JP5742455B2 - Image forming apparatus, control method therefor, and program - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus, a control method thereof, and a program, and more specifically, includes an ejection head that ejects liquid and a moving unit that moves the ejection head, and moves the ejection head based on input image data. The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus that discharges liquid onto a medium while forming an image, a control method thereof, and a program.

  Conventionally, as this type of image forming apparatus, an apparatus that forms an image on a sheet while reciprocating a carriage mounted with an ejection head for ejecting ink in a direction orthogonal to the sheet conveying direction has been proposed (for example, Patent Document 1). In this apparatus, an ink receiver is provided in a non-image forming area near the moving end of a reciprocating carriage, and the ejection head is driven based on image forming data after the carriage starts moving to form an image. In the meantime, the ejection head is driven to eject ink toward the ink receiver regardless of the image formation data. Thus, flushing is performed while the carriage is moving during image formation.

JP 2001-180007 A

  However, in the above-described apparatus, the ejection head is driven for flushing regardless of the image formation data. Therefore, when image formation is started after flushing, it is necessary to switch to and control the image formation data. For this reason, a switching loss may occur depending on the time required for switching data. In such an apparatus, since it is considered that improving the throughput of image formation is an important issue, an apparatus that efficiently performs flushing without such a loss is demanded.

  The main object of the image forming apparatus, the control method, and the program of the present invention is to perform flushing during image formation more efficiently.

  The image forming apparatus, the control method thereof, and the program according to the present invention employ the following means in order to achieve the main object described above.

The image forming apparatus of the present invention includes:
An image forming apparatus that includes a discharge head that discharges liquid and a moving unit that moves the discharge head, and forms an image by discharging liquid onto a medium while moving the discharge head based on input image data. And
A liquid receiving means provided in a region capable of forming an image and removed from the medium;
Flushing data for flushing in the area where the liquid receiving means is provided is incorporated in the input image data to generate liquid discharge data for discharging liquid to an area that is larger than the width of the medium and includes the liquid receiving means. Liquid ejection data generating means;
The gist of the invention is that it comprises a control means for controlling the ejection head and the moving means based on the generated liquid ejection data.

  In the image forming apparatus according to the present invention, the liquid for flushing in the area where the liquid receiving means is provided is incorporated into the input image data, and the liquid is larger than the width of the medium and discharges the liquid to the area including the liquid receiving means. Discharge data is generated, and the discharge head and moving means are controlled based on the generated liquid discharge data. As a result, there is no need to switch from data for flushing by the liquid receiving means to data for forming an image, so that liquid is discharged to the liquid receiving means during image formation without any loss associated with data switching. And can be flushed. As a result, flushing during image formation can be performed more efficiently.

  In such an image forming apparatus according to the present invention, the liquid ejection data generation unit does not eject liquid to the marginal area when it is required to form an image with a margin at the margin of the medium. The liquid ejection data may be generated by further incorporating non-ejection data. In this way, even when the image formation area based on the image data is smaller than the medium, such as an image with a border, flushing during image formation can be performed more efficiently.

  The image forming apparatus of the present invention further includes a second liquid receiving means provided in an area separated from the medium separately from the liquid receiving means, and the control means is required to form a high quality image. The second liquid receiving means discharges the liquid at a predetermined timing before image formation based on the second flushing data in which the liquid ejection amount is larger than the flushing data. When the high-quality image formation is not required by controlling the moving means, the second liquid receiving means may be a means for omitting the discharge of the liquid. In this way, when high-quality image formation is required, flushing by discharging the liquid at the second liquid receiving unit before image formation and flushing by discharging the liquid at the liquid receiving unit during image formation are performed. Therefore, the quality of the image can be improved. In addition, when high-quality image formation is not required, flushing with the liquid receiving means during image formation is performed by omitting flushing with the second liquid receiving means before image formation. The throughput of image formation can be improved while being stabilized.

  Furthermore, in the image forming apparatus of the present invention for forming an image on a plurality of types of media having different widths, the image forming apparatus further includes a width detecting unit that detects the width of the medium, and the liquid receiving unit has an edge with no margin on the edge of the medium. A plurality of liquid ejection data generation means are provided according to the width of the plurality of types of media so as to serve as liquid reception from the edge of the medium when an image is formed. Data for ejecting liquid to the liquid receiving means corresponding to the detected width of the medium may be means for incorporating the data into the image data as the flushing data. In this way, the amount of movement of the ejection head when flushing during image formation can be minimized according to the width of the medium, so that flushing during image formation can be performed more efficiently.

  In the image forming apparatus of the present invention that forms an image using a plurality of types of dots having different sizes, the liquid ejection data generation unit stores data for forming a dot of the largest size among the plurality of types of dots. It may be a means used as flushing data. In this way, even when flushing during image formation, it is possible to appropriately flush by ejecting a relatively large amount of liquid.

  In the image forming apparatus according to the aspect of the invention, the control unit performs control based on the liquid discharge data so that the liquid is discharged from the discharge head at a cycle according to the moving speed of the discharge head by the moving unit. Before the control based on the liquid discharge data, the discharge head and the moving unit are arranged so that the liquid in the discharge head is vibrated without discharge at a cycle different from the cycle according to the moving speed of the discharge head. It can be a means for controlling In the case of performing control based on vibration data before forming an image, when the image is formed by performing flushing using data dedicated to flushing and then switching to image forming data, the cycle is frequently switched. Loss may be greatly affected by the re-creation of the accompanying data. For this reason, the significance of applying the present invention is high.

The control method of the image forming apparatus of the present invention includes:
An ejection head that ejects liquid; a moving unit that moves the ejection head; and a liquid receiving unit that is capable of forming an image and that is provided in a region outside the medium, and that is based on input image data. A control method of an image forming apparatus for forming an image by ejecting liquid onto the medium while moving a head,
(A) Liquid discharge data for discharging the liquid to an area larger than the width of the medium and including the liquid receiving means by incorporating flushing data for flushing in the area where the liquid receiving means is provided in the input image data. A step of generating
And (b) controlling the ejection head and the moving means based on the generated liquid ejection data.

  In the control method of the image forming apparatus of the present invention, the flushing data for flushing in the area where the liquid receiving means is provided is incorporated in the input image data, and the liquid is applied to the area that is larger than the width of the medium and includes the liquid receiving means. Liquid discharge data to be discharged is generated, and the discharge head and the moving unit are controlled based on the generated liquid discharge data. As a result, there is no need to switch from data for flushing by the liquid receiving means to data for forming an image, so that liquid is discharged to the liquid receiving means during image formation without any loss associated with data switching. And can be flushed. As a result, flushing during image formation can be performed more efficiently. Note that a step of realizing any of the functions of the above-described image forming apparatus may be added.

  The program of the present invention is for causing a computer to realize the above-described control method of the image forming apparatus. This program may be recorded on a computer-readable recording medium (for example, hard disk, ROM, FD, CD, DVD, etc.) or from a computer via a transmission medium (communication network such as the Internet or LAN). It may be distributed to another computer, or may be exchanged in any other form. If this program is executed by a computer, the above-described control method of the image forming apparatus is executed, and thus the same effect as that of the control method can be obtained.

1 is a configuration diagram showing an outline of the configuration of an inkjet printer 20. FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram showing electrical connection of the print head 24. The block diagram which shows the structure of the platen 51. FIG. Explanatory drawing which shows an example of the waveform of the original signal ODRV. Explanatory drawing which shows an example of the signal waveform of the data only for flushing. Explanatory drawing which shows an example of the signal waveform of the fine vibration outside printing, and the fine vibration before printing. 6 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a print processing routine. Explanatory drawing which shows an example of the ink discharge data in the case of bordered printing, and a signal waveform. Explanatory drawing which shows an example of the ink discharge data in the case of borderless printing, and a signal waveform.

  Next, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram showing an outline of the configuration of an ink jet printer 20 which is an embodiment of an image forming apparatus of the present invention, FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing electrical connection of a print head 24, and FIG. FIG.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the inkjet printer 20 of the present embodiment includes a paper feed mechanism 31 that transports the paper P in the transport direction (sub-scanning direction) in the figure by driving a paper feed roller 35 by a drive motor 33, and a paper feed The printer mechanism 21 that performs printing by ejecting ink droplets from the print head 24 onto the paper P conveyed on the platen 51 by the mechanism 31, the flushing region 54 provided on the left side of the platen 51, and the right side of the platen 51 A capping device 56 that seals the print head 24 in order to prevent the print head 24 from drying during a printing pause or the like, and a controller 70 that controls the entire inkjet printer 20 are provided. The position on the capping device 56 is called a home position.

  The printer mechanism 21 includes a carriage motor 34a disposed on the right side of the mechanical frame 21a, a driven roller 34b disposed on the left side of the mechanical frame 21a, a carriage belt 32 installed on the carriage motor 34a and the driven roller 34b, A carriage 22 that reciprocates in the main scanning direction along the guide 28 by a carriage belt 32 as the carriage motor 34a is driven, and cyan that contains a dye or pigment as a colorant in water as a solvent mounted on the carriage 22 (C), magenta (M), yellow (Y), and black (K) CMYK ink cartridges 26 each containing ink, and printing that receives ink supply from the ink cartridge 26 and ejects ink droplets Attached to the head 24 and the carriage 22 PW for detecting right and left ends of the sheet P on the Latin 51 (Paper Width) and a detector 60. A linear encoder 36 that outputs a pulse signal as the carriage 22 moves is disposed on the rear surface of the carriage 22, and the position of the carriage 22 is managed by the linear encoder 36.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the print head 24 includes four nozzle rows 43C in which a plurality of CMYK nozzles 23C, 23M, 23Y, and 23K are arranged in one row for each color (180 in this embodiment). , 43M, 43Y, and 43K, a cavity plate 25 that forms an ink chamber 29 that communicates with each of the nozzle plates 23C, 23M, 23Y, and 23K together with the nozzle plate 27, and an upper wall of the ink chamber 29. A vibrating plate 49 made of ceramic (for example, made of zirconia ceramic), a piezoelectric element 48 (for example, lead zirconate titanate) attached to the upper surface of the vibrating plate 49, and a piezoelectric element formed on the head driving substrate 41. And a mask circuit 47 as a drive circuit that outputs a drive signal to the element 48. In the print head 24, a voltage is applied from the mask circuit 47 to the piezoelectric element 48 and the upper wall of the ink chamber 29 is pushed down by the piezoelectric element 48, thereby pressurizing the ink and ejecting ink droplets from the nozzles 23. Here, all of the nozzles 23C, 23M, 23Y, and 23K are collectively referred to as a nozzle 23, and all of the nozzle rows 43C, 43M, 43Y, and 43K are collectively referred to as a nozzle row 43. Hereinafter, driving of the print head 24 will be described using the black (K) nozzle 23K. The nozzles 23C, 23M, 23Y and nozzle rows 43C, 43M, 43Y of colors other than black (K) are the same as the nozzle 23K and nozzle row 43K.

  The mask circuit 47 inputs the original signal ODRV generated by the head drive waveform generation circuit 80 and the print signal PRTn generated by the controller 70, and outputs the drive signal DRVn based on the input original signal ODRV and the print signal PRTn. Generated and output to the piezoelectric element 48. Note that the last n of the print signal PRTn and the last n of the drive signal DRVn are numbers for specifying the nozzles 23K included in the nozzle row 43K, and in this embodiment, the number of nozzles is 180. n is an integer value between 1 and 180. The head drive waveform generation circuit 80 outputs to the mask circuit 47 a pulse signal in the section for one pixel (within the time during which the carriage 22 crosses the section of one pixel) as the original signal ODRV. Note that the time for which the carriage 22 crosses the section of one pixel depends on the speed of the carriage 22. Therefore, the original signal ODRV is generated at a period corresponding to the interval of PTS (Pulse Timing Signal) that is a signal generated by the controller 70 in accordance with the output pulse from the linear encoder 36.

  Here, FIG. 4 shows an example of the waveform of the original signal ODRV. As shown in the figure, the original signal ODRV is composed of a signal COMA and a signal COMB having a period of 1 PTS. The mask circuit 47 to which the original signal ODRV is input selects a necessary pulse from one of the signals COMA and COMB on the basis of the separately input print signal PRTn and masks the remaining selected pulse. Only the pulse is output to the piezoelectric element 48 of the nozzle 23K as the drive signal DRVn. Specifically, when an ink droplet for forming a large size dot (large dot) is ejected from the nozzle 23K, the first pulse Pa1 and the third pulse Pa3 of the signal COMA are output as the drive signal DRVn. When ejecting ink droplets for forming small-sized dots (small dots), the second pulse Pa2 and the fourth pulse Pb4 of the signal COMA are output. In addition, when ejecting ink droplets for forming intermediate size dots (medium dots) between large dots and small dots, the second pulse Pb2 and the fourth pulse Pb4 of the signal COMB are output, and the ink droplets are ejected. When not ejecting, the first pulse Pb1 and the third pulse Pb3 of the signal COMB are output in order to slightly vibrate the ink in the nozzle 23K for the purpose of suppressing the thickening of the ink droplets. As described above, the inkjet printer 20 adjusts the drive signal applied to the piezoelectric element 48 in one pixel section, thereby separating the formation of dots of three kinds of sizes and suppressing the increase in ink viscosity.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the platen 51 is formed of a placement area 51a formed of a material such as resin or plastic having a light reflectance different from that of the paper P, and a material such as sponge or felt capable of absorbing ink. In addition, a plurality of types of paper P (for example, A4 paper, B5 paper, postcard, L size, etc.) having different sizes used by the ink jet printer 20 can be placed. In this platen 51, when performing so-called borderless printing in which a print area without margins is set on the paper P, the paper P is prevented from sticking to the placement area 51a. Ink receiving areas 51b are formed at positions corresponding to both ends of each size. The ink receiving area 51b is also used for receiving ink discharged by flushing during printing, which will be described later, in addition to ink discharged from the paper P during borderless printing.

  The flushing area 54 is used when flushing in order to prevent the ink from drying and solidifying at the tip of the nozzle 23, and is provided at a position outside the printing area. The flushing in the flushing area 54 is performed at a predetermined timing using data dedicated to flushing that is not related to the print data. An example of the signal waveform of the data dedicated to flushing is shown in FIG. In the flushing area 54, first, the controller 70 drives the carriage motor 34a to move the print head 24 (carriage 22) to the flushing area 54, and then the head drive waveform generation circuit 80 is dedicated to flushing. Is output to the mask circuit 47. Subsequently, the mask circuit 47 to which a signal dedicated to flushing is input selects the signal COMA and outputs both the first pulse Pa′1 and the second pulse Pa′2 to the piezoelectric element 48 of the nozzle 23. . The flushing by this dedicated signal waveform is determined so that the ink discharge amount is larger than the large dots of the original signal ODRV at the time of printing. In the following description, the flushing on the flushing area 54 may be referred to as an out-of-print area flushing.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the PW detector 60 is configured as an optical sensor including a light emitting element 62 (for example, a light emitting diode) and a light receiving element 64 (for example, a phototransistor). The light reflected by is received by the light receiving element 64 to be converted into an electric signal having a voltage corresponding to the amount of light. In this PW detector 60, the platen 51 and the paper P have different light reflectivities. Therefore, the PW detector 60 emits light by moving across the paper P as the print head 24 (carriage 22) reciprocates in the main scanning direction. The left and right paper edges of the paper P can be detected based on the magnitude comparison between the output voltage from the light receiving element 64 that has received the light emitted from the element 62 and a predetermined threshold value.

  The controller 70 is configured as a microprocessor centered on the CPU 72, and includes a ROM 73 that stores various processing programs and various data, a RAM 74 that temporarily stores data, and a flash memory 75 that can write and delete data. And an interface (I / F) 76 for exchanging information with an external device, and an input / output port (not shown). The ROM 73 stores the positions and sizes of the plurality of ink receiving areas 51b described above. The RAM 74 is provided with a print buffer area, and print data sent from the user PC 10 which is a general-purpose personal computer via the I / F 76 is stored in the print buffer area. A position signal from the linear encoder 36, a signal from the PW detector 60, and the like are input to the controller 70 via an input port. The controller 70 outputs a drive signal to the print head 24, a drive signal to the drive motor 33, a drive signal to the carriage motor 34a, and the like via an output port.

  In the ink jet printer 20 of this embodiment configured as described above, when print data that is dot data generated on the user PC 10 side and various print settings are received together with a print instruction, the print data is stored in a print buffer area provided in the RAM 74. expand. Then, the paper feed roller 35 is rotated by the drive motor 33 to convey the paper P onto the platen 51, and the carriage 22 is reciprocated by the carriage motor 34a, and at the same time, the piezoelectric elements 48 of the respective colors of the print head 24 are driven. An image is formed on the paper P by ejecting ink to form dots. Various print settings include paper size, paper type (plain paper, glossy paper, etc.), print quality (low image quality, standard image quality, high image quality, etc.), and presence / absence of borders that determine the presence or absence of margins on the paper P. Etc. are set. Further, in the inkjet printer 20 of the present embodiment, as a preparation for printing before discharging each color ink, the ink in the print head 24 is given a slight vibration to suppress the increase in the viscosity of the ink. This fine vibration includes fine vibration outside printing that occurs when the carriage 22 stops between passes, during acceleration until the carriage 22 reaches a constant speed during the pass, and during deceleration until the carriage 22 stops. Among them, there is a fine vibration before printing which is performed after the speed of the carriage 22 becomes a substantially constant speed until the ink discharge is started. An example of signal waveforms of the fine vibration outside printing and the fine vibration before printing is shown in FIG. FIG. 6A shows a signal waveform of fine vibration outside printing, and FIG. 6B shows a signal waveform of fine vibration before printing. As shown in the figure, both have the same waveform, but the fine waveform outside printing repeats the signal waveform at a fixed cycle, whereas the fine waveform before printing repeats the signal waveform with 1 PTS as the cycle like the original signal ODRV. Is different.

  Next, the operation of the ink jet printer 20 according to the present embodiment configured as described above will be described in particular for the printing process. FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a print processing routine executed by the controller 70. This routine is executed when a print instruction is input from the user PC 10 to the controller 70.

  When this routine is executed, the CPU 72 of the controller 70 first determines whether or not the print quality setting of the various print settings is of high image quality (step S100). If the image quality is high, the flushing timing is reached. It is determined whether or not (step S110). The determination of the flushing timing is based on a predetermined time (for example, 5 minutes, 10 minutes, 15 minutes, etc.) determined in advance by a timer (not shown) after completion of flushing outside the print area on the previous flushing area 54. This is done depending on whether or not it has passed. When it is the flushing timing in step S110, flushing outside the printing area is executed with the reciprocation of the print head 24 to the flushing area 54 (step S120), and the process proceeds to the next process. On the other hand, when the image quality setting is not high in step S100, or when the flushing timing is not reached in step S110, the process proceeds to the next process.

  Next, the paper feed roller 35 is driven to control the drive motor 33 so that the paper P is fed onto the platen 51 to perform paper feed processing (step S130), and the PW detector 60 is being adjusted. Is determined (step S140). Here, the PW detector 60 may not be able to detect the paper edge normally when the output is reduced due to aging deterioration of each element, etc., and an adjustment process described later that adjusts the sensitivity periodically or in response to a user instruction. Is made. If the PW detector 60 is not being adjusted in step S140, the end of the paper is detected by controlling the carriage motor 34a so that the PW detector 60 mounted on the carriage 22 crosses the paper P with light emission from the light emitting element 62. Processing is performed (step S150). Next, print data for one pass is input (step S160), and it is determined whether or not a border presence / absence setting that determines the presence / absence of a margin of the paper P among various print settings is a border (step S170).

  When there is a border, NULL data is set as non-ejection data in which ink is not ejected from the nozzles 23 in a margin area determined by the widthwise print edge based on the print data for one pass and the detected paper edge ( Step S180). Next, in-print flushing data for discharging ink is set to the ink receiving area 51b corresponding to the detected paper edge among the plurality of ink receiving areas 51b (step S190). Here, in the present embodiment, the setting of the flushing data during printing is obtained from the ROM 73 by acquiring the position and size of the ink receiving area 51b corresponding to the detected paper edge among the plurality of ink receiving areas 51b. The printing signal (PRTn) is generated so that large dot ink droplets are ejected from all the nozzles 23 in the area based on the size. The set NULL data and printing flushing data are added to the print data to generate ink discharge data (corresponding to the liquid discharge data of the present invention) (step S200), and the carriage 22 is moved based on the generated ink discharge data. The printing process for one pass is executed (forward or backward) (step S230). On the other hand, if there is no border in step S170, flushing data during printing for discharging ink to the ink receiving area 51b corresponding to the detected paper edge among the plurality of ink receiving areas 51b is set (step S210). This process is performed similarly to step S190. Then, the set flushing data during printing is added to the print data to generate ink discharge data (step S220). In step S230, the printing process for one pass is executed while moving the carriage 22 based on the ink discharge data.

  Here, FIG. 8 shows an example of ink ejection data and signal waveforms in the case of bordered printing, and FIG. 9 shows an example of ink ejection data and signal waveforms in the case of borderless printing. As shown in FIG. 8A, when there is a border, NULL data set in a margin area on both sides of the paper P and flushing data during printing set in the ink receiving area 51b are for one pass. Therefore, ink is ejected to a region that is larger than the width of the paper P and includes the ink receiving region 51b. As shown in FIG. 9, when there is no border, the flushing data during printing set in the ink receiving area 51b is added to the print data for one pass. As a result, in both cases of bordered printing and borderless printing, flushing is performed to eject large dots of ink toward the ink receiving area 51b in the printing process based on the print data for one pass. Will be. Hereinafter, the flushing in the printing process for one pass is referred to as the flushing during printing. By performing such flushing during printing, the amount of movement of the carriage 22 can be reduced as compared with the case where flushing outside the printing area is performed on the flushing area 54 during printing. Further, in the flushing during printing, the flushing data during printing is set in the ink receiving area 52b corresponding to the width of the paper P. Therefore, the movement amount of the carriage 22 can be minimized according to the width of the paper P. Furthermore, since the flushing data during printing is set so as to select a pulse for large dots from the original signal ODRV, a relatively large amount of ink can be ejected and flushed appropriately. When there is a border, NULL data is set in an area that becomes a margin. Therefore, even when the print width based on the print data is smaller than the paper width as in the case of bordered printing, appropriate flushing during printing is performed. Can do.

  In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 8B, the NULL data is data (signal waveform) for selecting the pulses Pb1 and Pb3 of the signal COMB that slightly vibrates the ink from the original signal ODRV. Is set. On the other hand, as shown in FIGS. 8B and 9B, the flushing data during printing is data for selecting the pulses Pa1 and Pa3 of the signal COMA that are pulses for large dots from the original signal ODRV. (Signal waveform) is set. During printing of one pass, as shown in FIG. 8B, after the carriage 22 moves at a constant speed from the fine vibration waveform outside printing during the acceleration of the carriage 22 (see FIG. 6A). Is switched to the pre-printing fine vibration waveform (see FIG. 6B), and then the flushing waveform, the NULL waveform, the printing waveform, the NULL waveform, and the flushing waveform are followed, and the printing is not performed when the carriage 22 is decelerated. A fine vibration waveform is output to the print head 24 (piezoelectric element 48). For this reason, after switching from the non-printing micro-vibration waveform to the pre-printing micro-vibration waveform, the drive waveform may be output with a cycle of 1 PTS until the non-printing micro-vibration waveform is switched again. There is no need. Further, since the same original signal ODRV as the printing waveform is used as the flushing waveform or the NULL waveform, it is not necessary to set a dedicated drive waveform for flushing during printing or to switch to the dedicated drive waveform. , Loss due to setting and switching can be suppressed. As a result, flushing during printing can be performed more efficiently. Note that the case without a border is the same as the case with a border except that NULL data is not added, and thus the description thereof is omitted.

  When the printing process for one pass is executed with the flushing during printing, it is determined whether there is print data to be printed in the next pass (step S240). A predetermined amount is conveyed for the next pass printing (step S250), and the process returns to step S160 to repeat the process. On the other hand, when it is determined in step S240 that there is no data to be printed in the next pass, the drive motor 33 is controlled so that the paper P is discharged from the platen 51 with the drive of the paper feed roller 35 (step S310). This process is terminated. In addition, since flushing during printing uses the waveform of large dots in the original signal ODRV during printing, the amount of ink discharged is smaller than flushing outside the printing area. However, since it is more efficient than the out-of-printing area flushing and the frequency can be increased by performing each pass or the like, the thickening of the ink in the nozzles 23 can be appropriately suppressed. When high image quality is required, in addition to flushing during printing, flushing outside the printing area is performed in step S120 described above, so that the printing quality can be improved. On the other hand, when a high image is not required, flushing during printing is performed by omitting flushing outside the printing area, so that printing throughput can be improved.

  On the other hand, if the PW detector 60 is adjusting in step S140, paper edge detection processing is performed in the same manner as in step S150 described above (step S260), and an adjustment pattern for one pass is input (step S270). Then, an adjustment pattern printing process for one pass is executed with the detected paper edge as a reference (step S280). Here, although the illustration of the adjustment pattern is omitted, print data is created so as to be printed at a predetermined position based on the detected paper edge, and the quality of the PW detector 60 is determined based on the print result. And its sensitivity can be adjusted. If the flushing data during printing is added when printing this adjustment pattern, there is a possibility that printing will be performed based on a position slightly shifted from the detected paper edge. For this reason, during the adjustment of the PW detector 60, the printing process is executed as it is without adding the flushing data during printing. When the printing process is executed, it is determined whether there is print data to be printed in the next pass (step S290). If it is determined that there is print data, the paper P is conveyed by a predetermined amount for printing the next pass. (Step S300), the process returns to step S270 and is repeated. On the other hand, if it is determined in step S290 that there is no print data to be printed in the next pass, a paper discharge process is performed in step S310, and the process is terminated.

  Here, the correspondence between the components of the present embodiment and the components of the present invention will be clarified. The print head 24 of the present embodiment corresponds to the “ejection head”, and the carriage 22 and the carriage belt 32 that moves the carriage 22, the carriage motor 34 a, and the driven roller 34 b correspond to the “moving means” of the present invention, and the ink receiving area. Reference numeral 51d corresponds to “liquid receiving means”, and the controller 70 that executes the processes of steps S180 to S220 of the print processing routine of FIG. 7 corresponds to “liquid discharge data generation means”, and step S230 of the print processing routine of FIG. The controller 70 that executes the process corresponds to a “control unit”.

  According to the ink jet printer 20 of the present embodiment described in detail above, the flushing data during printing for discharging ink is set in the ink receiving area 51b and added to the print data for one pass, so that it is larger than the width of the paper P. Ink discharge data for forming an image in a large area including the ink receiving area 51b is generated, and the print head 24 and the carriage 22 are controlled based on the generated ink discharge data. Accordingly, it is possible to perform flushing by ejecting ink to the ink receiving area 51b during printing without switching from print data to data for flushing. As a result, flushing during image formation can be performed more efficiently.

  Even in the case of bordered printing, since NULL data is set in an area that becomes a margin, flushing during printing can be performed appropriately. Furthermore, when high image quality is required, flushing outside the printing area is performed in addition to flushing during printing, so that the printing quality can be improved. When high image is not required, flushing outside the printing area is omitted. Therefore, the printing throughput can be improved. Since flushing during printing is performed in the ink receiving area 52b according to the width of the paper P, the movement amount of the carriage 22 for flushing during printing can be minimized according to the width of the paper P. Further, since the flushing data during printing selects a pulse for large dots from the original signal ODRV, it is possible to appropriately flush by ejecting a relatively large amount of ink.

  In addition, this invention is not limited to the embodiment mentioned above at all, and it cannot be overemphasized that it can implement with a various aspect, as long as it belongs to the technical scope of this invention.

    In the above-described embodiment, the flushing during printing is performed for each pass. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the flushing during printing is performed every predetermined number of passes or the flushing during printing is performed every elapse of a predetermined time. It is good. Also, the frequency of flushing during printing may be variable, such as the frequency of flushing during printing being increased as the print quality setting is higher.

  In the above-described embodiment, the inkjet printer 20 uses four types of paper P. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and five or more types of paper P may be used. The paper P may be used. Further, the present invention is not limited to a plurality of types of sizes, and one type of size paper P may be used.

  In the embodiment described above, the flushing data during printing is set in the ink receiving area 51b corresponding to the paper edge detected by the PW detector 60. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and it corresponds to the paper size included in various print settings. In-print flushing data may be set in the ink receiving area 51b.

  In the above-described embodiment, the ink receiving area 51b is used both as an ink receiver for borderless printing and an ink receiver for flushing during printing. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and a dedicated ink receiver for flushing during printing is provided. May be,

  In the above-described embodiment, the large dot signal of the original signal ODRV is used as the flushing data during printing. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and a signal different from the original signal ODRV can be incorporated into the print data. May be used.

  In the above-described embodiment, the execution timing of the out-of-printing area flushing is the timing when a predetermined time has elapsed since the previous flushing, but is not limited thereto, and may be the timing when a predetermined number of prints are performed since the previous flushing. . Further, when the print quality setting is high image quality, flushing outside the print area is performed before printing. However, even if the print quality setting is high image quality, flushing outside the print area may be omitted.

  In the above-described embodiment, the fine vibration outside printing or the fine vibration before printing is performed. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and either one may be omitted or both may be omitted.

  In the above-described embodiment, the inkjet printer 20 is shown as an example of the image forming apparatus of the present invention. However, the present invention is not limited to this as long as it forms an image on a medium by discharging a liquid. For example, the present invention may be applied to office automation equipment such as a facsimile machine and a multifunction machine.

  10 user PC, 20 inkjet printer, 21 printer mechanism, 21a mechanical frame, 22 carriage, 23, 23C, 23M, 23Y, 23K nozzle, 24 print head, 25 cavity plate, 26 ink cartridge, 27 nozzle plate, 28 guide, 29 Ink chamber, 31 paper feed mechanism, 32 carriage belt, 33 drive motor, 34a carriage motor, 34b driven roller, 35 paper feed roller, 36 linear encoder, 41 head drive substrate, 43, 43C, 43M, 43Y, 43K nozzle Array, 47 mask circuit, 48 piezoelectric element, 49 diaphragm, 51 platen, 51a placement area, 51b ink receiving area, 54 flushing area, 56 capping device, 60 PW detector 62 light-emitting element, 64 light-receiving element, 70 controller, 72 CPU, 73 ROM, 74 RAM, 75 a flash memory, 76 an interface (I / F), 80 head driving waveform generating circuit, P paper.

Claims (7)

An ejection head that ejects liquid to a plurality of kinds of media having different widths, and a moving means for moving the said discharge out head, ejecting the liquid to the medium while moving the ejection head based on the image data input An image forming apparatus for forming an image,
Width detecting means for detecting the width of the medium;
A liquid receiving means provided in a region capable of forming an image and removed from the medium;
Flushing data for flushing in the area where the liquid receiving means is provided is incorporated in the input image data to generate liquid discharge data for discharging liquid to an area that is larger than the width of the medium and includes the liquid receiving means. Liquid ejection data generating means;
Control means for controlling the ejection head and the moving means based on the generated liquid ejection data ;
Equipped with a,
A plurality of the liquid receiving means are provided in accordance with the widths of the plurality of types of media so as to serve as a receiver for the liquid that protrudes from the edge of the medium when forming a borderless image having no margin on the edge of the medium,
The liquid discharge data generating means discharges liquid to the liquid receiving means corresponding to the width of the medium detected by the width detecting means among the plurality of liquid receiving means when the width detecting means is not being adjusted. The liquid ejection data is generated by incorporating data into the image data as the flushing data, and the liquid ejection data is generated without incorporating the flushing data into the image data when the width detection unit is adjusting. Do
Images forming device.   The liquid discharge data generation unit further incorporates non-discharge data that does not discharge liquid into the margin area when the formation of an image with a margin at the edge of the medium is required. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the image forming apparatus is a means for generating the image. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein:
A second liquid receiving means provided in a region separated from the medium separately from the liquid receiving means;
When the formation of a high-quality image is required, the control unit is configured to perform the second timing at a predetermined timing before image formation based on the second flushing data in which the liquid discharge amount is larger than the flushing data. Means for controlling the ejection head and the moving means to eject the liquid by the liquid receiving means, and omitting the ejection of the liquid by the second liquid receiving means when high quality image formation is not required. An image forming apparatus. An image forming apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3 for forming an image using different plural kinds of dot sizes,
The image forming apparatus, wherein the liquid ejection data generation unit uses data for forming a dot having the largest size among the plurality of types of dots as the flushing data. The control means performs control based on the liquid ejection data so that liquid is ejected from the ejection head at a cycle according to the moving speed of the ejection head by the moving means, and before the control based on the liquid ejection data. The means for controlling the ejection head and the moving means so that the liquid in the ejection head is vibrated without ejection at a period different from the period according to the moving speed of the ejection head. 4. The image forming apparatus according to any one of 4 above. An ejection head that ejects liquid onto a plurality of types of media having different widths, a moving means that moves the ejection head, a width detection means that detects the width of the medium, an image can be formed, and is detached from the medium a shall provided in the region, a plurality provided according to the width of the plurality of kinds of media to serve as the receiving liquid running off the edge of the medium at the time of forming the edge margins without borderless image on the medium It was a liquid receiving means, there by ejecting the liquid to the medium while moving the ejection head based on the image data input method of controlling an image forming apparatus for forming an image,
(A) Liquid discharge data for discharging the liquid to an area larger than the width of the medium and including the liquid receiving means by incorporating flushing data for flushing in the area where the liquid receiving means is provided in the input image data. A step of generating
(B) controlling the ejection head and the moving means based on the generated liquid ejection data ;
Only including,
In the step (a), when the width detection unit is not in adjustment, data for ejecting liquid to the liquid receiving unit according to the width of the medium detected by the width detection unit among the plurality of liquid receiving units. Is generated as the flushing data in the image data to generate the liquid ejection data, and when the width detection unit is adjusting, the liquid ejection data is generated without incorporating the flushing data into the image data.
The method of images forming apparatus. A program for causing a computer to realize the method for controlling the image forming apparatus according to claim 6 .

Images