The reference position G0, which is the height position of the support surface 60A of the above, is calculated. The control unit 100 stores the reference position G0 in the non-volatile memory 104. Although FIG. 21 shows an example in which the support member 60 is tilted, the support member 60 may be assembled horizontally and the recording unit 50 may be tilted with respect to the support member 60.

At the time of gap adjustment, the control unit 100 reads out the reference position G0 and the set gap amount ΔPGn according to the medium type from the non-volatile memory 104, or calculates the gap amount in advance and stores it in association with the medium type. Read PGn = G0 + ΔPGn from the non-volatile memory 104. The control unit 100 displaces the carriage 51 in the vertical direction Z by driving the transport motor 47 in a state where the carriage 51 is moved to the end position on the anti-home position AH side, and the count value of the third counter 103 is changed. When the value of the gap amount PGn = G0 + ΔPGn (see FIG. 9) is reached, the drive of the carriage motor 47 is stopped. As a result, the gap amount between the support member 60 and the recording head 52 is adjusted to the set gap amount ΔPG according to the medium type.

According to the third embodiment, the effects (1) to (4) in the first embodiment can be obtained in the same manner, and the following effects can be obtained.
(9) The measuring unit 80 includes a plurality of sensors 84. Therefore, by measuring the height position of the support member 60 at a plurality of points with the plurality of sensors 84, the relative inclination of the support member 60 and the recording unit 50 in the direction between two points having different positions of the plurality of sensors 84. Can be measured. Therefore, the control unit 100 controls the discharge timing of discharging the liquid from the recording head 52 according to the relative inclination of the support member 60 and the recording head 52, so that the liquid lands on the medium M due to the inclination. It is possible to suppress the displacement of the position.

(10) The plurality of sensors 84 are provided at different positions in the transport direction Y of the medium M, and measure a plurality of height positions at a plurality of positions different in the transport direction Y of the support member 60. The control unit 100 acquires the reference position G0 and the relative inclination of the support member 60 and the recording head 52 in the transport direction based on the plurality of height positions. The recording head 52 has a nozzle row 58 including a first nozzle 58N and a second nozzle 58N at different positions in the transport direction Y. The control unit 100 adjusts the gap amount by setting the position of the support member 60 facing the first nozzle 58N as the reference position G0. Further, the control unit 100 shifts the discharge timing of the second nozzle 58N according to the difference in the gap amount according to the relative inclination with respect to the discharge timing of the first nozzle 58N. Therefore, even if there is a deviation in the inclination of the transport direction Y between the support member 60 and the recording head 52 and the gap amount differs due to the difference in the position of the transport direction Y, the first nozzle 58N and the second nozzle 58N, respectively. It is possible to suppress the displacement of the landing position of the liquid discharged from the above in the transport direction Y.

(11) The plurality of contact type sensors 84 are made elastic. Therefore, even if the height positions of the support members 60 measured by each of the plurality of contact sensors 84 are different, the height positions of the support members 60 can be measured. For example, the relative inclination of the support member 60 and the recording head 52 can be measured from the difference in height position.

(12) The convex portion 63, which is the measured portion with which the plurality of contact-type sensors 84 are in contact, is higher than the portion of the recording unit 50 other than the contact-type sensor 84 facing each other when the recording unit 50 is lowered during measurement. In position. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the portion of the recording unit 50 other than the contact sensor 84 from coming into contact with other members when the contact sensor 84 is lowered to a position where it comes into contact with the convex portion 63 which is the measured portion. .. In particular, it is possible to prevent the recording head 52 from coming into contact with other members at opposite positions during measurement.

(Fourth Embodiment)
Next, the recording device 11 of the fourth embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 22 to 26.
As shown in FIG. 22, a plurality of measuring units 80 are provided at different positions in the transport direction Y on the bottom of the recording unit 50. In the present embodiment, a plurality of measuring units 80 having different positions in the transport direction Y are provided on the nozzle surface 52A of the recording head 52 fixed to the bottom portion 51A of the carriage 51. In the example shown in FIG. 22, the measuring units 80 are provided at both ends of the nozzle surface 52A in the transport direction Y. The measuring unit 80 measures the height position of the support member 60. In this example, the measuring unit 80 includes a plurality of non-contact sensors 86. The non-contact sensor 86 is, for example, an optical sensor, but may be an ultrasonic type or a magnetic type distance sensor.

As shown in FIG. 23, the recording device 11 of the present embodiment includes a gap adjusting mechanism 70 having the same basic configuration as that of the first embodiment. That is, the gap adjusting mechanism 70 includes a pair of cam mechanisms 74 and 75 that support both ends of the guide shaft 19 that movably supports the carriage 51, and the guide shaft is rotated by the rotation of the eccentric cam 76 due to the shaft rotation of the guide shaft 19. The gap amount is adjusted by changing the height position of 19. The gap adjusting mechanism 70 of the present embodiment includes a correction mechanism 78 that corrects the deviation of the gap amount between different positions in the scanning direction X. As shown in FIG. 23, the correction mechanism 78 is a mechanism capable of individually adjusting the height positions of both ends of the guide shaft 19. The correction mechanism 78 has a connected state in which one of the two eccentric cams 76 provided at both ends of the guide shaft 19 can be integrally rotated with the guide shaft 19 and a non-connected state in which one is not integrally rotated with the guide shaft 19. A clutch mechanism 79 that can be switched between them is provided. In the example shown in FIG. 23, the clutch mechanism 79 is provided on one of the two eccentric cams 76 located on the anti-home position AH side, but the one eccentric cam 76 located on the home position HP side has a clutch mechanism 79. A clutch mechanism 79 may be provided. The control unit 100 controls the correction mechanism 78 so as to reduce the amount of deviation of a plurality of height positions having different positions in the width direction X.

The clutch mechanism 79 shown in FIG. 23 can be switched between a connected state in which one eccentric cam 76 and the guide shaft 19 can be integrally rotated and a non-connected state in which one eccentric cam 76 and the guide shaft 19 are not integrally rotated. be. When the clutch mechanism 79 is in the connected state, the two eccentric cams 76 and the guide shaft 19 can rotate integrally, and the two eccentric cams 76 rotate by the same amount of rotation as the guide shaft 19 rotates. When the clutch mechanism 79 is disconnected, one of the two eccentric cams 76 does not rotate even if the guide shaft 19 rotates, and only the other eccentric cam 76 has the same amount of rotation as the guide shaft 19. Only rotate. Therefore, the rotation angles of the two eccentric cams 76 can be adjusted individually, and the height positions of both ends of the guide shaft 19 are individually adjusted. Thereby, it is possible to adjust the inclination of the guide shaft 19 in the scanning direction X with respect to the support member 60. That is, even if the support member 60 and the guide shaft 19 are tilted in the scanning direction X, it is possible to eliminate or reduce the tilt so that the fluctuation of the gap amount in the scanning direction X is within an allowable range.

Then, when the clutch mechanism 79 is in the connected state, the two eccentric cams 76 rotate with the rotation of the guide shaft 19, thereby functioning as the gap adjusting mechanism 70 capable of adjusting the gap amount. The control unit 100 controls the clutch mechanism 79 to select the first connection state to switch to the correction mechanism, and the control unit 100 to select the second connection state to switch to the gap adjustment mechanism.

In this embodiment, the measuring unit 80 includes a non-contact sensor 86. The non-contact sensor 86 measures the height position at the measurement position in the recording area PA of the support member 60. The measurement position is the position where the non-contact sensor 86 faces the support surface 60A, which is the end surface of the rib 61. At the time of measurement, the carriage 51 sequentially moves to a plurality of measurement positions including the measurement positions x1 and x2. The measuring unit 80 measures the height position of the support member 60 at different positions in the scanning direction X (width direction X of the medium M) of the recording unit 50.

The plurality of sensors 86 are provided at different positions in the transport direction Y of the medium M. The measuring unit 80 uses the plurality of sensors 86 to measure a plurality of height positions at a plurality of positions different in the transport direction Y on the support member 60. The control unit 100 acquires the reference position G0 and the relative inclination of the support member 60 and the recording head 52 in the transport direction Y based on the plurality of height positions. Further, the recording head 52 has a nozzle row 58 as a nozzle group including the first nozzle 58N and the second nozzle 58N at different positions in the transport direction Y. In this embodiment of the serial recording method, the control unit 100 acquires the relative inclination of the support member 60 and the movement path of the recording head 52 in the transport direction Y based on the plurality of height positions.

The control unit 100 adjusts the gap amount with the position facing the first nozzle 58N in the transport direction Y as a reference position. Further, the control unit 100 shifts the discharge timing of the second nozzle 58N according to the difference in the gap amount according to the relative inclination of the support member 60 and the recording head 52 with respect to the discharge timing of the first nozzle 58N. ..

The plurality of sensors 86 measure the height position of the support member 60 at a plurality of points at different positions in the scanning direction X. When the recording device 11 is a serial printer, the control unit 100 moves the carriage 51 in the scanning direction X and causes a plurality of sensors 86 to measure the height position of the support member 60 at different positions in the width direction X.

The control unit 100 controls the correction mechanism 78 so as to reduce the deviation of a plurality of height positions having different positions in the width direction X. That is, the control unit 100 adjusts the height position of the first end portion with respect to the height position of the second end portion by rotating the guide shaft 19 under the first connection state. As a result, the guide shaft 19 is adjusted so as to approach horizontal without inclination. After that, by rotating the guide shaft 19 under the second connection state, the height position of the first end portion and the height position of the second end portion are adjusted in synchronization, so that the medium type can be adjusted. It is adjusted to the corresponding gap amount.

The non-volatile memory 104 stores a program PR including a program of the reference positioning processing routine shown in the flowchart in FIG. 25 and a program of the gap adjustment processing routine shown in the flowchart in FIG. 26. The control unit 100 executes the program PR shown in FIGS. 25 and 26.

Hereinafter, the gap adjustment control performed by the control unit 100 executing the program PR will be described.
First, in step S21, the control unit 100 moves the carriage 51 to perform measurement. The control unit 100 moves the carriage 51 to a plurality of measurement positions including the measurement positions x1 and x2, and detects the distances L1 and L2 to the support surface 60A which is the end surface of the rib 61 to be measured, thereby detecting the support surface. The reference position G0, which is the height position of 60A, is measured.

In step S22, the control unit 100 determines whether or not there is an inclination in the scanning direction X. The control unit 100 determines whether or not there is an inclination between the support member 60 and the movement path of the recording head 52 from the difference ΔL of the distances L1 and L2 measured at the plurality of measurement positions x1 and x2. If there is an inclination, the process proceeds to step S23, and if there is no inclination, that is, if it is considered to be parallel, the process proceeds to step S25.

In step S23, the control unit 100 corrects the inclination. The control unit 100 rotates the guide shaft 19 while restricting the integral rotation of one eccentric cam 76 with the guide shaft 19 after the clutch mechanism 79 is disconnected, and rotates only the other eccentric cam 76. By doing so, the inclination of the movement path of the recording head 52 with respect to the support member 60 in the scanning direction X is corrected. Specifically, first, the control unit 100 moves the carriage 51 to the end position of the anti-home position AH and pushes in the operated unit 72A to connect the switching mechanism 72 and to disconnect the clutch mechanism 79. .. Next, the control unit 100 rotationally drives the transport motor 47. As a result, the guide shaft 19 rotates. At this time, one eccentric cam 76 does not rotate, and only the other eccentric cam 76 rotates together with the guide shaft 19. As a result, the inclination of the guide shaft 19 becomes small. As a result, for example, the guide shaft 19 is arranged horizontally. Alternatively, the tilt angle is adjusted to be parallel to the support member 60. As a result, the gap amount becomes almost the same between different positions in the scanning direction X.

In step S24, the control unit 100 moves the carriage 51 and remeasures it. The control unit 100 moves the carriage 51 and measures the height position of the support surface 60A, which is the end surface of the rib 61, again by the measurement unit 80. This remeasurement is a process for confirming whether or not the tilt correction is properly performed, and if the difference between the distances measured at a plurality of points is within the permissible range, it is determined that the tilt correction is properly performed. If, as a result of the remeasurement, the difference between the distances measured at a plurality of points is out of the permissible range, the inclination is corrected again.

In step S25, the control unit 100 calculates the reference position G0 based on the measured value. The control unit 100 calculates the reference position G0 based on the distance measured by the non-contact sensor 86 constituting the measurement unit 80. At this time, tilt correction has already been performed in the scanning direction X so that the movement path of the recording head 52 is parallel to the support member 60. Therefore, the distances measured at a plurality of locations having different positions in the scanning direction X are substantially the same value. In addition, there may be a difference exceeding the permissible range in the distances measured at a plurality of locations (two locations in this example) having different positions in the transport direction Y. In this case, the longest distance among the distances of a plurality of locations having different positions in the transport direction Y is adopted. The reason for this is that if a distance shorter than the longest distance is adopted, the gap amount is too small to prevent the medium M from rubbing against the nozzle surface 52A of the recording head 52 or the recording head from contacting the rib 61. Because.

In step S26, the control unit 100 stores the reference position G0 in the non-volatile memory 104. Here, the assembling height of the support member 60 and the assembling height of the recording head 52 are different for each recording device 11. In the present embodiment, the operator sets a reference so that the gap amount between the support surface 60A of the support member 60 and the nozzle surface 52A of the recording head 52 becomes the set gap amount when the guide shaft 19 is at a predetermined rotation angle. Not done.

In step S27, the control unit 100 determines whether or not there is an inclination in the transport direction Y. When the difference between the distances detected by the plurality of non-contact sensors 86 constituting the measuring unit 80 at different positions in the transport direction Y exceeds the permissible range, the control unit 100 determines that the transport direction Y is tilted. .. The control unit 100 calculates the difference in distance detected by the plurality of non-contact sensors 86, and determines whether or not the difference exceeds a threshold value that defines an allowable range. If there is an inclination in the transport direction Y, the process proceeds to step S28, and if there is no inclination in the transport direction Y, the routine ends.

In step S28, the control unit 100 corrects the discharge timing. The control unit 100 performs discharge timing control as another control of the tilt correction control of the recording head 52 in step S23. The control unit 100 detects the inclination of the recording head 52 in the transport direction Y with respect to the support member 60 from the difference in distances detected by the plurality of sensors 86 having different positions in the transport direction Y. That is, the plurality of sensors 86 having different positions in the transport direction Y detect the gap amount between the nozzle surface 52A of the recording head 52 and the support surface 60A of the support member 60 at the positions where they are arranged. If the gap amount is different between different positions in the transport direction Y, even if the ejection timing from the nozzle 58N is the same, the timing at which the ejected droplets land on the surface of the medium M is different, so that the droplets land on the medium M. The position of the resulting dot shifts in the transport direction Y.

Therefore, in the present embodiment, by controlling the ejection timing of the droplets ejected from the nozzle 58N, the positions of the dots formed by the ejected droplets landing on the surface of the medium M are aligned in the transport direction Y. When the gap amount is different at two positions different in the transport direction Y, the control unit 100 has a second gap amount smaller than the discharge timing of the first nozzle 58N at the position of the first gap amount and smaller than the first gap amount. The discharge timing of the second nozzle 58N at the position of is delayed. Here, only the discharge timing setting is changed. A timing control circuit (not shown) for controlling the discharge timing of the recording head is provided. The timing control circuit is set in a register for setting the delay time of the discharge timing with respect to the reference discharge timing for each divided nozzle group in which all the nozzles constituting one nozzle row are divided into a plurality of nozzles or for each nozzle 58N. The control unit 100 sets a delay time that defines the discharge timing in the corresponding register for each divided nozzle group or nozzle 58N of the timing control circuit. At this time, the control unit 100 sets the second nozzle 58N at the position of the second gap amount smaller than the first gap amount, which is smaller than the delay time set for the first nozzle 58N at the position of the first gap amount. Increase the delay time. Further, the discharge timing correction information is also stored in the non-volatile memory 104.

After completing the reference positioning processing routine, the control unit 100 then executes the gap adjustment processing routine. Hereinafter, the gap adjustment processing routine executed by the control unit 100 will be described with reference to FIG. 26. The control unit 100 refers to the recording device 11 by allowing the user to operate the operation unit displayed on the touch panel type display unit 25 or operate a pointing device such as a mouse from a host device (not shown). When the recording instruction is given, the recorded data is received. The recorded data includes recording condition information and image data. The recording condition information includes information such as a medium type, a medium size, and a recording mode.

First, in step S31, the control unit 100 and the medium are conveyed to the measurement position. The control unit 100 drives the feed motor 43 and conveys the medium M to the measurement position supported by the support surface 60A of the support member 60.

In the next step S32, the control unit 100 measures the medium thickness. The control unit 100 moves the carriage 51 in the scanning direction X to a plurality of medium thickness measurement positions where the non-contact sensor 86 constituting the measurement unit 80 can face the medium M, and measures the medium M. By detecting the distance to the surface, the height position of the surface of the medium M is measured. The control unit 100 calculates the difference between the reference position G0, which is the height position of the support surface 60A of the support member 60, and the height position of the surface of the measured medium M, and obtains the medium thickness of the medium M.

In step S33, the control unit 100 determines whether or not the medium type is correct. If the medium type specified from the medium thickness is the same as the medium type specified from the medium type information, the control unit 100 determines that the medium type is correct. If the medium type is correct, the process proceeds to step S36, and if the medium type is incorrect, the process proceeds to step S34.

In step S34, the control unit 100 performs a confirmation display. The control unit 100 displays a message on the display unit 25 for confirming with the user whether the medium type is correct. The user who sees the message displayed on the display unit 25 confirms, for example, the medium type of the medium M set in the cassette 21, and if it is correct, operates the OK button on the screen of the display unit 25 to make a mistake. For example, operate the NG button. In this case, the pre-transported medium M is discharged without being recorded. The user may operate the OK button on the screen of the display unit 25 after the user removes the pre-conveyed medium M and replaces the medium M in the cassette 21 with a medium M of the correct medium type.

In the next step S35, the control unit 100 determines whether or not the OK operation has been performed. The control unit 100 waits while not accepting the OK operation in which the user operates the OK button, and proceeds to step S36 when the user accepts the OK operation in which the OK button is operated.

In step S36, the control unit 100 adjusts the gap amount according to the medium type. The control unit 100 refers to the set gap amount data SG based on the information of the correct medium type, and acquires one set gap amount ΔPG corresponding to the medium type at that time among the set gap amounts ΔPG1, ΔPG2, ΔPG3, and ΔPG4. do. The control unit 100 specifies the medium type based on the medium thickness, and controls the gap adjusting mechanism 70 to adjust the gap amount between the support member 60 and the recording head 52 to a value corresponding to the medium type. The gap amount according to the medium thickness is the media gap amount between the medium M and the recording head 52. Then, when the current gap amount is different from the acquired set gap amount ΔPG, the control unit 100 drives the carriage motor 54 to move the carriage 51 to the anti-home position AH, and pushes the operated unit 72A to switch. The mechanism 72 is connected. Next, the control unit 100 drives the conveyor motor 47, which is the drive source of the gap adjusting mechanism 70, and rotates the guide shaft 19 to switch the gap. At this time, the control unit 100 reads the data of the reference position G0, which is the height position of the support surface 60A in which the rib 61 of each recording device 11 supports the medium M, from the non-volatile memory 104, and sets the read reference position G0. The height position of the recording head 52 is adjusted to the gap amount PG by adding the set gap amount ΔPG according to the medium type at that time. As a result, the gap between the support surface 60A of the support member 60 and the nozzle surface 52A of the recording head 52 is adjusted to the set gap amount ΔPG according to the medium type at that time.

In step S37, the control unit 100 conveys the medium to the recording start position. The control unit 100 transports the medium M to the recording start position by driving the transport motor 47 after separating the carriage 51 from the end position of the anti-home position AH to disconnect the switching mechanism 72.

In step S38, the control unit 100 starts recording. The control unit 100 moves the carriage 51 in the scanning direction X and ejects droplets from the nozzle 58N of the recording head 52 during the movement to record one scan on the medium M, and the next Recording is performed on the medium by alternately performing the transport operation of transporting the medium M to the recording position.

At this time, in the recording operation, by ejecting the droplet from the nozzle 58N at the ejection timing corrected in step S28, the displacement of the scanning direction X of the dots formed by the droplet landing on the medium M is suppressed. .. That is, the deviation of the landing position of the droplet between the nozzles 58N at both ends in the same nozzle row 58 is suppressed to be small. Therefore, it is possible to record on the medium M with high recording accuracy.

As described above, in the present embodiment, the adjustment of the assembling height of the guide shaft 19 with respect to the support member 60 is rough or not performed, and the movement path of the recording unit 50 with respect to the support member 60 is tilted. However, the inclination can be corrected by driving the correction mechanism 99 by the control unit 100. Further, even if the recording head 52 is tilted in the transport direction Y, the displacement of the dots recorded on the medium M in the scanning direction X can be suppressed by the ejection timing control.

According to the fourth embodiment, the effects (1) to (3) of the first embodiment, the effects (5) to (8) of the second embodiment, and the effects (9) and (10) of the third embodiment are In addition to the same, the following effects can be obtained.

(13) The gap adjusting mechanism 70 includes a correction mechanism 78 that corrects a small deviation of the gap amount at different positions in the width direction X intersecting the transport direction of the medium M, and the measuring unit 80 is in the width direction X of the medium M. The height position of the support member 60 is measured at different positions, and the control unit 100 controls the correction mechanism so as to reduce the amount of deviation of the plurality of height positions having different positions in the width direction X. Therefore, the correction mechanism that corrects the deviation of the gap amount according to the deviation of the height position at different positions in the width direction X is controlled. The gap amounts at different positions in the width direction X between the support member 60 and the recording head 52 are adjusted so as to approach the same value.

(Fifth Embodiment)
Next, the recording device 11 of the fifth embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 27 and 28.
As shown in FIGS. 27 and 28, the recording device 11 is a line printer having a recording unit 50 of a line recording method. The recording unit 50 includes a line recording type recording head 52 and a support frame 95 that supports the recording head 52 at a predetermined height. The recording head 52 has a nozzle surface 52A in which a plurality of nozzles 58N (see FIG. 28) are opened over a range slightly longer than the width of the medium M having the maximum width in the width direction X.

The recording device 11 includes a gap adjusting mechanism 96 capable of adjusting the gap amount between the support surface 60A of the support member 60 and the nozzle surface 52A of the line recording type recording head 52. The gap adjusting mechanism 96 includes a pair of elevating mechanisms 97 that support both ends of the support frame 95 in the width direction X so as to be elevated. The elevating mechanism 97 includes, for example, a rack 97A extending in the vertical direction Z, a pinion gear 97B that meshes with the teeth of the rack 97A, and an electric motor 98 that is a drive source for rotating the pinion gear 97B in the forward and reverse directions. The elevating mechanism 97 may be a drive system other than the rack and pinion system.

Further, as shown in FIG. 27, the gap adjusting mechanism 96 includes a correction mechanism 99 that corrects a small deviation of the gap amount at different positions in the width direction X intersecting the transport direction Y of the medium M. The recording device 11 includes a correction mechanism 99 capable of individually correcting the height positions supporting both ends of the line recording type recording head 52 in the width direction X. The correction mechanism 99 includes a pair of elevating mechanisms 97 that support both ends of the support frame 95 in the width direction X so as to be elevated. Both ends of the support frame 95 in the width direction X are supported by a pair of elevating mechanisms 97 so that the height positions can be individually changed. Therefore, by individually adjusting the pair of elevating mechanisms 97, the nozzle surface 52A of the recording head 52 can be adjusted to a horizontal posture in which the inclination is 0 degrees in the width direction X. In this way, by providing a pair of elevating mechanisms 97 constituting the gap adjusting mechanism 96 so that the height positions of both ends of the recording head 52 in the width direction X can be individually adjusted, the inclination angle of the recording head 52 in the width direction X is provided. Can be corrected. It should be noted that a configuration without a correction mechanism is also possible. In this case, one of the two electric motors 98 constituting the pair of elevating mechanisms 97 may be abolished, and the pair of elevating mechanisms 97 may be elevated in synchronization. good.

The support member 60 shown in FIG. 27 has basically the same configuration as that of the second embodiment, and has a plurality of ribs 61 located at intervals in the width direction X. The end faces of the plurality of ribs 61 in the support member 60 are the support faces 60A that support the medium M. The height position of the support surface 60A that supports the medium M in the support member 60 is set as the reference position G0 and is the measurement target of the measuring unit 80. The measuring unit 80 measures the height position of the support member 60 at different positions in the width direction X of the medium M.

The plurality of sensors 87 are provided at different positions in the transport direction Y of the medium M, and measure a plurality of height positions at a plurality of positions different in the transport direction Y of the support member 60. The control unit 100 acquires the reference position G0 and the inclination of the support member 60 in the transport direction Y based on the plurality of height positions.

As shown in FIG. 28, on the nozzle surface 52A of the recording head 52, a plurality of rows of nozzle rows 58 having the same number of colors as the ink colors are arranged in the transport direction Y. The plurality of nozzle rows 58 have a plurality of nozzles 58N that open at each position having a constant nozzle pitch in the width direction X. The plurality of nozzles 58N are arranged over a range wider than the width of the medium M having the maximum width.

As shown in FIG. 28, a measuring unit 80 is provided on the nozzle surface 52A of the recording head 52. The measuring unit 80 includes a plurality of non-contact sensors 87. Specifically, on the nozzle surface 52A of the recording head 52, a plurality of non-contact sensors 87 are arranged on the peripheral edge portion outside the arrangement area of the nozzle row 58. The plurality of non-contact sensors 87 are provided in a total (N + M) of a plurality (N) at different positions in the width direction X and a plurality (M) at different positions in the transport direction Y.

The plurality of sensors 87 are arranged at positions facing the rib 61 of the support member 60. The plurality of sensors 87 detect the distance to the rib 61. That is, the plurality of sensors 87 detect the gap amount between the nozzle surface 52A of the recording head 52 and the support surface 60A of the support member 60 at the positions where they are arranged. Therefore, it is possible to detect the inclination of the recording head 52 in the width direction X with respect to the support member 60 from the difference in the distances detected by the plurality of sensors 87 having different positions in the width direction X. The control unit 100 controls the correction mechanism 99 so as to reduce the amount of deviation of a plurality of height positions having different positions in the width direction X. When the recording head 52 is tilted in the width direction X with respect to the support member 60, the control unit 100 drives at least one of the pair of elevating mechanisms 97 constituting the correction mechanism 99 to record the support member 60. The inclination of the head 52 is adjusted to 0 degrees. After the recording head 52 is held in the horizontal posture in the width direction X, the control unit 100 drives a pair of elevating mechanisms 97 to drive a gap between the support surface 60A of the support member 60 and the nozzle surface 52A of the recording head 52. Adjust the amount. For example, when the medium type information is input from the host device (not shown), the control unit 100 adjusts the gap amount according to the medium type specified from the medium type information.

When the recording device 11 is a line printer, the recording head 52 is provided with a plurality of sensors 87 at different positions in the width direction X. The line printer includes a correction mechanism 99 that can adjust the inclination of the recording unit 50 in the width direction X, or a correction mechanism 99 that can adjust the inclination of the support member 60 in the width direction X.

The plurality of sensors 87 measure the height position of the support member 60 at different positions in the width direction X. The control unit 100 causes a plurality of sensors 87 to measure the height position of the support member 60 at different positions in the width direction X.

The control unit 100 controls the correction mechanism 99 so as to reduce the inclination of the recording unit 50 in the width direction X. Alternatively, the control unit 100 controls the correction mechanism 99 so as to reduce the inclination of the support member 60 in the width direction X. As a result, the recording unit 50 is adjusted so that the inclination of the width direction X is horizontal with "0", or the support member 60 is adjusted so that the inclination of the width direction X is horizontal with "0". After that, the control unit 100 controls the gap adjusting mechanism 96, and adjusts the gap amount with the height position of the support member 60 measured by the measuring unit 80 as the reference position G0.

The control unit 100 acquires the medium type information that can specify the medium type, and adjusts the gap amount according to the medium type with respect to the reference position G0. The control unit 100 controls the gap adjusting mechanism 96 and adjusts the height position of the recording unit 50 to adjust the gap amount according to the medium type. The control unit 100 specifies the medium type based on the medium thickness, and controls the gap adjusting mechanism 70 to adjust the gap amount between the support member 60 and the recording head 52 to a value corresponding to the medium type. The gap amount according to the medium thickness is the media gap amount between the medium M and the recording head 52.

<Gap amount according to medium thickness>
Further, the control unit 100 may adjust the gap amount according to the thickness of the medium M. The control unit 100 conveys the medium M to a position supported by the support member 60, measures the medium height position which is the height position of the surface of the medium M by the measuring unit 80, and sets the reference position G0 and the medium height position. Obtain the medium thickness based on the difference with. The control unit 100 controls the gap adjusting mechanism 70 to adjust the gap amount according to the medium thickness. As shown in FIG. 27, the medium M is preliminarily transported to a position supported by the support surface 60A of the support member 60. The distance to the surface of the medium M is measured by the measuring unit 80. Specifically, the non-contact sensor 87 detects the distance to the support surface 60A, which is the end surface of the rib 61. At this time, since the width of the medium M is known from the medium size information, the control unit 100 detects the thickness of the medium M from the distance detected by the non-contact sensor 87 at a position facing the medium M. That is, the control unit 100 has a first distance L1 which is a distance to the support surface 60A detected by the non-contact sensor 87 when the medium M is absent, and the non-contact sensor 87 when the medium M is preliminarily transported. The thickness (medium thickness) of the medium M is measured by calculating the difference ΔL = L1-L2 from the second distance L2, which is the distance to the surface of the detected medium M. Then, the control unit 100 adjusts the gap amount according to the measured medium thickness. The gap amount according to the medium thickness means that the set gap amount data SG composed of table data indicating the correspondence between the medium type and the set gap amount according to the medium type is stored in the non-volatile memory 104 and is stored in the non-volatile memory 104. There are media M having the same medium thickness but different medium thicknesses. For example, the same plain paper may have different thicknesses. For example, in plain paper, the medium M having a thickness of 0.1 mm and the medium M having a thickness of 0.15 mm have the same media gap amount, which is the gap amount between the surface of the medium M and the nozzle surface 52A of the recording head 52. It is adjusted to be.

<Discharge timing control>
Further, the control unit 100 performs discharge timing control as a control other than the tilt correction control of the recording head 52 described above. At the time of measurement, the plurality of sensors 87 detect the distance to the rib 61. At this time, the inclination of the recording head 52 in the transport direction Y with respect to the support member 60 is detected from the difference in the distances detected by the plurality of sensors 87 having different positions in the transport direction Y. That is, the plurality of sensors 87 having different positions in the transport direction Y detect the gap amount between the nozzle surface 52A of the recording head 52 and the support surface 60A of the support member 60 at the positions where they are arranged. If the gap amount is different between different positions in the transport direction Y, even if the ejection timing from the nozzle 58N is the same, the timing at which the droplet ejected from the nozzle 58N lands on the surface of the medium M is different. The position of the dot formed by landing is shifted in the transport direction Y.

In the present embodiment, by controlling the ejection timing of the droplets ejected from the nozzle 58N, the positions of the dots formed by the ejected droplets landing on the surface of the medium M are aligned in the transport direction Y. Therefore, the control unit 100 adjusts the gap amount with the position of the support member 60 facing the first nozzle 58N as a reference position, and responds to the difference in the gap amount according to the inclination with respect to the discharge timing of the first nozzle 58N. The discharge timing of the second nozzle 58N is controlled by shifting by the amount. When the gap amount is different at two positions different in the transport direction Y, the control unit 100 has a second gap amount smaller than the discharge timing of the first nozzle 58N at the position of the first gap amount and smaller than the first gap amount. The discharge timing of the second nozzle 58N at the position of is delayed.

The plurality of sensors 87 measure the height position of the support member 60 at different positions in the width direction X. The control unit 100 causes a plurality of sensors 87 to measure the height position of the support member 60 at different positions in the width direction X.

The control unit 100 controls the correction mechanism 99 so as to reduce the inclination of the recording unit 50 in the width direction X. As a result, the recording unit 50 is adjusted to a horizontal posture in which the inclination of the width direction X is "0". After that, the control unit 100 controls the gap adjusting mechanism 96 and adjusts the height position of the recording unit 50 to adjust the gap amount according to the medium type. At this time, the gap amount may be adjusted according to the thickness of the medium M. The correction mechanism 99 may be configured so that the support member 60 can be corrected so as to reduce the inclination in the width direction X. In this case, the control unit 100 may control the correction mechanism 99 so as to reduce the inclination of the support member 60 in the width direction X. Further, both the correction mechanism 99 for the recording unit 50 and the correction mechanism 99 for the support member 60 are provided, and the control unit 100 controls both the correction mechanisms 99, so that both the recording unit 50 and the support member 60 are provided. It may be adjusted so as to reduce the inclination.

According to the line recording type recording device 11 in the fifth embodiment, although there is a difference in whether the recording unit 50 is a serial recording method or a line recording method, the first embodiment obtained by the serial recording type recording device 11 Effects (1), (2), effects (5) to (7) of the second embodiment, effects (9), (10) of the third embodiment, and effects (13) of the fourth embodiment are similarly obtained. Be done.

The above embodiment can also be changed to a form such as the modification shown below. Further, a further modification example may be a combination of the above embodiment and the modification examples shown below, or a combination of the modification examples shown below may be a further modification example.

-In the first embodiment, the reference position adjustment control and the gap adjustment control including the medium thickness measurement are performed, but only one of the controls may be performed. For example, in the first embodiment, only the reference position adjustment control may be performed out of the above two controls. In this case, the control unit 100 may acquire the medium type information and control the gap adjusting mechanism so that the gap amount is set according to the medium type based on the medium type information. Further, in the first embodiment, of the above two controls, only the gap adjustment control including the medium thickness measurement may be performed. In this case, the control unit 100 acquires the medium thickness based on the reference position and the medium height position measured by the sensors constituting the measurement unit, so that the gap amount is set according to the medium type specified from the medium thickness. The gap adjustment mechanism may be controlled.

-In the first and third embodiments, two measurement positions MP may be provided on both sides of the recording area PA in the scanning direction X to perform tilt correction control.
-In the fourth and fifth embodiments, one non-contact sensor may measure only one convex portion such as a rib 61 in the recording area PA. In this case, the configuration does not have the correction mechanism 78.

-In the fourth and fifth embodiments, only one of the reference positioning control and the gap adjustment control including the medium thickness measurement control may be performed. For example, only the reference positioning control may be performed. Further, only the gap adjustment control including the medium thickness measurement control may be performed.

-In the fourth and fifth embodiments, only one of the tilt correction control and the discharge timing control may be performed. For example, only discharge timing control may be performed. Further, only the tilt correction control may be performed.

In the third and fourth embodiments, a plurality of sensors 84, 86 are provided at different positions in the width direction X of the medium M in the recording unit 50, and a plurality of sensors 84, 86 differ in the width direction X intersecting the transport direction Y in the support member 60. Multiple height positions may be measured at the position. The control unit 100 acquires the relative inclination of the support member 60 and the recording head 52 in the width direction X based on the plurality of height positions, and sets the ejection timing of the nozzle 58N to the relative inclination of the width direction X. It may be controlled according to the gap amount determined from. According to this configuration, even if the gap amount differs due to the difference in the position of the width direction X due to the relative inclination of the support member 60 and the recording head 52 in the width direction X, the landing position of the liquid discharged from the nozzle 58N It is possible to suppress the positional deviation in the width direction X of.

In the first and third embodiments, the contact sensor contacts the rib 61 of the support member 60 to detect the support member 60, whereby the distance from the recording head 52 to the support member 60 or the height of the support member 60. It may be configured to measure the position.

In the second, fourth, and fifth embodiments, the non-contact sensor detects the convex portion 63 located at a position other than the recording area PA of the support member 60, so that the recording head 52 to the support member 60 can be detected. It may be configured to measure the distance or the height position of the support member 60.

-In the fifth embodiment, the sensors 87 may have only two sensors with different positions in the width direction X, or may have only two sensors with different positions in the transport direction Y. Further, the number of sensors 87 may be one. For example, one sensor 87 may be arranged at the center position of the recording head 52 in the width direction X, or one sensor 87 may be arranged at the center position of the recording head 52 in the transport direction Y. In this case, the correction mechanism may be abolished, and the pair of elevating mechanisms 97 may be driven in conjunction with each other by the driving force of only one electric motor 98.

The gap adjusting mechanisms 70 and 96 may be a mechanism for raising and lowering the recording unit 50 instead of a mechanism for raising and lowering the recording unit 50. In the fourth and fifth embodiments, the recording device 11 adds the width of the support member 60 to the correction mechanisms 78 and 99 that can adjust the inclination of the recording unit 50 in the width direction X, or replaces the correction mechanisms 78 and 99. A correction mechanism capable of adjusting the inclination of the direction X may be provided.

-In the case of the line printer of the fifth embodiment, after measuring the medium thickness, the medium M may be reverse-transported to the transfer start position. Here, the transport start position is a transport position that secures an acceleration distance required to reach a predetermined transport speed at the time of starting recording when the recording start position is reached.

-The non-contact sensors 82, 83, 86, 87 constituting the measuring unit 80 may be configured to detect a measurement target other than the rib 61. For example, a dedicated measurement target other than the rib 61 may be provided in the recording area PA of the support member 60.

The position where the measuring unit 80 is provided in the recording unit 50 is not limited to the bottom surface of the recording unit 50, but may be the side surface of the recording unit 50. In this case, for example, the measurement unit 80 may be fixed to a frame member (not shown) to which the recording head 52 is fixed in the carriage 51.

The operated portion 72A is not limited to the push-in type, and may be a switching lever operated by the carriage 51. For example, the switching lever is provided on the back side or the front side of the scanning area so as to project into the scanning area of the carriage 51. The switching mechanism 72 is switched by moving the carriage 51 in the scanning direction X and pushing the switching lever in the first direction X1 or the second direction X2 against the urging force of the spring. The switching lever is preferably arranged outside the recording area PA so that the carriage 51 during the recording operation cannot be operated.

-The switching mechanism 72 is not limited to the gear type. It may be a clutch type. For example, when the carriage 51 operates the operated portion 72A to the operating position, the clutch-type switching mechanism 72 may be connected.

The operated portion 72A of the switching mechanism 72 is held in the operating position even if the carriage 51 is separated after being operated in the operating position, and when the carriage 51 pushes the operated portion 72A in the operating position, the operated portion 72A is moved. It may be configured to return from the operating position to the non-operating position.

The drive source for driving the gap adjusting mechanism 70 is not limited to the transport motor 47, but may be a feed system motor or a discharge system motor. For example, the drive source may be the feed motor 43. Further, the discharge roller pair 46 may be driven by a dedicated motor, and the discharge motor may be used as a drive source.

The drive source of the gap adjusting mechanism 70 is not limited to a transport motor such as a transport motor 47. For example, a maintenance motor that is a drive source of a maintenance device that maintains the recording head 52 may be used. Further, motors other than the transport system and the maintenance system may be used. Further, the drive source may be an actuator other than the motor. For example, an electric cylinder, a solenoid, or the like may be used. In this case, the guide shaft 19 may be rotated by using a conversion mechanism that converts the linear motion output by the drive source into a rotary motion.

The gap amount between the support member 60 and the recording head 52 may be adjusted by adjusting the height position of the support member 60 by the driving force of an actuator such as an electric motor.
-The transport unit 42 may use a belt transport method instead of the roller transport method.

The recording device 11 is not limited to a recording device that records on a medium such as paper, but may be a printing device that records on cloth.
The recording device 11 is not limited to a serial printer in which the recording unit 50 reciprocates in the scanning direction X, and may be a lateral printer in which the recording unit 50 can move in two directions, a main scanning direction and a sub-scanning direction.

The recording device 11 is not limited to the multifunction device, and may be a printer not equipped with the reading unit 30.
-The medium M is not limited to paper, but may be a flexible plastic film, cloth, non-woven fabric, or the like, or may be laminated.

-The recording device is not limited to the printer for printing. For example, a liquid material in which particles of a functional material are dispersed or mixed in a liquid is discharged, and an electric wiring pattern or liquid crystal display, EL (electroluminescence), surface emission, or the like is used on a substrate which is an example of a medium. It may be the one that manufactures the pixels of the display.

The recording device 11 is not limited to the inkjet method, and may be a wire impact type recording device or a thermal transfer type recording device. The recording method is not particularly limited as long as it is a recording device including a gap adjusting mechanism for adjusting the gap between the recording head and the support portion.

The technical idea grasped from the embodiment and the modified example is described below together with its action and effect.
The recording device includes a transport unit that conveys the medium, a support member that supports the conveyed medium, a recording unit that has a recording head that records on a portion of the medium supported by the support member, and the recording unit. The gap amount between the recording head and the support member, which is provided and measures the height position of the support member, can be adjusted in multiple steps or steplessly, which is larger than the switching step which can be switched according to the medium type. The gap adjusting mechanism is provided with a gap adjusting mechanism configured in the above, a recording unit, and a control unit that controls the gap adjusting mechanism. Adjust the amount.

The gap amount between the support member and the recording head due to the variation in the assembly position of at least one of the support member and the recording unit includes the variation due to the individual difference for each recording device. According to this configuration, the measuring unit measures the height position of the support member, and the gap adjustment mechanism controls so that the gap amount according to the medium type can be obtained by using the measured height position of the support member as a reference position. Will be done. Therefore, the gap amount between the support member and the recording head can be adjusted to an appropriate value even if the assembly positions of the support member and the recording head remain uneven. Therefore, even if the adjustment work before shipment of the recording device is simplified or abolished, the gap amount can be adjusted to an appropriate level.

In the recording device, the control unit may acquire the medium type information and adjust the gap amount to the reference position according to the medium type specified from the medium type information.
According to this configuration, the gap amount can be adjusted to an appropriate level according to the medium type.

The recording device includes a transport unit that conveys the medium, a support member that supports the conveyed medium, a recording unit that has a recording head that records on a portion of the medium supported by the support member, and the recording unit. The gap amount between the measuring unit provided and measuring the reference position, which is the height position of the support member, and the recording head and the support member is multi-step or absent, which is larger than the number of switching steps that can be switched according to the medium type. A gap adjusting mechanism configured to be adjustable in stages and a control unit for controlling the transport unit, the recording unit, and the gap adjusting mechanism are provided, and the control unit holds a medium up to a position supported by the support member. It is conveyed, the medium height position which is the height position of the surface of the medium is measured by the measuring unit, the medium thickness is acquired based on the difference between the reference position and the medium height position, and the gap adjusting mechanism is operated. It is controlled to adjust the gap amount according to the medium thickness. The gap amount according to the medium thickness includes the case where the gap amount between the support member and the recording head is adjusted to the gap amount according to the medium type specified from the medium thickness, and the case where the medium and the recording are supported by the support member. The case where the gap amount (media gap amount) with the head is adjusted to the gap amount (media gap amount) according to the medium type specified from the medium thickness is included.

According to this configuration, the gap amount can be adjusted according to the medium thickness of the medium. For example, even if the medium type information given to the control unit is incorrect, or even if the medium type information is not given to the control unit, it is possible to record on the medium with an appropriate gap amount according to the medium type. Further, even with the same medium type, the gap amount can be adjusted according to the medium thickness, and recording can be performed with an appropriate gap amount (media gap amount) between the medium and the recording head. Therefore, the recording position accuracy when recording on the medium is improved.

In the recording device, the control unit identifies the medium type based on the medium thickness and controls the gap adjusting mechanism to adjust the gap amount between the support member and the recording head according to the medium type. May be adjusted to the value.

According to this configuration, even in a recording device in which the assembly position between the support member and the recording unit is not adjusted, the gap amount can be adjusted to an appropriate level according to the medium type at the time of recording. Further, even if the given medium type information is incorrect or the medium type information is not given, the gap amount can be adjusted according to the appropriate medium type.

In the recording device, the control unit may control the gap adjusting mechanism to adjust the amount of media gap between the medium and the recording head to a value corresponding to the medium type and the medium thickness. ..

According to this configuration, the media gap amount can be adjusted to an appropriate level according to the medium thickness.
In the recording device, the recording unit includes a carriage that supports the recording head and moves in the scanning direction, the control unit moves the carriage to a measurement position, and the measurement unit has the height of the support member. The position may be measured.

According to this configuration, in the serial recording type recording device, the gap amount can be adjusted to an appropriate level according to the medium type.
In the recording device, the measuring unit includes a contact sensor, and the measuring unit is a measurement position of the support member other than the recording area where the recording unit records on the medium, and the height of the support member. The position may be measured.

A recording material such as ink for recording on a medium may be attached to a portion of the support member in the recording region. According to this configuration, the contact sensor is brought into contact with the measured portion at a measurement position other than the recording area of the support member to measure the height position of the support member, so that the contact sensor is within the recording area of the support member. Recording materials such as ink are less likely to be transferred to the contact sensor during measurement, as compared to the configuration in which the contact is made in contact with the location. Therefore, even if the medium being recorded is lifted and comes into contact with the contact sensor of the recording unit, the medium is not easily contaminated.

In the recording device, a plurality of the contact type sensors may be provided, and the plurality of contact type sensors may have elasticity.
According to this configuration, even if the height positions of the support members measured by each of the plurality of contact sensors are different, the height positions of the support members can be measured. For example, the relative inclination between the support member and the recording head can be measured from the difference in height position.

In the recording device, the unit to be measured that the plurality of contact sensors come into contact with is located at a position higher than the portion of the recording unit other than the contact sensor that faces the portion other than the contact sensor when the recording unit is lowered during measurement. You may.

According to this configuration, it is possible to prevent the recording unit from coming into contact with another member at the opposite position when the contact sensor is lowered to the position where it comes into contact with the unit to be measured. For example, it is possible to prevent the recording head from coming into contact with other members.

In the recording device, the measuring unit includes a non-contact type sensor, and the non-contact type sensor is a height of the support member at a measurement position in a recording area where the recording unit records on the medium among the support members. The position may be measured.

According to this configuration, since it is a non-contact type sensor, even if the height position of the support member is measured by measuring the height position of the measured portion of the support member at the measurement position in the recording area of the support member. , The non-contact type sensor is unlikely to be contaminated by recording material such as ink. Therefore, even if the medium floats up during recording and comes into contact with the non-contact sensor of the recording unit, it is unlikely that the medium will be contaminated with the recording material.

In the recording device, the measuring unit may include a plurality of sensors.
According to this configuration, by measuring the height position of the support member at a plurality of points with a plurality of sensors, the relative inclination of the support member and the recording unit in the direction between two points having different positions of the plurality of sensors can be measured. Can be measured. Therefore, the control unit controls the discharge timing of discharging the liquid from the recording head according to the relative inclination of the support member and the recording head, so that the deviation of the landing position of the liquid on the medium due to the inclination is caused. It can be suppressed.

In the recording device, the plurality of sensors are provided at different positions in the transport direction of the medium, and a plurality of height positions are measured at a plurality of positions different in the transport direction of the support member. Based on the plurality of height positions, the relative inclinations of the support member and the recording head in the transport direction are acquired, and the recording heads are the first nozzle and the second nozzle having different positions in the transport direction. The control unit has a nozzle group including a nozzle, and the control unit adjusts the gap amount by using the position of the support member facing the first nozzle as the reference position and adjusts the gap amount to the discharge timing of the first nozzle. The discharge timing of the second nozzle may be shifted according to the difference in the gap amount according to the inclination.

According to this configuration, even if there is a deviation in inclination in the transport direction between the support member and the recording head and the gap amount differs due to the difference in the position in the transport direction, the liquid is discharged from each of the first nozzle and the second nozzle. It is possible to suppress the displacement of the landing position of the liquid in the transport direction.

In the recording device, the gap adjusting mechanism includes a correction mechanism for reducing the deviation of the gap amount at different positions in the width direction intersecting the transport direction of the medium, and the measuring unit is different in the width direction of the medium. The height position of the support member may be measured at the position, and the control unit may control the correction mechanism so as to reduce the amount of deviation of the plurality of height positions having different positions in the width direction.

According to this configuration, a correction mechanism that corrects the deviation of the gap amount according to the deviation of the height position at different positions in the width direction is controlled. The gap amounts at different positions in the width direction between the support member and the recording head are adjusted so as to approach the same value.

11 ... Recording device, 12 ... Device body, 12A ... Housing, 13 ... Cover, 15 ... Discharge port, 16 ... Main frame, 17 ... 1st side frame, 17A ... 1st regulation surface, 18 ... 2nd side frame, 18A ... 2nd regulation surface, 19 ... Guide shaft, 20 ... Recording unit, 21 ... Cassette, 22 ... Discharge tray, 23 ... Operation panel, 25 ... Display, 27 ... Liquid supply unit, 28 ... Liquid storage container, 30 ... Reading unit, 31 ... Document stand cover, 32 ... Automatic document feeder, 33 ... Document tray, 41 ... Feeding section, 42 ... Transport section, 43 ... Feeding motor, 44 ... Transport roller pair, 46 ... First discharge roller Pair, 47 ... Second discharge roller pair, 47 ... Conveyor motor, 50 ... Recording unit, 51 ... Carriage, 52 ... Recording head, 52A ... Nozzle surface, 53 ... Moving mechanism, 54 ... Carriage motor, 55 ... Timing belt, 56 ... Linear encoder, 58 ... Nozzle row as an example of a nozzle group, 58N ... Nozzle as an example of a first nozzle and a second nozzle, 60 ... Support member, 60A ... Support surface, 61 ... Rib, 63 ... An example of a convex portion, 63A ... surface to be measured, 70 ... gap adjustment mechanism, 72A ... operated portion, 72 ... switching mechanism, 73 ... drive mechanism, 74 ... first cam mechanism, 75 ... second cam mechanism, 76 ... Eccentric cam, 76A ... cam surface, 78 ... correction mechanism, 79 ... clutch mechanism, 80 ... measuring unit, 81 ... contact type sensor, 82 ... width sensor which is an example of non-contact type sensor, 83 ... non-contact type sensor, 84 ... contact sensor, 85 ... elastic member, 86 ... non-contact sensor, 87 ... non-contact sensor, 90 ... maintenance device, 91 ... cap, 95 ... support frame, 96 ... gap adjustment mechanism, 97 ... elevating mechanism, 98 ... electric motor, 99 ... correction mechanism, 100 ... control unit, 101 ... first counter, 102 ... second counter, 103 ... third counter, 104 ... non-volatile memory, D ... manuscript, M ... medium, HP ... home position , AH ... anti-home position, PA ... recording area, X1 ... first direction, X2 ... second direction, X ... scanning direction (width direction), Y ... transport direction, Z ... vertical direction, k ... number of switching stages, PR ... Program, SP ... Reference position data, SG ... Set gap amount data, MP, x1, x2 ... Measurement position, G0 ... Reference position, PG1 to PG4, PGn ... Gap amount, ΔPG1 to ΔPG4, ΔPGn ... Set gap amount, ΔL ... difference.

Claims (13)

A transport unit that transports the medium and
A support member that supports the conveyed medium and
A recording unit having a recording head for recording in a portion of the medium supported by the support member, and
A measuring unit provided in the recording unit and measuring the height position of the support member, and a measuring unit.
A gap adjustment mechanism configured so that the gap amount between the recording head and the support member can be adjusted in multiple steps or steps, which is larger than the switching steps that can be switched according to the medium type.
The recording unit and the control unit for controlling the gap adjusting mechanism are provided.
The control unit is a recording device characterized in that the gap amount is adjusted with the height position of the support member measured by the measurement unit as a reference position. The recording device according to claim 1, wherein the control unit acquires medium type information and adjusts the reference position to a gap amount according to the medium type specified from the medium type information. A transport unit that transports the medium and
A support member that supports the conveyed medium and
A recording unit having a recording head for recording in a portion of the medium supported by the support member, and
A measuring unit provided in the recording unit and measuring a reference position which is a height position of the support member, and a measuring unit.
A gap adjustment mechanism configured to be able to adjust the gap amount between the recording head and the support member in multiple stages or steplessly, which is larger than the number of switching stages that can be switched according to the medium type.
The transport unit, the recording unit, and a control unit that controls the gap adjusting mechanism are provided.
The control unit conveys the medium to a position supported by the support member, measures the medium height position which is the height position of the surface of the medium by the measuring unit, and measures the reference position and the medium height position. A recording device characterized in that the medium thickness is acquired based on the difference between the above and the medium thickness, and the gap adjusting mechanism is controlled to adjust the gap amount according to the medium thickness. The control unit identifies the medium type based on the medium thickness and controls the gap adjusting mechanism to adjust the gap amount between the support member and the recording head to a value corresponding to the medium type. The recording device according to claim 3, wherein the recording device is characterized by the above. 3. The control unit controls the gap adjusting mechanism and adjusts the amount of media gap between the medium and the recording head to a value corresponding to the medium type and the medium thickness. The recording device described in. The recording unit includes a carriage that supports the recording head and moves in the scanning direction.
The recording according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the control unit moves the carriage to a measurement position and causes the measurement unit to measure the height position of the support member. Device. The measuring unit includes a contact sensor.
Claims 1 to 6, wherein the measuring unit measures the height position of the support member at a measurement position other than the recording area where the recording unit records on the medium. The recording device according to any one of the above. A plurality of the contact type sensors are provided.
The recording device according to claim 7, wherein the plurality of contact-type sensors are made elastic. The unit to be measured with which the plurality of contact sensors come into contact is characterized in that, when the recording unit is lowered during measurement, a portion of the recording unit other than the contact sensor is located at a higher position than a facing portion. The recording device according to claim 8. The measuring unit includes a non-contact sensor.
Claims 1 to claim that the non-contact type sensor measures the height position of the support member at a measurement position in the recording area where the recording unit records on the medium. The recording device according to any one of 6. The recording device according to any one of claims 1 to 7, and 10, wherein the measuring unit includes a plurality of sensors. The plurality of sensors are provided at different positions in the transport direction of the medium, and a plurality of height positions are measured at a plurality of positions different in the transport direction of the support member.
The control unit acquires the relative inclination of the support member and the recording head in the transport direction based on the plurality of height positions.
The recording head has a nozzle group including a first nozzle and a second nozzle having different positions in the transport direction.
The control unit adjusts the gap amount to the gap amount with the position of the support member facing the first nozzle as the reference position, and responds to the difference in the gap amount according to the inclination with respect to the discharge timing of the first nozzle. The recording device according to claim 11, wherein the discharge timing of the second nozzle is shifted. The gap adjusting mechanism includes a correction mechanism that corrects a small deviation in the amount of gaps at different positions in the width direction intersecting the transport direction of the medium.
The measuring unit measures the height position of the support member at different positions in the width direction of the medium.
One of claims 1 to 12, wherein the control unit controls the correction mechanism so as to reduce the amount of deviation of the plurality of height positions having different positions in the width direction. The recording device described in.

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