JP3617336B2 - Inkjet recording device - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to an ink jet recording apparatus, and more particularly to an ink jet recording apparatus having an absorber that absorbs ink discharged from an ink jet recording head.
[0002]
[Prior art]
In an ink jet recording apparatus, in order to prevent clogging of the recording head and the like, a flushing operation for discharging ink from the nozzles of the recording head to a portion other than the recording paper when a predetermined time has elapsed after executing the printing process Has been done. As devices that perform such a flushing operation, devices that eject ink toward a capping device and devices that eject ink toward an ink absorber disposed below a recording head have been developed.
[0003]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
By the way, in the apparatus that performs the flushing operation for ejecting ink to the ink absorber as described above, the total amount of ejected ink may exceed the absorption capacity of the ink absorber when the apparatus is used for a long period of time. is there. When ink is ejected to an ink absorber that exceeds the absorption capacity, the ink overflows.
[0004]
In addition, in an ink jet recording apparatus that performs solid-state printing that fills the side edge of the recording paper without any gaps, it performs overhang printing that performs printing on an area outside the side edge of the recording paper, thereby The side edges are prevented from being smeared. When such an overprinting is performed, the ink ejected to the area outside the recording paper is absorbed by the ink absorber as described above. For this reason, as in the case of the apparatus that performs the flushing operation on the ink absorber described above, when ink is ejected beyond the absorption capacity of the ink absorber, the ink overflows.
[0005]
The present invention has been made in consideration of the above circumstances, and is an ink jet recording apparatus capable of preventing ink from overflowing from an absorber that absorbs unnecessary ink ejected from an ink jet recording head. The purpose is to provide.
[0006]
In order to solve the above problems, an ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 1 of the present invention includes an ink jet recording head having an ejection port for ejecting ink, and a predetermined transport path of the recording medium along a predetermined transport path. comprising conveying means for conveying in a direction, are arranged at a position opposed to the discharge port of the ink jet recording head across the predetermined transport path, an absorber for absorbing the ink discharged from the discharge port, the In the ink jet recording apparatus that performs solid coating printing including a margin to the outside on a side end portion in the width direction orthogonal to the conveyance direction of the recording medium conveyed by the conveying unit, the solid coating printing ingredients ink amount count means for counting the ink ejection amount of ink ejected to the absorber and extends outside from the side end portion of the recording medium And, the ink discharge amount, and the area ratio of the protruding margin to the width of the recording medium, is characterized by determining from the print image to be output and its color and density data.
[0007]
Further, the present invention provides the ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a notifying means for notifying when the ink amount counted by the ink amount counting means exceeds a preset value. It is characterized by having.
[0008]
According to the present invention, in the ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, when the ink amount counted by the ink amount counting means exceeds a preset value, the operation of the ink jet recording apparatus is performed. It is further characterized by further comprising a stopping means for stopping the operation.
[0011]
Further, according to the present invention, in the ink jet recording apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3 , the ink jet recording apparatus ejects ink toward the absorber regardless of contents to be printed during a printing process. The ink amount counting means further counts the ink amount ejected to the absorber based on the ink ejection amount ejected by the flushing operation by the ink jet recording head. It is said.
[0012]
Further, according to the present invention, in the ink jet recording apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 4 , the transport unit transports a tape-shaped recording medium along the predetermined transport path in the predetermined transport direction. It is characterized by that.
[0015]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
[0016]
A. Configuration of Embodiment First, FIG. 1 shows a schematic configuration of an ink jet recording apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. In the figure, reference numeral 1 denotes a roll-shaped tape (tape-shaped recording medium), and printing is performed on the tape 1 in this ink jet recording apparatus. As the tape 1, for example, a tape having a pressure-sensitive adhesive layer covered with a release paper on the back side is used, but a tape-like sheet having no pressure-sensitive adhesive layer and release paper may be used.
[0017]
On the left side of the tape 1 in the form of a roll, a conveying roller 2 and a pressing roller 3 are arranged to face each other, and the tape 1 can pass through the nip between them. A feed roller 5 and a pressure roller 10 are arranged on the left side of the transport roller 2 and the pressure roller 3 in the drawing, and the tape 1 can pass through the nip between the two. Under this configuration, the transport roller 2 and the feed roller 5 are rotated counterclockwise in the figure by a motor (not shown), whereby the tape 1 is pulled out in the transport direction indicated by the arrow in the figure along a predetermined transport path. . Therefore, in this embodiment, the conveyance roller 2, the pressure roller 3, the feed roller 5, and the pressure roller 10 constitute a conveyance unit.
[0018]
A carriage 4 is disposed on the downstream side in the transport direction of the transport roller 2 and the pressing roller 3. A recording head (inkjet recording head) 6 having a nozzle (ejection port) opening row for ejecting ink toward the tape 1 is attached to the surface of the carriage 4 that faces the conveyance path of the tape 1. In addition, an ink cartridge (not shown) is mounted on the carriage 4, and ink is supplied from the ink cartridge to the recording head 6, and is pressurized by a piezoelectric element, a heating element, or the like, and from a nozzle opening row of the recording head 6. Ink is ejected. As a result, printing, flushing, and the like are executed.
[0019]
Here, FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a structure around the printing mechanism of the ink jet recording apparatus. As shown in the figure, the carriage 4 is supported by a shaft 20 that extends along the width direction of the tape 1, which is a direction orthogonal to the transport direction of the tape 1. The carriage 4 is attached to a timing belt (not shown), and the timing belt moves when a motor (not shown) rotates. With the movement of the timing belt, the carriage 4 is movable along the axial direction of the shaft 20 indicated by an arrow X in the drawing.
[0020]
As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, an ink absorber 8 and a box containing the ink absorber 8 are disposed at a position facing the recording head 6 across the conveyance path of the tape 1, that is, below the recording head 6. An ink absorber case 7 is disposed. Here, FIG. 3 is a view taken along line III-III in FIG. As shown in the figure, a plurality (four in the drawing) of openings 30a, 30b, 30c, and 30d are formed on the surface of the ink absorber case 7 facing the recording head 6, that is, the upper surface. The absorber 8 is exposed upward. As a result, ink ejected from the nozzles of the recording head 6 disposed above the ink absorber case 7 can be absorbed.
[0021]
Further, the ink absorber case 7 has a rectangular parallelepiped shape in which the movable direction of the carriage 4 is a longitudinal direction, and is formed longer at both ends than the width of the tape 1 indicated by a one-dot chain line in the drawing. Here, the ink absorber 8 has substantially the same shape as the ink absorber case 7. In the case of performing printing (flushing discharge) or flushing, which will be described later, the ink ejected from the nozzles of the recording head 6 is the opening 30a formed outside the both ends of the tape 1 in the ink absorber case 7 or It will be absorbed by the ink absorber 8 through the opening 30d. Note that the tape width indicated by the one-dot chain line in the figure indicates the maximum width tape that can be used in the ink jet recording apparatus, and a tape having a smaller width can be used. For example, when a tape having a small width indicated by a two-dot chain line in the figure is used, the ink ejected from the nozzles of the recording head 6 passes through the opening 30b or the opening 30c when performing flushing or protruding printing. Thus, the ink is absorbed by the ink absorber 8.
[0022]
Returning to FIG. 1, a cutter 9 is disposed on the downstream side in the transport direction of the feed roller 5, and the printed tape 1 is cut by the cutter 9 and discharged to the outside of the apparatus.
[0023]
Next, a control system of the ink jet recording apparatus will be described with reference to FIG. As shown in the figure, the control system includes a control unit (ink amount counting unit, stop unit) 40, a tape width detection unit 41, a printer controller 42, and a display unit (notification unit) 43. . The control unit 40 includes a CPU, a ROM, a RAM, and the like, and controls each unit of the ink jet recording apparatus based on a control program stored in the ROM to perform a printing operation or an ink amount counting operation described later. Etc. are executed. The tape width detection unit 41 detects the width of the tape 1 used in the ink jet recording apparatus, and a known tape width detection mechanism such as an optical sensor or a mechanical sensor can be used. The printer controller 42 controls the recording head 6 according to a command from the control unit 40 based on the print data, and executes a printing operation and the like. A display unit 43 formed of a liquid crystal panel or the like displays a processing status of each part of the apparatus such as a printing processing status.
[0024]
B. Operation of the Embodiment Next, the operation of the ink jet recording apparatus having the above configuration will be described. This ink jet recording apparatus is characterized by the operation of counting the amount of ink ejected to the ink absorber 8 by periodic flushing operation or overprinting, so the ink amount counting operation will be described, but prior to this, The operation during the overprinting and the regular flushing operation will be described.
[0025]
B-1. Overflow Printing Operation and Regular Flushing Operation First, the overprinting operation will be described with reference to FIG. The overprinting operation is a direction in the width direction of the tape 1 when the left and right end portions in FIG. 5 that are perpendicular to the transport direction in the tape 1 (hereinafter referred to as the width direction) are applied without gaps. This is an operation of ejecting ink outside the end portion.
[0026]
For example, when the entire tape 1 is filled without a gap, the control unit 40 controls the carriage 4 and the recording head 6 so as to perform printing over the entire virtual tape width shown in FIG. In other words, ink is ejected even in an area that protrudes from the actual tape width by the amount of the left protrusion margin L (for example, 10 dots) and the right protrusion margin R (for example, 10 dots). As described above, the ink is discharged from the areas of the left protrusion margin L and the right protrusion margin R, so that no smearing occurs at the end in the width direction of the tape 1. In addition, when solid coating is performed only on the left end portion of the tape 1, the ink protrudes from the left protrusion margin L and ink is ejected, and no protrusion printing is performed on the right end side. When solid coating is performed only on the right end portion of the tape 1, the ink protrudes from the right protrusion margin R and ink is ejected.
[0027]
Periodic flushing operation means that printing is performed when a predetermined time (for example, 30 seconds) elapses after printing is performed in order to prevent clogging of unused nozzles during printing. This operation is interrupted and discharges ink from all nozzles. In the ink jet recording apparatus according to the present embodiment, the flushing operation is performed in a state where the carriage 4 is located at a position indicated by a solid line or a one-dot chain line in FIG. As shown in the figure, the regular flushing is performed outside the both ends of the tape 1 in the width direction (left-right direction in the figure) and within a range where the ink absorber 8 is disposed below. Ink is ejected from the nozzles of the recording head 6 toward the ink absorber 8.
[0028]
B-2. Ink Quantity Counting Operation Next, an operation for counting the amount of ink ejected to the ink absorber 8 will be described. In the ink jet recording apparatus according to the present embodiment, the ink absorber 8 is discharged from the factory or after the ink absorber 8 is replaced, that is, from the state where the ink is not absorbed by the ink absorber 8 according to the flowchart shown in FIG. The amount of ink used is counted.
[0029]
As shown in FIG. 7, immediately after shipment from the factory, as an initial setting, an ink amount counter B indicating the amount of ink ejected to the ink absorber 8 is set to 0 (step Sa1). Further, when the ink absorber 8 is replaced, the ink amount counter B is similarly reset to zero. Then, as described above, when a predetermined time elapses after executing the printing process, the regular flushing is performed. When the regular flushing is performed (step Sa2), α is added to the ink amount counter B (step Sa3). Here, α is the amount of ink ejected from the nozzles of the recording head 6 during regular flushing, and is a fixed value set in advance.
[0030]
When α is added to the ink amount counter B, it is determined whether or not the added ink amount counter B is equal to or larger than the absorbable capacity C (step Sa4). Here, the absorbable capacity C is a fixed value indicating the ink capacity that can be absorbed by the ink absorber 8, and is set in advance in the ink jet recording apparatus. The absorbable capacity may be set selectively or arbitrarily by the user depending on the material and size of the ink absorber 8 to be used.
[0031]
When it is determined in step Sa4 that the ink amount absorption counter B is greater than or equal to the absorbable capacity C, the control unit 40 stops the process being executed in the apparatus (step Sa5) and is ejected. The display unit 43 displays that the amount of ink, that is, waste ink has exceeded the absorption capacity of the ink absorber 8 (step Sa6), and prompts the user to replace the ink absorber 8 or the like.
[0032]
In the printing process, when the above-described printing is performed (step Sa7), the ink discharge amount β in the protruding margin area is added to the ink amount counter B (step Sa8). Here, β is an estimated value of the amount of ink ejected from the nozzles of the recording head 6 during the overprinting. In this embodiment, β is determined based on the print data to be output and the width of the tape 1 detected by the tape width detector 41. In this ink jet recording apparatus, as shown in FIG. 8, a left protrusion margin L, a right protrusion margin R, and a virtual tape width are set in advance for each tape width to be used. Calculated.
[0033]
β = (left protruding margin L + right protruding margin R) / virtual tape width * ink discharge amount at one pass Here, the ink discharge amount at one pass is the carriage 4 moved once in the width direction of the tape 1 This is the amount of ink ejected to the virtual tape width area at the time (at the time of one pass), and is a value determined based on the print data to be output. In the ink jet recording apparatus, the control unit 40 and the printer controller 42 determine the amount of ink ejected from the nozzles of the recording head 6 based on the print data. For example, as shown in FIG. 9, when printing is performed on the portion indicated by the broken line A in the case where printing such as “instruction manual” is performed in red on a black background color, Y (yellow) is printed in the areas B ₁ and B _2. , M (magenta), C (cyan), and Bk (black) ink, the Bk ink is ejected from the nozzle, and the Y and M inks are ejected at a predetermined ratio in the region Re. In this way, the printer controller 42 determines the amount of ink ejected during one pass based on the print data, and ejects ink according to the ink ejection amount of each color (Y, M, C, Bk) thus determined. Execute. In the above equation, the ink discharge amount in one protrusion is estimated by using the ink discharge amount during one pass determined for printing execution. That is, the amount of ink discharged during one pass is an amount determined by the color and density of an image printed during one pass, and in this embodiment, the ink during one pass determined by the color and density of the printed image. The ink discharge amount β in the protruding margin region is determined by the discharge amount.
[0034]
For example, when the tape width is 96 mm,
β = (10 + 10) / 1381 * 1 is the ink discharge amount at the time of pass. Note that when printing is performed only in the area on the left side of the tape 1, ink is not ejected in the area of the right protruding margin.
β = 10/1381 * This is the ink discharge amount during one pass.
[0035]
After adding β determined in this way, it is determined whether or not the added ink amount counter B is equal to or greater than the absorbable capacity C (step Sa9). Here, when it is determined that the capacity is greater than or equal to the absorbable capacity C, the control unit 40 stops the process being executed in the apparatus (step Sa5) and the amount of ejected ink, that is, waste ink. Is displayed on the display unit 43 (step Sa6), and the user is prompted to replace the ink absorber 8 or the like.
[0036]
In the ink jet recording apparatus according to this embodiment, the amount of ink estimated to be ejected to the ink absorber 8 is counted, the counted value is compared with the absorbable capacity of the ink absorber 8, and the absorption of the ink absorber 8 is compared. When ink is ejected exceeding the possible capacity, the process being executed such as the printing process is stopped and an error is displayed. Accordingly, it is possible to prevent waste ink from overflowing from the ink absorber 8.
[0037]
In addition, when the overprinting is performed, the ink discharge amount during one pass used for estimating the ink amount discharged to the ink absorber 8 is an ink jet recording apparatus that does not perform such a counting operation. The value used. Since the ink discharge amount in the protruding margin area is estimated using such values used conventionally, the β calculation process is simple.
[0038]
C. Modifications The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and the following various modifications are possible.
[0039]
(1) In the above-described embodiment, the ink discharge amount in the protrusion margin area when the overprinting is performed is calculated using the ink discharge amount in one pass. However, the following method is used. You may make it calculate the ink discharge amount in a protrusion margin area | region. In this method, when overprinting is performed, 10 dots which is a protrusion margin from all nozzles Y, M, C and Bk of the recording head 6, and 20 dots when overprinting is performed at both ends (see FIG. 8). It is assumed that a sufficient amount of ink is ejected, and the ejection amount in this case is the ejection amount β in the protruding margin area at the time of one pass. That is, β is a value determined by whether or not the overprinting has been performed on one side or both sides of the tape 1 regardless of the color or density of the image to be printed.
[0040]
Since the ink discharge amount estimated by such a method is the maximum discharge amount when the overprinting is performed, the ink discharge amount is not counted less than the actual ink discharge amount. Accordingly, it is possible to prevent waste ink from overflowing from the ink absorber 8. Further, since β is determined depending on whether the overprinting is performed on one side or both sides, the calculation process of β is further simplified.
[0041]
(2) In the above-described embodiment, the ink discharge amount β in the protrusion margin region is calculated from the ink discharge amount in one pass. However, the ink is discharged from the nozzles of the recording head 6 in the protrusion margin region. The ink amount to be calculated may be calculated based on the print data. For example, as shown in FIG. 10, when printing “instruction manual” in red on a black background color, the amount of ink ejected in the area of the heading margin L and the right protrusion margin R on the left, that is, Bk Let the amount of 20 dots of ink be β. If the background color is red, the amount corresponding to 20 dots of Y and C inks may be set to β.
[0042]
In this way, it is possible to more accurately estimate the amount of ink discharged during overprinting, and it is possible to prevent waste ink from overflowing from the ink absorber 8, and in fact, a sufficient absorption capacity remains. In spite of this, it is possible to reduce the occurrence of an error indicating that the absorption capacity of the ink absorber 8 has been exceeded.
[0043]
(3) In the above-described embodiment, the ink discharge amount by the regular flushing and the ink discharge amount of the overprinting character are counted. However, the regular flushing is capped in the non-printing area of the carriage 4. In an ink jet recording apparatus that is used for the apparatus, it is only necessary to count the amount of ink discharged by overprinting.
[0044]
(4) In the above-described embodiment, the case where the present invention is applied to a label printer that performs printing on a tape has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and printing is performed on cut sheets such as A4 and B5. It is also possible to apply to a type of ink jet recording apparatus.
[0045]
(5) The present invention can be applied to an ink jet recording apparatus using various known recording methods such as a pressure control method and a thermal control method.
[0046]
【The invention's effect】
As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to prevent ink from overflowing from the absorber that absorbs unnecessary ink ejected from the ink jet recording head.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a schematic configuration of an ink jet recording apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a view showing a peripheral structure of a printing mechanism in the ink jet recording apparatus.
FIG. 3 is a view taken along line III-III in FIG. 1;
FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a control system of the ink jet recording apparatus.
FIG. 5 is a diagram for explaining the contents of an overprinting operation by the ink jet recording apparatus.
FIG. 6 is a diagram for explaining the content of a regular flushing operation by the ink jet recording apparatus.
FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing a processing procedure of an ink amount counting operation by the ink jet recording apparatus.
FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating setting contents of a tape width, a virtual tape width, and a protruding margin width in the ink jet recording apparatus.
FIG. 9 is a diagram for explaining a method for calculating an ink discharge amount at the time of overprinting used in an ink amount counting operation by the ink jet recording apparatus.
FIG. 10 is a diagram for explaining a method for calculating an ink discharge amount at the time of overprinting used in an ink amount counting operation according to a modification of the ink jet recording apparatus.
[Explanation of symbols]
1 ... tape (tape recording medium),
2 ... Conveying roller (conveying means),
3 ... Pressing roller (conveying means),
4 Carriage,
5 ... Feed roller (conveying means),
6. Recording head (ink jet recording head)
7: Ink absorber case,
8: Ink absorber
10 ... Pressing roller,
40: Control unit (ink amount counting means, stopping means),
41 ... Tape width detector,
42 ... Printer controller,
43 ... Display section (notification means)

Claims (5)

An ink jet recording head having an ejection port for ejecting ink;
Conveying means for conveying the recording medium in a predetermined conveying direction along a predetermined conveying path;
An absorber that is disposed at a position facing the ejection port of the ink jet recording head across the predetermined conveyance path and absorbs ink ejected from the ejection port ;
In an ink jet recording apparatus that performs solid coating printing including a protruding margin on the outside at a side end portion in a width direction orthogonal to the transport direction in the recording medium transported by the transport unit,
Comprising ink amount counting means for counting the amount of ink discharged from the side edge of the recording medium to the outside by the solid printing and discharged to the absorber;
Wherein the ink discharge amount, the the area ratio of the protruding margin to the width of the recording medium, ink jet recording apparatus characterized by determining from the printed image and its color and density of data to be output. 2. The ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising notification means for notifying when the ink amount counted by the ink amount counting means exceeds a preset value. 3. The apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a stopping unit that stops the operation of the ink jet recording apparatus when the ink amount counted by the ink amount counting unit exceeds a preset value. Inkjet recording apparatus. The ink jet recording apparatus performs a flushing operation for discharging ink toward the absorber regardless of the content to be printed during the printing process,
2. The ink amount counting means further counts the amount of ink ejected to the absorber based on the amount of ink ejected by a flushing operation by the ink jet recording head. 4. An ink jet recording apparatus according to any one of 3 above. It said conveying means, an ink jet recording apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that for conveying in the predetermined conveying direction along a tape-shaped recording medium to the predetermined transporting path.

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