JP2978252B2 - Recording device - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a recording apparatus for performing recording by, for example, scanning a recording head.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In a printing operation of a serial printer such as an ink jet printer, printing is performed by synchronizing the movement of a carriage on which an ink jet head is mounted and the ejection of ink by driving the ink jet head. At the time of such recording, since the ejection speed of the ink from the inkjet head is constant, the recording is performed with the moving speed of the carriage being constant. In such carriage speed control, the carriage is conveyed at an accelerated speed from a state where the carriage is stopped until reaching a certain speed. Need to be started.

On the other hand, in a paper feed control for conveying a recording sheet, a stepping motor having a constant rotation angle per pulse is supplied to a driving source in order to convey the recording sheet by a length corresponding to a designated line interval. By giving a pulse corresponding to a desired rotation angle to this motor,
Controlling conveyance of the recording sheet.

[0004]

Generally, in printer equipment, the carriage is often transported alternately for recording and the recording sheet is transported for line feed operation. Therefore, in order to simultaneously perform the carriage conveyance operation and the recording sheet conveyance, near the end of the recording sheet conveyance by a line feed operation or the like, the movement of the carriage that does not perform recording, for example, the carriage acceleration operation is performed to perform the recording sheet conveyance. It is conceivable that the transport and the movement of the carriage are performed simultaneously. Such a part of the line feed operation and the part of the carriage conveyance operation that are overlapped and executed are called an overlap operation. In such an overlap operation, the timing to start the movement of the carriage is determined based on the remaining pulse number of the pulse number for conveying the recording sheet.

However, when such a recording sheet is conveyed,
If the pulse width for driving the conveyance of the recording sheet is constant, the remaining time required for conveying the recording sheet can be accurately determined from the number of remaining pulses, but the conveyance of the recording sheet is performed by controlling acceleration / deceleration. In such a case, the period and width of the drive pulse are changed, so that it is not possible to predict the time until the conveyance of the recording sheet is completed only by the number of remaining pulses. For this reason, it is impossible to accurately determine the timing at which the carriage is to be conveyed during the overlap operation. For example, even if the conveyance of the recording sheet is completed, the time to start the recording operation is delayed because the carriage acceleration control is not completed. Conversely, when the recording operation is started, the recording sheet feeding operation has not been completed yet, so that the recording position may be shifted.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned conventional example, and the overlap operation can be properly performed by accurately grasping the remaining time of the recording medium conveyance processing and starting the conveyance of the recording head. It is an object of the present invention to provide a recording device that can perform the recording.

[0007]

In order to achieve the above object, a recording apparatus according to the present invention has the following arrangement. That is, it has scanning means for scanning a print head, and transport means for rotating a paper feed motor by applying a pulse to transport a print medium, and performs printing on the print medium by scanning the print head. In a recording apparatus, storage means for storing time information of each of a plurality of pulses applied to the paper feed motor in the recording medium transport operation, and when the recording medium transport operation by the transport means, Calculating means for calculating the remaining time of the recording medium transport operation from the time required for the transport operation of the recording medium and the time information corresponding to the pulse applied to the paper feed motor; Based on the remaining time
Timing determining means for determining a timing at which the scanning means starts scanning the recording head; and, according to the scanning start timing determined by the timing determining means, during the operation of transporting the recording medium, And control means for controlling to perform scanning.

[0008]

According to the above arrangement, when the recording medium is conveyed by the conveying means, the time required for the recording medium to be conveyed and the time corresponding to the pulse applied to the paper feed motor are stored in the storage means. From the time information of each of the plurality of pulses applied to the paper feed motor, the remaining time of the recording medium conveyance operation is calculated, and the scanning unit scans the recording head based on the calculated remaining time. The start timing is determined, and according to the determined scan start timing, the printhead is scanned by the scanning unit during the transport operation of the print medium, and the overlap operation between the scan of the printhead and the feed of the print medium is performed. be able to.

[0009]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. <Description of Inkjet Printer (FIGS. 1 and 2)> FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of an ink jet printer of the present embodiment, and FIG. 2 is an external view showing a configuration example of a recording unit of the ink jet printer of the embodiment. .

Referring first to FIG. 2, the configuration of the recording section of the ink jet printer of the present embodiment will be described. In FIG. 2, reference numeral 1 denotes a recording head mounted on the carriage 2;
The carriage 2 is driven by a timing belt 15 (FIG. 1) stretched between an idler pulley 14 (FIG. 1) and a carriage motor 16 (FIG. 1). Is reciprocated along. Ink is supplied to the recording head 1 from the ink cartridge 4 via an ink tube (not shown), and the recording material is fed from the ink ejection port (not shown) while the carriage 2 moves from left to right. For example, recording sheet 5
Recording is performed by ejecting ink toward. As means for discharging the recording head, as described in the specifications of U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,723,129 and 4,459,600, the rapid generation of bubbles in a liquid by thermal energy. Causing state changes including formation, shrinkage,
An ink jet recording method in which a liquid is discharged as droplets in accordance with the formation of the bubbles (preferably having an electrothermal converter as a constituent requirement) can be employed.

Reference numeral 6 denotes a fixed platen which holds the recording sheet 5 at a position facing the ejection surface of the recording head 1 at a predetermined interval. Numeral 7 is a feed roller for feeding the recording sheet 5, 8 is a pinch roller which presses against the feed roller 7 and is driven to sandwich the recording sheet 5 therebetween, and 9 applies a pressing force to the pinch roller 8. The holder 9 is formed of a stainless steel plate or the like, and biases the pinch roller 8 toward the feed roller 7 by the elastic force. Reference numerals 10 and 11 denote an upper guide and a lower guide for holding the recording sheet 5 fed manually or the like and guiding it between the feed roller 7 and the pinch roller 8.

A guide rail 10A is provided on the upper guide 10, and a leaf spring 2A provided on the lower surface side of the carriage 2 is slidably held along the guide rail 10A. . Thus, the carriage 2 itself is urged toward the fixed platen 6 by the spring force of the leaf spring 2 </ b> A, and a part of the carriage 2 is slidably brought into contact with a sheet holding plate 13 provided on the front surface of the platen 6. Thus, a predetermined interval is maintained between the ink ejection surface 1A of the recording head 1 and the recording sheet 5. The portion of the sheet holding plate 13 with which a part of the carriage 2 contacts is near the back side of the portion of the sheet holding plate 13 where the feed roller 7 comes into contact.
When the carriage 3 moves backward by that amount, the carriage 2 also moves backward. Therefore, irrespective of the thickness of the recording sheet 5, by maintaining the interval between the ink ejection surface 1A and the recording sheet 5 at a predetermined interval, a high-quality recorded image can be formed.

The recording sheet 5 fed by the feed roller 7 and the pinch roller 8 is held rearward by the fixed platen 6 inclined at an angle of about 30 degrees, so that the recording result is not displayed to the operator. It is easier to see. Thus, the recording sheet 5 on which recording has been completed is discharged between the discharge roller 12 and the spur (not shown) pressed against the discharge roller 12. 2, a hollow needle 20 is inserted into the ink cartridge 4 when the ink cartridge 4 is inserted from the cartridge insertion slot 21, and a recording head is inserted from the hollow needle 20 through a tube (not shown). 1 is supplied with ink.

Reference numeral 23 denotes a cap member, which caps the ink discharge surface 1A of the recording head 1 when the recording head 1 is moved to the initial position (retreat position) to prevent the ink jet head from drying. I have. Reference numeral 24 denotes a cap guide shaft which movably holds the cap member 23. 2
Reference numeral 5 denotes a suction pump for performing a recovery operation via the cap member 23, and reference numeral 26 denotes a pump cam for driving the pump 25. A recording sheet feed motor 27 rotates the feed roller 7 together with the discharge roller 12 via a gear train 28 and an idler pulley 29 to convey the recording sheet 5 by a predetermined amount.

Next, the configuration of the ink jet printer of this embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. In FIG. 1, 10
A control unit 1 controls the entire printer, for example, a CPU 110 such as a microcomputer, a ROM 111 for storing a control program for the CPU 110, various data such as constants described below, and various data used as a work area of the CPU 110. RA for temporarily saving
M113 and the like are provided. The RAM 113 has a storage area for storing a total of pulse widths for conveying a recording sheet, which will be described later, and a driving pulse width for conveying a recording sheet. A timer 112 outputs an interrupt signal to the CPU 110 at every time t described later. Thus, the CPU 111 can measure the elapsed time by counting the number of interrupts.

Reference numeral 114 denotes an input / output port for inputting / outputting a signal between the control unit 101 and each unit of the mechanical unit of the printer (the recording head 1, various motor drivers, etc.). A motor driver 17 rotates the carriage motor 16 in accordance with an instruction from the control unit 101. Similarly, a motor driver 18 rotates the recording sheet feeding motor 27 according to an instruction from the control unit 101. Reference numeral 5 denotes a recording sheet as a recording medium, and reference numeral 7 denotes a feed roller which is rotated and driven by the recording sheet feeding motor 27 to convey the recording sheet 5.

With the above arrangement, at the start of recording sheet feeding, the total time required for recording sheet feeding is calculated from the number of all pulses for driving the recording sheet feeding motor 27 and their time intervals. Then, for each output of the pulse for feeding the recording sheet, the output pulse time is subtracted from the total time, the transport start timing of the carriage 2 is determined from the remaining time, and the overlap operation is performed. <Explanation of Calculation Processing of Total Time of Recording Sheet Feeding (FIG. 3)> FIG. 3 is a timing chart showing an example of a conveyance timing of the recording sheet 5 performed in one line feed operation.

As shown in FIG. 3, a total of 15 pulses are output for one line feed operation. In the figure,
Each of t0, t1, t2, t3, and t4 is a time indicating a pulse width, and each of p0 to p14 indicates a pulse signal. Here, the pulses p0 to p4 are acceleration sections in which the transport speed of the recording sheet 5 gradually increases, and the pulse numbers p5 to p10 indicate that the recording sheet is fed at a constant speed. Further, pulse numbers p10 to p14 indicate deceleration sections in which the transport speed of the recording sheet 5 gradually decreases. In these acceleration / deceleration sections, the rate of acceleration and the rate of deceleration are the same in the acceleration section and the deceleration section. Thus, the total time Tr required to convey the recording sheet 5 for this line feed is Tr = 2 × (t0 + t1 + t2 + t
3) + Number of pulses in the constant velocity section (6 in FIG. 3) × t4
Is represented by

In this manner, before the conveyance of the recording sheet 5 is started, the total number of pulses necessary for conveying the recording sheet 5 is determined based on the number of pulses for driving the recording sheet conveyance motor 27 and the respective pulse widths. The transfer time Tr is calculated, and the total value Tr is stored in the RAM 113. <Description of Recording Sheet Feeding Process (FIG. 4)> FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing a recording sheet feeding process in the ink jet printer of the present embodiment. A control program for executing this process is stored in the ROM 111.

This process is started when the conveyance process of the recording sheet 5 is instructed. First, in step S1, the driving pulse data of the recording sheet feeding motor 27 is output to the motor driver 18. Next, the process proceeds to step S2, and waits for a time corresponding to the pulse width to elapse. This can be measured using the timer 112. When this time has elapsed, the process proceeds to step S3, and the pulse time width tn is subtracted from the total time Tr of the RAM 113. Thus, the remaining time for conveying the recording sheet 5 is set to Tr. In step S4, a predetermined number of drive pulses are output to check whether or not the recording sheet feeding process has been completed. If not, the process returns to step S1 to execute the above-described process.

The pulse width (tn) of each pulse signal of the recording sheet feed motor 27 can be sequentially set in the motor driver in accordance with the pulse output order by storing the pulse width (tn) as a table in the ROM 111, for example.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing another embodiment for determining the remaining time of the recording sheet feeding process.

Here, the timer interrupt is enabled at the same time as the conveyance of the recording sheet 5 is started, and the number of interruptions from the timer 112 at every time t is counted, and the remaining time of the recording sheet feeding process is measured. That is, when a timer interrupt occurs in the CPU 110, the process proceeds to step S11, and it is determined whether the interrupt is the first interrupt immediately after the start of the recording sheet. If it is the first interrupt, the process returns to the main process without doing anything.

If it is not the first interruption, the process proceeds to step S12, where the interruption period t is subtracted from the total time Tr required for conveying the recording sheet 5 in the RAM 113. Thereby, C
By referring to the total time value Tr, the PU 110 can obtain the remaining time of the recording sheet feeding process at any time when the recording sheet 5 is conveyed. <Explanation of Overlap Operation (FIG. 6)> FIG. 6 is a flowchart for explaining the overlap operation in the printer of this embodiment.

This process is started when a line feed command is output. First, in step S21, as described with reference to FIG. 3, the number of pulses for driving the recording sheet feed motor 27 during the line feed operation, From these pulse widths, the total time Tr required to convey the recording sheet 5 is determined.
Next, the process proceeds to step S22, and the conveyance process of the recording sheet 5 is started as shown in the flowchart of FIG.
In step S23, the total time Tr updated in step S3 of FIG. 4 is read out in parallel with the conveyance processing of the recording sheet 5, and it is determined whether this time Tr is substantially equal to the time required for the acceleration of the carriage 2. View. If they are not substantially equal, the process of transporting the recording sheet 5 is executed in step S22.
23 to step S24, where the carriage motor 16
Is started, and the acceleration of the carriage 2 is started. When the acceleration is completed in step S25 in this manner, the feeding process of the recording sheet 5 has also been completed, so that the carriage 2 is set at a constant conveying speed in step S26, and the recording process on the recording sheet 5 by the inkjet head 1 is started. You.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, the remaining time required for the recording sheet feeding process can be accurately calculated, so that the recording head scanning and the recording sheet feeding can be performed during the overlap operation. Start timing of recording head in the
The scanning process of the recording head and the conveyance process of the recording sheet can be performed in parallel by setting the printing accurately.

It should be noted that the recording method used in the present invention is a means (for example, an electrothermal converter, a laser beam, or the like) for generating thermal energy as energy used for discharging ink even in an ink jet recording method. And provides excellent effects in a recording head and a recording apparatus of a type in which a change in the state of ink is caused by the thermal energy. This is because the recording speed can be increased by such a method.

The typical configuration and principle are described in, for example, US Pat. Nos. 4,723,129 and 4,740.
It is preferable to use the basic principle disclosed in the specification of Japanese Patent No. 796. This method is a so-called on-demand type,
It can be applied to any type of continuous type. In particular, in the case of an on-demand type, it can be applied to a sheet holding liquid (ink) or an electrothermal transducer arranged corresponding to the liquid path. By applying at least one drive signal corresponding to the recorded information and providing a rapid temperature rise exceeding nucleate boiling, heat energy is generated in the electrothermal transducer, and film boiling occurs on the heat acting surface of the recording head. Cause
As a result, bubbles in the liquid (ink) corresponding to this drive signal on a one-to-one basis can be formed, which is effective. By discharging the liquid (ink) through the discharge opening by the growth and shrinkage of the bubble, at least one liquid is formed. When the drive signal is formed into a pulse shape, the growth and shrinkage of the bubble are performed immediately and appropriately, so that the ejection of a liquid (ink) having particularly excellent responsiveness can be achieved, which is more preferable. As the pulse-shaped drive signal, those described in US Pat. Nos. 4,463,359 and 4,345,262 are suitable. Further, if the conditions described in US Pat. No. 4,313,124 relating to the temperature rise rate of the heat acting surface are adopted, more excellent recording can be performed.

As the configuration of the recording head, in addition to the combination of a discharge port, a liquid path, and an electrothermal converter (a linear liquid flow path or a right-angled liquid flow path) as disclosed in the above-mentioned specifications, The present invention also includes a configuration using U.S. Pat. No. 4,558,333 and U.S. Pat. No. 4,459,600, which disclose a configuration in which a heat acting portion is arranged in a bending region. In addition, for multiple electrothermal transducers,
JP-A-59-123670 which discloses a configuration in which a common slit is used as a discharge portion of an electrothermal transducer, and JP-A-59-123670 which discloses a configuration in which an opening for absorbing a pressure wave of thermal energy corresponds to a discharge portion. The effect of the present invention is effective even in a configuration based on JP-A-138461. That is, according to the present invention, the recording time can be shortened and the recording can be performed efficiently regardless of the form of the recording head.

Even in the case of the serial type as described above, the recording head fixed to the apparatus main body or the electric connection with the apparatus main body and the supply of ink from the apparatus main body by being mounted on the apparatus main body. The present invention is also effective when a replaceable chip-type recording head which enables the recording or a cartridge-type recording head in which an ink tank is provided integrally with the recording head itself is used.

Further, it is preferable to add recovery means for the print head, preliminary auxiliary means, and the like provided as a configuration of the printing apparatus in the present invention since the effects of the present invention can be further stabilized. If you list these specifically,
Capping means, cleaning means, pressurizing or sucking means, an electrothermal transducer or another heating difference element or a preheating means using a combination of these, and ejection other than printing It is also effective to perform a preliminary ejection mode in which stable printing is performed.

The type and number of recording heads to be mounted are also described. For example, in addition to one provided for a single color ink, a plurality of inks may be provided corresponding to a plurality of inks having different recording colors and densities. That is, for example, the printing mode of the printing apparatus is not limited to a printing mode of only a mainstream color such as black, and may be any of a printing head integrally formed or a combination of a plurality of printing heads. The present invention is also very effective for an apparatus provided with at least one of full colors by color mixture.

In addition, in the embodiments of the present invention described above, the ink is described as a liquid. However, an ink which solidifies at room temperature or below and which softens or liquefies at room temperature, or an ink jet system In general, the temperature of the ink itself is controlled within a range of 30 ° C. or more and 70 ° C. or less to control the temperature so that the viscosity of the ink is in a stable ejection range. Anything can be used. In addition, positively prevent the temperature rise due to thermal energy by using it as energy for changing the state of the ink from a solid state to a liquid state, or use an ink that solidifies in a standing state to prevent evaporation of the ink. In any case, in any case, the ink is liquefied by the application according to the recording signal of the heat energy, and the liquid ink is ejected, such as the one that already starts to solidify at the time of achieving the recording medium,
The present invention is also applicable to a case where ink having a property of being liquefied for the first time by thermal energy is used. In such a case, the ink is held in a state in which the ink is held as a liquid or a solid in the concave portion or through hole of the porous sheet as described in JP-A-54-56847 or JP-A-60-71260. Alternatively, it may be configured to face the electrothermal converter. In the present invention, the most effective one for each of the above-mentioned inks is to execute the above-mentioned film boiling method.

In addition, the form of the ink jet recording apparatus of the present invention is not only used as an image output terminal of an information processing apparatus such as a computer, but also for a copying apparatus combined with a reader or the like, and a facsimile apparatus having a transmission / reception function. It may take a form.

As described above, the present embodiment has a function of determining the speed of the carriage during the preparatory movement without substantially increasing the total recording time according to the busyness of the device. This function operates several preparatory movement operations, which used to operate at a high speed, at a low speed, thereby reducing energy consumption by reducing power consumption and reducing the noise generated by the movement of the carriage. Numerous effects can be expected, such as an effect of improving the sound environment to reduce the noise, and an effect of extending the mechanical life of the device by reducing the sliding friction between the carriage and its guide shaft.

[0036]

As described above, according to the present invention, the overlap operation can be properly performed by accurately grasping the remaining time of the recording medium conveyance process and starting the conveyance of the recording head. effective.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a schematic configuration of an inkjet printer according to an embodiment.

FIG. 2 is an external view illustrating a configuration of a recording unit of the inkjet printer according to the embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a timing chart illustrating an example of a recording sheet conveyance timing in the inkjet printer according to the embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating a recording sheet feeding process in the inkjet printer according to the embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating a timer interrupt process of a CPU of the inkjet printer according to the embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating an overlap process associated with a line feed operation in the inkjet printer according to the embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Recording head 2 Carriage 5 Recording sheet 16 Carriage motor 17, 18 Motor driver 27 Recording sheet feeding motor 101 Control part 110 CPU 111 ROM 112 Timer 113 RAM

Claims (4)

(57) [Claims] A scanning means for scanning a recording head ;
The paper feed motor is driven to rotate by the application of
Conveying means for conveying the recording head, and scans the recording head.
A recording apparatus that performs recording on the recording medium by using the paper feed motor during the operation of transporting the recording medium.
Stores time information for each of multiple applied pulses
A storage unit and, when the recording medium is conveyed by the conveyance unit,
The time required to convey the recording medium and the paper feed mode
Calculating means for calculating the remaining time of the transport operation of the recording medium from the time information corresponding to the pulse applied to the data, and the recording by the scanning means based on the remaining time calculated by the calculating means. timing determining means for determining a scanning start timing of the head, said scan start determined by the timing determining means
According to the timing, during the transport operation of the recording medium,
Controlling the scanning of the recording head by the scanning means.
Recording device comprising a control unit, to have a that. 2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the calculating unit is configured to supply the motor to the paper feed motor.
Each time the pulse is applied, the time required for the transport operation is
Time information corresponding to the applied pulse stored in the storage means
2. The recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the remaining time of the transport operation is calculated by subtracting the time indicated by . 3. A carriage on which the recording head is mounted.
The recording head further comprises a reciprocating carriage.
2. A reciprocating scan is performed by movement.
Or the recording device according to 2 . 4. The recording head according to claim 1, wherein said recording head is a recording head which generates thermal energy in an electrothermal transducer to cause film boiling of ink to perform recording .
The recording device according to claim 1 .