JP5031289B2 - Image recording device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an image recorder which realizes good image recording by nozzle fine vibration treatment for preventing increase in viscosity in recording unit nozzles and prevents shortening of nozzle life in a recording unit by suppressing excessive nozzle fine vibration treatment, and to provide a nozzle fine vibration treatment method thereof and a program therefor. <P>SOLUTION: A nozzle fine vibration treatment controller 3 determines the nozzles which are subjected to nozzle fine vibration treatment in a plurality of nozzles in nozzle trains 13-1-1 to 13-n-m from the result of comparing job information 1 for making precedent recording treatment to be performed with job information 2 for making subsequent recording treatment to be performed in at least one job information issued from a higher order apparatus 20 and performs nozzle fine vibration treatment to the determined nozzles based on the operation start/operation stop timing of the nozzle fine vibration treatment previously stored in the memory of the controller 2. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&amp;INPIT

Description

The present invention relates to an image recording equipment which ink droplets are finely vibrating the nozzle for ink ejection to the extent not discharging (driving).

  As an image recording apparatus for recording an image on a recording medium such as paper, for example, an inkjet full-line color printer is known. In this full-line color printer, a plurality of nozzles for ink ejection are longer than the width of the recording medium in a direction (main scanning direction) orthogonal to the conveying direction (sub-scanning direction) in which the recording medium is conveyed. A recording head having nozzle rows formed over the entire length is arranged for each ink color. In this full-line color printer, the color recording heads arranged for each ink color are arranged at a predetermined interval in the conveyance direction (sub-scanning direction) in which the recording medium is conveyed.

In such an image recording apparatus (color printer), a nozzle array of a recording head is disposed so as to face a recording medium, and ink is ejected from a plurality of nozzles in each color nozzle array to record a desired character or image. is doing.
In such an image recording apparatus, in the nozzles of the recording head in which ink droplets are not ejected for a long time, moisture or the like, which is the solvent of the ink, evaporates, increasing the viscosity of the ink in the vicinity of the nozzles. This increase in the viscosity of the ink in the vicinity of the nozzles causes clogging of the nozzles, and causes problems such as ink not being ejected during image recording, or good image recording being impossible even when ejected.

Further, in such an image recording apparatus, there is a possibility that ink droplets may not be ejected for a long time at the nozzles of the recording head due to the size (length in the width direction) of image data to be recorded on the recording medium. There is.
Specifically, for example, when the nozzle row in the recording head of the image recording apparatus corresponds to the longitudinal image recording of the A3 size recording medium, if the image recording in the longitudinal direction of the A4 size recording medium continues for a long time, A state in which ink droplets are not ejected for a long time occurs at the nozzles corresponding to the outside of the recording area (outside the recording area) in the width direction of the image data recorded on the A4 size recording medium.

  As a method for preventing the occurrence of such a problem, for example, a dedicated ink receiving container (ink pan) is provided, and ink is discharged from the nozzle that has not been ejected with ink droplets for a long time. There are known processing for removing ink whose viscosity has been increased by discharging, processing for sucking out ink whose viscosity has been increased by bringing a suction port into contact with the nozzle, and so-called maintenance processing.

However, since such a maintenance process causes a reduction in the operating rate in image recording of the image recording apparatus, it is desirable to reduce the number of times / time for performing such a maintenance process as much as possible.
For example, in Patent Document 1, as a technique for solving the above-described problem, in order to prevent an increase in the viscosity of an ink droplet in a nozzle, a side wall of an ink channel is slightly vibrated to such an extent that an ink droplet is not ejected. A technique that does not increase the viscosity in the inside is disclosed. According to the ink jet recording apparatus of Patent Document 1, it is possible to finely vibrate the side wall of the ink channel so that ink droplets are not ejected to the nozzles outside the recording area without interrupting the recording operation of the line head. Image recording.
JP 2004-284283 A

  However, in the ink jet recording apparatus of Patent Document 1, during the image recording, the fine vibration process is always performed on the nozzles outside the recording area based on the image data.

Therefore, it is assumed that such fine vibration during image recording excessively performs processing that does not increase the viscosity in the nozzle, and as a result, there is a risk of shortening the nozzle life of the recording head. .
Further, for example, at the time of the first image recording after the image recording apparatus is left for a long time, it is necessary to perform a fine vibration process on the nozzles in the recording area in advance. Further, there is no specific procedure / execution timing for solving such a problem, and no description suggesting this.

  Therefore, the present invention has been made in view of the above-described problems, and realizes good image recording by the nozzle microvibration processing for preventing the viscosity in the nozzle of the recording unit from being increased, and excessive nozzle microvibration processing. An object of the present invention is to provide an image recording apparatus, a nozzle fine vibration processing method, and a program thereof that suppresses the above and prevents the nozzle life in the recording unit from being shortened.

In order to achieve the above-described object, an image recording apparatus according to one aspect of the present invention includes a transport mechanism that sequentially transports a plurality of stored recording media, and a direction orthogonal to the transport direction of the recording medium. An image recording unit in which a plurality of recording units having at least one nozzle row formed by a plurality of nozzles arranged in a predetermined interval in the transport direction, a leading end portion of the transported recording medium, and A medium detection unit for detecting positions on both ends of the recording medium; and timing information for the leading end of the recording medium based on detection information on the leading end from the medium detection unit to reach an image recording position by the nozzle; A control unit that causes the plurality of nozzles to perform either one of ejection driving for ejecting ink and nozzle micro-vibration driving for causing vibration without ejecting ink from the information on the positions of both side ends. And the control unit determines to finely vibrate the nozzles for all the nozzles of the recording unit with respect to the recording medium conveyed on the first sheet of the set one job information. In accordance with the generated timing information, fine nozzle vibration is performed on all the nozzles of each recording unit within a predetermined period immediately before the recording medium reaches the image recording position for each recording unit. Features.

  According to the present invention, excellent image recording is realized by the fine nozzle vibration process for preventing the viscosity in the nozzle of the recording unit from being increased, and the nozzle life in the recording unit is shortened by suppressing the excessive fine nozzle vibration process. It is possible to provide an image recording apparatus, a nozzle fine vibration processing method, and a program thereof that prevent this from happening.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of an image recording apparatus that performs nozzle fine vibration processing according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

  In the following description, the direction (main scanning direction) orthogonal to the recording medium conveyance direction is the X direction or the recording medium width direction, the recording medium conveyance direction (sub-scanning direction) is the Y direction, and XY. A direction orthogonal to the plane is referred to as a Z direction.

  The image recording apparatus 1 includes a feeding unit 4 that supplies the recording media 7-1 to 7-n to the downstream side of the conveyance path, a medium detection unit 8, and a recording medium fed through the medium detection unit 8. A transport mechanism 14 for placing 7-1 to 7-n and further transporting it downstream in the transport path, and a recording medium in the process in which the recording media 7-1 to 7-n are placed and transported by the transport mechanism 14 The image recording unit 9 that performs image recording on 7-1 to 7-n and the control unit 2 including the nozzle fine vibration processing control unit 3 according to the present invention are provided at least.

The image recording apparatus 1 is connected to, for example, a host computer in the host apparatus 20 that notifies the control unit 2 of job information that is information relating to recording processing (image recording).
The job information is notified separately for each user who issued the recording process. The notified job information includes image data to be recorded on the recording medium, size designation information of the recording medium, This includes horizontal designation information, recording process number information, resolution designation information, margin value designation information at the time of the recording process, execution / non-execution information of the nozzle fine vibration process, and the like.

Note that a method for causing the host apparatus 20 to set execution / non-execution of the fine nozzle vibration processing based on job information is, for example, to driver software installed in advance in the host apparatus 20 necessary when starting the image recording apparatus 1. This is possible by providing a selection menu.
The feeding unit 4 has storage cassettes 5-1 to 5 -n for stacking recording media 7-1 to 7-n and storing them separately, and storing cassettes according to the instructions of the control unit 2. Pickup rollers 6-1 to 6-n that contact and pick up the uppermost one of the recording media 7-1 to 7-n provided for every 5-1 to 5-n rotate a motor (not shown). Is fed to the downstream side of the conveyance path.

  The medium detection unit 8 is constituted by, for example, a line sensor, and detects the tip end part detection information in the Y direction and the both end positions in the X direction of the recording media 7-1 to 7-n conveyed below the line sensor. Both end position detection information is notified to the control unit 2.

  The transport mechanism 14 is disposed to face the lower side of the image recording unit 9. For example, a driven roller 15 that connects the transport information generation unit 18 to the rotation shaft and a drive roller that connects the transport drive unit 19 to the rotation shaft. 16 and the inner side of the endless belt in the conveying member 17 is constructed to constitute a belt conveying mechanism. Between the driven roller 15 and the driving roller 16, for example, a fan in a suction unit (not shown) driven by an instruction from the control unit 2 is provided, and the recording media 7-1 to 7-1 placed on the conveying member 17 are provided. 7-n is adsorbed and held.

  The conveyance information generation unit 18 is a rotary encoder, for example, and generates a pulse signal corresponding to the conveyance distance (movement amount) of the recording media 7-1 to 7-n placed on the conveyance member 17 and notifies the control unit 2 of the pulse signal. To do. Moreover, the conveyance drive part 19 is made into a motor, for example, and rotates the drive roller 15 by starting a motor by the instruction | indication of the control part 2. FIG.

  Here, n in the reference numerals of the constituent elements described so far indicates an integer of 2 ≦ n. For example, in the recording media 7-1 to 7-n, the recording media of different sizes or the sizes of the same recording media are used. FIG. 4 shows each recording medium when the direction when loaded in the storage cassette differs by 90 degrees.

For example, the image recording unit 9 has a configuration in which a plurality of recording units 11-1-1 to 11-nm are suspended from a carriage 10. The recording units 11-1-1 to 11-nm include, for example, at least one nozzle row 13-1-1 to 13-nm formed by a plurality of nozzles that eject ink for recording processing, and the control unit 2 The nozzle row driving units 12-1-1 to 12-nm that respectively drive a plurality of nozzles of the nozzle rows 13-1-1 to 13-nm by issuing commands.
The nozzle rows 13-1-1 to 13-nm are at least one nozzle row such that a plurality of nozzles are arranged over the maximum width of the recording media 7-1 to 7-n or this nozzle A recording head having a row is provided to constitute a line head for each ink color.

  Here, the symbols n and m shown in the nozzle rows 13-1-1 to 13-nm and the like indicate integers of 2 ≦ n where n corresponds to the number of nozzle rows, and m corresponds to the ink color. An integer of 2 ≦ m is shown.

2A and 2B show configuration examples of nozzle rows in the image recording apparatus according to the present invention.
In FIG. 2A, nozzle rows 13-1-1 to 13-4-4 as line heads corresponding to color image recording are arranged in order from the upstream side of the conveyance path of the recording medium 7, for example, black (K), An example of the configuration when arranged in cyan (C), magenta (M) and yellow (Y) is shown schematically.

  In FIG. 2B, nozzle rows 13-1-1 to 13-24-4 as line heads corresponding to color image recording are arranged in order from the upstream side of the conveyance path of the recording medium 7, for example, black (K ), Cyan (C), magenta (M), and yellow (Y).

  In the case of FIG. 2B, the nozzle row corresponding to each ink color is black (K) as nozzle rows 13-1-1 to 13-6-1 and cyan (C) as nozzle row 13-7-2. Through 13-12-2, magenta (M) through nozzle rows 13-13-3 through 13-18-3, and yellow (Y) through nozzle rows 13-19-4 through 13-24-4. In addition, the nozzle rows corresponding to the respective ink colors are staggered by a distance α in the Y direction, and the nozzles of adjacent nozzle rows are arranged to overlap each other by β when viewed from the Y direction. An example configuration is shown schematically.

  2 (a) and 2 (b) show the amount of displacement of 7L when the recording medium 7 is displaced in the X direction during conveyance. As described above, when the recording medium 7 is displaced in the X direction, the medium detection unit 8 described above notifies the control unit 2 of the positional deviation amount 7L as the position information on both ends of the recording medium 7. The controller 2 corrects the recording position of the recording medium 7 by shifting the plurality of nozzles used in the recording process in correspondence with the positional deviation amount 7L.

  The ink colors of the image recording apparatus 1 according to the present invention shown in FIGS. 2A and 2B are not limited to black (K), cyan (C), magenta (M), and yellow (Y). For example, each ink color such as light cyan (LC) or light magenta (LM) may be added, or any ink color may be changed to each ink color such as light cyan (LC) or light magenta (LM). Also good.

The control unit 2 includes a processing circuit using an MPU (arithmetic processing unit) having a control function and an arithmetic function, and a memory (not shown) that stores a control program and image data for causing the MPU to perform control processing of the image recording apparatus 1. And is configured.
The control unit 2 stores the nozzle fine vibration processing control unit 3 according to the present invention in a memory (not shown) as a part of the control program.

The nozzle fine vibration processing control unit 3 may be a signal processing circuit controlled by the MPU of the control unit 2.
Further, the control unit 2 converts the separation distance between the medium detection unit 8 and the nozzle rows 13-1-1 to 13-nm into the number of pulses of the rotary encoder in the conveyance information generation unit 18 described above, and a memory (not shown). Remember each.

  As a result, the control unit 2 causes the number of pulses of the rotary encoder in the conveyance information generation unit 18 to be generated by using the detection information detected by the medium detection unit 8 as the trigger for the leading ends of the recording media 7-1 to 7-n described above, When the number of pulses of the rotary encoder converted into the separation distance matches, the recording process is performed by ejecting ink from the nozzles to the recording media 7-1 to 7-n on the conveying member 17.

  Next, nozzle fine vibration processing of the image recording apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention will be described.

  The fine nozzle vibration process in the image recording apparatus of the present invention is an operation process in which each nozzle is finely vibrated to such an extent that ink droplets are not ejected so as not to increase the viscosity in each nozzle of the recording head.

The nozzle fine vibration processing in the image recording apparatus 1 of the present invention is performed by performing either one of the nozzle fine vibration processing for the designated nozzle for each color recording unit or the nozzle fine vibration processing for all the nozzles for each color recording unit. The job information notified from 20 to the control unit 2 is determined and selected depending on whether it is single or plural.
Further, the nozzle fine vibration processing in the image recording apparatus 1 according to the present invention is executed when the job information notified from the host device 20 to the control unit 2 is one, execution of the nozzle fine vibration processing for all the nozzles for each color recording unit. judge.

Further, the nozzle fine vibration processing in the image recording apparatus 1 of the present invention includes either one of nozzle fine vibration processing for the designated nozzle for each color recording unit or nozzle fine vibration processing for all the nozzles for each color recording unit. One of the job information related to the preceding recording process and the other job information related to the subsequent recording process are judged and selected.
Furthermore, the nozzle fine vibration processing in the image recording apparatus 1 of the present invention includes either one of nozzle fine vibration processing for the designated nozzle for each color recording unit or nozzle fine vibration processing for all the nozzles for each color recording unit. This is performed only in the process of recording on the first recording medium for each job information.

FIG. 3 is a diagram schematically showing how the nozzle fine vibration process is executed in the image recording apparatus of the present invention.
FIG. 3 shows the medium detection unit 8 and the recording unit 11-1-1 in order from the upstream side of the conveyance path of the recording medium 7.
The nozzle array 13-1-1 is arranged, and the preceding recording medium 7-1 that is recorded by job information 1 and the subsequent recording medium 7 that is recorded by job information 2 are shown. -2 is shown.

The conditions for executing the fine nozzle vibration processing shown in FIG. 3 will be described assuming the following contents.
<Condition 1>
A plurality of job information, which is information relating to recording processing, is notified from the host device 20.
<Condition 2>
The plurality of job information notified are “job information 1” and “job information 2”.
“Job information 1” (one job information related to the preceding recording process)
Recording medium size / conveyance direction: A4 size / vertical direction (see 7-1 in FIG. 3)
-The width direction of the recording area by electronic data: W1,
・ Margin setting: Yes.

Also,
“Job information 2” (the other job information related to the subsequent recording process)
・ Recording medium size / conveyance direction: A4 size / horizontal direction (see 7-2 in FIG. 3)
-The width direction of the recording area by electronic data: W2,
-Length in the width direction of the recording medium size: W3 (see 7-2 in FIG. 3)
・ Margin setting: Yes.

<Condition 3>
Comparison of "Job information 1" and "Job information 2"
・ Comparison result of W1 and W2: W1 <W2,
-The amount of deviation in the width direction of the recording medium of "Job information 1" (detection by the medium detection unit 8): 0
The amount of deviation in the width direction of the recording medium of “job information 2” (detection by the medium detection unit 8): 0.

  Under the above conditions, a plurality of nozzles for which nozzle fine vibration processing is executed in the process of “job information 2” recording process are recorded with “job information 1” as shown in FIG. For a plurality of nozzles (13N-8 to 13N-16) corresponding to the area W1, (W3−W1) / 2 = P when the width of the recording medium 7-2 of “job information 2” is W3 A plurality of nozzles (13N-4 to 13N-20) corresponding to W3 obtained by adding a plurality of nozzles (13N-4 to 13N-7) and (13N-17 to 13N-20) corresponding to the region P Will be executed.

  As a result, the nozzle fine vibration processing is not performed for the plurality of nozzles (13N-1 to 13N-3) and (13N-21 to 13N-23), and the recording of “job information 2” is performed. Nozzle fine vibration processing is executed for a plurality of minimum necessary nozzles by adding a plurality of nozzles as a lateral displacement margin of the recording medium 7 to a plurality of nozzles necessary for processing.

  Here, the medium detection unit 8 notifies the control unit 2 of the both-side end position detection information obtained by detecting the both-side end positions of the recording medium 7 being conveyed. Upon receiving the notification, the control unit 2 calculates the lateral displacement amount of the recording medium 7 based on the both-side edge position detection information, and shifts the plurality of nozzles used for the recording process in the lateral displacement direction based on the calculation result. Processing is in progress.

  Accordingly, the plurality of nozzles used during the “job information 2” recording process are determined so that the recording medium 7-2 during the “job information 2” recording process results from the lateral position detection result of the both sides end position detection information of the medium detection unit 8. If it is determined that there is a shift, it is changed by nozzle shift.

  The reason for performing the fine nozzle vibration processing by adding a plurality of nozzles (13N-4 to 11N-7) and (13N-17 to 11N-20) corresponding to the region P to W2 is to detect both side edges of the medium detection unit 8. The aim is to determine a plurality of nozzles in the nozzle fine vibration processing without using information, and as a lateral displacement margin of the recording medium 7 on both sides of the plurality of nozzles used in the recording processing of “job information 2”. This is achieved by adding multiple nozzles.

  Thus, in the determination of a plurality of nozzles for which the fine nozzle vibration processing is executed in the course of the recording process of “job information 2”, the medium detection unit 8 records the recording medium 7-2 during the recording process of “job information 2”. Based on the detection result of both side edge position detection information, the processing for calculating the lateral displacement amount of the recording medium 7-2 at high speed is not required, so the load on the arithmetic processing unit of the control unit 2 can be reduced.

  The lateral displacement margin of the recording medium 7 is realized by storing in advance a result of statistical processing of the lateral displacement amount of the recording medium 7 in a memory (not shown) of the control unit 2 described above.

Further, the fine nozzle vibration processing of the present invention is executed by selecting and executing the fine nozzle vibration processing for all the nozzles when the comparison result of W1 and W2 in <condition 3> is W1> W2. Yes.
The fine nozzle vibration processing of the present invention is not limited to this, and may be executed by, for example, a plurality of nozzles corresponding to W3 or a plurality of nozzles corresponding to the calculation result of the lateral displacement amount of the recording medium 7-2. .

However, in this case, in order to ensure a period during which the fine nozzle vibration processing is performed on a plurality of nozzles in the nozzle row 13-1-1, a corresponding separation distance between the medium detection unit 8 and the nozzle row 13-1-1 is set. Necessary.
Further, for example, the arithmetic processing unit of the control unit 2 is configured to realize a high-speed process sufficient to calculate the lateral displacement amount of the recording medium 7-2, or the conveyance speed of the recording medium 7-2 is set. The arithmetic processing unit of the control unit 2 needs to slow down to a speed sufficient to calculate the lateral displacement amount of the recording medium 7-2.

4A, 4B, 5A, and 5B are flowcharts showing operation processing in the fine nozzle vibration processing of the image recording apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention.
As an example of the configuration of the recording units 11-1-1 to 11-nm of the image recording apparatus 1 for explaining the operation process, for example, a Brablack (K) nozzle array in order from the upstream side of the conveyance path of the recording medium 7, for example. 13-1-1, cyan (C) nozzle row 13-2-2, magenta (M) nozzle row 13-3-3 and yellow (Y) nozzle row 13-4-4 are arranged at equal intervals. Suppose. The operation processing in the nozzle fine vibration processing is performed by the arithmetic processing unit of the control unit 2 controlling the program of the nozzle fine vibration processing control unit 3 or the signal processing circuit.

First, in step 1, the nozzle fine vibration processing control unit 3 determines whether or not there is a recording processing notification based on job information.
If the result of the determination in step 1 is that the nozzle fine vibration processing control unit 3 determines that there is a recording process notification based on job information (YES), the nozzle fine vibration processing control unit 3 proceeds to step 2. If it is determined as a result of the determination in step 1 that there is no notification of the recording process based on the job information (NO), the nozzle fine vibration processing control unit 3 causes the standby process to be performed in step 1.

  Next, in step 2, the nozzle slight vibration processing control unit 3 determines whether or not the recording processing is notified by a plurality of job information. If the result of the determination in step 2 is that the nozzle fine vibration process control unit 3 determines that the recording process notification is based on a plurality of job information (YES), the nozzle fine vibration process control unit 3 proceeds to step 3. If the result of determination in step 2 is that the nozzle fine vibration processing control unit 3 determines that there is no notification of recording processing based on a plurality of job information (NO), the nozzle fine vibration processing control unit 3 proceeds to step 4.

Next, in step 3, when the recording area of the preceding job / succeeding job is W1 and W2, respectively, the nozzle fine vibration processing control unit 3 determines whether or not the result of comparing the magnitudes of W1 and W2 is W1 <W2. judge.
If it is determined that W1 <W2 as a result of the determination in step 3 (YES), the nozzle fine vibration processing control unit 3 proceeds to step 20. Further, when it is determined that W1 <W2 is not satisfied as a result of the determination in step 3 (NO), the control unit 2 shifts the process to step 4.

Next, in step 4, the nozzle fine vibration processing control unit 3 determines whether or not (K) the timing for starting the nozzle fine vibration processing is reached.
If the result of the determination in step 4 is that the start timing of (K) nozzle fine vibration processing is determined (YES), the nozzle fine vibration processing control unit 3 proceeds to step 5 and (K) all nozzle fine vibration processing. Is started, and the process further proceeds to step 6. Further, if it is determined that it is not the start timing of the (K) nozzle fine vibration processing (NO) as a result of the determination in step 4, the nozzle fine vibration processing control unit 3 performs standby processing in step 4.

Next, in step 6, the nozzle slight vibration processing control unit 3 determines whether or not it is the stop timing of the (K) nozzle fine vibration processing.
If the nozzle fine vibration processing control unit 3 determines that the stop timing of the (K) nozzle fine vibration processing is determined as a result of the determination in Step 6 (YES), the process proceeds to Step 7 (K). Is stopped, and the process proceeds to step 8. Further, if the nozzle fine vibration processing control unit 3 determines that it is not the stop timing of the (K) nozzle fine vibration processing as a result of the determination in step 6 (NO), the nozzle fine vibration processing control unit 3 causes the standby processing to be performed in step 6.

Next, in step 8, the nozzle slight vibration processing control unit 3 determines whether or not (C) the timing for starting the nozzle fine vibration processing is reached.
If the nozzle fine vibration processing control unit 3 determines that the start timing of (C) nozzle fine vibration processing is determined as a result of the determination in step 8 (YES), the process proceeds to step 9 and (C) all nozzle fine vibration processing. Then, the process proceeds to step 10. Further, if the nozzle fine vibration process control unit 3 determines that it is not the start timing of the (C) nozzle fine vibration process as a result of the determination in step 8 (NO), the nozzle fine vibration process control unit 3 causes the standby process to be performed in step 8.

Next, in step 10, the nozzle fine vibration processing control unit 3 determines whether or not (C) the nozzle fine vibration processing is stopped.
If the nozzle fine vibration processing control unit 3 determines that (C) the nozzle fine vibration processing stop timing is determined as a result of the determination in step 10 (YES), the process proceeds to step 11 and (C) all the nozzle fine vibration processing. Is stopped, and the process proceeds to step 12. If it is determined that it is not the stop timing of (C) nozzle fine vibration processing (NO) as a result of the determination in step 10, the nozzle fine vibration processing control unit 3 performs standby processing in step 10.

Next, in step 12, the nozzle slight vibration processing control unit 3 determines whether or not (M) the timing for starting the nozzle fine vibration processing is reached.
If the nozzle fine vibration processing control unit 3 determines that the start timing of (M) nozzle fine vibration processing is determined as a result of the determination in step 12 (YES), the process proceeds to step 13 and (M) all nozzle fine vibration processing. Is started, and the process further proceeds to step 14. Further, if it is determined that it is not the start timing of (M) nozzle fine vibration processing (NO) as a result of the determination in step 12, the nozzle fine vibration processing control unit 3 performs standby processing in step 12.

Next, in step 14, the nozzle slight vibration processing control unit 3 determines whether or not (M) the timing for stopping the fine nozzle vibration processing is reached.
If the result of determination in step 14 is that the nozzle fine vibration processing control unit 3 determines that (M) the nozzle fine vibration processing stop timing is reached (YES), the nozzle fine vibration processing control unit 3 proceeds to step 15 and (M) all nozzles micro vibration processing. Is stopped, and the process further proceeds to step 16. Further, if the nozzle fine vibration processing control unit 3 determines that it is not the stop timing of the (M) nozzle fine vibration processing as a result of the determination in step 14 (NO), the nozzle fine vibration processing control unit 3 causes the standby processing to be performed in step 14.

Next, in step 16, the nozzle slight vibration processing control unit 3 determines whether or not (Y) the timing for starting the nozzle fine vibration processing is reached.
If the result of the determination in step 16 is (Y) the start timing of the nozzle fine vibration processing is determined (YES), the nozzle fine vibration processing control unit 3 proceeds to step 17 and (Y) all the nozzle fine vibration processing is performed. Is started, and the process further proceeds to step 18. Further, if it is determined as a result of the determination in step 16 that (Y) it is not the start timing of the nozzle fine vibration processing (NO), the nozzle fine vibration processing control unit 3 causes the standby processing to be performed in step 16.

Next, the nozzle fine vibration processing control unit 3 determines in step 18 whether or not (Y) the nozzle fine vibration processing is stopped.
If the result of the determination in step 18 is that (Y) it is determined that the nozzle fine vibration processing has been stopped (YES), the nozzle fine vibration processing control unit 3 proceeds to step 19 and (Y) all the nozzle fine vibration processing is performed. This nozzle fine vibration process is terminated.
Further, if the nozzle fine vibration processing control unit 3 determines that it is not the stop timing of the nozzle fine vibration processing (Y) as a result of the determination in step 18 (NO), the nozzle fine vibration processing control unit 3 causes the standby processing to be performed in step 18. On the other hand, the fine nozzle vibration processing control unit 3 determines whether or not (K) the fine nozzle vibration processing start timing is reached in the processing after the process proceeds to step 20 as a result of the determination in step 3.

  If the nozzle fine vibration processing control unit 3 determines that the start timing of (K) nozzle fine vibration processing is determined as a result of the determination in step 20 (YES), the process proceeds to step 21 and (K) designated nozzle fine vibration processing. Then, the process proceeds to step 22. Further, if it is determined as a result of the determination in step 20 that the nozzle fine vibration processing control unit 3 has not reached the start timing of the (K) nozzle fine vibration processing (NO), the nozzle fine vibration processing control unit 3 causes the process to wait in step 20.

Next, in step 22, the nozzle slight vibration processing control unit 3 determines whether or not (K) the timing for stopping the nozzle fine vibration processing is reached.
If the nozzle fine vibration processing control unit 3 determines that the stop timing of (K) nozzle fine vibration processing is determined as a result of the determination in step 22 (YES), the process proceeds to step 23 (K) and the designated nozzle fine vibration processing is performed. Is stopped, and the process further proceeds to step 24. Further, if it is determined that it is not the stop timing of the (K) fine nozzle vibration process as a result of the determination in step 22 (NO), the nozzle fine vibration processing control unit 3 causes the standby process to be performed in step 22.

Next, in step 24, the nozzle slight vibration processing control unit 3 determines whether or not (C) the timing for starting the nozzle fine vibration processing is reached.
If the nozzle fine vibration process control unit 3 determines that the start timing of (C) nozzle fine vibration process is determined as a result of the determination in step 24 (YES), the process proceeds to step 25 and (C) the designated nozzle fine vibration process. Is started, and the process further proceeds to step 26. Further, if the nozzle fine vibration processing control unit 3 determines that it is not the start timing of the (C) nozzle fine vibration processing as a result of the determination in step 24 (NO), the nozzle fine vibration processing control unit 3 performs standby processing in step 24.

Next, in step 26, the nozzle slight vibration processing control unit 3 determines whether or not (C) nozzle fine vibration processing stop timing.
If the result of the determination in step 26 is (C) the nozzle fine vibration processing control unit 3 determines that it is the stop timing of the nozzle fine vibration processing (YES), the nozzle fine vibration processing control unit 3 proceeds to step 27 and (C) the designated nozzle fine vibration processing. Is stopped, and the process further proceeds to step 28. Further, if the nozzle fine vibration processing control unit 3 determines that it is not the stop timing of the (C) nozzle fine vibration processing as a result of the determination in step 26 (NO), the nozzle fine vibration processing control unit 3 causes the standby processing to be performed in step 26.

Next, in step 28, the nozzle fine vibration processing control unit 3 determines whether or not (M) the timing for starting the nozzle fine vibration processing is reached.
If the result of the determination in step 28 is (M) the start timing of the fine nozzle vibration processing is determined (YES), the nozzle fine vibration processing control unit 3 proceeds to step 29 and (M) the designated fine nozzle vibration processing. Is started, and the process further proceeds to step 30. Further, if the nozzle fine vibration processing control unit 3 determines that it is not the start timing of the (M) nozzle fine vibration processing as a result of the determination in step 28 (NO), the nozzle fine vibration processing control unit 3 performs standby processing in step 28.

Next, in step 30, the nozzle slight vibration processing control unit 3 determines whether or not it is the stop timing of the (M) nozzle fine vibration processing.
If the nozzle fine vibration processing control unit 3 determines that (M) the timing of stopping the fine nozzle vibration processing is determined as a result of the determination in step 30 (YES), the process proceeds to step 31 and (M) the designated fine nozzle vibration processing. Is stopped, and the process further proceeds to step 32. Further, if the nozzle fine vibration processing control unit 3 determines that it is not the stop timing of the (M) nozzle fine vibration processing as a result of the determination in step 30 (NO), the nozzle fine vibration processing control unit 3 performs standby processing in step 30.
Next, in step 32, the nozzle fine vibration processing control unit 3 determines whether or not (Y) the timing for starting the nozzle fine vibration processing is reached.
If the result of the determination in step 32 is (Y) the start timing of the fine nozzle vibration processing is determined (YES), the nozzle fine vibration processing control unit 3 proceeds to step 33 and (Y) the designated fine nozzle vibration processing. Is started, and the process further proceeds to step 34. Further, if it is determined as a result of the determination in step 32 that (Y) it is not the start timing of the nozzle slight vibration processing (NO), the nozzle slight vibration processing control unit 3 performs a standby process in step 32.
Next, in step 34, the nozzle fine vibration processing control unit 3 determines whether or not (Y) the nozzle fine vibration processing is stopped.
If the result of the determination in step 34 is (Y) it is determined that the nozzle fine vibration processing stop timing has been reached (YES), the nozzle fine vibration processing control unit 3 proceeds to step 35 and (Y) the designated nozzle fine vibration processing. This nozzle fine vibration process is terminated. Further, if it is determined as a result of the determination in step 34 that (Y) it is not the stop timing of the nozzle fine vibration processing (NO), the nozzle slight vibration processing control unit 3 causes the standby processing to be performed in step 34.

  FIG. 6 is a timing chart of operation processing in nozzle fine vibration processing of the image recording apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention. As an example of the configuration of the recording units 11-1-1 to 11-nm of the image recording apparatus 1 for explaining this operation processing, for example, the black (K) nozzle row 13 in order from the upstream side of the conveyance path of the recording medium 7, for example. -1-1, cyan (C) nozzle row 13-2-2, magenta (M) nozzle row 13-3-3 and yellow (Y) nozzle row 13-4-4 are arranged at equal intervals And

  The operation processing in the nozzle fine vibration processing is performed by the arithmetic processing unit of the control unit 2 controlling the program of the nozzle fine vibration processing control unit 3 or the signal processing circuit.

  Further, the control unit 2 stores in advance the operation start / operation stop timing of the nozzle fine vibration processing in the memory (not shown) of the control unit 2 described above. Then, when the arithmetic processing unit of the control unit 2 controls the program of the nozzle fine vibration processing control unit 3 or the signal processing circuit, the operation start / operation stop timing of the nozzle fine vibration processing stored in advance in the memory is read out. Thus, start / stop of the operation process in the nozzle fine vibration process is performed.

  The start / stop of the operation process by each color nozzle of (K), (C), (M), and (Y) is a medium detection unit that detects the leading end of the conveyed recording medium 7 as shown in FIG. This is performed in synchronization with a pulse signal generated by the rotary encoder in the transport information generation unit 18 of the transport mechanism 14 with the position of 8 as a reference.

  P1 and P1 ′ shown in FIG. 6 indicate the start timing of operation processing by two (K) nozzles and the stop timing of one operation processing, and are indicated by double arrows P1 and P1 ′. However, (K) is a period in which the operation process by the nozzle is executed.

Specifically, the pulse signal generated by the rotary encoder in the conveyance information generation unit 18 is synchronized with the pulse signal after being generated for a while, using the detection information detected by the medium detection unit 8 as the trigger of the recording medium 7 as a trigger. The operation process is started at the timing of P1 or P1 ′, and the operation process is stopped before the recording process timing by the (K) nozzle.
In addition, the start timing of the operation process by the (K) nozzle may be either P1 or P1 ′.

  Similarly, P2 and P2 ′ shown in FIG. 6 indicate the start timing of operation processing by two (C) nozzles and the stop timing of one operation processing, and both arrows of P2 and P2 ′ The area indicated by (C) is a period during which the operation process by the nozzle (C) is executed.

P2 ′ shown in FIG. 6 shows a case where the start timing of the operation processing by the (C) nozzle is made coincident with the timing of the recording processing by the (K) nozzle.
Similarly, P3 and P3 ′ shown in FIG. 6 indicate the start timing of operation processing by two (M) nozzles and the stop timing of one operation processing, and both arrows of P3 and P3 ′ The region indicated by (M) is a period during which the operation process by the (M) nozzle is executed.

P3 ′ shown in FIG. 6 shows a case where the start timing of the operation process by the (M) nozzle is set earlier than the timing of the recording process by the (C) nozzle.
Similarly, P4 and P4 ′ shown in FIG. 6 indicate the start timing of operation processing by two (Y) nozzles and the stop timing of one operation processing, and both arrows of P4 and P4 ′ The area indicated by (Y) is a period during which the operation process by the (Y) nozzle is executed.

  In P4 shown in FIG. 6, the start timing of the operation process by the (Y) nozzle is matched with the downstream end of the recording medium conveyance path of the recording head forming the (M) nozzle, and the operation by the (Y) nozzle The case where the processing stop timing is made coincident with the upstream end of the recording medium transport path of the recording head forming the (Y) nozzle is shown.

  The period during which this operation process is executed is such that the predetermined distance is relatively long when the color recording units 11-1-1 to 11-nm of the image recording apparatus 1 are spaced apart by a predetermined distance. In this case, for example, the period is P4 ′, and when the predetermined distance is relatively short, for example, the period is P3 ′.

  As described above, according to the present invention, it is preferable to perform the nozzle fine vibration processing for preventing the viscosity in each nozzle in the nozzle row of the recording unit from increasing based on the job information in the information regarding the recording processing. By realizing the image recording and performing the operation process so that the operation process of the fine nozzle vibration process is not excessively performed, it is possible to prevent the life of each nozzle in the nozzle row from being shortened.

In addition, according to the present invention, the number of execution times / the execution time of the nozzle micro-vibration process can be suppressed by performing the operation process in which the nozzle micro-vibration process is performed in the course of the recording process for the first recording medium for each job information. can do.
In addition, according to the present invention, the number of nozzles for which fine nozzle vibration processing is performed is reduced by performing operation processing for a specified nozzle in a nozzle row of a recording unit based on at least one job information. Can do.
Further, according to the present invention, based on at least one job information, the determination of the designated nozzle for which the fine nozzle vibration processing is performed is performed on the recording area that is subjected to the preceding recording process. This is performed when the recording area is wide in the arrangement direction of the nozzle rows. At that time, as a lateral displacement margin set in advance based on the result of statistical processing of the lateral displacement amount of the recording medium to be subsequently recorded, By adopting an operation process in which a plurality of nozzles are added to a plurality of nozzles corresponding to a recording area to be subsequently recorded, nozzle fine vibration processing can be accurately performed even when the recording medium is laterally displaced. .

  Further, according to the present invention, the nozzle fine vibration processing performed based on one job information is the operation processing performed before the recording processing for all nozzles in the nozzle row of the recording unit. This increase in ink viscosity can be avoided accurately before the recording process.

  Furthermore, according to the present invention, the start / stop timing of the fine nozzle vibration processing performed by the arithmetic processing unit of the control unit 2 based on the fine nozzle vibration processing control unit 3 is stored in the memory in the control unit 2. Therefore, the start / stop timing of the nozzle fine vibration processing can be easily changed by rewriting the data of the start / stop timing of the nozzle fine vibration processing stored in the memory.

It is a figure which shows the structural example of the image recording apparatus with which the nozzle fine vibration process which concerns on the 1st Embodiment of this invention is performed. 2A and 2B are diagrams showing a configuration example of nozzle rows in the image recording apparatus according to the present invention. It is the figure which showed typically the mode of the nozzle fine vibration process in the image recording device of this invention. FIGS. 4A and 4B are flowcharts showing operation processing in the fine nozzle vibration processing of the image recording apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention. FIGS. 5A and 5B are flowcharts showing operation processing in nozzle fine vibration processing of the image recording apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention following FIGS. 4A and 4B. . 3 is a timing chart of operation processing in nozzle fine vibration processing of the image recording apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Image recording device, 2 ... Control part, 3 ... Nozzle microvibration processing control part, 4 ... Feeding part, 5-1 thru | or 5-n ... Storage cassette, 6-1 thru | or 6-n ... Pickup roller, 7, 7-1 to 7-n: recording medium, 8: medium detecting unit, 9: image recording unit, 10: carriage, 11-1-1 to 11-nm ... recording unit, 12-1-1 to 12-nm ... Nozzle row drive unit, 13-1-1 to 13-nm ... nozzle row, 13N-1 to 13N-20 ... nozzle, 14 ... conveying mechanism, 15 ... driven roller, 16 ... driving roller, 17 ... conveying member, 18 ... Transport information generation unit, 19... Transport drive unit, 20.

Claims (3)

A transport mechanism for sequentially transporting a plurality of stored recording media;
An image recording unit including a plurality of recording units having at least one nozzle row formed by a plurality of nozzles arranged in a direction orthogonal to the conveyance direction of the recording medium at a predetermined interval in the conveyance direction; ,
A leading end portion of the conveyed recording medium, and a medium detecting portion that detects positions of both end portions of the recording medium;
Generate timing information when the leading edge of the recording medium reaches the image recording position by the nozzle based on the detection information of the leading edge from the medium detection unit, and for the plurality of nozzles from the information on the side edge positions, A control unit that performs any one of ejection driving for ejecting ink and nozzle micro-vibration driving for imparting vibration without ejecting ink; and
Comprising
The control unit determines to perform fine nozzle vibration for all nozzles of the recording unit when recording an image of a recording medium conveyed to the first sheet of one set job information, and generates The nozzle fine vibration is performed for all the nozzles of each recording unit within a predetermined period until the recording medium reaches the image recording position for each recording unit based on the timing information. Image recording device. When the control unit is continuously notified of a plurality of pieces of job information and continuously records images on a plurality of recording media, the image recorded on the first recording medium in the preceding first job information When the width W1 is smaller than the width W2 of the image recorded on the second recording medium in the subsequent second job information,
When setting job information, with respect to the nozzles facing in the width W3 of the second recording medium excluding the nozzles that are driven to discharge in opposition with the width W1 immediately before image recording on the second recording medium, The image recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the nozzle fine vibration is determined in advance.   The set width W3 of the second recording medium includes at least a lateral position due to a positional deviation that occurs in the width direction of the recording medium conveyed during image recording, at least to the width W2 of the image recorded on the second recording medium. The image recording apparatus according to claim 2, further comprising a shift amount.

Images