JP6336356B2 - Image recording apparatus and image recording method - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an image recording apparatus and an image recording method for recording an image on a long strip-shaped recording medium.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, there has been known an ink jet type image recording apparatus that records an image on a printing paper by ejecting ink from a plurality of heads while conveying a long belt-like printing paper. In this type of image recording apparatus, different colors of ink are ejected from a plurality of heads. Then, the color images are recorded on the surface of the printing paper by superimposing the single color images formed by the inks of the respective colors.

  In addition, this type of image recording apparatus has a correction mechanism that corrects the position in the width direction of the printing paper (meander correction) in order to suppress the displacement of the ink ejection position with respect to the printing paper. A conventional image recording apparatus having a correction mechanism is described in Patent Document 1, for example.

JP-A-63-135252

  The correction mechanism of the image recording apparatus is usually arranged on the upstream side in the transport direction with a space from a plurality of heads. For this reason, it takes a certain amount of time from the displacement of the printing paper in the width direction by the correction mechanism to the transmission of the displacement in the width direction to the ink ejection position (recording position). That is, at the recording position of each head, the position in the width direction is corrected with a delay. In addition, the response delay with respect to the correction increases as the recording position is located downstream of the conveyance direction. If ink is ejected from each head before the displacement in the width direction of the printing paper is sufficiently transmitted to the recording position, the positions in the width direction of the plurality of monochrome images are shifted from each other.

  If the correction mechanism is sufficiently distant from the plurality of heads, the deviation of the recording position due to such a response delay becomes small. However, for that purpose, it is necessary to lengthen the transport path for transporting the recording medium. If the transport path is lengthened in the horizontal direction, the floor area of the apparatus increases, and if the transport steep path is lengthened in the height direction. The device height dimension increases. In addition, the number of transport rollers increases by the length of the transport path. As a result, the apparatus scale required for image recording increases. Also, if the distance between the plurality of heads and the correction mechanism is increased, the position in the width direction of the printing paper may be shifted again after the correction by the correction mechanism and before the head.

  The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances. In an image recording apparatus and an image recording method for recording an image while correcting a position in a width direction of a recording medium, the correction is performed while suppressing an increase in apparatus scale. It is an object of the present invention to provide a technique capable of reducing the amount of image displacement caused by a later response delay.

  In order to solve the above problems, a first invention of the present application is an image recording apparatus that records an image on a long strip-shaped recording medium, and a transport mechanism that transports the recording medium in a transport direction along a longitudinal direction thereof. A plurality of heads that eject ink droplets onto the surface of the recording medium transported by the transport mechanism, and a position in the width direction of the recording medium that is upstream of the plurality of heads in the transport direction. A first correction mechanism, a second correction mechanism that corrects a position in the width direction of the recording medium downstream of the plurality of heads in the transport direction, and controls the first correction mechanism and the second correction mechanism. A plurality of heads that discharge ink droplets at a plurality of recording positions arranged along the transport direction, and the control unit includes the control unit at each of the plurality of recording positions. First It reads the response delay data indicating a delay in response to the correction of the correcting mechanism from a predetermined storage medium, on the basis of the correction amount and the said response delay data first correction mechanism, to control the second correction mechanism.

  A second invention of the present application is the image recording apparatus according to the first invention, wherein the response delay data includes an elapsed time from a correction time of the first correction mechanism, and a displacement amount in a width direction of the recording medium at the recording position. And function data indicating the relationship between the recording position and the recording position.

  A third invention of the present application is the image recording apparatus of the second invention, wherein the control unit reduces the difference in the predicted displacement amount in the width direction at each recording position calculated based on the function data. The second correction mechanism is controlled.

  A fourth invention of the present application is the image recording apparatus of the second invention or the third invention, wherein the function data includes a relationship between the elapsed time and a ratio of the displacement amount to a correction amount of the first correction mechanism. Indicates.

  A fifth invention of the present application is the image recording apparatus according to any one of the first to fourth inventions, wherein the image recording apparatus is in contact with a recording medium downstream of the second correction mechanism in the transport direction. A heating roller for heating the recording medium; and a heating roller sensor for detecting a position in the width direction of the recording medium in the vicinity of the heating roller, wherein the control unit detects the heating roller sensor. Based on the result, the second correction mechanism is controlled.

  A sixth invention of the present application is the image recording apparatus according to any one of the first to fifth inventions, wherein the recording medium is wound up on the downstream side in the transport direction from the second correction mechanism. And a winding sensor that detects a position in the width direction of the recording medium between the second correction mechanism and the winding unit, and the control unit includes the winding sensor. The second correction mechanism is controlled so that the detection result becomes a substantially constant value.

  A seventh invention of the present application is the image recording apparatus according to any one of the first to sixth inventions, wherein a width direction of a recording medium is upstream of the first correction mechanism in the transport direction. And a preliminary correction mechanism for correcting the position of.

  According to an eighth aspect of the present invention, a recording medium having a long strip shape is conveyed from a plurality of heads at a plurality of recording positions arranged along the conveying direction while conveying the recording medium having a long strip shape in the conveying direction along the longitudinal direction. An image recording method for recording an image on a recording medium by ejecting ink droplets on a surface, wherein a) a position in a width direction of the recording medium is positioned upstream of the plurality of heads in the transport direction. And b) correcting the position in the width direction of the recording medium downstream of the plurality of heads in the transport direction, and b-1) the step A step of reading response delay data indicating response delay at each of the plurality of recording positions with respect to the correction in step a) from a predetermined storage medium; b-2) a correction amount in step a) and the response delay data; On the basis of the And a step of correcting the position in the width direction of the recording medium.

  A ninth invention of the present application is the image recording method according to the eighth invention, wherein the response delay data includes an elapsed time from the correction time of the step a) and a displacement amount in the width direction of the recording medium at the recording position. And function data indicating the relationship between the recording position and the recording position.

  The tenth invention of the present application is the image recording method of the ninth invention, wherein in the step b-2), the difference in the predicted displacement amount in the width direction at each recording position calculated based on the function data is reduced. Thus, the position in the width direction of the recording medium is corrected.

  According to the first to seventh inventions of the present application, when the correction by the upstream first correction mechanism is executed, the second correction mechanism on the downstream side is considered in consideration of the response delay at the recording position of each head. Perform correction by. As a result, the amount of image misregistration caused by response delay can be reduced.

  In particular, according to the second invention of the present application, it is possible to predict what displacement will occur at each recording position with the passage of time when the correction by the first correction mechanism is executed. Therefore, the second correction mechanism on the downstream side can be corrected based on the prediction.

  In particular, according to the third invention of the present application, it is possible to reduce the amount of positional deviation of an image recorded at each recording position.

  In particular, according to the fourth aspect of the present invention, common function data can be used regardless of the amount of correction of the first correction mechanism.

  In particular, according to the fifth aspect of the present invention, the positional deviation in the width direction of the recording medium caused by the heating roller can be corrected using the second correction mechanism.

  In particular, according to the sixth invention of the present application, the positional deviation in the width direction of the recording medium during winding can be suppressed by using the second correction mechanism. Thereby, it can suppress that disorder arises in winding of the recording medium to a winding-up part.

  In particular, according to the seventh invention of the present application, after the position of the recording medium in the width direction is largely corrected by the preliminary correction mechanism, the position of the recording medium in the width direction can be finely corrected by the first correction mechanism. Thereby, the correction amount of the first correction mechanism can be reduced. Therefore, the amount of image misregistration due to a delay in response after the correction by the first correction mechanism is executed can be further reduced.

  According to the eighth to tenth aspects of the present invention, when the correction in the step a) is executed, the correction in the step b) is executed in consideration of the response delay at the recording position of each head. As a result, the amount of image misregistration caused by response delay can be reduced.

  In particular, according to the ninth invention of the present application, when the correction in step a) is executed, it is possible to predict what displacement will occur at each recording position as time passes. Therefore, the correction of step b) can be executed based on the prediction.

  In particular, according to the tenth aspect of the present invention, the amount of positional deviation of the image recorded at each recording position can be reduced.

1 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of an image recording apparatus according to a first embodiment. It is a perspective view of a 1st correction mechanism. It is the figure which showed the example of the 1st sensor. It is the flowchart which showed the flow of the correction process by a 1st correction mechanism and a 2nd correction mechanism. It is the figure which showed typically the mode of the printing paper immediately after correction | amendment by a 1st correction | amendment mechanism was performed. It is the figure which showed the example of the response delay data in a 1st recording position. It is the figure which showed the example of the response delay data in a 2nd recording position. It is the figure which showed the example of the response delay data in a 3rd recording position. It is the figure which showed the example of the response delay data in a 4th recording position. It is the flowchart which showed the flow of the correction process by a 2nd correction mechanism. It is the figure which showed the structure of the image recording apparatus which concerns on a modification. It is the figure which showed the structure of the image recording apparatus which concerns on a modification.

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

<1. Configuration of Image Recording Device>
FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a configuration of an image recording apparatus 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention. The image recording apparatus 1 records a color image on the printing paper 9 by ejecting ink from the plurality of heads 21 to 24 to the printing paper 9 while conveying the printing paper 9 which is a long band-like recording medium. This is an inkjet printing apparatus. As shown in FIG. 1, the image recording apparatus 1 includes a transport mechanism 10, an image recording unit 20, a first correction mechanism 30, a second correction mechanism 40, a drying processing unit 50, and a control unit 60.

  The transport mechanism 10 is a mechanism that transports the printing paper 9 in the transport direction along the longitudinal direction thereof. The transport mechanism 10 according to the present embodiment includes an unwinding unit 11, a plurality of transport rollers 12, and a winding unit 13. The printing paper 9 is fed out from the unwinding unit 11 and conveyed along a conveyance path constituted by a plurality of conveyance rollers 12. Each transport roller 12 guides the printing paper 9 to the downstream side of the transport path by rotating about the horizontal axis. Further, the printed printing paper 9 is collected to the winding unit 13.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the printing paper 9 moves below the image recording unit 20 in parallel with the arrangement direction of the plurality of heads 21 to 24. At this time, the recording surface of the printing paper 9 is directed upward (the heads 21 to 24 side). Further, the printing paper 9 is wound around a plurality of transport rollers 12 in a state where tension is applied. Thereby, slack and wrinkles of the printing paper 9 during conveyance are suppressed.

  The image recording unit 20 ejects ink droplets onto the printing paper 9 conveyed by the conveyance mechanism 10. The image recording unit 20 of this embodiment includes a K color head 21, a C color head 22, an M color head 23, and a Y color head 24. These heads 21 to 24 have a plurality of nozzles arranged in parallel with the width direction of the printing paper 9 (horizontal direction orthogonal to the transport direction). The heads 21 to 24 are K (black), C (cyan), M (magenta), and Y (yellow) color components of a color image to be recorded from a plurality of nozzles toward the upper surface of the printing paper 9. Each color ink droplet is ejected.

  That is, the K-color head 21 ejects K-color ink droplets onto the upper surface (front surface) of the printing paper 9 at the first recording position P1. The C-color head 22 ejects C-color ink droplets onto the upper surface of the printing paper 9 at the second recording position P2 downstream from the first recording position P1. The M color head 23 ejects M color ink droplets onto the upper surface of the printing paper 9 at the third recording position P3 downstream of the second recording position P2. The Y-color head 24 ejects Y-color ink droplets onto the upper surface of the printing paper 9 at the fourth recording position P4 downstream from the third recording position P3. The first recording position P1, the second recording position P2, the third recording position P3, and the fourth recording position P4 are arranged at equal intervals along the conveyance direction of the printing paper 9.

  The four heads 21 to 24 each record a monochrome image on the upper surface of the printing paper 9 by ejecting ink droplets. A color image is formed on the upper surface of the printing paper 9 by superimposing the four monochrome images.

  The first correction mechanism 30 is a mechanism for correcting the position of the printing paper 9 in the width direction upstream of the image recording unit 20 in the transport direction. FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the first correction mechanism 30. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the first correction mechanism 30 of this embodiment includes a pair of fixed rollers 31, a pair of swing rollers 32, and a first sensor 33.

  The printing paper 9 passes through the upstream fixed roller 31 and then passes through the upstream rocking roller 32, whereby the transport direction is switched by 90 degrees. Thereafter, the printing paper 9 passes through the downstream-side rocking roller 32, whereby the conveyance direction is further switched by 90 degrees, and then passes through the downstream-side fixed roller 31. Further, as shown in FIG. 1, the pair of swing rollers 32 is connected to a first swing mechanism 321 (not shown in FIG. 2). When the first swing mechanism 321 is operated, the pair of swing rollers 32 swings in the width direction around the pivot 320 located near the center of the upstream swing roller 32. The controller 60 operates the first swing mechanism 321 based on the detection signal of the first sensor 33. Thereby, the printing paper 9 can be displaced in the width direction.

  The first sensor 33 detects the position in the width direction of the printing paper 9 upstream of the image recording unit 20 in the transport direction. The first sensor 33 is disposed on the conveyance path between the swing roller 32 on the downstream side in the first correction mechanism 30 and the K-color head 21. When the position in the width direction of the printing paper 9 is shifted from the standard position, the position of the edge 91 of the printing paper 9 with respect to the first sensor 33 changes. The first sensor 33 detects the position deviation amount of the printing paper 9 in the width direction by detecting the position of the edge 91.

  FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of the first sensor 33. The first sensor 33 in FIG. 3 has a projector 331 located above the edge 91 of the printing paper 9 and a line sensor 332 located below the edge 91. The projector 331 emits parallel light downward. The line sensor 332 includes a plurality of light receiving elements 333 arranged in the width direction. As shown in FIG. 3, outside the edge 91, the light emitted from the projector 331 enters the light receiving element 333, and the light receiving element 333 detects the light. On the other hand, inside the edge 91, the light emitted from the light projector 331 is blocked by the printing paper 9, so that the light receiving element 333 does not detect the light. The line sensor 332 detects the position of the edge 91 of the printing paper 9 based on the presence / absence of detection in each light receiving element 333.

  The structure of the first correction mechanism 30 is not limited to the example of FIG. For example, the printing paper 9 may be displaced in the width direction by moving the roller in the width direction. Further, the detection method of the first sensor 33 is not limited to the example of FIG. For example, as the first sensor 33, a reflective optical sensor, an ultrasonic sensor, a contact sensor, or the like may be used.

  The second correction mechanism 40 is a mechanism for correcting the position of the printing paper 9 in the width direction downstream of the image recording unit 20 in the transport direction. As shown in FIG. 1, the second correction mechanism 40 of this embodiment includes a pair of fixed rollers 41, a pair of swing rollers 42, and a second sensor 43. The pair of swing rollers 42 swings in the width direction by the second swing mechanism 421.

  The structures of the pair of fixed rollers 41, the pair of swing rollers 42, and the second sensor 43 in the present embodiment are the same as the pair of fixed rollers 31, the pair of swing rollers 32, and the first sensor of the first correction mechanism 30 described above. Since it is the same as the structure of the sensor 33, redundant description is omitted. However, the first correction mechanism 30 and the second correction mechanism 40 may have different structures. In addition, sensors of different detection methods may be used for the first sensor 33 and the second sensor 43.

  The drying processing unit 50 dries the ink ejected on the printing paper 9. The drying processing unit 50 is disposed downstream of the second correction mechanism 40 in the transport direction. As illustrated in FIG. 1, the drying processing unit 50 includes a heating roller 51 in which a heater 511 is incorporated. The heating roller 51 rotates around the horizontal axis while contacting the back surface of the printing paper 9. When the heater 511 is energized, the heater 511 generates heat and the temperature of the heating roller 51 rises. Thereby, the printing paper 9 is heated, the solvent in the ink adhering to the printing paper 9 is vaporized, and the ink is dried.

  The control unit 60 is means for controlling the operation of each unit in the image recording apparatus 1. The control unit 60 of the present embodiment is configured by a computer having an arithmetic processing unit 61 such as a CPU, a memory 62 such as a RAM, and a storage unit 63 such as a hard disk drive. In the storage unit 63, a computer program 631 and response delay data D1 to D4 described later are stored.

  Further, as indicated by a broken line in FIG. 1, the control unit 60 includes the transport mechanism 10, the four heads 21 to 24, the first swing mechanism 321, the first sensor 33, the second swing mechanism 421, The second sensor 43 and the heating roller 51 are electrically connected to each other. The control unit 60 temporarily reads out the computer program 631 stored in the storage unit 63 to the memory 62, and the arithmetic processing unit 61 performs arithmetic processing based on the computer program 631, thereby controlling the operation of each unit described above. To do. Thereby, the printing process in the image recording apparatus 1 proceeds.

<2. Correction by the first correction mechanism and the second correction mechanism>
As described above, the image recording apparatus 1 records an image on the surface of the printing paper 9 while conveying the printing paper 9. At that time, in order to suppress meandering and skewing of the printing paper 9, the first correction mechanism 30 and the second correction mechanism 40 are used to correct the position of the printing paper 9 in the width direction. Hereinafter, the correction process will be described.

  FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing the flow of correction processing by the first correction mechanism 30 and the second correction mechanism 40. As shown in FIG. 4, during the conveyance of the printing paper 9, the first sensor 33 repeatedly detects the position in the width direction of the printing paper 9 (step S11). Then, based on the detection signal of the first sensor 33, the control unit 60 determines whether or not the position in the width direction of the printing paper 9 is shifted from the standard position by an allowable value or more (step S12). If the amount of positional deviation in the width direction of the printing paper 9 is smaller than the allowable value (No in step S12), the processing in steps S11 to S12 is repeated without operating the pair of swing rollers 32.

  On the other hand, when the positional deviation amount of the printing paper 9 in the width direction is larger than the allowable value (Yes in step S12), the pair of swing rollers 32 is operated to correct the position of the printing paper 9 in the width direction. To do. That is, correction by the first correction mechanism 30 is performed on the upstream side in the transport direction from the image recording unit 20 (step S13). Here, the control unit 60 refers to the detection signal of the first sensor 33 and operates the pair of swing rollers 32 so that the position in the width direction of the printing paper 9 indicated by the detection signal approaches the standard position. Then, the printing paper 9 is displaced in the width direction.

  FIG. 5 is a diagram schematically showing the state of the printing paper 9 immediately after the correction by the first correction mechanism 30 is executed. In FIG. 5, the state of the printing paper 9 from the swing roller 32 of the first correction mechanism 30 to the swing roller 42 of the second correction mechanism 40 can be easily understood so that the skew state of the print paper 9 can be easily understood. I draw in a plane. As shown in FIG. 5, when the swing roller 32 of the first correction mechanism 30 is operated, the displacement (correction amount) Δw 0 of the printing paper 9 in the vicinity of the swing roller 32 according to the operation of the swing roller 32. Only displaced in the width direction.

  However, it takes a certain amount of time for the displacement caused by the swing roller 32 to be sufficiently transmitted to the first recording position P1 to the fourth recording position P4. Therefore, immediately after the correction by the first correction mechanism 30, as shown in FIG. 5, the displacement amounts Δw1, Δw2, Δw3, Δw4 in the width direction of the printing paper 9 at the first recording position P1 to the fourth recording position P4 are as follows. The correction amount Δw0 by the swing roller 32 becomes smaller. Further, these displacement amounts Δw1, Δw2, Δw3, and Δw4 become smaller toward the downstream side. Therefore, if the ink is discharged from each of the heads 21 to 24 without performing the correction by the second correction mechanism 40 and before the displacement of the first correction mechanism 30 by the swing roller 32 is sufficiently transmitted. The ink landing positions of the ink droplets ejected at the first recording position P1 to the fourth recording position P4 are shifted from each other. If it does so, the position of the width direction of four monochrome images will shift mutually.

  In order to reduce such a positional deviation between the monochrome images in the width direction, the image recording apparatus 1 further corrects the position in the width direction of the printing paper 9 using the second correction mechanism 40.

  The storage unit 63 of the image recording apparatus 1 stores response delay data D1 to D4 indicating response delays at the recording positions P1 to P4 with respect to the correction of the first correction mechanism 30. 6 to 9 show examples of response delay data D1 at the first recording position P1, examples of response delay data D2 at the second recording position P2, examples of response delay data D3 at the third recording position P3, and FIGS. Examples of response delay data D4 at four recording positions P4 are shown.

  As shown in FIGS. 6 to 9, the response delay data D <b> 1 to D <b> 4 include the elapsed time t from the correction time by the first correction mechanism 30 and the displacement amount in the width direction of the printing paper 9 at each recording position P <b> 1 to P <b> 4. The relationship with Δw1, Δw2, Δw3, Δw4 is shown. In particular, in the present embodiment, the vertical axis of each of the response delay data D1 to D4 is not the displacement amount Δw1, Δw2, Δw3, Δw4 itself, but the displacement amount Δw1, Δw2, Δw3 with respect to the correction amount Δw0 of the first correction mechanism 30. The ratios of Δw4 are R1 = Δw1 / Δw0, R2 = Δw2 / Δw0, R3 = Δw3 / Δw0, and R4 = Δw4 / Δw0. For this reason, the common response delay data D1 to D4 can be used regardless of the magnitude of the correction amount Δw0 of the first correction mechanism 30.

  These response delay data D1 to D4 are prepared for each of the recording positions P1 to P4 as function data determined by conducting an experiment or the like in advance.

  Returning to FIG. When the correction by the first correction mechanism 30 (step S13) is completed, the control unit 60 reads response delay data D1 to D4 corresponding to the respective recording positions P1 to P4 from the storage unit 63 (step S14). Based on the response delay data D1 to D4, a predicted displacement amount in the width direction at each of the recording positions P1 to P4 is calculated (step S15). An example of the calculation in step S15 is as follows. First, a conveyance time tn corresponding to a distance in the conveyance direction from the swing roller 32 to the nth recording position Pn is calculated. Next, with reference to the response delay data Dn, a displacement ratio Rn corresponding to the transport time tn is obtained. Then, the actual correction amount Δw0 of the first correction mechanism 30 is multiplied by the displacement amount ratio Rn to calculate the predicted displacement amount Δwn in the width direction at the time.

  When the predicted displacement amounts Δw1 to Δw4 in the width direction at the respective recording positions P1 to P4 are calculated, the control unit 60 then operates the pair of swing rollers 42 of the second correction mechanism 40. That is, correction by the second correction mechanism 40 is performed downstream of the image recording unit 20 in the transport direction (step S16). Here, the position in the width direction of the printing paper 9 is corrected so that the difference between the predicted displacement amounts Δw1 to Δw4 in the width direction at the respective recording positions P1 to P4 becomes small. For example, the position in the width direction of the printing paper 9 is corrected so that a regression line obtained by linear approximation from the four predicted displacement amounts Δw1 to Δw4 is parallel to the transport direction.

  Note that the method for calculating the predicted displacement amounts Δw1 to Δw4 at the recording positions P1 to P4 and the method for obtaining the correction amount of the second correction mechanism 40 are not necessarily as described above. The predicted displacement amount may be calculated based on at least the actual correction amount of the first correction mechanism 30 and the response delay data D1 to D4.

  When the correction by the second correction mechanism 40 is completed, the image recording apparatus 1 returns to step S11 again and monitors the displacement by the first sensor 33.

  As described above, in the image recording apparatus 1, when the correction by the first correction mechanism 30 is performed on the upstream side in the transport direction with respect to the image recording unit 20, the downstream of the image recording unit 20 in the transport direction is also performed. On the side, correction by the second correction mechanism 40 is performed. The correction by the second correction mechanism 40 is executed in consideration of response delays at the respective recording positions P1 to P4. For this reason, it is possible to reduce the amount of positional deviation in the width direction between monochrome images due to a response delay.

<3. About the correction of the second correction mechanism alone>
The printing paper 9 that has passed through the second correction mechanism 40 contacts the heating roller 51 of the drying processing unit 50. For this reason, if the heating roller 51 has a variation in outer diameter due to a manufacturing error or a temperature gradient, the conveyance direction of the printing paper 9 slightly changes in the heating roller 51. As a result, the printing paper 9 is displaced in the width direction. In the image recording apparatus 1, the positional deviation in the width direction of the printing paper 9 due to the heating roller 51 is corrected using the second correction mechanism 40.

  FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing the flow of the correction process by the second correction mechanism 40. As shown in FIG. 10, during the conveyance of the printing paper 9, the second sensor 43 repeatedly detects the position of the printing paper 9 in the width direction (step S21). The position in the width direction detected by the second sensor 43 includes the amount of displacement in the width direction caused by the heating roller 51. That is, in the present embodiment, the second sensor 43 of the second correction mechanism 40 functions as a sensor for the heating roller 51 that detects the position in the width direction of the printing paper 9 in the vicinity of the heating roller 51. However, a sensor for the heating roller 51 may be provided separately from the second sensor 43 of the second correction mechanism 40.

  Based on the detection signal of the second sensor 43, the control unit 60 determines whether or not the position in the width direction of the printing paper 9 is shifted from the standard position by an allowable value or more (step S22). If the amount of positional deviation in the width direction of the printing paper 9 is smaller than the allowable value (No in step S22), the processes in steps S21 to S22 are repeated without operating the pair of swing rollers 42.

  On the other hand, when the positional deviation amount of the printing paper 9 in the width direction is larger than the allowable value (Yes in step S22), the pair of swing rollers 42 are operated to correct the position of the printing paper 9 in the width direction. To do. That is, the correction by the second correction mechanism 40 is performed downstream of the image recording unit 20 in the transport direction and upstream of the heating roller 51 in the transport direction (step S23). Here, the control unit 60 refers to the detection signal of the second sensor 43 and operates the pair of swing rollers 42 so that the position in the width direction of the printing paper 9 indicated by the detection signal approaches the standard position. Then, the printing paper 9 is displaced in the width direction.

  As described above, the control unit 60 controls the second correction mechanism 40 based on the detection result of the second sensor 43 that is the sensor for the heating roller. For this reason, the positional deviation in the width direction of the printing paper 9 caused by the heating roller 51 can be corrected using the second correction mechanism 40.

  Note that the control unit 60 can execute the correction process of FIG. 4 and the correction process of FIG. 10 in parallel as independent processes. If the correction timing by the second correction mechanism 40 in step S16 shown in FIG. 4 and the correction timing by the second correction mechanism 40 in step S23 shown in FIG. The second correction mechanism 40 may be operated based on the total value. However, priority may be given to either one of step S16 and step S23, and the other correction amount may be limited.

<4. Modification>
Although one embodiment of the present invention has been described above, the present invention is not limited to the above embodiment.

  FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of the image recording apparatus 1 according to the modification. In the example of FIG. 11, a winding sensor 70 is disposed in front of the winding unit 13. The winding sensor 70 is further on the downstream side in the transport direction than the drying processing unit 50 disposed on the downstream side in the transport direction of the second correction mechanism 40 and in the transport direction with respect to the winding unit 13. Arranged upstream. The winding sensor 70 has the same configuration as the first sensor 33 in FIG. 3, for example, and detects the position in the width direction of the printing paper 9 based on the position of the edge 91 of the printing paper 9.

  In the image recording apparatus 1 in FIG. 11, in addition to the correction processes in FIGS. 4 and 10, a correction process based on the detection signal of the winding sensor 70 is performed. Specifically, the control unit 60 controls the second correction mechanism 40 so that the detection result of the winding sensor 70 becomes a substantially constant value. In this way, the second correction mechanism 40 can be used to suppress positional deviation in the width direction of the printing paper 9 during winding. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the winding of the printing paper 9 around the winding unit 13 from being disturbed.

  FIG. 12 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of an image recording apparatus 1 according to another modification. In the example of FIG. 12, a preliminary correction mechanism 80 is provided upstream of the first correction mechanism 30 in the transport direction. The preliminary correction mechanism 80 has a configuration equivalent to, for example, the first correction mechanism 30 illustrated in FIG. 2 and corrects the position in the width direction of the printing paper 9. As described above, if the two correction mechanisms 30 and 80 are arranged upstream of the image recording unit 20 in the transport direction, the position in the width direction of the printing paper 9 can be corrected in two stages. That is, after the preliminary correction mechanism 80 largely corrects the position in the width direction of the printing paper 9, the first correction mechanism 30 can finely correct the position in the width direction of the printing paper 9. In addition, if the correction amount of the first correction mechanism 30 is reduced, the mutual misalignment of the monochrome images due to the response delay after the correction by the first correction mechanism 30 is executed can be further reduced.

  In the above embodiment, the response delay data D <b> 1 to D <b> 4 are stored in advance in the storage unit 63 in the control unit 60. However, the response delay data D1 to D4 may be stored in an external storage device that is communicably connected to the control unit 60. The response delay data D1 to D4 may be read out from a predetermined storage medium inside or outside the apparatus when the image recording apparatus 1 is operated.

  In the above embodiment, the four heads 21 to 24 are provided in the image recording apparatus 1. However, the number of heads in the image recording apparatus 1 may be two to three, or may be five or more. For example, in addition to K, C, M, and Y colors, a head that discharges special color inks may be provided.

  The image recording apparatus 1 records an image on the printing paper 9 as a recording medium. However, the image recording apparatus of the present invention may record an image on a sheet-like recording medium other than general paper (for example, a resin film, a metal foil, etc.).

  Moreover, you may combine suitably each element which appeared in said embodiment and modification in the range which does not produce inconsistency.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Image recording device 9 Printing paper 10 Conveyance mechanism 11 Unwinding part 12 Conveyance roller 13 Winding part 20 Image recording part 21-24 Head 30 1st correction mechanism 31 Fixed roller 32 Swing roller 33 1st sensor 40 2nd correction mechanism 41 Fixed roller 42 Swing roller 43 Second sensor 50 Drying processing unit 51 Heating roller 60 Control unit 61 Arithmetic processing unit 62 Memory 63 Storage unit 70 Winding sensor 80 Preliminary correction mechanism 91 Edge 511 Heater 631 Computer program D1 to D4 Response Delay data P1 to P4 Recording position Δw0 Correction amount Δw1, Δw2, Δw3, Δw4 Displacement amount

Claims (10)

An image recording apparatus for recording an image on a long strip-shaped recording medium,
A transport mechanism for transporting the recording medium in the transport direction along the longitudinal direction;
A plurality of heads for ejecting ink droplets onto the surface of a recording medium transported by the transport mechanism;
A first correction mechanism that corrects the position of the recording medium in the width direction upstream of the plurality of heads in the transport direction;
A second correction mechanism that corrects the position of the recording medium in the width direction downstream of the plurality of heads in the transport direction;
A control unit for controlling the first correction mechanism and the second correction mechanism;
Have
The plurality of heads respectively eject ink droplets at a plurality of recording positions arranged along the transport direction,
The control unit reads response delay data indicating a response delay with respect to correction of the first correction mechanism at each of the plurality of recording positions from a predetermined storage medium, and corrects the correction amount of the first correction mechanism and the response delay data. And an image recording apparatus for controlling the second correction mechanism. The image recording apparatus according to claim 1,
The response delay data is
An elapsed time from the correction time of the first correction mechanism;
The amount of displacement in the width direction of the recording medium at the recording position;
An image recording apparatus having function data indicating the relationship for each recording position. The image recording apparatus according to claim 2,
The image recording apparatus that controls the second correction mechanism so that a difference between predicted displacement amounts in the width direction at each recording position calculated based on the function data is reduced. The image recording apparatus according to claim 2 or 3, wherein
The function data is
The elapsed time;
A ratio of the displacement amount to a correction amount of the first correction mechanism;
An image recording apparatus showing the relationship. An image recording apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein
A heating roller that contacts the recording medium and heats the recording medium downstream of the second correction mechanism in the transport direction;
A heating roller sensor for detecting a position in the width direction of the recording medium in the vicinity of the heating roller;
Further comprising
The control unit is an image recording apparatus that controls the second correction mechanism based on a detection result of the heating roller sensor. The image recording apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 5,
A take-up unit that winds up the recording medium on the downstream side in the transport direction from the second correction mechanism;
A winding sensor for detecting a position in the width direction of the recording medium between the second correction mechanism and the winding unit;
Further comprising
The control unit is an image recording apparatus that controls the second correction mechanism so that a detection result of the winding sensor becomes a substantially constant value. The image recording apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 6,
An image recording apparatus further comprising a preliminary correction mechanism that corrects a position in a width direction of a recording medium upstream of the first correction mechanism in the transport direction. Ink droplets are ejected from the plurality of heads onto the surface of the recording medium at a plurality of recording positions arranged along the transport direction while transporting the long strip-shaped recording medium in the transport direction along the longitudinal direction. An image recording method for recording an image on a recording medium,
a) correcting the position of the recording medium in the width direction upstream of the plurality of heads in the transport direction;
b) correcting the position of the recording medium in the width direction downstream of the plurality of heads in the transport direction;
Have
Said step b)
b-1) reading response delay data indicating response delay at each of the plurality of recording positions with respect to the correction in step a) from a predetermined storage medium;
b-2) correcting the position of the recording medium in the width direction based on the correction amount of the step a) and the response delay data;
An image recording method comprising: The image recording method according to claim 8, comprising:
The response delay data is
An elapsed time from the correction time of step a);
The amount of displacement in the width direction of the recording medium at the recording position;
The image recording method which has the function data which shows the relationship for every said recording position. The image recording method according to claim 9, comprising:
In the step b-2), an image recording method for correcting the position in the width direction of the recording medium so that the difference in the predicted displacement amount in the width direction at each recording position calculated based on the function data is reduced.

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