JP7007878B2 - Inkjet recording device - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to an inkjet recording apparatus that ejects ink onto a recording medium for recording.

Patent Document 1 provides a transport mechanism in which a suction hole for sucking air is provided in a transport belt, and the recording medium to be transported is moved in a state of being sucked by the transport belt by sucking air through the suction hole. Are listed. According to this transport mechanism, the recording medium can be reliably transported in synchronization with the moving transport belt.

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2010-37001

However, when the transport mechanism of Patent Document 1 is used in an inkjet recording device that ejects ink to a recording medium, there is a possibility that the landing position of the ink ejected from the recording head may shift due to the air flow generated by suction. There is. That is, when sucking the recording medium onto the belt, among the suction holes provided on the belt, there are suction holes that are not covered with the recording medium depending on the belt loading position of the recording medium. When the ejection position of the recording head with respect to the recording medium is close to the suction hole not covered by the recording medium, the airflow passing through the suction hole changes the flight direction of the ink droplet ejected at the ejection position, and as a result, on the recording medium. The ink landing position may be shifted.

Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide an inkjet recording apparatus capable of suppressing the influence of the air flow for adsorbing the recording medium used for the transport mechanism of the recording medium on the ejected ink droplets.

A transport belt having a plurality of suction holes for sucking the mounted recording medium, and a recording head arranged opposite to the transport belt and ejecting ink from the ejection port to the recording medium that is sucked by the suction holes and conveyed. It is characterized by having a control means for changing the ink ejection speed ejected from the ejection port according to the margin amount from the tip of the conveyed recording medium to the area where the ink is ejected and recorded.

According to the present invention, it is possible to suppress deterioration of image quality due to the flow of suction air that conveys the recording medium.

It is a schematic block diagram of the inkjet recording apparatus which concerns on 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the control system of the inkjet recording apparatus shown in FIG. It is a figure which shows the mechanism mainly for transporting a recording medium in a partial cross section in the inkjet recording apparatus which concerns on 1st Embodiment. It is a figure explaining the influence on the ejected droplet of the air flow generated when the suction fan sucks a recording medium. It is an image which looked at the ink landing position of FIG. 4 from the upper surface. It is a figure which shows the table which contains the relationship between the margin amount at the tip of the continuous paper, and the number of pre-discharges (preliminary discharge) which is executed before recording. It is a flowchart which shows the process up to the recording operation including the preliminary discharge which is executed before the recording operation which concerns on 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the positional relationship of the ink drop ejected from a recording head, continuous paper, and the suction hole of a transport belt in 2nd Embodiment. It is a figure which looked at the transfer unit in the inkjet recording apparatus which concerns on 2nd Embodiment of this invention from above. It is a figure which shows the table for determining the distance between a suction hole and a recording start position, and the number of pre-recording preliminary discharges. It is a figure which shows the table which contains the relationship between the margin amount at the tip of continuous paper, and the heating temperature performed before recording. It is a flowchart which shows the process about the recording head heating performed before the recording operation which concerns on 3rd Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the table for determining the distance between a suction hole and a recording start position, and a heating temperature.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail.

(First Embodiment)
FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of an inkjet recording device according to the first embodiment of the present invention. The inkjet recording device 100 (hereinafter, also simply referred to as a recording device) is connected to a host computer 101 as an information processing device. The host computer 101 outputs image data, a cutting position of the recording medium, information about the recording medium, and the like as control commands to the recording device 100 via the printer cable 102. The continuous paper 103, which is a recording medium wound in a roll shape, is cut after the image is recorded, as will be described later. The transport unit 104, which is a transport means for the continuous paper 103, is provided with a transport motor 105, a transport belt 106, and a suction fan 107. The transport belt 106 is bridged between the guide rollers 108A, 108B, 108C, and the drive roller 108D. The drive roller 108D is rotated by the forward / reverse reversible transfer motor 105, and the transfer belt 106 on which the continuous paper 103 is placed and conveyed moves in the direction of arrow A1 or the opposite direction of arrow A2. By rotating the suction fan 107 as the suction means, air is sucked from a plurality of suction holes 116 (see FIG. 4 and the like) formed in the transport belt 106 and discharged from the exhaust port 109 of the transport unit 104. The transport belt 106 can transport the continuous paper 103 in the arrow A1 direction and the arrow A2 direction while adsorbing the continuous paper 103 on the surface of the transport belt 106 by sucking air from the suction hole 116.

A plurality of recording heads 110H (see FIG. 4) capable of recording an image on continuous paper 103 are detachably mounted on the recording unit 110 so as to face the transport belt. The recording head 110H can eject ink by using an electric heat conversion element (heater) as an ejection energy generating element. The electric heat conversion element foams ink by its heat generation, and can discharge the ink from the ejection port at the tip of the nozzle formed in the recording head by utilizing the foaming energy. In the present embodiment, as the recording head 110H, a recording head for ejecting black (K), cyan (C), magenta (M), and yellow (Y) inks for performing full-color printing on continuous paper 103. It includes 110K, 110C, 110M, and 110Y. These are arranged along the paper transport directions A1 and A2. The number of colors, that is, the number of recording heads can be arbitrarily determined, and will be comprehensively referred to below as "recording head 110H".

Such a recording device 100 includes a preliminary ejection operation, a pressure recovery operation, a suction recovery operation, a wiping operation, and the like as recovery measures related to ink ejection. The recording unit 110 of the present embodiment is provided with a cap unit (not shown) that receives the ink ejected by the preliminary ejection operation performed prior to the printing operation. The recording device 100 includes a tip detection sensor 111 that detects the tip of the continuous paper 103 to obtain recording timing, and a tip detection sensor 112 that detects the tip of the continuous paper 103 to obtain the cutting timing of the continuous paper 103. Has been done. When the continuous paper 103 is a paper that is recorded and cut for each predetermined unit area and is marked with a mark capable of detecting the unit area, the mark is used to display the unit area. The tip can be detected. The tip detection sensors 111 and 112 are configured to include either or both of a reflection type sensor and a transmission type sensor. For example, when the continuous paper 103 is a label paper, the tip of the label as a unit area is detected by the difference in transmittance between the mount and the label attached to the mount. In the case of paper with a detection mark, the tip of the page as a unit area is detected by the difference in light reflectance between the paper and the mark.

The rotation axis of the guide roller 108A is provided with an encoder (not shown) that rotates in synchronization with the rotation axis, which is a detection means for detecting the transport position of the continuous paper 103. The transfer of the continuous paper 103 by the transfer unit 104, the recording timing by the recording unit 110, and the cutting timing by the cutting unit 113 described later are controlled by the CPU 201 of the control unit 200 described later based on the detection signal of the encoder.

The cutter as the cutting portion 113 includes a rotary blade 113A, a fixed blade 113B, and a stopper 113C, and the stopper 113C is released (moved upward in the drawing) by a solenoid (not shown). By releasing the stopper 113C, the rotary blade 113A rotates in the direction of the arrow D, and the continuous paper 103 is cut by the rotary blade 113A and the fixed blade 113B. When the continuous paper 103 is conveyed in the direction of arrow A1 by the transfer unit 104, the continuous paper 103 is cut at the timing when the cutting position (not shown) on the continuous paper 103 reaches the fixed blade 113B.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a control system of the inkjet recording apparatus shown in FIG. The control unit 200 of the recording device 100 includes a central processing unit (CPU) 201, and the CPU 201 is stored in the non-volatile memory (ROM) 202. By executing a control program such as a program described later in FIG. 7 or the like. , Each component of the recording device 100 is controlled. Further, the control unit 200 includes a memory (RAM) 203 used as a work area for various data processing and a reception buffer, and an image memory 204 as an image expansion unit.

The control circuit 210 of the control unit 200 includes a recording head drive circuit 205 for driving the recording head 110H, a motor driver 207, a sensor 208, and the like. The motor driver 207 is a driver for various motors 206 that drive the cleaning operation, the recording operation, and the cutting operation of the recording head 110H. The sensor 208 is a sensor used for controlling various operations in the recording device 100, detecting continuous paper 103, and the like. The control unit 200 is connected to the host computer 101 through USB 209.

A recording command transmitted from the host computer 101 of the present embodiment to the recording device 100 via the printer cable 102 will be described. The recording commands include a recording medium setting command for notifying the size of the recording medium, a format command for specifying the recording area, a transport speed setting command for specifying the transport speed of the recording medium, and data for notifying the image data of the recorded image. There is a command. Further, the recording command includes a cut designation command for designating the presence / absence of cutting and the cutting position for the continuous paper 103. The control related to the pre-recording process described later is performed based on the margin amount (tip margin amount) of the data command.

When the cutting interval is set to 1 or more, the cutting unit 113 cuts the continuous paper 103 by the cut designation command under the control of the CPU 201. The cutting interval indicates the interval at which cutting is performed, and when the cutting interval is set to 1, continuous paper is cut for each vertical size (unit area) of the recording medium. For example, when a plurality of sheets to be recorded are specified and the cutting interval is set to two or more, continuous paper is used for each area in which the number set as the cutting interval and the vertical size of the recording medium are integrated. Is disconnected.

For example, in the case where so-called copy recording is performed with two or more recording sheets, it is assumed that the cutting interval is set to 2 and the vertical size of the recording medium is set to 40 mm. In this case, the cut length of the continuous paper 103 is 80 mm (= 2 × 40 mm), which is the product of the cutting interval of 2 and the vertical size of the recording medium of 40 mm. Therefore, the continuous paper 103 is cut every 80 mm. Further, regardless of the number of sheets to be recorded, when the cutting interval is 1, the cut length is set to 40 mm (1 × 40 mm), and the continuous paper 103 is cut every 40 mm of the vertical size (unit area) of the recording medium.

The drawing color command stores the number of drawing colors, and the image data command stores one or more data according to the number of drawing colors. When the drawing color is only K (black), one image data is stored, and when the drawing color is K (black), C (cyan), M (magenta), Y (yellow), one image data is stored. Four image data are stored in order.

FIG. 3 is a schematic view showing a partial cross-sectional view of a mechanism mainly for transporting a recording medium in the inkjet recording apparatus according to the first embodiment. When the suction fan 107 sucks air through the suction holes 116 (see FIG. 4 and the like) provided in the transfer belt 106, the continuous paper 103 of the portion covering the suction holes 116 is attracted to the surface of the transfer belt 106. Be pressed. Then, by moving (running) the transport belt 106 in a state where the continuous paper 103 is attracted to the transport belt 106, the continuous paper 103 is conveyed in the arrow A1 direction. When the continuous paper 103 is a label paper, the continuous paper 103 is an encoder (not shown) that rotates in synchronization with the rotation axis of the guide roller 108A after the tip of the label passes under the tip detection sensor 111 and is detected. Detects the transport position of the label paper. During the recording operation, the continuous paper 103 is continuously conveyed in the direction of the arrow A1 and the ink is ejected from the recording head 110H of the recording unit 110, whereby 1 page P1, 2 pages P2, ... ... Images 115 (1), 115 (2), ... Are recorded.

4 (a) and 4 (b) are schematic views illustrating the influence of the air flow generated when the suction fan sucks the recording medium on the ejected droplets, and are the ink droplets ejected from the recording head 110H, the continuous paper 103, and the transport belt. The positional relationship of the suction holes of 106 is shown. FIG. 4A shows a state after the continuous paper 103 is conveyed and the tip of the continuous paper 103 passes through the entire recording head 110H. At this time, suction is performed by the suction fan 107, and in the suction hole 116 which is not covered by the continuous paper 103, an air flow passing through the suction hole 116 is generated. In the state shown in FIG. 4A, the position of the suction hole 116 in which the tip of the continuous paper 103 passes through the recording head 110H and is not covered by the continuous paper 103 is relatively far from the position where the recording head 110H ejects ink. It is a state. As a result, the ejected ink droplets have almost no influence from the air flow passing through the suction hole 116, and the ejection position of the ejected ink does not shift. FIG. 5A is a view of the recording surface of the continuous paper 103 at this time as viewed from above. As shown in the figure, it can be seen that the ink droplets land at the position where the straight line (ruled line) 50, which is an image recorded by the ejected ink, should be recorded, and the straight line 50 is formed.

On the other hand, FIG. 4B shows a state when the tip of the continuous paper 103 passes through the ejection position of the recording head 110H. At this time, as in the state shown in FIG. 4A, suction is performed by the suction fan 107, and an air flow passing through the suction hole 116 not covered by the continuous paper 103 is generated. However, in the state shown in FIG. 4B, the position of the suction hole 116 that the tip of the continuous paper 103 has not passed the ejection position of the recording head 110H and the continuous paper 103 does not cover is not so long. The recording head 110H is relatively close to the position where the ink is ejected. In this case, the ejected ink droplets are affected by the air flow passing through the nearby suction hole 116, and the flight direction of the ejected ink changes, resulting in a shift in the landing position. FIG. 5B is a view of the recording surface of the continuous paper 103 at this time as viewed from above. As shown in the figure, the ink ejected from the recording head 110H scatters and lands toward the tip of the continuous paper 103 from the position where the straight line 50, which is the target landing position, is recorded (ink dot 51). ).

When the distance between the ejection position of the recording head 110H and the suction hole 116 of the transport belt 106 not covered with the continuous paper 103 is shortened in this way, the ink landing position is displaced. In the present embodiment, the position of the suction hole 116 of the transport belt 106 that is not covered with the continuous paper 103 is unknown. Therefore, if the suction hole 116 exists at the tip position, the smaller the margin amount at the tip, which is the distance from the tip of the continuous paper 103 to the recording start position where the ink is first ejected, the more the influence of the air flow passing through the suction hole. As a result, the landing position of the ink may shift. Therefore, in the present embodiment, the means for coping with the air flow is changed according to the amount of the tip margin of the continuous paper 103.

In one embodiment of the present invention, by increasing the ejection speed of the ink ejected from the recording head 110H, the influence of the air flow caused by the suction described above in FIGS. 4 (b) and 5 (b) is dealt with. Specifically, the smaller the tip margin amount, the lower the viscosity of the ink. As a result, the viscous resistance of the ejection port, the liquid passage, and the like in the recording head 110H is reduced, and the ink ejection speed can be increased. As a result, even if wind pressure is generated in the ink droplets ejected and flying by the air flow, the deviation of the landing position can be reduced. In the present embodiment, the temperature of the ink in the ejection port is raised by increasing the number of ejections of the preliminary ejection performed before recording. As a result, the viscosity of the ink is lowered and the ejection speed is increased. Then, in the present embodiment, the number of pre-discharges is determined according to the front margin amount of the recording medium whose distance from the tip changes depending on the image data.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a table showing the relationship between the margin amount at the tip of the continuous paper and the number of pre-discharges (preliminary discharges) executed before recording, and this table is stored in the ROM 202 of the control unit 200. Has been done. In the present embodiment, the preliminary ejection number is the tip margin amount even when the tip of the continuous paper 103 and the suction hole 116 not covered by the continuous paper 103 of the transport belt 106 are located at the closest distance. The ink ejection speed is set to a sufficient value according to the above. Further, as the tip margin amount becomes smaller, the number of preliminary discharges is increased. This is because the smaller the tip margin amount, the closer the suction hole 116 and the landing position of the ejected ink are, and the more easily the suction hole 116 is affected by the air flow. Therefore, as the tip margin amount becomes smaller, the temperature of the ink in the ejection nozzle is increased by increasing the number of preliminary ejections, the viscosity of the ink is decreased, and the ejection speed is increased. As a result, even when the tip margin amount is small, the deviation of the landing position of the ejected ink is reduced in response to the influence of the air flow due to suction. On the other hand, when it is difficult to be affected by the air flow from the suction hole 116 (when the tip margin amount is large), the number of preliminary ejections is set to be small to reduce the deviation of the landing position and the ink discarded by the preliminary ejection. Consumption can be minimized.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing a process related to preliminary discharge executed before the recording operation according to the first embodiment of the present invention. When the recording device 100 receives a recording command including a recording command from the host computer 101, the CPU 201 of the control unit 200 starts the processing before the recording operation. First, the tip margin amount is determined based on the data command (S601). Then, with reference to the pre-recording preliminary discharge table shown in FIG. 6 stored in the ROM 202 of the control unit 200, the number of pre-recording preliminary discharges corresponding to the tip margin amount determined in step S601 is determined (S602). Then, in order to stabilize the preliminary ejection, heating of the ink in the recording head 110H is started so as to reach a constant temperature (30 ° C.) (S603). Whether or not the ink temperature in the recording head 110H has reached a constant temperature is determined according to the detection of the head temperature sensor 211 (see FIG. 2) in the flow path of the recording head 110H (S604). If the ink temperature has not reached a constant temperature, heating is continued until the ink temperature reaches a constant temperature (S604NO). Then, when the temperature reaches a constant temperature (S604YES), the heating in the recording head 110H is finished (S605), and the preliminary discharge is started until the preliminary discharge number determined in step S602 is reached (S606). When the number of preliminary discharges is reached (S607YES), the preliminary discharges are terminated (S608). The motor driver 207 drives the motor 206, moves the recording head 110H to the recording position (S609), ends the processing before the recording operation, and shifts to the recording operation (S610).

As described above, according to the present embodiment, the number of preliminary discharges before recording is changed according to the tip margin amount. By this preliminary ejection, the ejection port and the ink inside the ejection port are heated, and the viscosity of the ink decreases, so that the ink ejection speed increases. As a result, it is possible to suppress the deviation of the ink landing position due to the air flow flowing through the suction hole of the transport belt due to the suction operation of the transport portion.

The recording unit 110 in this embodiment is configured to use a full-line type inkjet recording head. However, the recording unit 110 is not such a full-line system, but a serial scan system that records an image accompanied by scanning in the main scanning direction of the recording head and conveying in the sub-scanning direction of the continuous paper 103. May be good. Further, the nozzle row in the recording head 110H is not limited to one row, and a plurality of nozzle rows may be formed in parallel. Further, the color of the ink used for recording the image is not limited to a single color, and may be a plurality of colors.

Further, in the present embodiment, the relationship between the tip margin amount and the number of preliminary discharges before recording is as shown in FIG. However, if the number of preliminary ejections can be set so that the ink ejection speed becomes a sufficient value even when the tip of the continuous paper 103 and the suction hole 116 are located at the closest distance, FIG. It does not have to be limited to the number of preliminary discharges shown in. Further, the relationship between the tip margin amount and the number of preliminary ejections is not a table that is preset and stored as described above, but the ink ejection speed is calculated by multiplying the obtained tip margin amount by a predetermined coefficient. You may calculate the number of preliminary discharges required to increase.

In the present embodiment, the influence of the airflow passing through the suction holes not covered by the recording medium on the ink ejection on the front end side of the recording medium is suppressed, but the suction holes are also provided on the rear end side of the conveyed recording medium. exist. However, when the image is formed, the ink ejection port of the recording head continuously ejects ink toward the continuous paper 103 to be conveyed in order to record the image from the tip end side of the recording medium. Therefore, the electric heat conversion element (heater) as the ejection energy generating element is continuously driven, and the ink viscosity decreases as the ink temperature rises due to the continuous driving of the element. Therefore, since the ink ejection speed also increases, the influence of the air flow passing through the suction holes existing on the rear end side of the recording medium with respect to the ink ejection can be ignored. Further, there is a transport mechanism in which a suction hole that does not cover the recording medium exists on the end side of the recording medium in the width direction orthogonal to the transport direction of the recording medium. In this case, since the ink ejection port located on the end side of the recording medium in the width direction of the recording medium also records an image from the tip side of the recording medium, the recording near the tip is affected by the air flow of the suction hole. However, the ink ejection near the tip can be dealt with by the present embodiment, and the ink is continuously ejected from the ink ejection port of the recording head toward the continuous paper 103 to be conveyed. Therefore, the ink ejection port on the end side is also located on the end side of the recording medium because the ink viscosity decreases and the ink ejection speed increases due to the increase in ink temperature due to the continuous drive of the electric heat conversion element (heater). The effect of airflow through the suction holes is negligible.

(Second Embodiment)
Since the basic configuration of the present embodiment is the same as that of the first embodiment, only the characteristic configuration of the present embodiment will be described below. In the first embodiment, the number of preliminary discharges is set based on a table provided assuming that the tip of the continuous paper 103 and the suction hole 116 are located at the closest distance. However, in the present embodiment, by obtaining the distance between the suction hole 116 and the tip of the continuous paper 103 on the transport belt 106, the distance between the suction hole 116 and the recording start position can be detected more accurately, and the ink ejection speed can be determined. It is possible to set the number of preliminary discharges required to increase the number.

FIG. 8 is a schematic view showing the positional relationship between the ink droplets ejected from the recording head 110H, the continuous paper 103, and the suction holes of the transport belt 106 in the second embodiment. Further, FIG. 9 is a schematic view of the transport unit in the inkjet recording apparatus according to the second embodiment of the present invention as viewed from above. The continuous paper 103 is conveyed by the transfer belt 106 in a state of being adsorbed by the suction holes 116 provided in the transfer belt 106. The transport belt 106 in the second embodiment is provided with a reference recess 117 at a position detected by the tip detection sensor 111. The distance from the reference recess 117 to each suction hole 116 is predetermined. By detecting the reference recess 117 and the tip of the continuous paper 103 with the tip detection sensor 111, the CPU 201 of the control unit 200 obtains the position (position B) of the suction hole 116 closest to the tip of the continuous paper 103. Specifically, the position B is not covered by the continuous paper 103 in the suction holes 116 of the transport belt 106, is on the cut portion 113 side of the tip of the continuous paper 103, and is the shortest with the tip of the continuous paper 103. Located at a distance. Next, the distance from the suction hole 116 (B) that is closest to the recording start position G at the tip of the recording area from the margin amount (tip margin amount) of the data command and has passed through the tip detection sensor 111 before the tip of the continuous paper 103. (Distance between BGs) is calculated by the CPU 201. Then, based on the calculated distance between BGs, the number of preliminary discharges before recording is set.

FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a table for determining the distance (distance between BGs) between the suction hole (B) and the recording start position (G) and the number of pre-recording preliminary discharges, which is stored in the ROM 202 of the control unit 200. There is. Similar to the first embodiment, in the flowchart of FIG. 7, the recording device 100 starts the processing before the recording operation after receiving the recording command including the recording command from the host computer 101. First, the number of pre-recording preliminary discharges is determined with reference to the pre-recording preliminary discharge table shown in FIG. 10 according to the above-mentioned distance between BGs. Next, after heating to a constant temperature (30 ° C.), pre-recording pre-discharge is performed. After that, it shifts to the recording operation.

As described above, in the second embodiment, the number of preliminary discharges before recording is changed according to the above-mentioned distance between BGs. As a result, the ink inside the recording head is heated and the ejection speed is increased by lowering the viscosity of the ink. can do. When the ink is not easily affected by the airflow from the suction hole 116 (when the distance between BGs is large), the number of preliminary ejections is set to be small to reduce the deviation of the landing position and the ink discarded by the preliminary ejection. Consumption can be suppressed. It should be noted that the relationship between the distance between BGs and the number of preliminary ejections is not a table that is preset and stored as described above, but is to increase the ink ejection speed by multiplying the distance between BGs by a predetermined coefficient. The required number of preliminary discharges may be calculated.

(Third Embodiment)
Since the basic configuration of the present embodiment is the same as that of the first embodiment, only the characteristic configuration of the present embodiment will be described below. In the first embodiment, an electric heat conversion element (heater) is used as the discharge energy generation element of the recording head 110H, but in the present embodiment, a mechanical energy generation element such as a piezo element is used as the discharge energy generation element. You may.

In this embodiment, instead of determining the pre-recording preliminary ejection number of the first embodiment, the in-head temperature sensor 211 provided in the ink flow path of the recording head 110H via the recording head drive circuit 205 (see FIG. 2). ) To control the ink temperature. Then, the ink is heated by driving the heating heater in the recording head while controlling the ink temperature by the temperature sensor 211 in the head, and the viscosity of the ink is lowered. As a result, the ink ejected from the recording head 110H reduces the deviation of the landing position against the influence of the air flow generated by the suction hole 116.

FIG. 11 is a diagram showing a table for determining the relationship between the margin amount (tip margin amount) at the tip of the continuous paper and the heating temperature executed before recording, and this table is stored in the ROM 202 of the control unit 200.

FIG. 12 is a flowchart showing a process related to recording head heating executed before the recording operation according to the third embodiment of the present invention. When the recording device 100 receives a recording command including a recording command from the host computer 101, the CPU 201 of the control unit 200 starts the processing before the recording operation. First, as in the first embodiment, the tip margin amount is determined based on the data command (S1201). Then, with reference to the recording head heating temperature table shown in FIG. 11, the recording head heating temperature corresponding to the tip margin amount determined in step S1201 is determined (S1202). Then, after the recording head heating temperature is determined, heating of the recording head 110H is started (S1203). Then, it is detected by the temperature sensor 211 in the head of the recording head 110H (see FIG. 2), and it is determined whether or not the temperature in the recording head 110H has reached the temperature determined in step S1202 (S1204). Continue heating until the ink temperature reaches the determined temperature. Then, when the heating temperature is reached (S1204YES), preliminary discharge is performed (S1205). Then, when the preliminary discharge operation is completed, the motor driver 207 drives the motor 206, moves the recording head 110H to the recording position (S1206), shifts to the recording operation (S1207), and ends the process.

As described above, the relationship between the tip margin amount and the heating temperature is obtained by multiplying the tip margin amount determined by the image data by a predetermined coefficient, instead of using a table that is preset and stored. The heating temperature required to increase the discharge rate may be calculated.

Further, in the present embodiment, the ink in the recording head is heated by using a heater dedicated to heating. However, when an electric heat conversion element (heater) is used as the discharge energy generation element of the recording head as in the first embodiment, the heater drive time for discharge is adjusted by adjusting the heater drive time for discharge without providing a heater dedicated to heating. The ink in the recording head may be heated without ejecting the ink.

(Fourth Embodiment)
Since the basic configuration of the present embodiment is the same as that of the second embodiment, only the characteristic configuration of the present embodiment will be described below. In the second embodiment, an electric heat conversion element (heater) is used as the discharge energy generation element of the recording head 110H, but in the present embodiment, a mechanical energy generation element such as a piezo element is used as the discharge energy generation element. You may.

FIG. 13 is a diagram showing a table for determining the distance (distance between BGs) between the suction hole (B) and the recording start position (G) and the heating temperature, and is stored in the ROM 202 of the control unit 200. Instead of determining the number of pre-recording preliminary discharges according to the second embodiment, the temperature sensor 211 in the head provided in the flow path of the recording head 110H via the recording head drive circuit 205 according to the obtained distance between BGs (FIG. 2) to adjust the temperature. Then, the viscosity of the ink is lowered by driving the heater for heating while adjusting the temperature by the temperature sensor 211 in the head.

Similar to the third embodiment, in the flowchart of FIG. 12, after the recording device 100 receives the recording command including the recording command from the host computer 101, the recording operation preprocessing is started. The recording head heating temperature is determined with reference to the recording head heating temperature table shown in FIG. 13 according to the margin amount (tip margin amount) of the recording medium setting command. After determining the recording head heating temperature, the recording head is heated. Then, after the head temperature sensor 211 detects that the recording head temperature has risen to the determined temperature, pre-recording preliminary discharge is performed, and the recording operation is started. During this period, the heating heater is driven to maintain the determined temperature, and after the recording operation shifts, the heating of the head is terminated.

The relationship between the distance between BGs and the heating temperature is not a table that is preset and stored as described above, but the ink ejection speed is increased by multiplying the obtained distance between BGs by a predetermined coefficient. The heating temperature required for the above may be calculated.

Further, in the present embodiment, the ink in the recording head is heated by using a heater dedicated to heating. However, when an electric heat conversion element (heater) is used as the discharge energy generation element of the recording head as in the second embodiment, the heater drive time for discharge is adjusted by adjusting the heater drive time for discharge without providing a heater dedicated to heating. The ink in the recording head may be heated without ejecting the ink.

(Other embodiments)
The continuous paper is not specified only in the form of a roll, and may be, for example, a recording medium bent in a bellows shape, a straight continuous recording medium, or a recording medium cut into a single sheet. Further, the cutting portion 113 is not specified only in a configuration using the rotary blade 113A, and may be, for example, a cutter that cuts continuous paper in a sliding manner.

Further, the transport unit 104 as a transport means may be capable of transporting while sucking a continuous recording medium, and is not necessarily specified only in a configuration in which the recording medium is attracted to the transport belt 106 and transported. For example, the recording medium may be transported on the transport surface while being sucked on the transport surface.

100 Inkjet recording device 101 Host computer 106 Conveyance belt 107 Suction fan 110H Recording head 111 Tip detection sensor 116 Suction hole 117 Reference recess

Claims (4)

A conveyor belt having a plurality of suction holes for sucking the recording medium to be placed,
A recording head that is arranged to face the transport belt and ejects ink from a ejection port to a recording medium that is attracted to and conveyed by the suction holes.
When the margin amount from the tip of the conveyed recording medium to the area where ink is ejected and recorded is less than a predetermined value, the margin amount is from the recording head before recording as compared with the case where the margin amount is equal to or more than the predetermined value. A control means for increasing the number of pre-discharges to be ejected and controlling the ejection speed of the ink ejected from the ejection port to be faster than when the margin amount is equal to or more than a predetermined value.
An inkjet recording device characterized by having. The inkjet recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the control means increases the number of ejections as the margin amount decreases, and controls the ejection speed to become faster. A conveyor belt having a plurality of suction holes for sucking the recording medium to be placed,
A recording head that is arranged to face the transport belt and ejects ink from a ejection port to a recording medium that is attracted to and conveyed by the suction holes.
A heater that heats the recording head and
A temperature detecting means for detecting the temperature of the recording head, and
A control means for controlling the heating by the heater before starting recording and starting recording on the recording medium when the temperature detecting means reaches a predetermined temperature, which is a control means for transporting the recording medium. When the margin amount from the tip to the region where ink is ejected and recorded is a predetermined value or more, the predetermined temperature is set as the first temperature, and when the margin amount is less than the predetermined value, the predetermined temperature is set. When the second temperature is higher than the first temperature and the margin amount is less than the predetermined value, the ejection speed of the ink ejected from the ejection port is higher than that when the margin amount is the predetermined value or more. Control means to control to be faster,
An inkjet recording device characterized by having. The inkjet recording apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the control means sets the second temperature higher as the margin amount is smaller, and controls the discharge speed to be higher.

Images