JP5372363B2 - Inkjet recording device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an inkjet recorder capable of reliably suppressing the effect of air flow during the suction without adding any new mechanism for closing a suction hole. <P>SOLUTION: A conveying unit 11 conveys a recording medium by a conveying belt 11c. A suction unit 14 with a plurality of suction boxes arrayed in the conveying direction is provided on a lower side of the conveying belt 11c. The suction unit 14 is widely set on the upstream and downstream sides in the conveying direction from a recording area of a recording head part 10. A control unit 15 controls the suction unit 14 so as to suck the suction boxes to be completely covered by the recording medium to be conveyed. The suction box on the upstream side is completely covered and the recording medium is conveyed in the recording area with the recording medium being sucked, resulting in the correct recording operation. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&amp;INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an ink jet recording apparatus that transports a recording medium by a transport belt and performs a recording operation on the recording medium in a recording area set with a predetermined width in the transport direction.

  The ink jet recording method is a method for performing printing or image recording by ejecting minute ink to a recording medium from an ink ejection port of an ink jet recording head, and can perform a recording operation in a state separated from the recording medium. It can be recorded on recording media and articles of various materials and is used in a wide range of applications.

  As a recording operation using inkjet recording, a serial type in which the recording head is moved in the main scanning direction to perform a recording operation on the recording medium along the scanning line, and the recording medium is conveyed in the sub-scanning direction to sequentially record, A line type in which a plurality of recording heads are arranged in a line in a direction orthogonal to the recording medium conveyance direction and recording is performed while the recording medium is conveyed has been developed according to the application.

  In such an ink jet recording apparatus, when performing high-definition image recording such as a color image or high-density recording, it is necessary to control the recording position of the ejected ink with high accuracy, and the recording medium is in a certain positional relationship with the recording head. Must always be set to

As a method for setting such a recording medium, for example, in Patent Document 1, suction holes are provided on a chamber placed in contact with a vacuum conveyor that transports a substrate, the suction portion of the chamber is divided, and the sensor is divided in accordance with the transport of the substrate. The point that the substrate is transported and applied by the ink discharge head so as to switch the sucked room is described. Further, in Patent Document 2, when a building board is transported by a perforated belt in which a large number of through holes are formed and painted by a coating head, the building board is sucked by a vacuum / decompression box disposed below the belt. The point which corrected the building board is described. Further, in Patent Document 3, a large number of suction holes for sucking paper are formed on a printing table facing the print head, and a wind shielding plate for closing the suction holes is arranged below the printing table. In addition, it is described that the wind shielding plate is moved as the leading edge of the paper moves downstream of the printing stand so as to be sequentially opened from the suction holes on the upstream side. Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2004-151858 describes that a suction port close to the front and rear end portions is closed when printing the front and rear end portions of the recording medium in an ink jet printer having a suction mechanism that sucks the recording medium.
JP 2006-289162 A JP 2007-175664 A JP 2004-216651 A JP 2007-152762 A

  Since a recording medium such as a plate material is likely to be deformed such as warping or twisting, a recording operation with high accuracy cannot be performed unless the deformation is corrected when the recording operation is performed by the ink jet head. For this reason, in Patent Documents 1 and 2, the recording medium is corrected by adsorbing it to the belt. However, at the tip of the recording medium, the portion of the recording medium not covered by the recording medium causes an air flow due to suction, which is caused by the discharged ink. It will have an adverse effect.

  In order to avoid such an adverse effect due to suction, in Patent Documents 3 and 4, the suction hole is closed at the front end portion of the recording medium so as not to generate an adverse air flow, but a member for closing the suction hole. In addition, equipment such as a moving mechanism is required, and complicated control for moving the recording medium corresponding to the leading end of the recording medium must be performed.

  SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide an ink jet recording apparatus that can reliably suppress the influence of an air flow during an adsorption operation without adding a new mechanism for closing a suction hole. .

An ink jet recording apparatus according to the present invention includes a transport unit that transports a recording medium in a predetermined transport direction by a transport belt, and an ink jet recording that performs a recording operation on the recording medium in a recording area set with a predetermined width in the transport direction. The recording medium is adsorbed to the conveyance belt for each of a plurality of adsorbing areas including the adsorbing areas upstream and downstream of the recording area in the area that is set wider on the upstream and downstream sides in the conveying direction than the recording area. A detection means for detecting an end portion of a recording medium which is disposed upstream of the recording area in the conveyance direction and is conveyed, and a detection signal of the front end portion of the recording medium from the detection means. In accordance with the movement of the front end of the recording medium, the suction operation is performed in the suction area completely covered by the recording medium, and based on the detection signal of the rear end of the recording medium from the detection means Characterized in that it includes a suction control means for controlling the suction means to stop the suction operation of the rear portion adsorption zone is no longer fully covered by the recording medium in accordance with the movement of the recording medium.
Another ink jet recording apparatus according to the present invention performs a recording operation on a recording medium in a recording area set with a predetermined width in the conveying direction and a conveying unit that conveys the recording medium in a predetermined conveying direction by a conveying belt. Ink-jet recording means, and a belt that conveys a recording medium for each of a plurality of suction areas including suction areas upstream and downstream of the recording area in an area set wider on the upstream and downstream sides in the transport direction than the recording area A detection means for detecting an end portion of a recording medium which is disposed upstream of the recording area in the conveyance direction and is conveyed; and a detection signal for the front end portion of the recording medium from the detection means. Based on the movement of the front end portion of the recording medium, the suction operation is performed only in the most downstream suction area closest to the front end portion of the recording medium and the rear end portion of the recording medium from the detection means An adsorption control means for controlling the adsorption means so as to perform the adsorption operation only in the most upstream adsorption area closest to the rear end of the recording medium in accordance with the movement of the rear end of the recording medium based on the detection signal. It is characterized by being.

  By having the configuration as described above, for each of a plurality of suction areas including the suction areas upstream and downstream of the recording area in the area set wider on the upstream and downstream sides in the transport direction than the recording area. Since the recording medium includes an adsorption unit that adsorbs the recording medium to the conveyance belt and an adsorption control unit that controls the adsorption unit so that the adsorption operation is performed in an adsorption area that is completely covered by the conveyed recording medium. The adsorption operation is not performed in the adsorption area that is completely covered, and the generation of an air flow that adversely affects the recording operation during the adsorption operation can be suppressed.

  Since the suction areas upstream and downstream of the recording area are set, the suction area upstream of the recording area is completely covered before the front end of the recording medium is carried into the recording area. In this state, the suction operation is performed, and the front end portion of the recording medium in which deformation such as warpage is likely to occur is reliably sucked and corrected. Since the adsorption area is adsorbed in a completely covered state, recording can be performed with uniform image quality from the front end of the recording medium without being affected by the air flow.

  In addition, since the suction area downstream of the recording area is completely covered before the rear end of the recording medium is unloaded from the recording area, the suction operation is performed at the rear end. Also, the rear end portion of the recording medium which is likely to be deformed such as warpage is surely adsorbed and corrected. Since the adsorption area is adsorbed in a completely covered state, recording can be performed with uniform image quality up to the rear end of the recording medium without being affected by the air flow.

  In addition, it is provided with a detecting means that is disposed upstream of the recording area in the transport direction and detects an end of the recording medium being transported, and controls the suction means based on a detection signal from the detection means. For example, it is possible to accurately grasp the position of the front end portion and / or the rear end portion of the recording medium and reliably suck it in the completely covered suction area.

  Then, when the suction operation is performed by sequentially selecting the suction area on the most downstream side among the suction areas completely covered with the recording medium in accordance with the movement of the front end portion of the recording medium being conveyed, In accordance with the movement, the suction operation can be reliably performed in the suction zone closest to the front end portion of the recording medium, and the front end portion of the recording medium that is easily deformed can be reliably corrected. Further, by correcting the front end portion of the recording medium, it is possible to eliminate the need for the suction operation in the suction area corresponding to the other portion, and an efficient suction operation can be performed.

  Similarly, if control is performed so that the adsorption operation is performed by sequentially selecting the adsorption area on the most upstream side among the adsorption areas that are completely covered by the recording medium in accordance with the movement of the rear end of the conveyed recording medium, the recording is performed. In accordance with the movement of the medium, the suction operation can be reliably performed in the suction area closest to the rear end of the recording medium, and the rear end of the recording medium that is easily deformed can be reliably corrected. Further, by correcting the rear end portion of the recording medium, it is possible to eliminate the need for the suction operation in the suction area corresponding to the other portion, and an efficient suction operation can be performed.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. The embodiments described below are preferable specific examples for carrying out the present invention, and thus various technical limitations are made. However, the present invention is particularly limited in the following description. Unless otherwise specified, the present invention is not limited to these forms.

  FIG. 1 is a top view (FIG. 1A) and a front view (FIG. 1B) illustrating a schematic configuration of the ink jet recording apparatus. The ink jet recording apparatus 1 includes a recording mechanism 2, a carry-in mechanism 3, and a carry-out mechanism 4. The recording mechanism 2 is installed below the recording head unit 10 that performs a recording operation and conveys a recording medium. A carriage unit 12 for mounting the recording head unit 10 and a support unit 13 for supporting the carriage unit 12 movably. In this example, the transport direction of the transport unit 11 is the horizontal direction in FIG. 1A, and the direction orthogonal to the transport direction is the vertical direction in FIG.

  The recording head unit 10 is configured by arranging a plurality of ink ejection heads in a direction orthogonal to the transport direction to form a unit, and a plurality of the units are arranged for each color in the transport direction. After the recording operation is performed on the recording medium by the ink discharge head unit of the first color, the recording medium is transported and the recording operation of a different color is performed on the recording medium by the ink discharge head unit of the next color. Four-color full-color recording is performed by sequentially overlapping and recording with the discharge head unit.

  As the ink discharge head, a known on-demand type ink discharge method head may be used, but an ink discharge method other than the on-demand type may be used. Further, any method other than the above-described recording methods may be used as long as the recording method performs a recording operation while conveying the recording medium.

  The nozzle holes of the ink discharge head may be arranged in a straight line in a direction orthogonal to the transport direction, or a plurality of nozzle holes, for example, 32, 64, and 128 nozzle holes are made into one block. They may be arranged in a linear shape, a staggered shape, a staircase shape, or a combination of these.

  In the transport unit 11, a metal transport belt 11c is stretched almost horizontally between the drive roll 11a and the driven roll 11b, and the transport belt 11c is transported in the sub-scanning direction by rotating the drive roll 11a. Will come to do. The conveying surface of the conveying belt 11c is disposed so as to face the upper recording head unit 10, and ink is ejected from the recording head unit 10 onto the upper surface of the recording medium conveyed by the conveying belt 11c to perform a recording operation. . The width of the conveyance belt 11c is formed wider than that of the recording medium, and a plurality of suction holes 11d are formed on the conveyance surface.

  The carriage unit 12 has a recording head unit 10 attached to the inside of a frame-shaped main body frame, and is supported by a support unit 13 so that its position can be adjusted in the vertical direction. The support part 13 mounts the carriage part 12 on a pair of rail members provided in parallel, and supports the carriage part 12 so as to be movable in a direction orthogonal to the transport direction. Then, the position of the carriage unit 12 is adjusted in the direction perpendicular to the conveyance direction and in the vertical direction to adjust the position of the recording medium to which the recording head unit 10 is conveyed.

  The carry-in mechanism 3 includes a carry-in unit 20 and a supply unit 21, and the carry-in unit 20 includes a conveyor belt having a conveyance roll and a resin conveyance belt stretched around the conveyance roll. Then, a plate-like recording medium (not shown) loaded on the supply unit 21 is gripped one by one and placed on the conveyance belt of the carry-in unit 20 and supplied. The supplied recording medium is placed on the conveying belt at predetermined intervals and conveyed toward the recording mechanism 2. Immediately before being loaded into the recording mechanism 2, a pressing roller 22 is installed, and the warping or twisting of the loaded recording medium is pressed by the pressing roller so as to be easily attracted to the conveying belt 11c.

  The carry-out mechanism 4 includes a carry-out unit 30, and the carry-out unit 30 includes a conveyor belt having a conveyance roll and a resin conveyance belt stretched around the conveyance roll. The recording medium recorded in the recording mechanism 2 is transported by the transport belt 11c, transferred to the transport belt of the unloading unit 30, and transported out. At that time, an image check may be performed by arranging an inspection unit for inspecting the image recorded on the recording medium.

  FIG. 2 is a schematic configuration diagram relating to the suction unit 14 of the recording mechanism 2. The suction unit 14 includes a plurality of suction boxes 14a to 14f arranged so as to be in contact with the lower surface of the transport belt 11c. Pipes are connected to the suction boxes, and the pipes are connected via valves 14av to 14fv. It is connected to the intake pump 14g.

  Each suction box has a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape, and an intake space is formed inside thereof, and only the upper surface thereof is opened. A plate-like platen 17 is attached in close contact with the upper surface of each suction box, and is set so that the upper surface of the platen 17 is in close contact with the lower surface of the transport belt 11c. By attaching such a platen 17, when the transport belt 11c is transported above the suction box, the transport belt 11c is transported while maintaining a flat state without being bent.

  The platen 17 is provided with a large number of ventilation holes. When the intake space inside each suction box is connected to the pipe and the air in the intake space is sucked by the intake pump, the ventilation holes of the platen 17 are provided. Through the suction hole of the conveyor belt 11c.

  The intake boxes 14a to 14f are arranged in close contact with each other in the transport direction of the transport belt 11c, and are set to have the same width in the transport direction. The width of the intake box in the transport direction can be set as appropriate according to the recording medium to be transported. Further, the central portion facing the recording head portion 10 may be widened, and both end portions may be set narrowly for fine suction control.

  Further, the width of the conveyor belt 11c is set smaller than the width of the conveyor belt 11c in the direction orthogonal to the conveyance direction of the conveyor belt 11c, and the both end portions of the conveyor belt 11c are not attracted by the same width. Depending on the width of the recording medium to be conveyed, the suction holes that are not used may be closed, or the width of the suction box may be changed to change the width of the suction area.

  When any of the valves 14av to 14fv is opened, the corresponding suction box is sucked and the recording medium to be transported is attracted to the transport surface of the transport belt 11c. Such a suction operation can be performed in units of suction boxes, and the warp or twist of the recording medium is corrected by being sucked by the transport belt 11c.

  The control unit 15 controls the drive motor M of the drive roll 11a of the transport unit 11 to perform transport control, and performs the recording control of the recording head unit 10 to perform a recording operation on the upper surface of the transported recording medium. Further, the control unit 15 performs opening / closing control of the valves 14av to 14fv based on a detection signal from the carry-in detection sensor 16 that detects a loaded recording medium, and performs suction control for performing a suction operation for each suction box. At that time, the suction force of the suction pump 14g can be adjusted to cause the suction with the suction force corresponding to the material of the recording medium, the weight, the uneven shape of the back surface, and the degree of warping.

  The carry-in detection sensor 16 may be any sensor that can detect the front end and the rear end of the loaded recording medium. For example, an optical sensor composed of a light emitting element and a light receiving element may be used to detect when the front end and the rear end of the recording medium transmit or block light from the light emitting element, or a mark displayed in advance on the recording medium may be detected optically. May be.

  The opening / closing control of the valve is performed based on a detection signal that the carry-in detection sensor 16 detects the front end portion and the rear end portion of the recording medium. In the case of detecting the front end of the recording medium, the transport time of the transport belt 11c is calculated as the movement time required for the front end of the recording medium to pass from the detection position of the carry-in detection sensor 16 to the downstream end in the transport direction of each suction box. When the movement time corresponding to each suction box has elapsed after the carry-in detection sensor 16 detects the front end of the recording medium, the valves of the suction boxes that have passed the movement time are sequentially opened. A suction operation may be performed. In this case, the distance from the detection position of the carry-in detection sensor 16 to the downstream end in the conveyance direction of each suction box is registered in advance, and the conveyance box downstream in the conveyance direction based on the conveyance speed when the recording medium is loaded. You may make it calculate the movement time to an edge part.

  In the case of detecting the rear end of the recording medium, the transport belt 11c indicates the movement time required for the rear end of the recording medium to pass from the detection position of the carry-in detection sensor 16 to the upstream end of the suction box in the transport direction. When the moving time corresponding to each suction box has passed after the carry-in detection sensor 16 detects the trailing edge of the recording medium, the valves of the suction boxes that have passed the moving time are sequentially added. Close it. In this case, the distance from the detection position of the carry-in detection sensor 16 to the upstream end portion in the conveyance direction of each suction box is registered in advance, and the upstream side in the conveyance direction of each suction box based on the conveyance speed when the recording medium is loaded. You may make it calculate the movement time to an edge part.

  In addition, by using a carry-in detection sensor for each suction box, the end of the recording medium can be detected and the valve can be opened and closed. In this case, the distance from the detection position can be registered or moved as described above. There is no need to calculate time. When the length of the recording medium in the transport direction is constant, only the front end of the recording medium may be detected, and the movement time may be calculated in advance based on the length of the recording medium and the transport speed.

  In the above example, valve opening / closing control is performed based on the detection signal from the carry-in detection sensor 16, but the recording medium is temporarily stopped at a predetermined position in the carry-in mechanism 3 immediately before being carried into the conveyer belt 11c. In the case of carrying in positioning and carrying it at a constant carrying speed after positioning, the opening / closing control of the valve can also be performed based on the carry-in start timing.

  FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram showing the relationship between the suction area of the suction section 14 and the recording area of the recording head section 10. The suction area of the suction portion 14 is configured by arranging suction areas 14A to 14F corresponding to the suction boxes in the transport direction, and a recording area P is set so as to face the substantially central portion of the suction area. The suction area is set wide on the upstream side and the downstream side in the transport direction of the recording area P, and has an upstream area FP and a downstream area LP having substantially the same width. An adsorption area 14A is set in the upstream area FP, and an adsorption area 14F is set in the downstream area LP.

  FIG. 4 is a top view of the platen 17 attached to the top surfaces of the suction boxes 14a to 14f. The platen 17 is formed of a plate-like body that is wider than the suction box and longer than the entire suction box, and a large number of vent holes 17a are formed in the opening area on the upper surface of each suction box. And the ventilation hole 17a is formed so that it may not straddle the opening area | region of an adjacent adsorption | suction box. In this example, the vent hole 17a is formed elongated in a direction orthogonal to the transport direction, and the vent hole 17a is not formed in the boundary region between adjacent suction boxes. By forming the vent hole 17a so as not to straddle the adjacent suction box, when the inside of the suction box is sucked, the adjacent suction box is not sucked through the vent hole 17a and the air flow is generated in the recording area. It can be prevented from occurring.

  FIG. 5 is a processing flow in the case where the front end portion of the recording medium is detected and the suction operation is performed. First, it is checked whether or not the front end of the recording medium has been detected by the carry-in detection sensor 16 (S100). If detected, the moving time of the first suction box (in this example, the suction box 14a) (downstream of the suction box 14a) It is checked whether the movement time to the end has elapsed (S101). In this case, the recording medium is transported at a constant transport speed by the transport belt 11c. The movement time may be counted by a timer based on the detection signal.

  When the moving time of the first suction box has elapsed, as shown in FIG. 7, the first suction box 14a is completely covered with the recording medium (FIG. 7A). In this state, the suction operation is activated by opening the valve corresponding to the first suction box (S102). Since the upper surface of the suction box is completely covered by the recording medium, the front end of the recording medium can be reliably sucked to correct deformation such as warping and twisting, and it must be completely covered by the recording medium. Thus, the generation of an air flow that affects the ink ejected from the recording head unit 10 in accordance with the suction operation is suppressed. In FIG. 7, the suction box in which the suction operation is operating is indicated by hatching.

  Since the suction area 14A of the first suction box 14a is set on the upstream side of the recording area, the deformation of the front end of the recording medium is corrected, and then the recording area is carried into the recording area. Therefore, it is possible to accurately perform the recording operation from the front end of the recording medium without causing the deterioration of the image quality accompanying the above and the influence of the air flow accompanying the adsorption operation, and uniform image quality can be obtained.

  After the suction operation of the first suction box is activated, it is checked whether the moving time of the next suction box has elapsed (S103). When the moving time of the next suction box has elapsed, the suction operation is also activated for the next suction box (S104).

  As shown in FIG. 7, even if the front end of the recording medium is conveyed and arrives at the next suction box (14b), the suction operation is not performed until it is completely covered (FIG. 7 (b)). In this state, the front end portion of the recording medium on the upper surface of the next suction box is not sucked, but is sucked by the first suction box, so that the recording medium is conveyed with the deformation corrected.

  When the front end portion of the recording medium reaches the downstream end portion of the next suction box and the next suction box is completely covered, the suction operation is activated (FIG. 7C), and the suction of the front end portion of the recording medium is performed. Is reliably performed and the suction operation does not adversely affect the discharged ink.

  Then, it is checked whether there is a next suction box (S105). If there is a next suction box, steps S103 and S104 are repeated, and the suction operation of the suction box is sequentially performed in accordance with the movement of the front end of the recording medium. Be activated.

  FIG. 6 is a processing flow in the case where the suction operation is stopped by detecting the trailing edge of the recording medium. First, it is checked whether the trailing edge of the recording medium has been detected by the carry-in detection sensor 16 (S200). If detected, the moving time of the first suction box (in this example, the suction box 14a) (upstream of the suction box 14a). It is checked whether the movement time to the side end has elapsed (S201).

  When the moving time of the first suction box elapses, as shown in FIG. 7, the upper surface of the first suction box 14a comes off from the recording medium (FIGS. 7D and 7E). In this state, the valve corresponding to the first suction box is closed to stop the suction operation (S202). When the upper surface of the suction box is removed from the recording medium, an air flow due to the intake air is generated, so by stopping the suction operation of the suction box that is no longer completely covered by the recording medium, the air flow to the ejected ink is reduced. The influence can be suppressed. Further, since the rear end portion of the recording medium is adsorbed by the conveyance belt 11c by the adsorbing operation of the next adsorption box, the rear end portion of the recording medium can be adsorbed with certainty to correct deformation such as warping and twisting. .

  After the suction operation of the first suction box is stopped, it is checked whether the moving time of the next suction box has elapsed (S203). When the moving time of the next suction box has elapsed, the suction operation is also stopped for the next suction box (S204).

  Then, it is checked whether or not there is a next suction box (S205). If there is a next suction box, steps S203 and S204 are repeated, and the suction operation of the suction box is sequentially performed in accordance with the movement of the rear end of the recording medium. Will be stopped.

  When the rear end portion of the recording medium deviates from the recording area, as shown in FIG. 7, since the suction area 14F of the suction box 14f is set on the downstream side of the recording area, recording is performed by the suction operation of the suction box 14f. The rear end portion of the medium is attracted to the conveyance belt 11c and the state in which the deformation is corrected is maintained (FIGS. 7 (f) and 7 (g)). Therefore, it is possible to perform the recording operation up to the rear end portion in a state where the deformation of the rear end portion of the recording medium is corrected, and the image quality is deteriorated due to the deformation of the recording medium and the influence of the air flow accompanying the adsorption operation is caused. Therefore, it is possible to accurately perform the recording operation up to the rear end of the recording medium.

  In the suction control described above, the suction operation is performed for all suction boxes that are completely covered with the recording medium, but the suction box that is completely covered with the recording medium is the closest to the front end of the recording medium. It is also possible to control so that the suction operation is performed only on the downstream suction box and the most upstream suction box closest to the rear end. By performing such suction control, the front end portion and the rear end portion of the recording medium that are easily deformed are sucked, and the other portions do not need to be sucked, and the suction operation can be made more efficient.

  FIG. 8 is a processing flow for causing the most downstream suction box closest to the front end of the recording medium to perform a suction operation. First, it is checked whether the front end of the recording medium has been detected by the carry-in detection sensor 16 (S300). If it is detected, the first suction box moving time (moving time to the downstream end of the suction box) has elapsed. It is checked whether it has been done (S301).

  When the moving time of the first suction box has elapsed, as shown in FIG. 10, the first suction box is completely covered with the recording medium (FIG. 10A). In this state, the suction operation is activated by opening the valve corresponding to the first suction box (S302). Since the upper surface of the suction box is completely covered by the recording medium, the front end of the recording medium can be reliably sucked to correct deformation such as warping and twisting, and it must be completely covered by the recording medium. Thus, the generation of an air flow that affects the ink ejected from the recording head unit 10 in accordance with the suction operation is suppressed. In FIG. 10, the suction box in which the suction operation is activated in accordance with the movement of the front end of the recording medium is indicated by hatching. In addition, the suction box in which the suction operation is activated in accordance with the movement of the rear end portion of the recording medium is indicated by hatching that intersects.

  Since the suction area of the first suction box is set on the upstream side of the recording area, the deformation of the front end of the recording medium is corrected, and then the recording area is carried into the recording area. The recording operation can be accurately performed from the front end of the recording medium without causing the influence of the air flow accompanying the deterioration of the image quality or the adsorption operation.

  After the suction operation of the first suction box is activated, it is checked whether the moving time of the next suction box has elapsed (S303). When the moving time of the next suction box has elapsed, the suction operation is also activated for the next suction box (S304). Then, the suction operation of the previous suction box is stopped (S305).

  As shown in FIG. 10, even if the front end of the recording medium F1 is transported and arrives at the next suction box, the suction operation is not performed until it is completely covered (FIG. 10 (b)). In this state, the front end portion of the recording medium F1 on the upper surface of the next suction box is not sucked, but is sucked by the first suction box, so that the recording medium F1 is conveyed with its deformation corrected. .

  When the front end of the recording medium F1 reaches the downstream end of the next suction box and the next suction box is completely covered, the suction operation is activated and the first suction box (previous suction box) is suctioned. Is stopped (FIG. 10C). Therefore, the suction box closest to the front end of the recording medium F1 among the suction boxes completely covered with the recording medium F1 is controlled to perform the suction operation.

  Then, it is checked whether there is a next suction box (S306). If there is a next suction box, steps S303 to S305 are repeated, and the suction operation of the suction box is sequentially performed in accordance with the movement of the front end of the recording medium. Of the suction boxes that are actuated and completely covered with the recording medium, the suction operation is performed only on the suction box closest to the downstream side closest to the front end.

  FIG. 9 is a processing flow for performing a suction operation on the suction box on the most upstream side closest to the rear end of the recording medium. First, it is checked whether the trailing edge of the recording medium is detected by the carry-in detection sensor 16 (S400), and if it is detected, the suction operation of the first suction box is activated (S401). In this case, the operation may be performed later than the detected timing, but the time is set to be shorter than the moving time of the first suction box (moving time to the upstream end of the suction box). Then, it is checked whether the moving time of the first suction box has elapsed (S402).

  When the movement time of the first adsorption box has elapsed, it is checked whether there is a next adsorption box (S403). If there is a next adsorption box, the adsorption operation of the next adsorption box is activated (S404), and the previous adsorption box is activated. The suction operation of the box (first suction box) is stopped (S405).

  As shown in FIG. 10, when the rear end portion of the recording medium F1 is detected, the suction operation of the first suction box is activated (FIG. 10 (d)). Since the upper surface of the suction box comes off from the recording medium F1, the suction operation is performed by opening the valve corresponding to the next suction box and closing the valve corresponding to the first suction box (FIG. 10). (E)).

  When the upper surface of the suction box is removed from the recording medium, an air flow due to the intake air is generated, so by stopping the suction operation of the suction box that is no longer completely covered by the recording medium, the air flow to the ejected ink is reduced. The influence can be suppressed. Further, the rear end portion of the recording medium is adsorbed to the conveying belt 11c by the adsorption operation of the adsorption box closest to the rear end portion of the adsorption box completely covered with the recording medium, and therefore the recording medium. It is possible to correct the deformation such as warping and twisting by reliably adsorbing the rear end of the head.

  Then, it is checked whether the moving time of the next suction box has passed (S406). If the moving time of the next suction box has passed, steps S403 to S405 are repeated to move the rear end of the recording medium. At the same time, the suction operation of the suction box closest to the rear end of the suction box completely covered with the recording medium is sequentially operated.

  If there is no next suction box in step S403, the suction operation of the previous suction box is stopped (S407) and the process ends.

  When the rear end portion of the recording medium F1 is out of the recording area, as shown in FIG. 10, since the suction area of the suction box is set on the downstream side of the recording area, the recording medium F1 by the suction operation of the suction box. The rear end portion is attracted to the conveyor belt 11c and the state in which the deformation is corrected is maintained (FIGS. 10 (i) and 10 (j)). Therefore, it is possible to perform the recording operation up to the rear end portion in a state where the deformation of the rear end portion of the recording medium is corrected, and the image quality is deteriorated due to the deformation of the recording medium and the influence of the air flow accompanying the adsorption operation is caused. Therefore, it is possible to accurately perform the recording operation up to the rear end of the recording medium.

  Also, as shown in FIG. 10, even when the next recording medium F2 is carried in after the recording medium F1, the suction control for the front end of the recording medium F2 following the suction control for the rear end of the recording medium F1. (FIG. 10 (f) to FIG. 10 (j)). With respect to the recording medium F2, the same suction control as that of the recording medium F1 is repeated, and a recording operation can be continuously performed while transporting a plurality of recording media without requiring special processing.

  In the embodiment described above, the head non-scanning type is used as the recording head unit, but the present invention is not limited to this, and a head scanning type may be used.

  According to the present invention, even when the recording medium is deformed such as warping or twisting, the recording operation can be performed accurately in a state corrected by the adsorption operation, and the influence of the air flow on the ejected ink due to the adsorption operation is suppressed. Does not cause deterioration. Therefore, it can be used widely for recording media of various materials such as paper, film, leather, plastic, metal, glass, ceramic, cement, earthenware, and porcelain.

1 is a schematic configuration diagram relating to an ink jet recording apparatus according to the present invention. It is a schematic block diagram regarding the adsorption | suction part of a recording mechanism. It is explanatory drawing which shows the relationship between the adsorption area of an adsorption | suction part, and the recording area of a recording head part. It is a top view regarding the platen attached to the upper surface of the adsorption box. It is a processing flow in the case of performing a suction operation by detecting the front end of the recording medium. It is a processing flow when the rear end portion of the recording medium is detected and the suction operation is stopped. It is explanatory drawing regarding the process of the adsorption | suction operation | movement shown in FIG.5 and FIG.6. It is a processing flow in which the suction box closest to the front end of the recording medium is suctioned. It is a processing flow for causing the suction box closest to the rear end of the recording medium to perform a suction operation. It is explanatory drawing regarding the process of the adsorption | suction operation | movement shown in FIG.8 and FIG.9.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Inkjet recording device 2 Recording mechanism 3 Carry-in mechanism 4 Carry-out mechanism
10 Recording head
11 Transport section
12 Carriage part
13 Support part
14 Adsorption part
15 Control unit
16 Carry-in detection sensor
17 Platen

Claims (2)

A conveying means for conveying the recording medium in a predetermined conveying direction by a conveying belt; an ink jet recording means for performing a recording operation on the recording medium in a recording area set with a predetermined width in the conveying direction; and a conveying direction from the recording area An adsorbing means for adsorbing the recording medium to the conveying belt for each of a plurality of adsorption areas including an adsorption area upstream and downstream of the recording area in an area set wide on the upstream side and downstream side of the recording area; Detecting means for detecting the end of the recording medium that is disposed upstream of the conveying direction and being conveyed, and detecting the front end of the recording medium from the detecting means in accordance with the movement of the front end of the recording medium. The recording medium is moved in accordance with the movement of the rear end of the recording medium on the basis of the detection signal of the rear end of the recording medium from the detection means. An ink jet recording apparatus characterized by comprising a suction control means for controlling the suction means to stop the suction operation of the suction zone that is no longer completely covered. A conveying means for conveying the recording medium in a predetermined conveying direction by a conveying belt; an ink jet recording means for performing a recording operation on the recording medium in a recording area set with a predetermined width in the conveying direction; and a conveying direction from the recording area An adsorbing means for adsorbing the recording medium to the conveying belt for each of a plurality of adsorption areas including an adsorption area upstream and downstream of the recording area in an area set wide on the upstream side and downstream side of the recording area; Detecting means for detecting the end of the recording medium that is disposed upstream of the conveying direction and being conveyed, and detecting the front end of the recording medium from the detecting means in accordance with the movement of the front end of the recording medium. The suction operation is performed only in the most downstream suction area closest to the front end of the recording medium, and the rear end of the recording medium is moved based on the detection signal of the rear end of the recording medium from the detection means. An ink jet recording apparatus characterized by comprising a suction control means for controlling the suction means to perform the most upstream side of the adsorption zone only adsorbing operation is closest to the rear end of the recording medium combined.

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