JP4389469B2 - Printing apparatus, printing method, computer program, and printing system - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a printing apparatus that prints a determination pattern used for determining whether or not ink is ejected from a plurality of ink discharge units, a determination method using the determination pattern, a computer program, and a printing system.
[0002]
[Prior art]
An ink jet printer as a printing apparatus having nozzles as a plurality of ink ejection units ejects ink droplets from nozzles arranged in a line along the sub-scanning direction to form dots on the print medium. Form an image. For this reason, for example, when some nozzles are clogged due to causes such as an increase in ink viscosity or mixing of bubbles and ink cannot be ejected, missing dots occur in the image, which causes deterioration in image quality.
[0003]
In order to determine the presence or absence of ejection of ink that causes missing dots, for example, a determination pattern is formed on a print medium so that one print block is formed for each nozzle, and each nozzle is based on this determination pattern. 2. Description of the Related Art A printing apparatus that determines the ink ejection state is known (see, for example, Patent Document 1). In such a printing apparatus, for example, a reflective sensor having a light emitting portion and a light receiving portion is provided on a carriage that is provided with nozzles and scans in the main scanning direction. This reflection type sensor irradiates the print medium on which the determination pattern is printed with the light from the light emitting unit, and determines the presence or absence of the print block by the output of the light receiving unit that receives the reflected light.
[0004]
The determination pattern used in this determination is printed by first ejecting ink from one nozzle arranged in a row while scanning a carriage provided with nozzles in the main scanning direction, They are sequentially formed with different positions in the scanning direction. When one carriage scan is completed, the print medium is conveyed by the dot pitch, and the dots formed by the first scan and the new nozzles formed by the same nozzle in the second scan of the carriage. Dots are formed so that the dots are adjacent in the sub-scanning direction. As described above, the determination pattern is printed by alternately repeating the operation of forming dots together with the scanning of the carriage and the operation of conveying the print medium.
[0005]
[Patent Document 1]
JP 2000-190587 A
[0006]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
However, when the determination pattern is printed by sequentially ejecting ink from all the nozzles in one scan of the carriage as described above, each print corresponding to each nozzle arranged in a row along the sub-scanning direction. The blocks are formed in a staircase pattern in which adjacent print blocks are shifted in the sub-scanning direction by the nozzle pitch. For this reason, when the number of nozzles provided in the printing apparatus increases as the image quality increases, the positions in the sub-scanning direction of the print patterns formed at both ends in the main scanning direction greatly differ. For this reason, a printing medium having a large size is required for printing the determination pattern, and if a plurality of ink colors are used, a larger printing medium is wasted.
[0007]
In addition, since the determination of the presence or absence of ink ejection is performed by a sensor provided in the carriage that scans in the main scanning direction, all printing blocks are scanned in order for the sensor to scan all the printing blocks with a single scan of the carriage. A band-like region in which blocks are connected in the main scanning direction is required. For this reason, in order to ensure the area | region where all the printing blocks are connected in strip | belt shape, the subject that the size of the subscanning direction in each printing block became large occurred.
[0008]
The present invention has been made in view of the above-described problems, and a printing apparatus that efficiently prints a determination pattern used for determination of ink ejection on a print medium, a determination method using the determination pattern, and a computer program And it aims at realizing a computer system.
[0009]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
The main invention is to eject ink from the ink ejection unit while scanning a plurality of ink ejection units arranged along the transport direction of the print medium in a main scanning direction intersecting the transport direction, and apply the ink to the print medium. A printing apparatus that prints a determination pattern for determining whether or not ink is ejected from each ink ejection unit by forming a printing block for each ink ejection unit, the main scanning direction in the transport direction So that the most downstream position and the most upstream position in the transport direction of the printing blocks arranged along the same line are the same. ,in front Printing the judgment pattern At the same time, the printing blocks arranged along the main scanning direction are each formed by ejecting ink from the ink ejection unit arranged continuously along the transport direction. This is a printing apparatus.
[0010]
Other features of the present invention will become apparent from the description of the present specification and the accompanying drawings.
[0011]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
At least the following will be made clear by the description of the present specification and the accompanying drawings.
Ink is ejected from the ink ejection unit while scanning a plurality of ink ejection units arranged along the conveyance direction of the print medium in a main scanning direction intersecting the conveyance direction, and the ink ejection unit is applied to the print medium. A printing apparatus for printing a determination pattern for determining whether or not ink is ejected from each ink ejection unit by forming a printing block on each of the ink ejection units, and arranged in the transport direction along the main scanning direction In the printing apparatus, the determination pattern is printed so that the most downstream position and the most upstream position of the printed blocks in the transport direction are the same.
[0012]
According to such a printing apparatus, since the determination pattern is printed so that the most downstream position and the most upstream position of each printing block are the same, all the printing blocks printed side by side in the main scanning direction are Printing is performed without steps in the transport direction. For this reason, it is possible to reduce the area of the print medium required for printing the determination pattern, as compared with the conventional print pattern in which the print blocks in the main scanning direction are arranged stepwise. Further, the widths of the printing blocks in the transport direction are equal and are arranged without any step. For this reason, for example, when the presence or absence of ink ejection is determined by scanning an optical sensor or the like in the main scanning direction, light is emitted almost evenly to each printing block simply by scanning the sensor in the main scanning direction. It is possible. Therefore, it is possible to efficiently print on the print medium without unnecessarily widening the width of each print block in the conveyance direction.
[0013]
In such a printing apparatus, one scan for forming dots of one printing block among the printing blocks arranged along the main scanning direction, and another printing block of the printing blocks. It is preferable that the print medium is transported between the dot of the one printing block and the one scan for forming the dot at the same position in the transport direction.
According to such a printing apparatus, since the printing paper is transported during each scan for forming dots at the same position in the transport direction between the print blocks arranged along the main scanning direction, It becomes possible to easily match the positions of the printing blocks in the transport direction.
[0014]
In the printing apparatus, it is preferable that the printing blocks arranged along the main scanning direction are respectively formed by ejecting ink from the ink ejection units arranged continuously along the transport direction. .
According to such a printing apparatus, each print block arranged along the main scanning direction is printed by the ink discharge unit arranged continuously along the transport direction. Since it can be formed, it is possible to print a determination pattern having a print block corresponding to all the ink ejection portions.
[0015]
In the printing apparatus, of the printing blocks arranged along the main scanning direction, the first printing block formed by first ejecting ink is the transport of the ink ejection units arranged in series. It is desirable to form by discharging ink from an ink discharge portion located on the most upstream side in the direction.
According to such a printing apparatus, among the ink discharge units arranged in series, the ink discharge unit that first faces the transported print medium discharges ink first. For this reason, it is possible to form a printing block by ejecting ink from the ink ejection unit located on the most upstream side without transporting the printing medium in the reverse direction.
[0016]
In such a printing apparatus, among the printing blocks arranged along the main scanning direction, the most upstream position of other printing blocks excluding the first printing block and the most upstream position of the first printing block are: It is desirable that the other print blocks start to be formed from the scan immediately after the print medium is conveyed so as to be the same in the conveyance direction.
According to such a printing apparatus, all the printing blocks arranged along the main scanning direction can be aligned and printed without conveying the printing medium in the reverse direction.
[0017]
In this printing apparatus, the determination pattern includes a plurality of printing block arrays in which the n printing blocks are arranged along the main scanning direction in the transport direction. The first ejection block for forming the printing block formed first is the first printing block formed in the second printing block array formed adjacent to the downstream side in the transport direction of the first printing block array. It is desirable that the ink discharge section is located nth upstream from the ink discharge section for forming the ink.
According to such a printing apparatus, each printing block array is formed by the ink ejection units provided in series, and each ink ejection unit that forms the printing block formed first in each printing block array has each printing block array. Since the number of printing blocks included in the printing block array is arranged, printing blocks corresponding to all the printing blocks can be reliably printed without transporting the printing medium in the reverse direction. .
[0018]
In such a printing apparatus, the determination pattern is used for determining whether or not to eject ink, which is performed based on reflected light of light emitted toward the print medium and irradiating an area including at least one of the print blocks. The determination pattern includes a determination block area composed of printing blocks each formed by the ink discharge sections, and an area surrounding the outer periphery of the determination block area. It is desirable to have an auxiliary block region composed of a printing block formed by any of them.
According to such a printing apparatus, one determination block corresponding to each ink discharge portion is formed in the determination block region, and when ink is discharged from all the ink discharge portions, the determination block Each print block in the area is surrounded by other print blocks. That is, the printing block in the determination block area is not arranged at the end of the determination pattern. For this reason, the conditions of the reflected light when the light is irradiated so as to include one printing block in the determination block area are substantially the same regardless of which printing block is irradiated with the light. For this reason, in the determination of the presence or absence of ink ejection, even when the printing block is printed or not printed, stable reflected light can be obtained depending on each case, so the determination is made more accurately. It becomes possible.
[0019]
In the printing apparatus, it is preferable that the plurality of printing block arrays formed in the transport direction are divided into an upstream block array group and a downstream block array group in the transport direction for printing.
According to such a printing apparatus, it is possible to easily and reliably print the printing blocks in the determination block area and the printing blocks printed on the upstream end side and the downstream end side of the area surrounding the outer periphery thereof. It becomes.
[0020]
In this printing apparatus, the downstream block array group is configured integrally with the plurality of ink discharge units and disposed on the downstream side in the transport direction, and has a light emitting unit for emitting the light. When printing is performed prior to the block array group and the upstream block array group is printed, it is desirable to determine whether or not ink is ejected from a predetermined ink ejection unit using the downstream block array group.
According to such a printing apparatus, when the upstream block array group is printed, the downstream block array group is used to determine the presence / absence of ink ejection in the ink ejection unit, thereby reducing the time required for ink ejection determination. It is possible.
[0021]
In such a printing apparatus, a plurality of the determination patterns are formed along the main scanning direction, and in the transport direction, the most downstream position in the transport direction of each print block arranged along the main scan direction, and It is desirable to print a plurality of the determination patterns so that the most upstream position is the same.
According to such a printing apparatus, even when a plurality of determination patterns are printed, it is possible to reduce a print area required for printing the plurality of print patterns, and prevent waste of the print medium. It is possible.
[0022]
In addition, ink is ejected from the ink ejection unit while scanning a plurality of ink ejection units arranged along the conveyance direction of the print medium in a main scanning direction intersecting the conveyance direction, and the ink ejection is performed on the print medium. A printing apparatus that prints a determination pattern for determining whether or not ink is ejected from each ink ejection unit by forming a printing block for each unit, and is configured to follow the main scanning direction in the transport direction. In order to form dots of predetermined printing blocks arranged along the main scanning direction so that the most downstream position and the most upstream position in the transport direction of the printing blocks arranged in the same manner are the same In order to form the ink ejection operation to be ejected and the dots of the other printing block at the same position in the transport direction as the dots of the predetermined printing block. The plurality of ink ejecting units are arranged such that the printing blocks in which the printing medium is transported and arranged along the main scanning direction are arranged along the transporting direction during the ink ejecting operation of ejecting the ink. The first printing block formed by ejecting ink first among the printing blocks that are respectively formed by being ejected from the ink and arranged along the main scanning direction is the ink ejection unit that is arranged in a row. Among these, the ink is formed by ejecting ink from an ink ejection portion located on the most upstream side in the transport direction, and the most upstream position of the other print blocks excluding the first print block, and the most upstream of the first print block. From the scanning immediately after transporting the print medium, the other print block starts to be formed so that the upstream position is the same in the transport direction, and the determination pattern A plurality of printing block arrays in which the n printing blocks are arranged along the main scanning direction are formed in the transport direction to form the printing block that is formed first in the first printing block array. An ink ejection unit for forming a printing block formed first in a second printing block array formed adjacent to the downstream side in the transport direction of the first printing block array; An n-th ink discharge section located upstream in the transport direction, configured integrally with the plurality of ink discharge sections and disposed on the downstream side in the transport direction, for emitting light toward the print medium For determining whether or not to discharge the ink, which is performed based on reflected light that irradiates an area including at least one of the printing blocks. The determination pattern is used, and the ink discharge unit that forms the printing block in the regions on both ends of the main scanning direction and the transport direction in the determination pattern includes the region on both ends and the region between them. The plurality of printing block arrays formed in the transport direction are divided into an upstream block array group and a downstream block array group in the transport direction, and are printed on the downstream side. The block array group is printed before the upstream block array group. When printing the upstream block array group, the downstream block array group is used to determine whether or not ink is ejected from a predetermined ink ejection unit. A plurality of the determination patterns are formed along the main scanning direction, and are arranged along the main scanning direction in the transport direction. The most downstream position in the transport direction of the printing block, and a printing apparatus characterized by printing a plurality of said judgment pattern as the most upstream position is also.
[0023]
According to such a printing apparatus, it is possible to efficiently arrange and print the print blocks corresponding to the respective ink ejection units on the print medium without missing one. Moreover, it is possible to determine more accurately using an optical sensor.
[0024]
In addition, ink is ejected from the ink ejection unit while scanning a plurality of ink ejection units arranged along the conveyance direction of the print medium in a main scanning direction intersecting the conveyance direction, and the ink ejection is performed on the print medium. A printing method for printing a determination pattern for determining whether ink is ejected from each ink ejection unit by forming a printing block for each unit, and in the transport direction, along the main scanning direction It is also possible to realize a printing method in which the determination pattern is printed so that the most downstream position and the most upstream position of the printing blocks arranged in the transport direction are the same.
[0025]
In addition, ink is ejected from the ink ejection unit while scanning a plurality of ink ejection units arranged along the conveyance direction of the print medium in a main scanning direction intersecting the conveyance direction, and the ink ejection is performed on the print medium. By forming a printing block for each part, the printing apparatus that prints a determination pattern for determining whether or not ink is ejected from each ink ejection part is arranged along the main scanning direction in the transport direction. It is also possible to realize a computer program that causes the determination pattern to be printed so that the most downstream position and the most upstream position of each printed block in the transport direction are the same.
[0026]
In addition, ink is ejected from the ink ejecting section while scanning a computer and a plurality of ink ejecting sections connected to the computer and arranged in the transport direction of the print medium in a main scanning direction intersecting the transport direction. A printing apparatus that prints a determination pattern for determining whether or not ink is ejected from each ink ejection unit by forming a printing block for each ink ejection unit on the print medium. In the system, in the transport direction, the determination pattern is printed so that the most downstream position and the most upstream position in the transport direction of the print blocks arranged along the main scanning direction are the same. A printing system can also be realized.
[0027]
=== Configuration of Printer ===
(1) Overall configuration
FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view showing a main configuration of a color inkjet printer (hereinafter referred to as “printer”) 20 as a printing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. The printer 20 is driven by a paper stacker 22, a conveyance roller 24 that is driven by a motor (not shown) and conveys printing paper P as a printing medium, a platen plate 26, a carriage 28, a carriage motor 30, and a carriage motor 30. The traction belt 32 and a guide rail 34 for guiding the carriage 28 are provided. Further, the carriage 28 has a print head 36 having a large number of nozzles as an ink discharge section arranged along the transport direction (hereinafter also referred to as sub-scanning direction) of the print paper P, and determines whether ink is discharged or not. The determination means 41 to perform and a linear encoder 29 for reading the code plate 33 are mounted. Further, a rotary encoder 25 is provided on the shaft of the transport roller 24, and the transport amount of the printing paper P is controlled based on the output of the rotary encoder 25. For this reason, the position of the carriage 28 in a direction substantially orthogonal to the conveyance direction of the printing paper (hereinafter also referred to as the main scanning direction) is detected by the linear encoder 29, and the position of the printing paper P is detected by the rotary encoder 25. It is possible. That is, the printer 20 is configured to accurately recognize the relative position between the carriage 28 and the printing paper P based on the output signals of the encoders 25 and 29.
[0028]
The printing paper P is fed from a paper stacker 22 by a paper feeding roller (not shown), conveyed by a conveying roller 24, and sent on the surface of the platen plate 26 in the sub scanning direction SS. The carriage 28 is pulled by a pulling belt 32 driven by a carriage motor 30 and moves in the main scanning direction MS along the guide rail 34. The main scanning direction MS and the sub-scanning direction SS are almost orthogonal.
[0029]
FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an arrangement of the nozzles and the determination unit 41 when the print head 36 is viewed from above. The print head 36 includes a light black ink nozzle row KL for discharging light black ink, a light magenta ink nozzle row ML for discharging light magenta ink, and a light cyan ink nozzle for discharging light cyan ink. A line CL, a photo black ink nozzle line KP for discharging black ink mainly used for printing natural images, a dark black ink nozzle line KD for discharging dark black ink, and a dark cyan ink are discharged. There are provided a dark cyan ink nozzle row CD for discharging, a dark magenta ink nozzle row MD for discharging dark magenta ink, and a yellow ink nozzle row YD for discharging yellow ink. In this example, the first nozzle # 1 is arranged on the downstream side in the conveyance direction of the printing paper P.
[0030]
The determination means 41 mounted on the carriage 28 is arranged on the downstream side in the transport direction from the first nozzle # 1 of the yellow ink nozzle row YD located on the most anti-home position side of the print head 36 and on the anti-home position side. . In this example, for example, it is provided at a position of 8.58 mm downstream of the first nozzle in the transport direction and 51.75 mm on the non-home position side.
[0031]
A cleaning mechanism 200 is provided below the print head 36 mounted on the carriage 28 outside the print region in the movement range of the carriage 28 that moves along the guide rail 34. In FIG. 1, the cleaning mechanism 200 shows only the head cap 210, and other configurations are omitted.
[0032]
The head cap 210 is a confidential cap, and covers the print head 36 when printing is not performed to prevent the ink in the nozzles from drying. For this reason, the head cap 210 is provided at a standby position of the carriage 28, a so-called home position side. Further, even when the nozzle is clogged, the print head 36 is covered with the head cap 210 and ink is sucked from the nozzle to perform cleaning. The determination means 41 for determining whether ink is ejected will be described in detail later.
[0033]
FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing an electrical configuration of the printer 20. The printer 20 includes a reception buffer memory 50 that receives a signal supplied from the host computer 100, an image buffer 52 that stores print data, a system controller 54 that controls the overall operation of the printer 20, and a main memory 56. I have.
[0034]
The system controller 54 includes a main scanning driver 61 that drives the carriage motor 30, a sub-scanning driver 62 that drives the conveyance motor 31, a determination unit driver 63 that drives the ink droplet discharge determination unit 41, and a print head 36. The head driver 66 is connected.
[0035]
A printer driver (not shown) of the host computer 100 determines various parameter values that define the printing operation based on the printing mode (high-speed printing mode, high-quality printing mode, etc.) designated by the user. The printer driver further generates print data for printing based on these parameter values, and transfers the print data to the printer 20. The transferred print data is temporarily stored in the reception buffer memory 50. In the printer 20, the system controller 54 reads necessary information from the print data stored in the reception buffer memory 50, and sends a control signal to each driver based on the read information.
[0036]
The image buffer 52 stores print data of a plurality of color components obtained by separating the print data received by the reception buffer memory 50 for each color component. The head driver 66 reads the print data of each color component from the image buffer 52 in accordance with a control signal from the system controller 54 and drives the nozzle row of each color provided in the print head 36 in accordance with this. The system controller 54 controls each part of the printer 20.
The print data transferred from the host computer 100 may be separated for each color component by the host computer 100.
[0037]
(2) Configuration of determination means
FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a mechanism of operation of the determination unit 41 in the embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 4A is a diagram illustrating an example in which a light emitting unit is provided at a position perpendicular to a print sheet as a print medium. FIG. 4B is a diagram illustrating an example in which the light emitting unit is provided at a position where light is emitted obliquely with respect to the printing paper surface.
[0038]
The determination means 41 for determining whether or not ink is ejected from the nozzle includes, for example, a light emitting unit 41a and a light receiving unit 41b as shown in FIG. In the present embodiment, the light receiving unit 41b is an example in which one light receiving unit for mainly receiving the diffuse reflection component of the reflected light is provided. However, in addition to this, the regular reflection component of the reflected light is mainly provided. It is good also as a structure which provided another light-receiving part for light-receiving.
[0039]
The light emitting unit 41a is a light projecting unit that emits light toward a printing sheet as a printing medium. That is, at the time of ink discharge determination, light is emitted toward a region of a print medium on which a determination pattern having a print block formed corresponding to each nozzle with ink discharged from the nozzle is to be printed. Will be. In the present embodiment, the spot 10 is formed so that one printing block BL of the determination pattern is included in an area (hereinafter referred to as a spot) irradiated with printing paper by the light emitted from the light emitting unit 41a. Is set. Details of the determination pattern will be described later.
[0040]
The light emitter may be a light emitting diode, a laser diode, an incandescent bulb, or the like. The color of the illuminant is preferably a color that is complementary to the color of the determination target print image such as a determination pattern. For example, a red light emitter is used to detect a cyan print image, a green light emitter is used to detect a magenta print image, and a blue light emitter is used to detect a yellow print image. Good. If the color of the illuminant and the color of the printed image have a complementary relationship, the level of the output signal can be significantly increased as compared to the case where the color is not so.
Therefore, in order to obtain a stable output for a printed image of any color, it is preferable to use a white light emitter as much as possible.
[0041]
The light emitting unit 41a is controlled by the system controller 54 so that the light emission amount can be adjusted as necessary.
The light receiving unit 41b is a photoelectric conversion means for receiving the reflected light reflected from the determination pattern. As the light receiving element, a photodiode, a phototransistor, or the like is preferable. Preferably, a light receiving element having good sensitivity characteristics with respect to visible light is preferable.
[0042]
It is desirable that the position of the light receiving portion 41b for mainly receiving the diffuse reflection component is not in the position of regular reflection with respect to the light emitting portion 41a as shown in FIG. 4, and the light emitting portion 41a with respect to the paper surface as shown in FIG. 4A. The light receiving unit 41b may be mounted obliquely with respect to the paper surface, and the light emitting unit 41a may be mounted obliquely with respect to the paper surface, and the light receiving unit 41b may be mounted perpendicular to the paper surface as shown in FIG. 4B. . In particular, in a print medium having a coating layer on the surface, such as a glossy print medium, most of the incident light is regularly reflected by the coating layer on the surface, but the positions of regular reflection between the light emitting part 41a and the light receiving part 41b are reflected. If it is not attached, the color of the printing block under the coating layer can be reliably determined.
[0043]
And the light emitted from the light emission part 41a is reflected in the printing medium with which the printing block was printed, and the diffuse reflection component of the reflected light reaches the light-receiving part 41b. The light receiving unit 41b outputs an output signal corresponding to the amount of received light.
If this output signal is smaller than a preset threshold value, it is determined that the ink has been normally ejected from the nozzle that should form the print block irradiated with the light emitted from the light emitting section 41a, and the output signal is output. When it is larger than the threshold value, it is determined that ink is not ejected from the nozzle.
[0044]
=== Description of Determination Pattern Used for Ink Drop Discharge Determination ===
Prior to the ink droplet ejection determination, a determination pattern is printed.
FIG. 5 is an overall conceptual diagram of a determination pattern group 70 used for determining whether ink is ejected, FIG. 6 is a conceptual diagram of one determination pattern 71 constituting the determination pattern group 70, and FIG. 7 is a certain ink color (for example, , Black) is a diagram for explaining nozzles for printing each part of the printing block BL in the determination pattern formed by black.
[0045]
The determination pattern 71 includes a plurality of printing blocks BL each formed by ink ejected from each nozzle, and one printing block BL is formed by a plurality of ink dots. One printing block BL is used for determining one nozzle. Further, the determination pattern 71 is formed by a nozzle row that ejects ink of each color. That is, when determining the ink ejection state of all the nozzles, the determination patterns 71 for the number of colors of ink ejected from the nozzles of the print head 36 are formed. In this embodiment, eight determination patterns are mainly used. The determination pattern group 70 arranged in the scanning direction is printed.
The determination pattern group 70 is disposed adjacent to the main scanning direction so that the most upstream position and the most downstream position in the transport direction of the determination pattern 71 formed by each color ink are coincident with each other. ing.
[0046]
The determination pattern 71 is formed as a target of ink droplet discharge determination and is formed adjacent to the outer periphery of the determination target pattern 72 in order to improve the determination accuracy and the determination target pattern 72 formed in the determination block region. It consists of an auxiliary block area 73 made up of printing blocks. More specifically, as described above, one printing block BL is set to be included in the spot 10 irradiated by the light emitted from the light emitting unit 41a. Therefore, the spot 10 includes one print block BL to be determined and its surrounding area. For this reason, the specific print block BL to be determined is surrounded by other print blocks BL, and for example, is located at the end or corner of the determination pattern 71, etc. In the case of not being surrounded by the printing block BL, the amount of reflected light is different, and erroneous detection is likely to occur. In order to prevent such erroneous detection, an auxiliary block region 73 formed by any one of the nozzles is arranged so that all the print blocks BL to be determined are surrounded by other print blocks BL. Is provided. FIG. 7 shows a determination pattern formed by a nozzle row having 180 nozzles.
[0047]
In the determination target pattern 72 of the determination pattern 71, nine printing blocks BL arranged in the main scanning direction are formed in 20 stages in the sub scanning direction. The determination pattern 71 is arranged adjacent to the main scanning direction so that the most upstream position and the most downstream position of the printing blocks BL arranged in the main scanning direction coincide with each other. The auxiliary block area 73 is an outer peripheral portion of the determination target pattern 72, that is, a printing block having two rows on each side along the sub-scanning direction on both sides in the main scanning direction and on the most upstream side and the most downstream side in the transport direction. It is composed of BL. The printing block BL in the auxiliary block region 73 is printed by several nozzles that form the printing block BL constituting the determination target pattern 72.
[0048]
The determination pattern group 70 composed of the eight determination patterns 71 ejects ink from nozzles arranged at the same position in the sub-scanning direction of each nozzle row in each scan of the carriage 28. The determination pattern 71 is formed. In other words, the eight determination patterns 71 are printed by the same method on the same portions of the determination print patterns 71 arranged in the main scanning direction by each scan of the carriage 28. For this reason, the printing method of the printing pattern 71 for 1 determination is demonstrated here.
[0049]
In order to print the auxiliary block area 73, the determination pattern 71 is printed in, for example, a half area in the sub-scanning direction. In this example, the nozzle row has 180 nozzles, and nine printing blocks BL are formed in the main scanning direction, so that the determination target pattern 72 has 20 stages of printing blocks BL in the sub scanning direction. In other words, the determination pattern 71 including the auxiliary block 73 is provided with 24 printing block arrays 74 each including 11 printing blocks BL in the main scanning direction in the transport direction.
[0050]
The determination pattern 71 includes a downstream block array group 71a composed of a 12-stage block array 74 that occupies a half on the downstream side in the transport direction and an upstream side composed of a 12-stage block array 74 that occupies a half on the upstream side in the transport direction. Printing is divided into block array groups 71b. The nozzles for printing the downstream block array group 71a are 108 nozzles (12 stages × 9 blocks) located on the upstream side in the transport direction among the nozzles of the nozzle row.
[0051]
The first-stage printing block array 74a located on the most downstream side in the transport direction of the downstream block array group 71a is printed by the 81st nozzle # 81 to the 73rd nozzle # 73 which are arranged in series. The printing block array 74b at the stage is printed by the 90th nozzle # 90 to the 82nd nozzle # 82 arranged in series, and the nozzles are used in the same manner, and the printing block array 74c at the 12th stage is continuous. The nozzles # 180 to # 172 are printed by the # 180 nozzle # 172.
[0052]
Here, for convenience of explanation, a printing operation for printing the first-stage printing block array 74a will be described first. All nozzles are in a state where ink can be ejected.
FIG. 8 is a diagram for explaining a state in which the first-stage printing block array 74a is printed. FIG. 8 shows dot rows or lines formed by a single scan of the carriage 28, and the numbers on the left side indicate nozzle numbers.
[0053]
First, until the position on the most downstream side of the print region for printing the determination print pattern 71 reaches the position facing the 81st nozzle that starts printing first in the print block array 74 located on the most downstream side, Transport printing paper. After that, as shown in FIG. 8, the first scan of the carriage 28 is executed, and ink is ejected from the 81st nozzle at the position where the carriage 28 reaches a predetermined position. A dot row or line is formed at the most downstream position. When the first scan of the carriage 28 is completed, the printing paper is transported by half the nozzle pitch, and ink is ejected from the 81st nozzle in the second scan of the carriage 28 to form a dot row formed in the first scan. Alternatively, a new dot row or line is formed adjacent to the line in the sub-scanning direction.
[0054]
When the second scan of the carriage 28 is completed, the printing paper is conveyed by half the nozzle pitch. At this time, the printing paper is conveyed so that the dot row or line formed by the # 80 nozzle # 80 is the same as the position in the conveyance direction of the most downstream dot already formed by the # 81 nozzle # 81. Ink is ejected from the 81st and 80th nozzles in the third scan of the carriage 28. At this time, a new dot row or line is formed adjacent to the dot row or line formed in the second scan by the ink ejected from the 81st nozzle in the sub-scanning direction. Further, with the ink ejected from the 80th nozzle, a dot row or a line is formed at a position on the most downstream side of the region # 80 shown in FIG. Then, the printing paper is transported by half the nozzle pitch, the ink is ejected from the 81st nozzle and the 80th nozzle by the fourth scan of the carriage 28, and the dot row or line formed by the third scan and the sub-line. A new dot row or line is formed adjacent to the scanning direction. In this way, the carriage scanning and the printing paper conveyance are executed to form two dot rows or lines, and the number of nozzles that eject ink is increased one by one from the upstream side in the conveyance direction every two scans. By doing so, it is possible to perform printing by matching the positions of the most downstream sides of the respective print blocks arranged in the sub-scanning direction.
[0055]
Then, in the 18th scan, all dots are formed in the area of # 81 in FIG. For this reason, in the 19th scan, the ejection of ink from the 81st nozzle is stopped. Thereafter, the ejection of ink is stopped one by one from the nozzle located upstream in the transport direction every two scans. Then, all the print blocks BL constituting the print block array 74 are formed by the 34th scan. By printing in this way, it is possible to print the print blocks arranged in the sub-scanning direction at the same position on the most upstream side.
[0056]
In the above description, the printing operation for printing the first-stage printing block array 74a located on the most downstream side has been described. However, the printing block array 74 in each stage is similar to the printing block array 74a in the first stage. And it is printed at the same time. That is, it is divided for each nozzle forming the printing block array 74 of each stage to form a sub nozzle row composed of a plurality of continuous nozzles, and at the same timing for each nozzle arranged at the same position in the sub scanning direction in each sub nozzle row. And control to eject ink. At this time, the nine nozzles constituting each sub-nozzle row are controlled so as to start ejecting ink sequentially from the nozzle located on the most upstream side among the nine nozzles. That is, in the printing block array 74 adjacent in the sub-scanning direction, the nozzle that forms the first printing block formed first in the upstream printing block array is formed first in the downstream printing block array. That is, it is located at the ninth position from the nozzle forming the first print block. When each nozzle is controlled in this way, for example, the 81st nozzle, the 90th nozzle, the 99th nozzle, the 108th nozzle, the 117th nozzle, the 126th nozzle, the 135th nozzle, the 144th nozzle, the 153th nozzle, the 162th nozzle , No. 171 nozzle and No. 180 nozzle are ejected at the same timing, and corresponding to the printing block array 74 of each stage, 12 dot rows or lines are formed at appropriate intervals in the sub-scanning direction. . By downstream scanning of the carriage 28, the downstream half block array group 71a on the downstream side is printed.
[0057]
The first-stage printing block array 74d located on the most downstream side of the upstream block array group 71b is printed by the ninth nozzle # 9 to the first nozzle # 1, and the second-stage printing block array 74e is 18th. No. # 18 to No. 10 nozzle # 10, and the 12th stage printing block array 74f is printed by No. 108 nozzle # 108 to No. 100 nozzle # 100.
[0058]
When the downstream block array group 71a is printed, the printing paper is conveyed to a position where the upstream block array group 71b is printed. At this time, among the printing block array 74d located on the most downstream side, the dots formed by the ink ejected from the 9th nozzle that starts printing first are the 12th printing blocks in the downstream block array group 71a. In the array 74c, the printing paper is conveyed to a position formed at a position adjacent to the dot row or line located on the most upstream side in the sub-scanning direction. The subsequent operation of printing the upstream block array group 71b is the same as the operation of printing the downstream block array group 71a.
[0059]
In addition, the dots forming each printing block are formed at an equal pitch even between the printing blocks adjacent to each other, and no blank portion is provided between the printing blocks.
[0060]
In the present embodiment, the determination pattern 71 is shown as an example in which the printing block array 74 having 11 printing blocks in the main scanning direction is formed in 24 stages in the sub scanning direction. And the number of stages of the printing block array 74 are not limited thereto, and may be set as appropriate according to the number of nozzles, the size of the printing block, and the size of the printing medium.
[0061]
In the present embodiment, an example in which the determination pattern 71 is divided and printed in half in the conveyance direction of the printing paper has been shown. First, after printing a 20-stage printing block array using all the nozzles, On the upstream side, a four-stage printing block array may be printed using four nozzles located on the downstream side of the nozzles in the nozzle row, that is, 36 nozzles. Further, the arrangement of the print blocks constituting each print block array in the main scanning direction is not limited to this.
[0062]
=== Ink Droplet Ejection Determination Method ===
In the determination, the determination unit 41 attached to the carriage 28 (FIG. 1) and the printing paper P are relatively moved, and the determination unit 41 scans the print block BL. At this time, the projection light La (FIG. 4) from the light emitting unit 41a of the determination unit 41 is applied to the printing block, the reflected light Lb from the printing block is received by the light receiving unit 41b, and the electrical signal output from the light receiving unit 41b is predetermined. The presence or absence of ink ejection is determined by comparing with the threshold value.
[0063]
Since the determination means 41 is arranged downstream of all the nozzles of the print head 36, the predetermined print block BL is moved by the carriage 28 when printing a part of the upstream block array group 74b. At the same time, the presence or absence of ink ejection is determined.
[0064]
FIG. 9 is a diagram showing an example of the size of the print block BL constituting the determination pattern 71 used in the present embodiment, and FIG. 10 shows the determination means 41 and the downstream side when the half determination pattern 71b on the upstream side is printed. It is a figure for demonstrating a relative position with the pattern 71a for a half of.
[0065]
As shown in FIG. 9, the resolution of this print block is 360 dpi in both the main scanning direction and the sub-scanning direction, and the size is 28 dots (28/360 inches) in the main scanning direction and 18 dots (18/360 inches) in the sub-scanning direction. It is printed with. Therefore, in the case of this embodiment in which the yellow ink nozzle row YD and the determination means 41 have the above-described positional relationship, when the upstream block array group 71b is printed as shown in FIG. The determination means 41 scans the printing block array 74 in the fifth and sixth rows in 71a. For this reason, after printing the downstream block array group 71a, the determination block 41 scans the first to fourth printing block arrays 74 in the downstream block array group 71a to determine whether or not ink is ejected. Thereafter, when the upstream block array group 71b is printed, the determination block 41 scans the fifth and sixth printing block arrays 74 in the downstream block array group 71a to determine whether ink is ejected. Then, after printing the upstream block array group 71b, the seventh and subsequent printing block arrays 74 in the downstream block array group 71a and the upstream determination pattern 71b are scanned to determine whether ink is ejected or not. judge.
[0066]
And it is set so that one printing block BL may fit in the spot 10 (refer FIG. 7). For example, when there is a nozzle to which no ink droplets are ejected, the print block BL corresponding to the nozzle is not formed on the print medium and is blank. When the printing block BL included in the spot 10 area is blank, the amount of the reflected light Lb received by the light receiving unit 41b of the determination unit 41 increases and the output signal level increases. Therefore, the output signal when the nozzle that should form the print block BL included in the area of the spot 10 does not eject ink is VL as shown in FIG. At this time, the output when a part of the blank printing block is included is larger than the output signal level V0 when the spot 10 does not include the blank printing block, and the signal level is Vp. For this reason, as shown in FIG. 11, by setting a threshold value Vs between Vp and VL, it is possible to accurately determine whether or not ink is ejected from the nozzles corresponding to the print blocks that are completely included in the spot 10. Is possible.
[0067]
The determination unit 54 a of the system controller 54 (FIG. 3) compares the output signal level from the determination unit 41 with the threshold value Vs stored in advance in the main memory 56 in order to determine whether ink is ejected. When the output signal level is lower than Vs, it is determined that the print block included in the spot 10 is formed, and ink is ejected from the nozzle that should form this print block. On the other hand, when the output signal level is higher than Vs, it is determined that the print block included in the spot 10 is not printed and ink is not ejected from the nozzle that should form this print block.
[0068]
That is, the printer 20 has a configuration in which one printing block is included in an area to which printing paper is irradiated by light emitted from the light emitting unit 41 a, and the carriage 28 is connected with the output of the linear encoder 29 and the output of the rotary encoder 25. The relative position with respect to the printing paper can be recognized, and the arrangement of the determination means 41 provided on the downstream side in the transport direction with respect to all the nozzles and each nozzle is accurately adjusted. For this reason, when the carriage 28 is scanned to determine whether or not ink is ejected, and the nozzle that does not eject ink is detected by the determination means 41, it is based on the outputs of the linear encoder 29 and the rotary encoder 25. It is possible to identify nozzles that have not ejected ink. Then, only the specified nozzles that are not ejecting ink are restored to a good state by performing flushing or the like, or the dots that should be formed by the nozzles that are not ejecting ink are used by using other nozzles. It is also possible to form and print.
[0069]
=== Setting of threshold value for each color ===
In FIG. 12, the threshold value Vs is adjusted according to the color of the print block to be determined. In the example of FIG. 12, the threshold value Vs (Bk) for determining the black print block is set to be smaller than the threshold value Vs (Y) for determining the yellow print block. This is because there is a possibility of erroneous determination as described below at the time of determination. If the threshold value Vs (Bk) at the time of black print block determination is set to the same value as the threshold value Vs (Y) at the time of yellow print block determination, the non-ejecting nozzle will be detected at the time of black print block determination. Since the output signal level V1 (Bk) when one exists is smaller than the threshold value Vs (Y) at the time of determining the yellow printing block, it is assumed that the ejection state is normal with respect to the black ink nozzle in the non-ejection state. Misjudgment. Further, when the threshold value Vs (Y) at the time of determining the yellow print block is set to the same value as the threshold value Vs (Bk) at the time of determining the black print block, the non-ejecting nozzles are determined at the time of determining the yellow print block. Since the output signal level V0 (Y) when it does not exist is larger than the threshold value Vs (Bk) at the time of black printing block determination, it is erroneously determined that the yellow ink nozzles in the normal ejection state are in the non-ejection state I will judge.
[0070]
The system controller 54 (FIG. 3) calculates sensor position information based on the head position information of the linear encoder 29 (FIG. 1), and compares this with position information of the print block stored in the main memory 56 in advance. Recognize the color of the print block being determined. Further, a threshold value table corresponding to the color of the print image is acquired by referring to the threshold value table stored in the main memory 56. Finally, the threshold value is compared with the output signal level to determine the ink droplet ejection state. This makes it possible to make a reliable determination regardless of the color of the print image.
As described above, since the threshold value Vs is changed according to the color of the print block, it is possible to reliably perform determination for all color print blocks without erroneous determination.
[0071]
=== Other Modifications ===
In the above embodiment, a part of the configuration realized by hardware may be replaced with software, and conversely, a part of the configuration realized by software may be replaced by hardware. For example, the host computer 100 may execute part of the functions of the system controller 54 (FIG. 3).
[0072]
The present invention can also be realized in various forms other than a printing apparatus. For example, an ink droplet discharge determination method, a nozzle determination method and apparatus, a computer program for causing a computer to realize the functions of these methods or apparatuses, It can be realized in the form of a computer-readable recording medium on which the program is recorded.
[0073]
A computer program that realizes such a function is provided in a form recorded on a computer-readable recording medium such as a floppy (registered trademark) disk or a CD-ROM. The host computer 100 reads the computer program from the recording medium and transfers it to an internal storage device or an external storage device. Alternatively, the computer program may be supplied from the program supply device to the host computer 100 via a communication path. When realizing the function of the computer program, the computer program stored in the internal storage device is executed by the microprocessor of the host computer 100. Further, the host computer 100 may directly execute the computer program recorded on the recording medium.
[0074]
In this specification, the host computer 100 is a concept including a hardware device and an operation system, and means a hardware device that operates under the control of the operation system. The computer program causes the host computer 100 to realize the functions of the above-described units. Note that some of the functions described above may be realized by an operation system instead of an application program.
[0075]
In the present invention, the “computer-readable recording medium” is not limited to a portable recording medium such as a flexible disk or a CD-ROM, but may be an internal recording device in a computer such as various RAMs and ROMs, An external recording device fixed to a computer such as a hard disk is also included.
[0076]
【The invention's effect】
According to the present invention, it is possible to realize a printing apparatus that efficiently prints a determination pattern used to determine whether or not ink is ejected onto a print medium, a determination method using the determination pattern, a computer program, and a computer system. Is possible.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view showing a main configuration of a color inkjet printer 20 according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an arrangement of nozzles and determination means when the print head is viewed from above.
FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing an electrical configuration of the printer 20;
FIG. 4A is an explanatory diagram showing a configuration of the light emitting unit in an example in which the light emitting unit is provided at a position perpendicular to the printing paper as a print medium in the embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. Explanatory drawing which shows the structure of the light emission part in the example provided in the position light-emitted diagonally with respect to the paper surface.
FIG. 5 is an overall conceptual diagram of a determination pattern group used for determining whether or not ink is ejected.
FIG. 6 is a conceptual diagram of one determination pattern constituting a determination pattern group.
FIG. 7 is a view for explaining nozzles for printing each part of a printing block.
FIG. 8 is a diagram for explaining a state in which a first-stage printing block array is printed.
FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating an example of the size of a print block constituting a determination pattern.
FIG. 10 is a diagram for explaining the relative positions of a determination unit and a determination pattern when printing an upstream block array group;
FIG. 11 is an explanatory diagram showing a relationship between an output signal of the determination unit 41 and a threshold value Vs.
FIG. 12 is an explanatory diagram showing a difference between output signals of the determination unit 41 depending on the color of a print block and a threshold value Vs.
[Explanation of symbols]
10 Area irradiated with print media (spot) 20 Printer
22 Paper stacker 24 Transport roller
25 Rotary encoder 26 Platen plate
28 Carriage 29 Linear encoder
30 Carriage motor 32 Traction belt
33 Code plate 34 Guide rail
36 Print head 41 Determination means
41a Light emitting part 41b Light receiving part
50 Receive buffer memory 52 Image buffer
54 System Controller 54a Judgment Unit
61 Main scan driver 62 Sub scan driver
63 Judgment means driver 66 Head driver
70 judgment pattern group 71 judgment pattern
71a Downstream block array group
71b Upstream block array group
74 Printing block array
74a First-stage printing block array on the downstream side
74b Downstream second stage printing block array
74c 12th-stage printing block array on the downstream side
74d First-stage printing block array on the upstream side
74e Upstream second stage printing block array
74f 12th printing block array upstream
72 Judgment target pattern 73 Auxiliary block area
100 Host computer 200 Cleaning mechanism
210 Head Cap BL Printing Block
CD dark cyan ink nozzle row
CL Light cyan ink nozzle row
KD black ink nozzle row
KL light black ink nozzle row
KP Photo Black Ink Nozzle Row
MD dark magenta ink nozzle row
ML Light magenta ink nozzle row
YD yellow ink nozzle row
La Projected light Lb Reflected light MS Main scanning direction
P Printing paper SS Sub-scanning direction Vs threshold
Vs (Bk) Black printing block threshold
Vs (Y) Yellow printing block threshold
Output signal level when V0 spot does not include blank print block
V0 (Bk) Output signal level when the black printing block measurement does not include a blank block in the spot
V0 (Y) Output signal level when the yellow printing block measurement does not include blank blocks in the spot
V1 (Bk) Output signal level when the target print block is not printed during black print block measurement
V1 (Y) Output signal level when the target print block is not printed during yellow print block measurement
Output signal level of a field that contains a part of a blank print block in the Vp spot
VL Output signal level when the target print block is not printed

Claims (14)

Ink is ejected from the ink ejection unit while scanning a plurality of ink ejection units arranged along the conveyance direction of the print medium in a main scanning direction intersecting the conveyance direction, and the ink ejection unit is applied to the print medium. A printing apparatus for printing a determination pattern for determining whether or not to discharge ink from each ink discharge portion by forming a print block on each of the print blocks,
In the transport direction, wherein the most downstream position in the transport direction of the printing blocks arranged along the main scanning direction, and, as the most upstream position is likewise with printing a pre SL judgment pattern,
The printing blocks arranged along the main scanning direction are each formed by ejecting ink from the ink ejection units arranged continuously along the transport direction. apparatus. The printing apparatus according to claim 1,
One scan for forming dots of one printing block among the printing blocks arranged along the main scanning direction;
The print medium is transported between a single scan to form dots of the other print blocks of the print blocks at the same position in the transport direction as the dots of the one print block. Printing apparatus. The printing apparatus according to claim 1 ,
Of the printing blocks arranged along the main scanning direction, the first printing block formed by ejecting ink first is the most upstream side in the transport direction among the ink ejection units arranged in series. A printing apparatus formed by ejecting ink from an ink ejection unit located in the printer. The printing apparatus according to claim 3 .
Of the printing blocks arranged along the main scanning direction, the most upstream position of the other printing blocks excluding the first printing block and the most upstream position of the first printing block are in the transport direction. The other printing block starts to be formed from the scanning immediately after the printing medium is conveyed so as to be the same. The printing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 4 ,
The determination pattern is configured by forming a plurality of printing block arrays in which the n printing blocks are arranged along the main scanning direction in the transport direction,
An ink ejection unit for forming the printing block formed first in the first printing block array is first in the second printing block array formed adjacent to the downstream side in the transport direction of the first printing block array. A printing apparatus, wherein the printing apparatus is an n-th ink discharge section located upstream in the transport direction from an ink discharge section for forming a printing block formed on the printing block. The printing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 5 ,
The determination pattern is used for determining whether or not to eject ink, which is performed based on reflected light of light that is emitted toward the print medium and irradiates an area including at least one of the print blocks.
The determination pattern includes any one of the determination block area formed by the print blocks formed by the ink discharge sections one by one and the ink discharge section in an area surrounding the outer periphery of the determination block area. And an auxiliary block area formed by a printing block formed by the printing apparatus. Ink is ejected from the ink ejection unit while scanning a plurality of ink ejection units arranged along the conveyance direction of the print medium in a main scanning direction intersecting the conveyance direction, and the ink ejection unit is applied to the print medium. A printing apparatus for printing a determination pattern for determining whether or not to discharge ink from each ink discharge portion by forming a print block on each of the print blocks,
In the transport direction, printing the determination pattern so that the most downstream position in the transport direction and the most upstream position of the printing blocks arranged along the main scanning direction are the same,
The determination pattern is configured by forming a plurality of printing block arrays in which the n printing blocks are arranged along the main scanning direction in the transport direction,
An ink ejection unit for forming the printing block formed first in the first printing block array is first in the second printing block array formed adjacent to the downstream side in the transport direction of the first printing block array. A printing apparatus, wherein the printing apparatus is an n-th ink discharge section located upstream in the transport direction from an ink discharge section for forming a printing block formed on the printing block. Ink is ejected from the ink ejection unit while scanning a plurality of ink ejection units arranged along the conveyance direction of the print medium in a main scanning direction intersecting the conveyance direction, and the ink ejection unit is applied to the print medium. A printing apparatus for printing a determination pattern for determining whether or not to discharge ink from each ink discharge portion by forming a print block on each of the print blocks,
In the transport direction, printing the determination pattern so that the most downstream position in the transport direction and the most upstream position of the printing blocks arranged along the main scanning direction are the same,
The determination pattern is used for determining whether or not to eject ink, which is performed based on reflected light of light that is emitted toward the print medium and irradiates an area including at least one of the print blocks.
The determination pattern includes any one of the determination block area formed by the print blocks formed by the ink discharge sections one by one and the ink discharge section in an area surrounding the outer periphery of the determination block area. And an auxiliary block area formed by a printing block formed by the printing apparatus. The printing apparatus according to any one of claims 5 to 8 ,
The printing apparatus, wherein the plurality of printing block arrays formed in the transport direction are divided into an upstream block array group and a downstream block array group in the transport direction for printing. The printing apparatus according to claim 9 , wherein
A light emitting unit configured to be integrated with the plurality of ink discharge units and disposed on the downstream side in the transport direction, and for emitting the light;
The downstream block array group is printed prior to the upstream block array group. When printing the upstream block array group, the downstream block array group is used to eject ink from a predetermined ink ejection unit. A printing apparatus that determines presence or absence. Ink is ejected from the ink ejection unit while scanning a plurality of ink ejection units arranged along the conveyance direction of the print medium in a main scanning direction intersecting the conveyance direction, and the ink ejection unit is applied to the print medium. A printing apparatus for printing a determination pattern for determining whether or not to discharge ink from each ink discharge portion by forming a print block on each of the print blocks,
In the transport direction, the most downstream position in the transport direction and the most upstream position of the printing blocks arranged along the main scanning direction are the same.
Ink ejection operation for ejecting ink to form dots of a predetermined printing block arranged along the main scanning direction, and dots of the other printing block, the dots of the predetermined printing block, and the transport direction The ink is ejected to form the same position in the ink ejection operation, the print medium is conveyed,
The printing blocks arranged along the main scanning direction are each formed by ejecting ink from the plurality of ink ejection units arranged continuously along the transport direction,
Of the printing blocks arranged along the main scanning direction, the first printing block formed by ejecting ink first is the most upstream side in the transport direction among the ink ejection units arranged in series. The uppermost stream position of the other print blocks excluding the first print block and the uppermost stream position of the first print block are the same in the transport direction. From the scan immediately after transporting the print medium, the other print blocks start to be formed,
The determination pattern is configured by forming a plurality of printing block arrays in which the n printing blocks are arranged along the main scanning direction in the transport direction,
An ink ejection unit for forming the printing block formed first in the first printing block array is first in the second printing block array formed adjacent to the downstream side in the transport direction of the first printing block array. An ink ejection unit located nth on the upstream side in the transport direction from an ink ejection unit for forming a printing block formed in
A light emitting unit configured to be integrated with the plurality of ink discharge units and disposed on the downstream side in the transport direction to emit light toward the print medium, the light passing through at least one of the printing blocks; The determination pattern is used for determining the presence or absence of the ink ejection, which is performed based on the reflected light that irradiates the including region,
The ink ejection unit that forms the printing blocks in the regions on both ends of the main scanning direction and the transport direction in the determination pattern forms the printing blocks in the regions on both ends and the region in between. And
The plurality of print block arrays formed in the transport direction are divided and printed into an upstream block array group and a downstream block array group in the transport direction,
The downstream block array group is printed prior to the upstream block array group. When printing the upstream block array group, the downstream block array group is used to eject ink from a predetermined ink ejection unit. Determine the presence or absence,
A plurality of the determination patterns are formed along the main scanning direction, and in the transport direction, the most downstream position and the most upstream position in the transport direction of each print block arranged along the main scan direction are A printing apparatus that prints a plurality of the determination patterns so as to be the same. Ink is ejected from the ink ejection unit while scanning a plurality of ink ejection units arranged along the conveyance direction of the print medium in a main scanning direction intersecting the conveyance direction, and the ink ejection unit is applied to the print medium. A printing method for printing a determination pattern for determining whether or not to discharge ink from each ink discharge portion by forming a print block on each,
In the transport direction, printing the determination pattern so that the most downstream position in the transport direction and the most upstream position of the printing blocks arranged along the main scanning direction are the same ,
The printing blocks arranged along the main scanning direction are each formed by ejecting ink from the ink ejection units arranged continuously along the transport direction. Method. Ink is ejected from the ink ejection unit while scanning a plurality of ink ejection units arranged along the conveyance direction of the print medium in a main scanning direction intersecting the conveyance direction, and the ink ejection unit is applied to the print medium. By forming a printing block on each, a printing apparatus that prints a determination pattern for determining whether or not to discharge ink from each ink discharge unit,
In the transport direction, a function of printing the determination pattern so that the most downstream position in the transport direction and the most upstream position of the print blocks arranged along the main scanning direction are the same ;
A function of forming the printing blocks arranged along the main scanning direction by ejecting ink from the ink ejection units arranged continuously along the transport direction. Computer program. A computer and a plurality of ink ejection units connected to the computer and arranged along the conveyance direction of the print medium are ejected from the ink ejection unit while scanning in a main scanning direction intersecting the conveyance direction, A printing system comprising: a printing device that prints a determination pattern for determining whether or not ink is ejected from each ink ejection unit by forming a printing block for each ink ejection unit on the print medium. There,
In the transport direction, printing the determination pattern so that the most downstream position in the transport direction and the most upstream position of the printing blocks arranged along the main scanning direction are the same ,
The printing blocks arranged along the main scanning direction are each formed by ejecting ink from the ink ejection units arranged continuously along the transport direction. system.

Images