JP6949627B2 - Substrate processing equipment and detection method - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a technique for detecting a position in a transport direction or a deviation amount of a transport speed of a base material in a base material processing apparatus that processes a long strip-shaped base material while transporting the base material.

Conventionally, there is known an inkjet type image recording device that records an image on a printing paper by ejecting ink from a plurality of recording heads while transporting a long strip-shaped printing paper in the longitudinal direction. The image recording device ejects inks of different colors from a plurality of heads. Then, a multicolor image is recorded on the surface of the printing paper by superimposing the monochromatic images formed by the inks of each color. A conventional image recording device is described in, for example, Patent Document 1.

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2016-55570

This type of image recording device is designed to convey printing paper at a constant speed by a plurality of rollers. However, the transfer speed of the printing paper below the recording head may deviate from the ideal transfer speed due to the slip between the surface of the roller and the printing paper or the stretching of the printing paper due to the ink. Then, the ejection position of the ink of each color on the surface of the printing paper shifts in the transport direction, that is, so-called misregistration occurs.

Conventionally, in order to suppress such misregistration, a reference image such as a register mark is formed on the surface of the printing paper. The image recording device detects the position of the reference image and corrects the ink ejection position from each recording head based on the detection result. However, the reference images are formed at predetermined intervals in the transport direction of the printing paper. Therefore, it is difficult to continuously detect the misalignment of the printing paper based on the reference image. Further, when the reference image is formed on the surface of the printing paper, there is a problem that the space for recording the target printed image becomes narrow.

The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and is an image of a register mark or the like formed on the surface of a base material in a base material processing apparatus that processes a long strip-shaped base material while transporting it in the longitudinal direction. It is an object of the present invention to provide a technique capable of detecting the position of the base material in the transport direction or the deviation amount of the transport speed without depending on the above.

In order to solve the above problems, the first invention of the present application comprises a transport mechanism for transporting a long strip-shaped base material in the longitudinal direction along a predetermined transport path, and a base material at a first detection position on the transport path. The first detection unit that acquires the first detection result by continuously or intermittently detecting the position of the edge in the width direction, and the second detection on the transport path on the downstream side of the first detection position. Based on the second detection unit that acquires the second detection result by continuously or intermittently detecting the position of the edge of the base material in the width direction at the position, and the first detection result and the second detection result. The processing unit is further provided with a deviation amount calculation unit for calculating the deviation amount of the base material in the transport direction or the transfer speed, and a processing unit for processing the base material at the processing position on the transfer path. Is an image recording unit that ejects ink to the surface of the base material and records an image, and the processing unit applies ink to the surface of the base material between the first detection position and the second detection position. Discharge .

The second invention of the present application is the base material processing apparatus of the first invention, and the deviation amount calculation unit has a consistency included in the second detection result for each data section included in the first detection result. A high data section is specified, and the position of the base material in the transport direction or the deviation amount of the transport speed is calculated based on the specified data section.

The third invention of the present application is the base material processing apparatus of the second invention, and the deviation amount calculation unit has the highest evaluation value indicating consistency for each data section included in the first detection result. The data section of the second detection result is specified.

The fourth invention of the present application is the base material processing apparatus of the second invention or the third invention, and the deviation amount calculation unit is the data of the second detection result corresponding to the data section included in the first detection result. The section is estimated, and in the vicinity of the estimated data section, the data section of the second detection result having a high degree of coincidence with the data section of the first detection result is specified.

The fifth invention of the present application is the base material processing apparatus of any one of the first to fourth inventions, and is a base material based on the signals obtained from the first detection unit and the second detection unit. It also has a function of detecting the amount of displacement of the position in the width direction of.

The sixth invention of the present application is the base material processing apparatus of any one of the first to fifth inventions, and the transport mechanism has a plurality of rollers, and at least one of the plurality of rollers is used. A tension that corrects the tension in the transport direction applied to the base material by correcting at least one drive of the plurality of rollers based on the drive unit that is rotationally driven and the displacement amount calculated by the displacement amount calculation unit. It further includes a correction unit.

The seventh invention of the present application is the base material processing apparatus of the sixth invention, and the tension correction unit calculates the amount of elongation in the transport direction of the base material based on the amount of deviation, and the amount of elongation is the first. When it is larger than the reference value, the tension is weakened, and when the elongation amount is smaller than the second reference value, the tension is strengthened.

Eighth aspect of the present invention is a substrate processing apparatus of any one invention of the first invention to the seventh invention, the pre-Symbol shift amount calculating unit, position or the conveyance in the conveying direction of the substrate in the processing position Calculate the amount of speed deviation.

The ninth invention of the present application is the base material processing apparatus of any one of the first to eighth inventions, from the image recording unit based on the deviation amount calculated by the deviation amount calculation unit. It is further provided with an ejection correction unit that corrects the ejection timing or ejection position of the ink.

The tenth invention of the present application is the base material processing apparatus of the ninth invention, in which the image recording unit has a plurality of recording heads arranged along the transport direction, and the plurality of recording heads are arranged with each other. Discharge ink of different colors.

The eleventh invention of the present application is a detection method for detecting a position in a transport direction or a deviation amount of a transport speed of a base material while transporting a long strip-shaped base material in a longitudinal direction along a predetermined transport path. a) A step of acquiring the first detection result by continuously or intermittently detecting the position in the width direction of the edge of the base material at the first detection position on the transport path, and b) on the transport path. The step of acquiring the second detection result by continuously or intermittently detecting the position in the width direction of the edge of the base material at the second detection position on the downstream side of the first detection position of c). based on the first detection result and the second detection result, possess a step of calculating the position or deviation amount of the conveying speed of the conveying direction of the substrate, a, d) in the processing position on the transport path, group It further includes a step of processing the material, and in the step d), an ink is ejected onto the surface of the base material between the first detection position and the second detection position to record an image .

According to the first to eleventh inventions of the present application, the position in the transport direction of the base material or the amount of deviation of the transport speed can be detected without depending on the image such as the register mark formed on the surface of the base material. In addition, it is possible to detect the amount of misalignment in the transport direction caused by the extension of the length of the base material in the transport direction due to the ejection of ink.

In particular, according to the fourth invention of the present application, the data section is specified in a limited range. As a result, the processing load of the deviation amount calculation unit can be reduced.

In particular, according to the fifth invention of the present application, the detection unit for detecting the amount of displacement of the base material in the width direction and the detection unit for detecting the amount of displacement of the substrate in the transport direction are separated. There is no need to install it in. As a result, the number of parts of the base material processing apparatus can be suppressed.

In particular, according to the sixth, seventh, and ninth inventions of the present application, an image can be recorded at an appropriate position on the surface of the base material.

In particular, according to the tenth invention of the present application, it is possible to suppress the mutual misalignment of the monochromatic images formed by each recording head.

It is a figure which showed the structure of the image recording apparatus which concerns on 1st Embodiment. It is a partial top view of the image recording apparatus in the vicinity of the image recording unit which concerns on 1st Embodiment. It is a figure which showed typically the structure of the edge sensor which concerns on 1st Embodiment. It is a block diagram which conceptually showed the function in the control part which concerns on 1st Embodiment. It is a graph which showed the example of the 1st detection result and the 2nd detection result which concerns on 1st Embodiment. It is a block diagram which conceptually showed the function in the control part which concerns on 2nd Embodiment. It is a partial top view of the image recording apparatus in the vicinity of the image recording part which concerns on a modification. It is a figure which showed the structure of the image recording apparatus which concerns on a modification.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

<1. First Embodiment>
<1-1. Image recording device configuration>
FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a configuration of an image recording device 1 which is an example of a base material processing device according to the first embodiment of the present invention. The image recording device 1 transfers an image on the printing paper 9 by ejecting ink from a plurality of recording heads 21 to 24 toward the printing paper 9 while conveying the printing paper 9 which is a long strip-shaped base material. This is an inkjet printing device for recording. As shown in FIG. 1, the image recording device 1 includes a transport mechanism 10, an image recording unit 20, two edge sensors 30, and a control unit 40.

The transport mechanism 10 is a mechanism for transporting the printing paper 9 in the transport direction along the longitudinal direction thereof. The transport mechanism 10 of the present embodiment has a plurality of rollers including a winding roller 11, a plurality of transport rollers 12, and a take-up roller 13. The printing paper 9 is unwound from the unwinding roller 11 and is conveyed along a conveying path composed of a plurality of conveying rollers 12. Each transfer roller 12 guides the printing paper 9 to the downstream side of the transfer path by rotating about the horizontal axis. Further, the printed paper 9 after being conveyed is collected by the take-up roller 13. These plurality of rollers are rotationally driven by the drive unit 45 of the control unit 40, which will be described later.

As shown in FIG. 1, the printing paper 9 moves below the plurality of recording heads 21 to 24 substantially parallel to the arrangement direction of the plurality of recording heads 21 to 24. At this time, the recording surface of the printing paper 9 is directed upward (recording heads 21 to 24 side). Further, the printing paper 9 is hung on a plurality of transport rollers 12 in a state where tension is applied. As a result, slack and wrinkles of the printing paper 9 during transportation are suppressed.

The image recording unit 20 is a processing unit that ejects ink droplets (hereinafter referred to as “ink droplets”) onto the printing paper 9 conveyed by the conveying mechanism 10. The image recording unit 20 of the present embodiment includes a first recording head 21, a second recording head 22, a third recording head 23, and a fourth recording head 24. The first recording head 21, the second recording head 22, the third recording head 23, and the fourth recording head 24 are arranged along the transport path of the printing paper 9.

FIG. 2 is a partial top view of the image recording device 1 in the vicinity of the image recording unit 20. Each of the four recording heads 21 to 24 covers the entire width direction of the printing paper 9. Further, as shown by a broken line in FIG. 2, a plurality of nozzles 201 arranged in parallel with the width direction of the printing paper 9 are provided on the lower surface of each of the recording heads 21 to 24. Each of the recording heads 21 to 24 is directed from the plurality of nozzles 201 toward the upper surface of the printing paper 9, and is composed of K (black), C (cyan), M (magenta), and Y (yellow), which are color components of the multicolor image. Ink droplets of each color are ejected.

That is, the first recording head 21 ejects K-color ink droplets onto the upper surface of the printing paper 9 at the first processing position P1 on the transport path. The second recording head 22 ejects C-color ink droplets onto the upper surface of the printing paper 9 at the second processing position P2 on the downstream side of the first processing position P1. The third recording head 23 ejects M-color ink droplets onto the upper surface of the printing paper 9 at the third processing position P3 on the downstream side of the second processing position P2. The fourth recording head 24 ejects Y-color ink droplets onto the upper surface of the printing paper 9 at the fourth processing position P4 on the downstream side of the third processing position P3. In the present embodiment, the first processing position P1, the second processing position P2, the third processing position P3, and the fourth processing position P4 are arranged at equal intervals along the transport direction of the printing paper 9.

The four recording heads 21 to 24 record a single color image on the upper surface of the printing paper 9 by ejecting ink droplets. Then, a multicolor image is formed on the upper surface of the printing paper 9 by superimposing the four monochromatic images. Therefore, if the positions of the ink droplets ejected from the four recording heads 21 to 24 on the printing paper 9 in the transport direction are deviated from each other, the image quality of the printed matter deteriorates. It is an important factor for improving the print quality of the image recording apparatus 1 to suppress such a mutual misalignment (so-called “misplacement”) of monochromatic images on the printing paper 9 within an allowable range.

A drying processing unit for drying the ink discharged on the recording surface of the printing paper 9 may be further provided on the downstream side of the recording heads 21 to 24 in the transport direction. The drying processing unit dries the ink by, for example, blowing a heated gas toward the printing paper 9 to vaporize the solvent in the ink adhering to the printing paper 9. However, the drying processing unit may dry the ink by another method such as light irradiation.

The two edge sensors 30 are detection units that detect the position of the edge (edge in the width direction) 91 of the printing paper 9 in the width direction. In the present embodiment, the edge sensors 30 are arranged at the first detection position Pa on the upstream side of the first processing position P1 on the transport path and the second detection position Pb on the downstream side of the fourth processing position P4. ing.

FIG. 3 is a diagram schematically showing the structure of the edge sensor 30. As shown in FIG. 3, the edge sensor 30 has a floodlight 301 located above the edge 91 of the printing paper 9 and a line sensor 302 located below the edge 91. The floodlight 301 irradiates parallel light downward. The line sensor 302 has a plurality of light receiving elements 321 arranged in the width direction. As shown in FIG. 3, outside the edge 91 of the printing paper 9, the light emitted from the floodlight 301 is incident on the light receiving element 321 and the light receiving element 321 detects the light. On the other hand, inside the edge 91 of the printing paper 9, the light emitted from the floodlight 301 is blocked by the printing paper 9, so that the light receiving element 321 does not detect the light. The edge sensor 30 detects the position of the edge 91 of the printing paper 9 in the width direction based on the presence or absence of light detection in the plurality of light receiving elements 321.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, in the following, the edge sensor 30 arranged at the first detection position Pa will be referred to as a first edge sensor 31. Further, the edge sensor 30 arranged at the second detection position Pb is referred to as a second edge sensor 32. The first edge sensor 31 is an example of the "first detection unit" in the present invention. The first edge sensor 31 intermittently detects the position of the edge 91 of the printing paper 9 in the width direction at the first detection position Pa. As a result, the detection result indicating the time-dependent change of the position of the edge 91 in the width direction at the first detection position Pa is acquired. Then, the detection signal indicating the obtained detection result is output to the control unit 40. The second edge sensor 32 is an example of the "second detection unit" in the present invention. The second edge sensor 32 intermittently detects the position of the edge 91 of the printing paper 9 in the width direction at the second detection position Pb. As a result, the detection result indicating the time-dependent change of the position of the edge 91 in the width direction at the second detection position Pb is acquired. Then, the detection signal indicating the obtained detection result is output to the control unit 40.

The control unit 40 is a means for controlling the operation of each unit in the image recording device 1. As conceptually shown in FIG. 1, the control unit 40 is composed of a computer having a processor 401 such as a CPU, a memory 402 such as a RAM, and a storage unit 403 such as a hard disk drive. A computer program CP for executing the printing process is stored in the storage unit 403. Further, as shown by the broken line in FIG. 1, the control unit 40 is electrically connected to the above-mentioned transport mechanism 10, the four recording heads 21 to 24, and the two edge sensors 30, respectively. The control unit 40 controls the operation of each of these units according to the computer program CP. As a result, the printing process in the image recording device 1 proceeds.

<1-2. About detection / correction processing>
The control unit 40 acquires detection signals from the first edge sensor 31 and the second edge sensor 32 when the printing process is executed. Then, based on the obtained detection signal, the amount of misalignment of the printing paper 9 in the transport direction is detected. Further, the ejection timing of ink droplets from the four recording heads 21 to 24 is corrected based on the detected displacement amount. As a result, the above-mentioned misregistration is suppressed.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram conceptually showing the functions in the control unit 40 for realizing such detection / correction processing. As shown in FIG. 4, the control unit 40 includes a deviation amount calculation unit 41, a discharge correction unit 42, a print instruction unit 43, and a drive unit 45. Each function of the deviation amount calculation unit 41, the ejection correction unit 42, the print instruction unit 43, and the drive unit 45 is realized by operating the processor 401 based on the computer program CP. The drive unit 45 rotates and drives at least one of a plurality of rollers including the unwinding roller 11, the plurality of transport rollers 12, and the take-up roller 13 at a constant rotation speed to carry the printing paper 9 through the transport path. Transport along.

The deviation amount calculation unit 41 determines the displacement amount of the printing paper 9 in the transport direction based on the first detection result R1 obtained from the first edge sensor 31 and the second detection result R2 obtained from the second edge sensor 32. Is detected. FIG. 5 is a graph showing an example of the first detection result R1 and the second detection result R2. In the graph of FIG. 5, the horizontal axis represents the time and the vertical axis represents the position of the edge 91 in the width direction. On the horizontal axis of the graph of FIG. 5, the left end is the current time, and the time becomes older toward the right side. Therefore, the data line in FIG. 5 moves to the right as shown by the white arrow with the passage of time.

The edge 91 of the printing paper 9 has fine irregularities. The first edge sensor 31 and the second edge sensor 32 detect the position of the edge 91 of the printing paper 9 in the width direction at a preset minute time (for example, every 50 microseconds). As a result, as shown in FIG. 5, data showing the time-dependent change in the position of the edge 91 of the printing paper 9 in the width direction can be obtained. The first detection result R1 is data that reflects the shape of the edge 91 of the printing paper 9 that passes through the first detection position Pa. The second detection result R2 is data that reflects the shape of the edge 91 of the printing paper 9 that passes through the second detection position Pb.

The deviation amount calculation unit 41 compares the first detection result R1 and the second detection result R2. Then, the location where the same edge 91 of the printing paper 9 is detected is specified by the first detection result R1 and the second detection result R2. Specifically, for each data section (constant time range) included in the first detection result R1, a highly consistent data section included in the second detection result R2 is specified. Hereinafter, the data section included in the first detection result R1 is referred to as a comparison source data section D1. Further, the data section included in the second detection result R2 is referred to as a comparison destination data section D2.

For example, a matching method such as cross-correlation or residual sum of squares is used to specify the data interval. The deviation amount calculation unit 41 selects a plurality of comparison destination data sections D2 included in the second detection result R2 as candidates for the corresponding data section for each comparison source data section D1 included in the first detection result R1. In addition, for each of the plurality of selected comparison destination data sections D2, an evaluation value indicating consistency with the comparison source data section D1 is calculated. Then, the comparison destination data section D2 having the highest evaluation value is set as the comparison destination data section D2 corresponding to the comparison source data section D1.

The time difference between the first detection result R1 and the second detection result R2 does not deviate significantly from the ideal transport time of the printing paper 9 from the first detection position Pa to the second detection position Pb. Therefore, the search for the comparison destination data section D2 described above may be performed only in the vicinity of the time when the ideal transport time has elapsed from the comparison source data section D1. Further, once the comparison destination data section D2 corresponding to the comparison source data section D1 is specified, the next and subsequent searches may be performed only in the vicinity of the data section adjacent to the searched comparison destination data section D2.

In this way, the deviation amount calculation unit 41 estimates the comparison destination data section D2 of the second detection result R2 corresponding to the comparison source data section D1 of the first detection result R1, and only in the vicinity of the estimated data section. The comparison destination data interval D2, which has a high degree of coincidence with the comparison source data interval D1, may be searched. In this way, the search range of the comparison destination data section D2 is narrowed. Therefore, the calculation processing load of the deviation amount calculation unit 41 can be reduced.

After that, the deviation amount calculation unit 41 moves from the first detection position Pa to the second detection position Pb based on the time difference between the detection time of the comparison source data section D1 and the detection time of the corresponding comparison destination data section D2. The actual transport time of the printing paper 9 is calculated. Further, based on the calculated transport time, the actual transport speed of the printing paper 9 below the image recording unit 20 is calculated. Then, based on the calculated transport speed, the time when each part of the printing paper 9 reaches the first processing position P1, the second processing position P2, the third processing position P3, and the fourth processing position P4 is calculated. As a result, the amount of misalignment of each part of the printing paper 9 in the transport direction is calculated with respect to the case where the printing paper 9 is transported at an ideal transfer speed. The amount of misalignment is ideally conveyed by the printing paper 9 at each position of a plurality of points including the first processing position P1, the second processing position P2, the third processing position P3, and the fourth processing position P4. It is calculated by multiplying the difference between the time expected to arrive when transported at a speed and the time when it actually arrives by the actual transport speed.

As described above, the image recording apparatus 1 of the present embodiment detects the shape of the edge 91 of the printing paper 9 at two locations, the first detection position Pa and the second detection position Pb, and based on the detection results, The amount of misalignment of the printing paper 9 in the transport direction is calculated. Therefore, the amount of misalignment in the transport direction of the printing paper 9 can be detected without depending on the image such as the register mark formed on the surface of the printing paper 9.

In particular, in the present embodiment, ink droplets are ejected onto the recording surface of the printing paper 9 between the first detection position Pa and the second detection position Pb. Therefore, even if the length of the printing paper 9 in the transport direction is locally extended due to the adhesion of ink, the amount of misalignment in the transport direction due to the elongation is measured in the first detection position Pa and the second detection position Pb. It can be obtained from the detection result.

Return to FIG. The ejection correction unit 42 corrects the ejection timing of ink droplets from the recording heads 21 to 24 based on the displacement amount calculated by the displacement amount calculation unit 41. For example, when the time when the portion of the printing paper 9 on which the image should be recorded reaches the processing positions P1 to P4 is later than the ideal time, the ejection correction unit 42 may perform the ejection correction unit 42 from the recording heads 21 to 24. Delay the ejection timing of ink droplets. Further, when the time when the portion of the printing paper 9 to record the image reaches the processing positions P1 to P4 earlier than the ideal time, the ejection correction unit 42 starts from the recording heads 21 to 24. Advances the ejection timing of ink droplets.

The print instruction unit 43 controls the ink droplet ejection operation from each of the recording heads 21 to 24 based on the submitted image data I. At this time, the print instruction unit 43 refers to the correction value of the discharge timing output from the discharge correction unit 42. Then, the original ejection timing based on the image data I is shifted according to the correction value. As a result, at the processing positions P1 to P4, ink droplets of each color are ejected to appropriate positions on the printing paper 9 in the transport direction. Therefore, the mutual misalignment of the monochromatic images formed by the inks of each color is suppressed. As a result, a high-quality printed image with little misregistration can be obtained.

<2. Second Embodiment>
Subsequently, the image recording apparatus according to the second embodiment of the present invention will be described. In the following, the differences from the first embodiment will be mainly described, and duplicate description will be omitted for the parts equivalent to the first embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram conceptually showing the functions in the control unit 40B according to the second embodiment. As shown in FIG. 6, the control unit 40B includes a deviation amount calculation unit 41B, a print instruction unit 43B, a tension correction unit 44B, and a drive unit 45B. Further, the control unit 40B includes a plurality of rollers including the unwinding roller 11B of the transport mechanism, the plurality of transport rollers 12B, and the take-up roller 13B, four recording heads 21B to 24B, and two edge sensors 30B. Each is electrically connected.

Similar to the first embodiment, the displacement amount calculation unit 41B uses the printing paper based on the first detection result R1 obtained from the first edge sensor 31B and the second detection result R2 obtained from the second edge sensor 32B. Detects the amount of misalignment in the transport direction. As a result, the amount of misalignment in the transport direction of the printing paper can be detected without depending on the image such as the register mark formed on the surface of the printing paper. Further, as in the first embodiment, ink droplets are dropped on the recording surface of the printing paper between the first detection position where the first edge sensor 31B is arranged and the second detection position where the second edge sensor 32B is arranged. Is discharged. Even if the length of the printing paper in the transport direction is locally extended due to the adhesion of the ink, the amount of misalignment in the transport direction due to the elongation can be obtained from the detection results of the first detection position and the second detection position. Can be done.

The tension correction unit 44B corrects the drive of the take-up roller 13B among the plurality of rollers based on the amount of misalignment in the transport direction of the printing paper. As a result, the tension applied to the printing paper in the transport direction is corrected, and the amount of elongation of the printing paper due to the change in tension is adjusted. Specifically, the tension correction unit 44B first calculates the amount of elongation of the printing paper in the conveying direction based on the amount of misalignment in the conveying direction of the printing paper. The amount of elongation is, for example, the amount of misalignment at the first processing position where ink droplets are ejected from the first recording head 21B and the misalignment at the fourth processing position where ink droplets are ejected from the fourth recording head 24B. Calculated from the difference from the quantity. However, the section for calculating the amount of elongation is not limited to this. The tension applied to the printing paper and the amount of elongation of the printing paper are proportional to each other.

The drive unit 45B refers to the amount of elongation (correction value) of the printing paper output from the tension correction unit 44B. Then, when the elongation amount is larger than the first reference value which is the maximum allowable value, for example, the rotation speed in the direction of winding the printing paper by the take-up roller 13B is lowered. As a result, the tension applied to the printing paper is weakened and the amount of elongation is reduced. When the elongation amount is smaller than the second reference value, which is the minimum allowable value, for example, the rotation speed in the winding direction of the printing paper by the take-up roller 13B is increased. As a result, the tension applied to the printing paper is increased and the amount of elongation is increased. The drive unit 45B may correct at least one drive of the plurality of rollers in order to correct the tension applied to the printing paper in the transport direction. For example, when the elongation amount is larger than the first reference value which is the maximum allowable value, the rotation speed in the direction of unwinding the printing paper by the unwinding roller 11B may be increased.

Further, the tension correction unit 44B may calculate the tension actually applied to the printing paper as a correction value instead of calculating the elongation amount (correction value) of the printing paper. Then, the drive unit 45B may correct the drive of the rollers so as to approach the tension applied to the printing paper when the printing paper is conveyed at an ideal conveying speed. The tension applied to the printing paper can be calculated, for example, by multiplying the amount of elongation of the printing paper by the Young's modulus of the printing paper. In addition, in order to correct the tension applied to the printing paper, a dancer roller may be used instead of correcting the drive of the roller.

Further, instead of correcting the elongation amount or tension of the printing paper, the drive unit 45B ideally conveys the printing paper at the time when the printing paper actually reaches the first processing position and the fourth processing position, for example. The drive of the rollers may be corrected to approach the time expected to be reached when transported at a speed.

Similar to the first embodiment, the print instruction unit 43B controls the ink droplet ejection operation from the recording heads 21B to 24B based on the submitted image data I. However, in the present embodiment, the ink droplet ejection from the recording heads 21B to 24B is not corrected based on the misalignment amount of the printing paper calculated by the misalignment amount calculation unit 41B. As described above, by correcting the elongation amount or tension of the printing paper, ink droplets of each color are ejected to appropriate positions on the printing paper in the transport direction at each processing position by the recording heads 21B to 24B. .. Therefore, the mutual misalignment of the monochromatic images formed by the inks of each color is suppressed. As a result, a high-quality printed image with little misregistration can be obtained. As in the present embodiment, in addition to correcting the elongation amount or tension of the printing paper based on the misalignment amount of the printing paper, the ejection of ink droplets from the recording heads 21B to 24B may be further corrected.

<3. Modification example>
Although the exemplary embodiments of the present invention have been described above, the present invention is not limited to the above embodiments.

In the first embodiment described above, the ejection correction unit 42 corrects the ejection timing of ink droplets from the recording heads 21 to 24 without correcting the submitted image data I itself. However, the discharge correction unit 42 may correct the image data I based on the position deviation amount calculated by the deviation amount calculation unit 41. In that case, the print instruction unit 43 may eject ink droplets from the recording heads 21 to 24 according to the corrected image data I. Further, the ejection correction unit 42 may correct the ink ejection position from each of the recording heads 21 to 24 based on the displacement amount calculated by the displacement amount calculation unit 41. That is, the ejection correction unit 42 may correct the ejection timing or ejection position of ink droplets from the image recording unit 20.

Further, in the above-mentioned first embodiment, the edge sensors 30 are arranged only at the first detection position Pa and the second detection position Pb. However, the number of edge sensors 30 arranged on the transport path of the printing paper 9 may be three or more. For example, as shown in FIG. 7, the first detection position Pa on the upstream side of the first processing position P1 on the transport path, the intermediate detection position Pc between the second processing position P2 and the third processing position P3, and the like. The edge sensors 30 may be arranged at three positions with the second detection position Pb on the downstream side of the fourth processing position P4.

In this case, the amount of misalignment of the printing paper 9 in the transport direction can be calculated more accurately based on the detection results of the three edge sensors 30. For example, when the amount of misalignment of the printing paper 9 in the transport direction differs between the first processing position P1 and the second processing position P2 and the third processing position P3 and the fourth processing position P4 due to the difference in the amount of ink adhered. Even so, the amount of misalignment at each processing position can be appropriately detected.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing a configuration of an image recording device 1C according to another modified example. In the following, the differences from the above-described embodiment will be mainly described, and the duplicate description including the explanation of a part of the reference numerals will be omitted for the parts equivalent to the above-described embodiment. In the example of FIG. 8, the transport mechanism 10C has a plurality of rollers including a winding roller 11C, a plurality of transport rollers 12C, and a take-up roller 13C. The transport roller 12C includes two pairs of nip rollers 121C and 122C that rotate and feed in the transport direction while sandwiching and holding the printing paper 9C. The nip roller 121C is located on the upstream side in the transport direction with respect to the image recording unit 20C. The nip roller 122C is located on the downstream side in the transport direction with respect to the image recording unit 20C. When correcting the elongation amount or tension of the printing paper, the drive of the nip roller 121C may be corrected. For example, when the elongation amount of the printing paper is larger than the first reference value which is the maximum allowable value, the rotation speed in the direction of feeding the printing paper by the nip roller 121C may be increased.

Further, the edge sensor may be provided at a position below the recording head. For example, edge sensors may be provided below each of the four recording heads.

Further, in the above embodiment, the edge sensor is provided only on one end side in the width direction of the printing paper. However, edge sensors may be provided on both sides of the printing paper in the width direction. Then, the amount of misalignment in the transport direction of the printing paper can be detected based on the detection results of the edges on both sides in the width direction of the printing paper. Therefore, the accuracy of detecting the amount of misalignment can be further improved.

Further, the image recording apparatus of the above embodiment calculates the transport speed of the printing paper based on the signal obtained from the edge sensor, and based on the calculated transport speed, determines the amount of misalignment of the printing paper in the transport direction. It was calculated. However, the image recording apparatus may correct the timing of ejecting ink droplets from the recording head or the driving of the rollers based on the amount of deviation in the transport speed of the printing paper. That is, the deviation amount calculation unit may calculate the deviation amount of the position in the transfer direction of the printing paper or the transfer speed.

Further, the image recording device may have a function of detecting and correcting the amount of misalignment in the width direction of the printing paper based on the signal obtained from the edge sensor. Further, the image recording device has a function of detecting and correcting meandering, skewing change, traveling position, or dimensional change in the width direction of the printing paper based on the amount of misalignment in the width direction of the printing paper. May be good. In this way, it is not necessary to separately provide an edge sensor for detecting the amount of misalignment in the transport direction of the printing paper and an edge sensor for detecting the amount of misalignment in the width direction of the printing paper. Therefore, the number of parts of the image recording device can be suppressed.

Further, in FIG. 2 above, the nozzles 201 are arranged in a row in the width direction in each of the recording heads 21 to 24. However, in each recording head 21 to 24, the nozzles 201 may be arranged in two or more rows.

Further, in the above embodiment, a transmission type edge sensor is used for the first detection unit and the second detection unit. However, the detection methods of the first detection unit and the second detection unit may be other methods. For example, a reflection type optical sensor, a CCD camera, or the like may be used. The first detection unit and the second detection unit may detect the position of the edge of the printing paper in two dimensions in the transport direction and the width direction. Further, the detection operation by the first detection unit and the second detection unit may be intermittent or continuous as in the above embodiment.

Further, in the above embodiment, when measuring the transport time of the printing paper and the arrival time at each point, for example, a clock or a counter installed separately from the image recording device can be used. However, instead of using these, the time may be measured based on a signal of a rotary encoder (not shown) connected to a roller that is rotationally driven at a constant rotational speed in the transport mechanism.

Further, in the above embodiment, four recording heads are provided in the image recording device. However, the number of recording heads in the image recording device may be 1 to 3 or 5 or more. For example, in addition to the K, C, M, and Y colors, a recording head that ejects a special color ink may be provided.

Further, the present invention does not exclude detecting the amount of misalignment of the printing paper based on a reference image such as a register mark formed on the surface of the printing paper. For example, the detection result of a reference image such as a register mark and the edge detection result by the edge sensor as described above may be used in combination to detect the amount of misalignment or the transport speed of the printing paper in the transport direction.

Further, the above-mentioned image recording apparatus records an image on printing paper by an inkjet method. However, the substrate processing apparatus of the present invention may be an apparatus for recording an image on printing paper by a method other than inkjet (for example, electrophotographic method or exposure). Further, the above-mentioned image recording apparatus performs a printing process on printing paper as a base material. However, the base material processing apparatus of the present invention may perform a predetermined treatment on a long strip-shaped base material (for example, a resin film, a metal foil, etc.) other than general paper.

Further, the elements appearing in the above-described embodiments and modifications may be appropriately combined as long as there is no contradiction.

1,1C Image recording device 9,9C Printing paper 10,10C Conveying mechanism 11, 11B, 11C Unwinding roller 12, 12B, 12C Conveying roller 13, 13B, 13C Rewinding roller 20 Image recording unit 21, 21B, 21C 1st Recording heads 22, 22B, 22C 2nd recording head 23, 23B, 23C 3rd recording head 24, 24B, 24C 4th recording head 31, 31B, 31C 1st edge sensor 32, 32B, 32C 2nd edge sensor 40, 40B , 40C Control unit 41,41B Deviation amount calculation unit 42 Discharge correction unit 43,43B Print instruction unit 44B Tension correction unit 45,45B Drive unit 91 Edge 121C Nip roller 122C Nip roller CP computer program D1 Comparison source data section D2 Comparison destination data section I Image data P1 1st processing position P2 2nd processing position P3 3rd processing position P4 4th processing position Pa 1st detection position Pb 2nd detection position Pc Intermediate detection position R1 1st detection result R2 2nd detection result

Claims (11)

A transport mechanism that transports a long strip-shaped base material in the longitudinal direction along a predetermined transport path,
In the first detection position on the transport path, the first detection unit that acquires the first detection result by continuously or intermittently detecting the position in the width direction of the edge of the base material, and the first detection unit.
The second detection result is acquired by continuously or intermittently detecting the position in the width direction of the edge of the base material at the second detection position on the downstream side of the first detection position on the transport path. 2 detectors and
Based on the first detection result and the second detection result, a deviation amount calculation unit that calculates the deviation amount of the position in the transport direction or the transport speed of the base material, and
Equipped with a,
Processing unit that processes the base material at the processing position on the transport path
With more
The processing unit is an image recording unit that ejects ink onto the surface of a base material and records an image.
The processing unit is a base material processing device that ejects ink onto the surface of the base material between the first detection position and the second detection position. The base material processing apparatus according to claim 1.
The deviation amount calculation unit identifies a highly consistent data section included in the second detection result for each data section included in the first detection result, and based on the specified data section, the base material. A base material processing device that calculates the position in the transport direction or the amount of deviation of the transport speed. The base material processing apparatus according to claim 2.
The deviation amount calculation unit is a base material processing apparatus that specifies a data section of the second detection result having the highest evaluation value indicating consistency for each data section included in the first detection result. The base material processing apparatus according to claim 2 or 3.
The deviation amount calculation unit estimates the data section of the second detection result corresponding to the data section included in the first detection result, and in the vicinity of the estimated data section, the data of the first detection result. A base material processing apparatus that specifies a data section of the second detection result having high consistency with the section. The base material processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 4.
A base material processing apparatus further having a function of detecting a deviation amount of a position in the width direction of a base material based on signals obtained from the first detection unit and the second detection unit. The base material processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 5.
The transport mechanism has a plurality of rollers and has a plurality of rollers.
A drive unit that rotationally drives at least one of the plurality of rollers,
A tension correction unit that corrects the tension in the transport direction applied to the base material by correcting at least one drive of the plurality of rollers based on the deviation amount calculated by the deviation amount calculation unit.
A base material processing device further comprising. The base material processing apparatus according to claim 6.
The tension correction unit calculates the amount of elongation in the transport direction of the base material based on the amount of deviation, and when the amount of elongation is larger than the first reference value, the tension is weakened and the amount of elongation is the second reference. A base material processing device that increases the tension when it is smaller than the value. The base material processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 7 .
Before SL deviation amount calculation unit, the processing position substrate processing apparatus for calculating a shift amount of the position or the transport speed of the transport direction of the substrate in. The base material processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 8.
Discharge correction unit that corrects the ink ejection timing or ejection position from the image recording unit based on the displacement amount calculated by the displacement amount calculation unit.
A base material processing device further comprising. The base material processing apparatus according to claim 9.
The image recording unit has a plurality of recording heads arranged along the transport direction.
The plurality of recording heads are base material processing devices that eject inks of different colors from each other. It is a detection method that detects the position of the base material in the transport direction or the amount of deviation of the transport speed while transporting the long strip-shaped base material in the longitudinal direction along a predetermined transport path.
a) A step of acquiring the first detection result by continuously or intermittently detecting the position in the width direction of the edge of the base material at the first detection position on the transport path.
b) The second detection result is acquired by continuously or intermittently detecting the position in the width direction of the edge of the base material at the second detection position on the downstream side of the first detection position on the transport path. And the process to do
c) A step of calculating the position of the base material in the transport direction or the amount of deviation of the transport speed based on the first detection result and the second detection result, and
Have,
d) Step of processing the base material at the processing position on the transport path
Have more
In step d), a detection method of ejecting ink onto the surface of a base material and recording an image between the first detection position and the second detection position.

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