JP3026683B2 - 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 scanning a recording head.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In a printing apparatus which is one type of this type of printing apparatus, the accuracy of the relative position between the printing medium and the image area, that is, the right and left margins, in the direction perpendicular to the transport direction of the printing medium (recording material) is improved. Therefore, the following method can be considered.

As a first method, when the relative position between the apparatus main body and the recording medium is determined by a mechanical mechanism as in the case of cassette paper feeding, the mechanical accuracy is increased.

Further, as a second technique, the relative position of the recording medium with respect to the apparatus main body is detected by some means,
The purpose is to adjust the output timing of the image data accordingly, thereby improving the accuracy of the left and right margin amounts of the recording medium.

[0005]

However, the first method described above is difficult to implement due to the requirement of component accuracy and assembly accuracy, and leads to an increase in cost.

In the second technique, in order to adjust the output timing of the image data, a circuit capable of varying the delay amount, such as a delay amount counter capable of writing an arbitrary value corresponding to the output of the detection means as the delay amount. Is required, and the cost increases. In addition, if the run-up distance for start-up or fall-off during the movement of the print head carriage is short, if the output timing of the image data is changed, printing is performed in the run-up distance section and the image is degraded. There is a problem.

[0007] The present invention has been made to solve such a problem, and without accompanying a special cost increase.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a recording apparatus capable of improving the accuracy of a margin amount in a recording medium.

[0008]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, the present invention controls the starting position (home position) of the recording head according to the relative position of the recording medium with respect to the recording apparatus main body. . More specifically, in the present invention, the recording apparatus is configured as described in the following (1) to ( 3 ).

(1) The recording medium is scanned and based on image data.
A recording device using a recording head that performs recording in a scanning direction, comprising: a moving unit that mounts the recording head and moves in the scanning direction; and a moving unit that moves the recording medium relative to the recording apparatus body from a regular position in the scanning direction. Detecting means for detecting a shift amount; and detecting means for detecting a movement start position of the moving means.
And control means for controlling the position to be in accordance with the detected relative displacement amount , wherein the moving means is configured to control the movement start position.
After starting the movement from the position, the recording head
The timing for starting the recording operation on the recording medium
Note that the start position is the same regardless of the position.
Recording device. (2) The recording head performs recording by discharging ink.
The recording according to the above (1), which is an ink jet recording head.
apparatus. (3) The recording head is attached by a thermal energy converter.
Ink changes state due to thermal energy
The ink from the discharge port based on this change in state.
The recording apparatus according to the above (2), wherein

[0010]

[0011]

[0012]

[0013]

According to the constitutions (1) to ( 3 ), the detecting means in the scanning direction of the recording medium with respect to the recording apparatus main body .
The relative displacement amount from the regular position is detected, and the movement start position of the moving means is determined based on the detected output.
The position is controlled so as to correspond to the amount . Output timing of the printing data from the record head is the same irrespective of the change of the movement start position. In the configuration of the above ( 2 ), the recording head performs recording by discharging ink. In the configuration ( 3 ), the recording head ejects ink by a change in the state of the ink due to thermal energy.

[0014]

The present invention will be described in more detail with reference to the following examples.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a main part of a "printing apparatus" according to an embodiment, and FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a print head carriage. In FIG. 1, reference numeral 101 denotes FIG.
Is an optical reflection type sensor (hereinafter, referred to as an optical sensor) provided at the center of the print head carriage, and 102 is a transport direction of a recording medium (paper in this embodiment) based on an output of the optical sensor 101. And a detection circuit for detecting the length (width of the recording medium) in a direction perpendicular to the printing medium and the relative position of the recording medium with respect to the printing apparatus main body. 103
Numeral 104 denotes a carriage drive circuit for driving the print head carriage in a direction perpendicular to the direction in which the recording medium is conveyed. Numeral 104 denotes a position shift amount of the recording medium with respect to the printing apparatus main body based on the output of the detection circuit 102 And a CPU (central processing unit) that controls the carriage drive circuit 103 based on the calculation result. In FIG.
Reference numeral 201 denotes a print head carriage on which a print head 204 facing the recording medium is mounted, and moves in a direction perpendicular to the transport direction of the recording medium. That is, the print head carriage 201 is connected to the belt 203, and reciprocates in the arrow direction along the carriage guide 202 by driving the belt 202 by a motor (not shown). A print head 204 is a type of an ink jet system that heats the ink and ejects the ink by a change in the state of the ink, that is, the force of bubbles generated at that time. Also, the optical sensor 101 is
4, it is arranged at a position shown in the front of the moving direction (the direction of the arrow) during printing.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing the operation of the optical sensor 101. The light output from the light source 301 is reflected and the light receiving unit 30
2 is incident. At this time, the light receiving portion 3 is determined by the reflectance of the reflecting surface.
02 changes in the so-called light amount, and the output of the optical sensor 101 changes accordingly.

FIG. 4I illustrates a printer head carriage 201 after a recording medium is fed using a paper feeding mechanism (not shown).
FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an output of the optical sensor 101 when is moved from the home position in the direction of the arrow. Normally, the recording medium is white and has a high reflectance, whereas the platen is black and has a low reflectance. Therefore, as shown in the figure, only a certain area of the recording medium has a large output, that is, "H". Further, II in FIG. 4 indicates a printing range. The curve (a) of I in FIG. 4 is an output when the recording medium is at a normal position, whereas in actuality,
Curves such as (b) and (c) are also obtained, and the recording medium may be fed to such a shifted position.

The operation of the embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram of the detection circuit 102, and FIG. 6 is a timing chart thereof.

An analog output of the optical sensor 101 as shown by I in FIG. 4 is input to a detection circuit 102, and is first converted into 8-bit digital data by an A / D converter 401 and input to a comparator 402. The comparator 402 compares the threshold value with a preset threshold value.
Only outputs "H". The counters 403 and 404 detect the width of the recording medium and the displacement of the recording medium, respectively, and perform counting only when the enable terminal is at “H”. The enable terminal of the recording medium width detection counter 403 includes a comparator 4
02 is input as it is. The enable terminal of the recording medium position error detection counter 404 has a latch 4
05 is input. The latch 405 receives an output of the comparator 402 and a motor start signal indicating that a printhead carriage transport motor (not shown) has started. With this configuration, as shown in FIG. 6, the counter 403 counts only during the “H” period of the output of the comparator 402, and the counter 404 determines that the comparator 402 has “ Counting is performed only during the period until H ”, and each count value is read by the CPU 104.

The CPU 104 determines the paper size of the recording medium from the count value of the recording medium width detection counter 403, and if different from the preset paper size, gives priority to the determined paper size. And change the paper size setting. Further, the CPU 104 calculates from the count value of the recording medium positional deviation detection counter 404 how much the position of the supplied recording medium is deviated from the normal position.

Next, the operation of the print head carriage will be described. First, in order to detect the width of the recording medium and the relative position of the recording medium with respect to the printing apparatus main body,
The CPU 104 controls the carriage driving circuit 103 to move the print head carriage 201 from its home position a-HP in a direction perpendicular to the recording medium conveyance direction.
Is calculated on the basis of the count value obtained through the process, and how much the recording medium is relatively with respect to the printing apparatus main body is obtained.

As a result, if the recording medium is at the normal position as shown in FIG. 4A, the CPU 104 moves the print head carriage 201 in the opposite direction to the previous position, and returns the normal carriage home position a-HP The carriage driving circuit 103 is controlled so as to be moved to

If the recording medium is shifted toward the home position from the normal position as shown in FIG. 4B, the CPU 104 moves the print head carriage 201 to the normal carriage home position a-HP. The carriage driving circuit 103 is controlled to move the carriage home position further to the left by the shift amount B, that is, to move the carriage home position to b-HP. If the recording medium is shifted from the normal position to the side opposite to the home position as shown in FIG. 4C, the CPU 104 moves the print head carriage 201 to the normal carriage home position a-. The carriage driving circuit 103 is controlled to move the carriage home position to the right by a shift amount C from the HP, that is, to move the carriage home position to c-HP.

Thereafter, the CPU 104 causes the recording head 204 to move the home positions a-HP, b-HP,
The printing operation is performed only during the required range from c-HP (see II in FIG. 4, the output timing of the print data for each home position is the same), so that the left and right margin amounts of the recording medium are set to the set values. be able to.

Further, as described above, regardless of the relative position of the recording medium with respect to the printing apparatus main body, the output timing of the print data for each home position does not change. Therefore, printing is performed in the approach distance section to deteriorate the image. There is no inconvenience.

In the above embodiment, the printing method is the ink jet method, but the present invention is not limited to this, and can be implemented by a printing method such as a heat-sensitive method or a thermal transfer method.

Further, regarding the recording head to be mounted,
A monocolor head of only one color, for example, black, may be used, or a head having plural colors, for example, plural recording colors and plural densities may be used.

Further, the present invention is not limited to a recording apparatus in which the recording head is moved in one direction, but may be applied to, for example, a recording apparatus in which the recording head is moved in the X-Y directions.

(Technique of "ink-jet recording using change in ink state due to thermal energy" which can be used in the practice of the present invention) The present invention is particularly directed to the use of thermal energy to form flying droplets in an inkjet recording method. The present invention brings about an excellent effect in an ink jet type recording head and recording apparatus for forming and recording.

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 can be applied to both the so-called on-demand type and continuous type. In particular, in the case of the on-demand type, liquid (ink)
By applying at least one drive signal corresponding to the recorded information and providing a rapid temperature rise exceeding nucleate boiling to an electrothermal transducer arranged corresponding to the sheet or liquid path in which This is effective because it generates heat energy in the electrothermal transducer, causes film boiling on the heat-acting surface of the recording head, and consequently forms bubbles in the liquid (ink) one-to-one corresponding to this drive signal. It is. Due to the growth and contraction of this bubble, the liquid (ink)
To form at least one droplet. If this driving signal is made into a pulse shape, bubble growth and
Since the contraction is performed, 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 described above are adopted, more excellent recording can be performed.

As a configuration of the recording head, in addition to the combination configuration (a linear liquid flow path or a right-angle liquid flow path) of a discharge port, a liquid path, and an electrothermal converter as disclosed in each of the above specifications, A configuration using U.S. Pat. No. 4,558,333 and U.S. Pat. No. 4,459,600, which disclose a configuration in which the heat acting portion is arranged in a bent region, may be used.

In addition, JP-A-59-123670 discloses a configuration in which a common slit is used as a discharge portion of an electrothermal converter for a plurality of electrothermal converters, and absorbs pressure waves of thermal energy. A configuration based on JP-A-59-138461, which discloses a configuration in which an opening corresponds to a discharge unit, may be employed.

Further, as a full-line type recording head having a length corresponding to the width of the maximum recording medium that can be recorded by the recording apparatus, the length is determined by combining a plurality of recording heads as disclosed in the above specification. It may be either a configuration that satisfies the condition or a configuration as one integrally formed recording head.

In addition, the print head is exchangeable with a print head of a chip type, which can be electrically connected to the main body of the apparatus or supplied with ink from the main body of the apparatus, or is integrated with the print head itself. Alternatively, a cartridge type recording head provided with an ink tank may be used.

It is preferable to add recovery means for the printhead, preliminary auxiliary means, and the like provided as components of the printing apparatus of 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 suction means, a preheating means using an electrothermal transducer or another heating element or a combination of these, and a predischarge mode for performing discharge different from recording to the recording head Is also effective for performing stable recording.

Further, the recording mode of the recording apparatus is not limited to the recording mode of only the mainstream color such as black, and the recording head may be integrally formed or a combination of a plurality of recording heads. Alternatively, the apparatus may be provided with at least one of full colors by color mixture.

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 at room temperature, or which is liquid, In general, in the ink jet method, 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. What is necessary is just to be liquid.

In addition, the temperature rise due to heat energy is positively used as energy for changing the state of the ink from the solid state to the liquid state to prevent solidification, or the ink is left standing for the purpose of preventing the ink from evaporating. Either using ink that solidifies, or in any case, the ink is liquefied by application of heat energy according to the recording signal and ejected as a liquid ink, or ink that already starts solidifying when it reaches the recording medium The use of such an ink that liquefies for the first time by heat energy is also applicable to the present invention. In such a case, ink is disclosed in JP-A-54-56847.
JP-A No. 60-71260 or JP-A-60-71260, in a state in which the porous sheet is held as a liquid or solid substance in a concave portion or a through hole and faces the electrothermal converter. Is also good. In the present invention, the most effective one for each of the above-mentioned inks is to execute the above-mentioned film boiling method.

Further, as a form of the recording apparatus according to the present invention, in addition to those provided integrally or separately as image output terminals of information processing equipment such as a word processor and a computer, a copying apparatus combined with a reader and the like, May take the form of a facsimile machine having a transmission / reception function.

[0042]

As described above, according to the present invention,
The accuracy of the margin amount of the recording medium can be increased without increasing the cost, such as changing the output timing of the image data with respect to the operation of the print head carriage and increasing the mechanical accuracy.

Further, printing is not performed within the approach distance section of the carriage, and the image quality does not deteriorate accordingly.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a main part of an embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a print head carriage.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory view of an optical sensor.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a relationship among an output of an optical sensor, a home position, and a printing range.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram of a detection circuit.

FIG. 6 is a timing chart of a detection circuit.

[Explanation of symbols]

 101 optical sensor 104 CPU 201 printhead carriage 204 printhead

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continuation of the front page (56) References JP-A 1-310984 (JP, A) JP-A 3-268980 (JP, A) JP-A 5-24320 (JP, A) JP-A 4- 163180 (JP, A) JP-A-3-234574 (JP, A) JP-A-4-157479 (JP, A) JP-A-63-72576 (JP, A) (58) Fields investigated (Int. Cl. ⁷ , DB name) B41J 19/18 B41J 2/01 B41J 2/05 B41J 21/00

Claims (3)

(57) [Claims] 1. A recording apparatus using a scanning the recording medium recording head for based SL <br/> record the image data, a moving means for moving the scanning direction by mounting the recording head, wherein Detecting means for detecting a relative shift amount of the printing medium from the regular position in the scanning direction with respect to the printing apparatus main body; and detecting means for detecting a movement start position of the moving means.
Control means for controlling the position to be in accordance with the relative shift amount , wherein the moving means starts moving from the movement start position and
The recording head performs a recording operation on the recording medium based on the image data.
The start timing is determined by the position of the movement start position.
Recording apparatus, wherein the recording apparatus is the same regardless of whether it is a recording apparatus. 2. A recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said recording head is an ink jet recording head which performs recording by discharging ink. 3. The recording head according to claim 1, wherein a change in the state of the ink is caused by the heat energy urged by the heat energy converter, and the ink is ejected from an ejection port based on the change in the state. 3. The recording apparatus according to claim 2, wherein