JP2023139915A - Ink jet recording device - Google Patents

Abstract

To extend the service life of an ink jet recording device while maintaining the desired image quality.SOLUTION: An ink jet recording device 1 comprises: a conveyance amount detection unit 15 which detects conveyance amounts of a recording medium 6 and a head 5; a stain amount prediction unit 32 which predicts a stain amount of the conveyance amount detection unit 15 with the combination of a plurality of ink jet drops D used in printing to the recording medium 6 from the head 5; and an encoder adjustment unit 33 which adjusts a control amount of the conveyance amount detection unit 15 from the stain amount predicted by the stain amount prediction unit 32.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

The present invention relates to an inkjet recording device.

In an inkjet image forming apparatus, printing is performed by ejecting ink from a head toward a recording medium based on image data, but ink droplets (mist) that are not attracted to the recording medium may stain the inside of the apparatus. If these ink droplets adhere to the encoder used to transport the recording media or drive the head, the amount of light that enters the optical sensor used to read the encoder will decrease, which may cause the sensor to malfunction and cause machine failure. . If a machine breaks down, the encoder must be replaced, repaired, or cleaned by a service person, resulting in downtime.

Patent Document 1 discloses a configuration that predicts the degree of contamination of an optical encoder due to mist based on the amount of ink used, and predicts the remaining life of the optical encoder, in order to predict the timing of failure of the optical encoder.

Patent Document 2 discloses a method for quantitatively predicting the degree of progress of dirt on an encoder, taking into account that the amount of mist generated changes depending on the print mode, and predicting when the encoder's life will end. . Furthermore, when the print mode selected by the user is one that generates a lot of mist, the user is informed that the print mode has the possibility of shortening the life of the encoder, and the selected print mode A configuration is also disclosed that guides a print mode that can obtain an image quality similar to or similar to that of the print mode and generates less mist.

The conventional methods described in Patent Document 1 and the like do not solve the problem of extending the life of optical encoders that tend to break down due to mist adhesion.

In the conventional method described in Patent Document 2 and the like, in order to extend the life of the encoder, the user is forced to change the selected print mode, which may affect image quality and productivity.

The present invention aims to extend the life of an inkjet recording device while maintaining desired image quality.

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, an inkjet recording apparatus according to one aspect of the present invention includes a conveyance amount detection section that detects the conveyance amount of a recording medium and a head, and a plurality of conveyance amount detection sections used for printing from the head to the recording medium. a prediction unit that predicts the amount of dirt on the transport amount detection unit based on a combination of inkjet drops; and an adjustment unit that adjusts a control amount of the transport amount detection unit based on the amount of dirt predicted by the prediction unit.

The life of the inkjet recording device can be extended while maintaining desired image quality.

Block diagram of an inkjet recording device according to an embodiment Functional block diagram of inkjet recording device Flowchart of dirt amount prediction control Flowchart of encoder adjustment control based on predicted dirt amount Diagram showing the relationship between encoder dirt amount and threshold value

Embodiments will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. In order to facilitate understanding of the description, the same components in each drawing are denoted by the same reference numerals as much as possible, and redundant description will be omitted.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of the hardware configuration of an inkjet recording apparatus 1 according to an embodiment.

As shown in FIG. 1, print data 2 is input to an inkjet recording apparatus 1. Print data 2 is a data set that includes print image quality settings and the like. In the inkjet recording apparatus 1, in response to input of print data 2, a discharge control signal is issued from the CPU 3 to the head 5 according to the state of the temperature detection sensor 4 inside the machine and the settings of the recording medium 6 set inside the machine. . The head 5 performs multi-drop D of ink on a recording medium 6 such as paper based on the ejection control signal to form an image.

The CPU 3 is in charge of overall control of the inkjet recording apparatus 1.

The temperature detection sensor 4 observes the temperature inside the inkjet recording apparatus 1 . The temperature detection sensor 4 outputs information on the measured internal temperature to the CPU 3.

The head 5 ejects ink onto the recording medium 6 based on an ejection control signal sent from the CPU 3.

The encoder 7 is a disk on which a scale 9 for transporting the recording medium 6 is recorded.

The encoder sensor 8 is provided on the encoder 7 and includes a light emitting section 8a and a light receiving section 8b. The encoder sensor 8 uses a light receiving section 8b to detect whether the light emitted from the light emitting section 8a is blocked by the scale 9 or not, and outputs an H or L signal depending on the detection result.

The scale 9 is provided on the encoder 7, and is printed so as to block/transmit light emitted from the encoder sensor 8 at equal intervals in order to accurately move the recording medium 6.

The A-phase signal 10a and the B-phase signal 10b are signals output from the encoder sensor 8, and by counting these signals, the CPU 3 can measure the moving distance of the recording medium 6.

In this embodiment, elements such as the encoder 7, the encoder sensor 8, and the scale 9 are collectively referred to as a "conveyance amount detection unit 15 that detects the conveyance amount of the recording medium 6 and the head 5." Note that the conveyance amount detection unit 15 may be any element that can detect at least the conveyance amount of the recording medium 6 or the head 5, and may be configured to apply elements other than the encoder 7 and the encoder sensor 8.

The recording medium moving unit 11 is an element that conveys the recording medium 6 and includes a motor as a driving source, a roller that transmits driving force to the recording medium 6, and the like. The recording medium moving unit 11 transports the recording medium 6 based on an operation command from the CPU 3.

The encoder/encoder sensor dirt amount recording section 12 records the integrated value of the dirt amount on the scale 9 of the encoder 7 and on the light emitting section 8a and light receiving section 8b of the encoder sensor 8 based on the ejection control signal. Specifically, the encoder/encoder sensor dirt amount recording section 12 can be implemented using a storage device such as a memory. Hereinafter, the "encoder/encoder sensor dirt amount recording section 12" may also be referred to as the "stain amount recording section 12."

The light amount changing section 13 changes the voltage of the light emitting section 8a of the encoder sensor 8 in accordance with a control command from the CPU 3. The amount of light emitted by the light emitting section 8a is changed by changing the input voltage by the light amount changing section 13.

The light receiving sensitivity changing section 14 changes the sensitivity of the light receiving section 8b of the encoder sensor 8 in accordance with a control command from the CPU 3.

The CPU 3 reads the scale 9 marked on the encoder 7 using the encoder sensor 8, calculates the amount of movement of the recording medium 6 using the A-phase signal 10a and the B-phase signal 10b, and starts recording. Controls the media moving unit 11. The recording medium 6 is moved in a predetermined transport direction by the recording medium moving section 11.

Not all of the multi-drops D of ink from the head 5 are adsorbed to the recording medium 6, and the mist M that is not adsorbed to the recording medium 6 drifts inside the machine.

When the mist M floating inside the machine adheres to the scale 9 of the encoder 7 or the light emitting part 8a or light receiving part 8b of the encoder sensor 8, the amount of light incident on the light receiving part 8b of the encoder sensor 8 decreases, causing dirt. If this becomes severe, the encoder 7 will skip reading, making it impossible to read the scale 9 accurately. The transport distance of the recording medium 6 is measured by counting the values of the A-phase signal 10a and the B-phase signal 10b output from the encoder sensor 8, but if the scale 9 cannot be read accurately, A discrepancy occurs in the actual conveyance distance, resulting in ink being ejected to a different location than the desired printing location. In this case, it becomes necessary for a service person to clean the scale 9 of the encoder 7 and replace the encoder 7 and encoder sensor 8, resulting in machine downtime.

In this embodiment, in order to solve the problem of occurrence of downtime, the amount of dirt accumulated on the encoder 7 and the encoder sensor 8 is recorded in the dirt amount recording section 12 based on the print data 2, and the amount of dirt accumulated on the encoder 7 and encoder sensor 8 is recorded in the dirt amount recording section 12, and the encoder is recorded according to the amount of dirt. Control is performed to increase the light intensity of the light emitting section 8a of the sensor 8 or to increase the sensitivity of the light receiving section 8b. This allows the scale 9 of the encoder 7 to be read accurately even if dirt occurs inside the machine, and the life of the machine can be extended.

FIG. 2 is a functional block diagram of the inkjet recording apparatus 1. In this embodiment, the CPU 3 executes, as the above-mentioned control, "stain amount prediction control" which will be described later with reference to FIG. 3, and "encoder adjustment control based on predicted dirt amount" which will be described later with reference to FIG. configured as possible. As shown in FIG. 2, the CPU 3 includes a print control section 31, a dirt amount prediction section 32 (prediction section), and an encoder adjustment section 33 (adjustment section) as functions related to the above control.

The print control unit 31 controls the printing operation of the inkjet recording apparatus 1. The print control unit 31 performs ejection control to print an image corresponding to the print data 2 on the recording medium 6 based on the print data 2 input to the CPU 3 and print information (type of recording medium 6, print mode, etc.). A signal is generated and output to the head 5. Further, the print control section 31 outputs print information and ejection control information to the dirt amount prediction section 32.

The amount of dirt prediction section 32 predicts the amount of dirt on the conveyance amount detection section 15 (encoder 7, encoder sensor 8, etc.) based on a combination of a plurality of inkjet drops D used for printing from the head 5 to the recording medium 6.

The stain amount prediction unit 32 predicts the amount of stain on the conveyance amount detection unit 15 using a first factor related to how the plurality of inkjet drops D are ejected, and a first factor related to the distance between the head 5 that ejects ink and the recording medium 6. A dirt degree coefficient based on two factors is used.

In ink ejection control, the configuration of the ink multi-drop D can be changed depending on the following elements.

- Size per dot in print data 2 (large drop, medium drop, small drop, etc.)
・Print mode (emphasis on speed, emphasis on image quality, etc.)
・Types of recording media 6 (plain paper, inkjet paper, postcards, etc.)
・In-flight temperature

In this embodiment, in consideration of such a change in the configuration, the coefficient based on the first element used for predicting the amount of dirt is determined based on at least one of the density per dot, the print mode, the type of recording medium 6, and the internal temperature of the machine. modified by the containing element. The density information is obtained, for example, from an ejection control signal provided from the print control unit 31. Information on the print mode and the type of recording medium 6 is obtained from print information provided from the print control unit 31, for example. Information on the temperature inside the machine is obtained from the temperature detection sensor 4, for example.

The coefficient of the first element is determined depending on conditions such as, for example, when the proportion of large droplets is large, when the print mode emphasizes image quality, when the recording medium 6 is high quality such as inkjet paper, when the internal temperature of the machine is relatively high, etc. You can set it relatively large below. Under such conditions, the amount of ink ejected becomes relatively large, and the amount of mist M floating inside the machine also increases, so it is thought that the amount of dirt on the encoder 7, etc., will also increase relatively. .

On the other hand, the coefficient of the first element is determined depending on, for example, when the proportion of small droplets is large, when the print mode emphasizes speed, when the recording medium 6 is of low quality such as plain paper, when the internal temperature of the machine is relatively low, etc. Under certain conditions, it can be set relatively small. This is because under such conditions, the amount of ink ejected becomes relatively small, and the amount of mist M floating inside the machine is also relatively reduced, so it is thought that the amount of dirt on the encoder 7, etc., will also be relatively reduced. .

In addition to the first factor mentioned above, when recording the amount of dirt on the encoder 7 and scale 9, the distance between the head 5 and the recording medium 6 (close when printing on plain paper, far apart when printing on thick paper) ) is also added to determine the coefficient for recording the amount of dirt. That is, the coefficient based on the second element used for predicting the amount of dirt is changed depending on the distance between the head 5 and the recording medium 6. The distance between the head 5 and the recording medium 6 can be calculated based on information on the thickness of the recording medium 6, for example. Information on the thickness of the recording medium 6 is obtained, for example, from print information provided from the print control unit 31, similar to the information on the type of the recording medium 6 described above.

The coefficient of the second element can be set relatively large when the type of recording medium 6 is such that the distance between the head 5 and the recording medium 6 is relatively long. This is because, under such conditions, the proportion of the ink ejected from the head 5 that becomes mist M floating inside the machine increases, and the amount of dirt on the encoder 7 and the like also increases relatively.

On the other hand, the coefficient of the second element can be set relatively small when the type of recording medium 6 is such that the distance between the head 5 and the recording medium 6 is relatively short. This is because under such conditions, the proportion of the ink ejected from the head 5 that becomes mist M floating inside the machine is reduced, and the amount of dirt on the encoder 7 and the like is also considered to be relatively reduced.

In other words, the coefficient based on the second element used for predicting the amount of dirt does not necessarily increase as the size per dot (the amount of ink used) increases.

The dirt amount prediction unit 32 predicts the dirt amount using the coefficient of the first element and the coefficient of the second element, and outputs it to the dirt amount recording unit 12. In the dirt amount recording section 12, information on the amount of dirt sequentially inputted from the dirt amount prediction section 32 is accumulated and recorded.

The encoder adjustment unit 33 adjusts the control amount of the conveyance amount detection unit 15 based on the amount of dirt predicted by the dirt amount prediction unit 32. The encoder adjustment section 33 determines the degree of contamination of the encoder 7, scale 9, encoder sensor 8, etc. based on the accumulated value of the contamination amount recorded in the contamination amount recording section 12. The encoder adjustment unit 33 adjusts the control amount to ensure measurement accuracy when the current amount of dirt on the encoder 7 or the like is large enough to affect measurement accuracy.

Specifically, the amount of dirt on the encoder 7 etc. is accumulated, and depending on the amount of dirt,
(1) Increase the amount of light emitted by the light emitting part 8a of the encoder sensor 8.
(2) Increasing the sensitivity of the light receiving section 8b of the encoder sensor 8;
This control is performed. In the case of control (1) above, the encoder adjustment section 33 increases the amount of control to the light amount changing section 13. In the case of control (2) above, the encoder adjustment section 33 increases the control amount to the light receiving sensitivity changing section 14.

By performing such control, even if the encoder 7 and the encoder sensor 8 become dirty with mist M, a constant amount of light can be sent from the light emitting part 8a of the encoder sensor 8 to the light receiving part 8b, so that accurate The scale 9 on the encoder 7 can then be read by the encoder sensor 8, making it possible to extend the life of the machine compared to the conventional state.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart of dirt amount prediction control.

In step S11, the print control unit 31 confirms whether or not the print data 2 is input to the inkjet recording apparatus 1. If print data 2 has been input (Yes in S11), the process advances to step S12. If there is no input of print data 2, it waits.

In step S12, the print control unit 31 calculates the types of multi-drops D to be ejected and the number of each droplet from the input print data 2 and the print mode (speed emphasis, quality emphasis, etc.). At this time, also check the number of idle ejections performed before and during printing.

In step S13, the print control unit 31 executes a print animation according to the input print data 2 and print mode. The print control unit 31 outputs an ejection control signal to the head 5 to cause the head 5 to eject the type and number of drops of the multi-drop D calculated in step S12. The head 5 ejects ink onto the recording medium 6 based on the received ejection control signal. Further, in this step, the print control section 31 also outputs the ejection control signal and print information (print mode, type of recording medium 6, etc.) to the dirt amount prediction section 32.

In step S14, the dirt amount prediction unit 32 calculates the dirt amount of the conveyance amount detection unit 15 (encoder 7, encoder sensor 8, etc.) based on the type of multi-drop D that has been ejected, the number of ejected drops, and the like. As described above, the stain amount prediction unit 32 estimates the degree of stain based on the first factor related to how the plurality of inkjet drops D are ejected, and the second factor related to the distance between the head 5 that ejects ink and the recording medium 6. Calculate the amount of dirt using the coefficient. As a result, the amount of dirt can be calculated not simply based on the amount of ink consumed, but also by considering various printing conditions such as the type of multi-drop D used, so the amount of dirt on the transport amount detection section 15 can be calculated with higher accuracy. Amount can be predicted.

In step S15, the amount of dirt calculated by the amount of dirt prediction section 32 is added to the cumulative amount of encoder dirt (integrated amount of dirt) recorded in the amount of dirt recording section 12.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart of encoder adjustment control based on the predicted amount of dirt.

In step S21, the print control unit 31 controls the encoder dirt amount (stain amount cumulative value) is obtained.

In step S22, the printing control unit 31 executes the printing operation described with reference to the flowchart in FIG. Along with this, the stain amount prediction control shown in FIG. 3 is also executed, and the stain amount integrated value is updated to the latest information after the current printing operation.

In step S23, the encoder adjustment unit 33 determines whether the cumulative amount of encoder dirt has accumulated to a predetermined threshold after printing. If the amount of dirt has accumulated up to the threshold value (Yes in S23), the process proceeds to step S24, and if not (No in S23), the process returns to step S21.

In step S24, the amount of dirt has accumulated up to the threshold value, and in order to prevent the encoder 7 from malfunctioning due to dirt, the encoder adjustment section 33 increases the light amount of the light emitting section 8a of the encoder sensor 8, or increases the amount of light from the light emitting section 8a of the encoder sensor 8. The control amount is adjusted to increase the sensitivity of the light receiving section 8b. After completing the process in step S24, the process returns to step S21.

In addition, in the process of step S24, the encoder adjustment unit 33 may perform only one of the control to increase the light amount of the light emitting unit 8a and the control to increase the sensitivity of the light receiving unit 8b depending on the degree of dirt. , you may perform both.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing the relationship between the amount of encoder dirt and the threshold value. The horizontal axis in FIG. 5 indicates the number of times of printing, and the vertical axis indicates the amount of encoder dirt. In FIG. 5, the integrated value of the amount of encoder dirt is plotted according to each number of times of printing.

As shown in FIG. 5, the amount of dirt on the encoder is not directly proportional to the number of times of printing or the amount of ink used. Depending on factors such as the type of multi-drop D used in each printing, the trend in the integrated value of the amount of dirt tends to fluctuate as appropriate. Therefore, in this embodiment, as described with reference to FIG. 3 and the like, the coefficients used for predicting the amount of dirt at each printing time are varied depending on the conditions of the printing. By updating the integrated value based on the predicted amount of dirt in this manner, it is possible to improve the estimation accuracy of the integrated value of the amount of dirt and to perform a prediction closer to the actual state of dirt.

Furthermore, in this embodiment, a configuration may be adopted in which a plurality of threshold values (threshold values 1, 2, and 3 in the example of FIG. 5) are applied in step S23 of FIG. 4, as shown in FIG. For example, assume that threshold values 1, 2, and 3 are set to be larger in this order. In this case, first, when the amount of encoder dirt reaches a predetermined threshold value 1, measures are taken to increase the light intensity of the light emitting part 8a of the encoder sensor 8 or increase the sensitivity of the light receiving part 8b of the encoder sensor 8 in order to prevent failure. conduct.

Next, when the amount of dirt on the encoder 7 further increases and the amount of dirt on the encoder reaches a threshold value 2 which is larger than the threshold value 1, the light amount of the light emitting part 8a of the encoder sensor 8 is further increased compared to the case of the threshold value 1, or the amount of dirt on the encoder sensor 8 is increased. The sensitivity of the light receiving section 8b is further increased compared to the case where the threshold value is 1.

Furthermore, when the amount of encoder dirt reaches threshold 3, which is larger than threshold 2, the light intensity of the light emitting part 8a of the encoder sensor 8 is further increased compared to the case of threshold 2, or the sensitivity of the light receiving part 8b of the encoder sensor 8 is increased when threshold 2 is reached. We will respond by raising the level even further.

In this way, by setting multiple threshold values and adjusting the control amount of the encoder 7 in stages, it is possible to set a more appropriate control amount depending on the amount of encoder dirt, and more fine-grained adjustment is possible. Therefore, the life of the inkjet recording device can be further extended.

The inkjet recording apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment is configured by a combination of a conveyance amount detection section 15 that detects the conveyance amount of the recording medium 6 and the head 5, and a plurality of inkjet drops D used for printing from the head 5 to the recording medium 6. It includes a dirt amount prediction unit 32 that predicts the dirt amount of the carry amount detection unit 15, and an encoder adjustment unit 33 that adjusts the control amount of the carry amount detection unit 15 based on the dirt amount predicted by the dirt amount prediction unit 32.

With this configuration, even if the amount of dirt on the conveyance amount detection unit 15 of the encoder 7 increases, processing such as changing the print mode selected by the user can be performed in order to extend the life of the encoder 7, as in Patent Document 2, for example. Since this is no longer necessary, it is possible to prevent images and productivity from being affected. In this embodiment, instead of the process as described in Patent Document 2, by performing a process of adjusting the control amount of the transport amount detection unit 15 according to the predicted amount of dirt, printing can be performed with the settings desired by the user. While executing the process, it is possible to extend the life of elements of the inkjet recording apparatus 1 such as the encoder 7. Further, even if the conveyance amount detection section 15 such as the optical encoder 7 is contaminated by the mist M ejected from the head 5 but not deposited on the recording medium 6, malfunction can be suppressed by adjusting the control amount. Therefore, in this embodiment, the life of the inkjet recording apparatus 1 can be extended while maintaining desired image quality.

In addition, in the inkjet recording apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment, the stain amount prediction unit 32 uses a first element related to the method of flying the plurality of inkjet drops D and ink to predict the stain amount of the conveyance amount detection unit 15. A second factor related to the distance between the flying head 5 and the recording medium 6 is used as a coefficient of the degree of contamination. The coefficient based on the first element is changed by factors including at least one of the density per dot, print mode, type of recording medium 6, and internal temperature, and the coefficient based on the second element is changed by the density per dot, print mode, type of recording medium 6, and internal temperature. It changes depending on the distance to the recording medium 6.

With this configuration, the amount of dirt that accumulates on the encoder 7 can be weighted not simply by the amount of ink used, but by what kind of inkjet drops D are combined. It is possible to make more accurate predictions.

Note that the prediction method by the dirt amount prediction unit 32 is not limited to the calculation method using a mathematical formula or the like using the above-mentioned variable coefficients. For example, instead of simply measuring the amount of ink used, a prediction table can be created that takes into account various conditions similar to the coefficients above, and each time printing is performed, this prediction table is referred to based on the printing conditions to calculate the amount of dirt. It may be configured to predict.

In the inkjet recording apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment, the encoder adjustment unit 33 adjusts the light emitting unit 8 a of the encoder sensor 8 of the conveyance amount detection unit 15 as the amount of dirt predicted by the dirt amount prediction unit 32 is accumulated. The amount of control to the light amount changing unit 13 is adjusted so as to increase the amount of light.

When dirt accumulates on the encoder 7, the amount of light transmitted through the encoder scale 9 decreases, and the amount of light entering the light receiving section 8b of the encoder sensor 8 becomes smaller than when there is no dirt. When the amount of incident light decreases, the light receiving section 8b of the encoder sensor becomes unable to react, and the recording medium 6 may not be conveyed accurately. Therefore, with the above configuration, by increasing the amount of light for reading the encoder 7 according to the accumulated amount of dirt, it is possible to accurately convey the recording medium 6 even with the dirty encoder 7.

In the inkjet recording apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment, the encoder adjusting section 33 adjusts the amount of dirt predicted by the dirt amount predicting section 32 to the light receiving section 8b of the encoder sensor 8 of the conveyance amount detecting section 15. The control amount to the light receiving sensitivity changing section 14 is adjusted so as to increase the sensitivity.

When dirt accumulates on the encoder 7, the amount of light transmitted through the encoder scale 9 decreases, and the amount of light entering the light receiving section 8b of the encoder sensor 8 becomes smaller than when there is no dirt. When the amount of incident light decreases, the light receiving section 8b of the encoder sensor 8 becomes unable to react, and the recording medium 6 may not be conveyed accurately. The light receiving section 8b of the encoder sensor 8 is configured to change the internal voltage level according to the amount of incident light, but the voltage level that changes internally varies depending on the sensitivity setting of the light receiving section of the sensor even if the amount of light is the same. Therefore, with the above configuration, even if the amount of light entering the light receiving section 8b of the encoder sensor 8 decreases according to the amount of accumulated dirt, the light receiving sensitivity can be changed so that the change in the internal voltage level remains the same. , accurate conveyance of the recording medium 6 is possible even with a dirty encoder 7.

The present embodiment has been described above with reference to specific examples. However, the present disclosure is not limited to these specific examples. Design changes made by those skilled in the art as appropriate to these specific examples are also included within the scope of the present disclosure as long as they have the characteristics of the present disclosure. The elements included in each of the specific examples described above, their arrangement, conditions, shapes, etc. are not limited to those illustrated, and can be changed as appropriate. The elements included in each of the specific examples described above can be appropriately combined as long as no technical contradiction occurs.

1 Inkjet recording device 5 Head 6 Recording medium 7 Encoder 8 Encoder sensor 8a Light emitting section 8b Light receiving section 15 Conveyance amount detection section 32 Dirt amount prediction section (prediction section)
33 Encoder adjustment section (adjustment section)

Patent No. 5305009 JP 2017-013263 Publication

Claims (4)

a conveyance amount detection unit that detects the conveyance amount of the recording medium and the head;
a prediction unit that predicts the amount of dirt on the conveyance amount detection unit based on a combination of a plurality of inkjet drops used for printing from the head to the recording medium;
An inkjet recording apparatus comprising: an adjustment section that adjusts a control amount of the transport amount detection section based on the amount of dirt predicted by the prediction section. The prediction unit predicts the amount of dirt on the conveyance amount detection unit using a first factor related to how the plurality of inkjet drops are ejected, and a second factor related to the distance between the head that ejects ink and the recording medium. Using the dirtiness coefficient according to ,
The coefficient based on the first element is changed by an element including at least one of density per dot, print mode, type of recording medium, and internal temperature of the machine,
The coefficient based on the second element is changed depending on the distance between the head that ejects ink and the recording medium.
The inkjet recording device according to claim 1. The conveyance amount detection unit includes an encoder and a sensor that reads the movement amount of the encoder,
The adjustment unit adjusts the control amount to increase the amount of light from the light emitting unit of the sensor as the predicted amount of dirt accumulates.
The inkjet recording device according to claim 1 or 2. The conveyance amount detection unit includes an encoder and a sensor that reads the amount of movement of the encoder,
The adjustment section adjusts the control amount to increase the sensitivity of the light receiving section of the sensor as the predicted amount of dirt accumulates.
The inkjet recording device according to any one of claims 1 to 3.

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