JP7167733B2 - Droplet ejection device, droplet ejection method and program - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a droplet ejection device, a droplet ejection method, and a program.

In recent years, due to the miniaturization of notebook PCs and the rapid spread of smart devices, "miniaturization and portability" has become one of the major demands for printers. A "handheld printer" is already known, in which ink is applied while a person manually scans an image.

When printing by freehand scanning, it is necessary that the sensor for detecting the nozzle position during scanning and the nozzle for ejecting ink, which are installed on the bottom of the handheld printer, are positioned above the print medium. For the purpose of calculating the precise position of the nozzles and controlling printing, droplets are placed for each nozzle based on the position of each nozzle and the position of each image element when the image data of the predetermined area is printed on the print medium. A method for determining whether or not to dispense is disclosed.

In addition, for the purpose of preventing injury to the user due to accidental operation, a portable copying machine is provided with a reflectance detecting means for detecting the reflectance of light reflected by the object to be printed, and detects the reflectance of the skin of the human body. A known technique is to stop power supply to the thermal head regardless of the state of the thermal head (for example, Non-Patent Document 1).

In the conventional printing system, if the head is not heated before printing, the print quality is affected, such as the print result becoming light due to the characteristics of the ink. Therefore, in order to ensure the print quality of the head, it is desirable to heat the head portion to an appropriate temperature range, for example, 40 to 60 degrees.

However, when the head is heated by heater control before printing, there is a possibility that the user's hand touches the head immediately before printing in a configuration such as a handheld printer in which the head is exposed during printing. For example, in Non-Patent Document 1, since the power supply is stopped when the user's skin comes close to the head to some extent, the user may touch the head before the temperature of the head is completely lowered. injuries cannot be adequately prevented.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and it is an object of the present invention to improve safety when the temperature of the head portion of a handheld printer is controlled.

In order to solve the above problems, a droplet ejection device receives image data, forms an image on a medium by being scanned by a user, and includes a head for ejecting droplets for printing on the medium, and a predetermined head. a sensor for detecting the amount of movement or angular velocity of the droplet ejection device during a period; and ejection control for instructing the ejection of droplets based on the image data and the amount of movement or angular velocity detected by the sensor. a floating detection unit for detecting floating of the droplet discharge device; and a heater control unit for performing heater control for heating the head based on the detection result of the floating detection unit.

Safety can be improved when the temperature of the head section of the handheld printer is controlled.

4A and 4B are diagrams showing an example of printing by the handheld printer 10; FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a hardware configuration example of a handheld printer 10 according to an embodiment of the invention; FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a hardware configuration example of a navigation sensor 30; FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining the function of the navigation sensor 30; FIG. 4A and 4B are diagrams for explaining the function of the gyro sensor 20; FIG. FIG. 11 is a diagram (1) for explaining calculation of the inkjet nozzle position; FIG. 2B is a diagram (2) for explaining the calculation of the inkjet nozzle position; 3 is a block diagram of a control unit 14 according to the embodiment of the invention; FIG. It is a block diagram of a head module in an embodiment of the invention. 4 is a flow chart showing an example of print processing by the handheld printer 10 according to the embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of head temperature transition by heater control according to the embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining a floating determination method by the navigation sensor 30 according to the embodiment of the present invention; FIG. FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining state transitions related to heater control before a print job is received according to the embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 10 is a diagram for explaining state transition related to heater control from a print job reception state according to the embodiment of the present invention; 4 is a flowchart showing an example of heater control in the embodiment of the invention; FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of head temperature transition due to heater and preheater control in the embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 5 is a diagram for explaining state transitions related to heater and preheater control before a print job is received in the embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 5 is a diagram for explaining state transitions related to heater and pre-heater control from a print job reception state according to the embodiment of the present invention; 4 is a flow chart showing an example of heater and preheater control in the embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 7 is a diagram for explaining state transitions related to heater control triggered by a user operation before receiving a print job according to the embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 10 is a diagram for explaining state transitions from a print job reception state related to heater control triggered by a user operation according to the embodiment of the present invention;

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION An embodiment of the present invention will be described below based on the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of printing by a handheld printer 10. As shown in FIG. The handheld printer 10 receives image data from an image data output device such as a smart device or a PC (Personal Computer). The handheld printer 10 can then perform planar freehand scanning on the print medium based on the image data to form an image. The print medium is, for example, a notebook or a standard form of paper.

The handheld printer 10 detects the position with the navigation sensor 30 and the gyro sensor 20 as will be described later, and when the handheld printer 10 moves to the target ejection position, it ejects the ink of the color to be ejected at the target ejection position. Since locations that have already been ejected are masked and not subject to ink ejection, the user can form an image by freehand scanning the handheld printer 10 in any direction over the print medium.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a hardware configuration example of the handheld printer 10 according to the embodiment of the invention. Handheld printer 10 is an example of an image forming device that forms an image on a print medium. The handheld printer 10 includes a power supply 11, a power supply circuit 12, a communication I/F (interface) 13, a control section 14, an IJ (inkjet) recording head drive circuit 15, a ROM (Read Only Memory) 16, and a RAM (Random Access Memory) 17. , an OPU (Operation panel Unit) 18 , an IJ recording head 19 , a gyro sensor 20 and a navigation sensor 30 .

A battery is mainly used for the power source 11 . A solar battery, an AC commercial power supply, a fuel cell, or the like may be used. The power supply circuit 12 distributes the power supplied by the power supply 11 to each part of the handheld printer 10 . Also, the power supply circuit 12 steps up or steps down the voltage of the power supply 11 to a voltage suitable for each part. If the power supply 11 is a rechargeable battery, the power supply circuit 12 detects, for example, connection of an AC power supply and connects to a battery charging circuit to enable charging of the power supply 11 .

The communication I/F 13 receives image data from an image input device such as a smart device or a PC (Personal Computer). The communication I/F 13 is, for example, a communication interface compatible with communication standards such as wireless LAN, Bluetooth (registered trademark), NFC (Near Field Communication), infrared rays, 3G or LTE (Long Term Evolution), which is a communication method for mobile phones. is. Further, the communication I/F 13 may be a communication device that supports wired communication using a wired LAN, a USB (Universal Serial Bus) cable, or the like, in addition to such wireless communication.

The control unit 14 has a wired logic circuit included in a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 101, an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit), an FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array), etc., and controls the handheld printer 10 as a whole. For example, the control unit 14 determines the position of each nozzle of the IJ recording head 19 based on the movement amount and angular velocity detected by the navigation sensor 30 or the angular velocity detected by the gyro sensor 20, and It controls the ejection of ink to form an image. Further, the control unit 14 controls the head module including the IJ print head drive circuit 15 and the IJ print head 19 to control the heater circuit. Details of the control unit 14 and the head module will be described later.

The IJ printhead driving circuit 15 uses the drive waveform data supplied from the control unit 14 to generate a drive waveform for driving the IJ printhead 19 . The IJ print head drive circuit 15 can generate a drive waveform corresponding to the size of ink droplets.

The ROM 16 includes a ROM that stores firmware for hardware control of the handheld printer 10, drive waveform data for the IJ recording head 19, other data necessary for initial setting of the handheld printer 10, and the like. The ROM may be a mask ROM, a PROM (Programmable ROM), an EEPROM (Electrical Erasable ROM), a flash memory, a memory card as an external storage medium, or a plurality thereof.

The RAM 17 is used as a work memory when the control unit 14 executes firmware, stores image data received by the communication IF 13, and is used for executing the developed firmware. The RAM may be any of DRAM (Dynamic RAM), SRAM (Static RAM), SDRAM (Synchronous DRAM), etc., or may include a plurality thereof.

The OPU 18 has an LED (Light Emitting Diode) for displaying the status of the handheld printer 10, a liquid crystal display, a buzzer, a touch panel for the user to instruct the handheld printer 10 to form an image, and the like. Also, the OPU 18 may have a voice input function.

The IJ recording head 19 is a head for ejecting ink and has a plurality of nozzles. In FIG. 2, it is possible to eject four colors of CMYK ink, but it may be possible to eject a single color and five or more colors. In the IJ recording head 19, a plurality of ink ejection nozzles are arranged in one or more rows for each color. Further, the ink ejection method may be a piezo method, a thermal method, or other methods.

The gyro sensor 20 is a sensor that detects angular velocity when the handheld printer 10 rotates about an axis perpendicular to the print medium. Details of the gyro sensor 20 will be described later.

The navigation sensor 30 is a sensor that detects the amount of movement of the handheld printer 10 every predetermined cycle time. The navigation sensor 30 has, for example, a light source such as an LED or a semiconductor laser, and an imaging sensor that captures an image of a print medium. When the user causes the handheld printer 10 to scan over the print medium, minute edges of the print medium are imaged or detected one after another, and the distance between the edges is analyzed to obtain the amount of movement. Details of the navigation sensor 30 will be described later. A multi-axis acceleration sensor may be used as the navigation sensor 30, and the handheld printer 10 may detect the amount of movement based on the acceleration sensor.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a hardware configuration example of the navigation sensor 30. As shown in FIG. Navigation sensor 30 has host I/F 31 , image processor 32 , LED/LASER driver 33 , lens 34 , image array 35 and lens 36 . The LED/LASER driver 33 integrates an LED or a semiconductor laser and a control circuit, and irradiates the print medium with light through the lens 36 according to the command from the image processor 32 . Image array 35 receives light reflected from the print medium through lens 34 . Two lenses 34 and 36 are provided to adjust the optical focus to the print media surface.

The image array 35 has light receiving elements such as photodiodes that are sensitive to the wavelength of light, and generates image data from the received light. The image processor 32 acquires image data from the image array 35 and calculates the movement distance of the navigation sensor from the image data. ΔX shown in FIG. 4 indicates the amount of movement in the X-axis direction, and ΔY indicates the amount of movement in the Y-axis direction. The image processor 32 outputs the calculated moving distance to the control unit 14 via the host I/F 31 .

LEDs used as light sources are useful when using rough print media, such as paper. This is because if the surface is rough, a shadow is generated, and the shadow can be used as a characteristic portion to accurately calculate the movement distances in the X-axis direction and the Y-axis direction. On the other hand, a semiconductor laser (LD) that generates laser light can be used as a light source for printing media with smooth or transparent surfaces. This is because a characteristic portion can be created by forming, for example, a striped pattern on a print medium using a semiconductor laser, and the movement distance can be accurately calculated based on the characteristic portion.

FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining the function of the navigation sensor 30. As shown in FIG. The image processor 32 matrixes the data acquired at each prescribed sampling timing from the image array 35 that receives the reflected light in a prescribed resolution unit, detects the difference between the immediately preceding sampling timing and the current sampling timing, and shifts the data. Calculate quantity.

For example, in the case shown in FIG. 5, it can be seen that the image displayed in black or gray moves as the image at a certain sampling timing Samp1 progresses to Samp2 and Samp3.

When Samp1 is used as a reference, the output values (ΔX, ΔY) at Samp2 are (1, 0). ΔX and ΔY indicate the amount of movement in the horizontal and vertical directions relative to the direction of the navigation sensor 30 . Note that when there is only one navigation sensor 30, even if the sensor rotates on the print medium, the rotation component cannot be detected. The resolution of the amount of movement depends on the requirements of the mounted device, but assuming a printer, for example, a resolution of about 1200 dpi is required.

FIG. 5 is a diagram for explaining the function of the gyro sensor 20. FIG. A general vibrating gyro sensor will be described below. As shown in FIG. 5, the Coriolis force Fcor is a force that occurs in a direction orthogonal to both the direction of movement of a moving mass m and the axis of rotation when rotation is applied to the mass m.

In the gyro sensor 20, an internal MEMS (Micro Electro Mechanical Systems) element is vibrated to generate a velocity v shown in FIG. Use that to find the angular velocity. The Coriolis force is detected to calculate the angular velocity applied to the object. The gyro sensor 20 amplifies, filters, and synchronizes the detected Coriolis force with the signal processing ASIC in the gyro sensor 20, calculates the angular velocity, and outputs it to the outside.

FIG. 6 is a diagram (1) for explaining the calculation of the inkjet nozzle positions. A method of obtaining the coordinates of each nozzle by simple proportional calculation will be described below. Since the position of the navigation sensor 30 and the relative position to each nozzle are known, the position of each nozzle can be obtained by obtaining the position of the navigation sensor 30 and obtaining the coordinates of each nozzle.

Since the inter-nozzle distance _e in the nozzle row shown in FIG. 6 is _equal , the coordinates of the nozzle _N ( _{NZL NX} , NZL _NY ) can be obtained based on the following formula. E is the total number of nozzles, and N indicates the number of the nozzle when counting from the head nozzle to the tail nozzle.
NZL _NX =X _S +(X _E −X _S )/(E−1)×N
NZL _NY = Y _S + (Y _E −Y _S )/(E−1)×N
FIG. 7 is a diagram (2) for explaining the calculation of the inkjet nozzle position. In order to divide the whole by powers of 2 so that the calculation for obtaining the nozzle coordinates becomes a simple calculation, a virtual point nozzle_257 shown in FIG. The coordinates up to are calculated. The coordinates of nozzle_1 are (NZL _XS , NZL _YS ), and the coordinates of nozzle_257 are (NZL _XE , NZL _YE ). The coordinates (NZL _NX , NZL _NY ) of the N-th nozzle_N when counting from nozzle_1 to nozzle_192 can be obtained based on the following formulas.
NZL _NX = {NZL _XS x (257-N) + NZL _XE x (N-1)}/256
NZL _NY = {NZL _YS x (257-N) + NZL _YE x (N-1)}/256
FIG. 8 is a block diagram of the controller 14 according to the embodiment of the invention. As shown in FIG. 8, the control unit 14 includes a CPU 101, a position calculation unit 102, a memory control unit 103, an ImageRAM 104, a DMAC (CACHE) (Direct Memory Access Controller (Cache memory)) 105, a rotator 106, and an interrupt unit 107. , a gyro sensor I/F 108 , a navigation sensor I/F 109 , a print/sensor timing generation unit 110 and an IJ recording head control unit 111 . The hardware configuration of the control unit 14 is composed of, for example, an SoC (System on Chip) and an ASIC/FPGA as shown in FIG. may be connected. ASIC/FPGA means that it may be designed with either implementation technology, and may be configured with implementation technology other than ASIC/FPGA. Also, the control unit 14 may be composed of a single chip or substrate without using separate chips for the SoC and ASIC/FPGA. Alternatively, the controller 14 may be implemented with three or more chips or substrates. Further, each functional unit of the control unit 14 may be realized by firmware executed by the CPU 101, or may be realized by a wired logic circuit included in SoC, ASIC/FPGA.

The CPU 101 implements each functional unit of the control unit 14 by reading the firmware developed in the RAM 17 via the memory control unit 103 and executing it.

The position calculator 102 calculates the position of the handheld printer 10 based on the amount of movement detected by the navigation sensor 30 in each sampling period and the angular velocity in each sampling period detected by the gyro sensor 20 . Strictly speaking, the position of the handheld printer 10 required for accurate printing is the position of the nozzles. can be calculated. In addition, the position calculation unit 102 calculates a target ink ejection position. Note that the position calculation unit 102 may be implemented by the CPU 101 executing firmware, or may be implemented by a wired logic circuit.

The memory control unit 103 controls reading from or writing to the RAM 17 from each functional unit.

The ImageRAM 104 is used to store information that requires high speed reading and writing. For example, position information of the navigation sensor 30, image data read from the RAM 17, and the like are stored. The hardware of the ImageRAM 104 may be composed of SRAM, for example.

The DMAC (CACHE) 105 and the rotator 106 calculate the position of each nozzle mounted on the IJ recording head 19 from the position information of the navigation sensor 30 calculated by the position calculation unit 102, and produce an image corresponding to the nozzle position. Data is read from the RAM 17 , rotated according to the designated head position and head inclination, and the data is output to the IJ recording head control unit 111 .

Interrupt unit 107 detects that navigation sensor I/F 109 has completed communication with navigation sensor 30 and outputs an interrupt signal for notifying CPU 101 . The CPU 101 obtains ΔX and ΔY stored in the internal register by the navigation sensor I/F 109 by interruption. The interrupt unit 107 also has a status notification function such as an error. Similarly, regarding the gyro sensor I/F 108, the interrupt unit 107 outputs an interrupt signal to notify the CPU 101 that communication with the gyro sensor 20 has ended.

The gyro sensor I/F 108 acquires the angular velocity detected by the gyro sensor 20 at the timing generated by the print/sensor timing generation unit 110 and stores it in the RAM 17 or a register in the control unit 14 or the like.

The navigation sensor I/F 109 communicates with the navigation sensor 30 , receives movement amounts ΔX and ΔY as information from the navigation sensor 30 , and stores the movement amounts in the RAM 17 or a register within the control unit 14 .

The print/sensor timing generation unit 110 notifies the gyro sensor I/F 108 and the navigation sensor I/F 109 of the timing for reading information from the sensors, and also notifies the IJ recording head control unit 111 of the drive timing.

The IJ recording head control unit 111 performs dithering or the like on the image data to convert the image data into a set of points representing an image in terms of size and density. As a result of the conversion, the image data becomes data of the ejection position and the dot size. The IJ printhead control unit 111 outputs a control signal corresponding to the dot size to the IJ printhead drive circuit 15 . The IJ printhead driving circuit 15 generates a driving waveform using the driving waveform data corresponding to the control signal. In addition, the IJ print head control unit 111 determines whether the nozzles can be ejected according to the nozzle positions. If there is a target ejection position where ink should be ejected, ink is ejected. If there is no target ejection position, it is determined that ink is not ejected. .

FIG. 9 is a block diagram of the head module according to the embodiment of the invention. As shown in FIG. 8, the head module has an IJ printhead driving circuit 15, an IJ printhead 19, a nonvolatile memory 201, a thermistor 202, and an ink tank 203. FIG.

The non-volatile memory 201 holds information such as the ink cartridge ID and remaining amount of ink. Since it is non-volatile, the information is retained even if the power is turned off. A thermistor 202 detects the temperature of the IJ print head 19 . The ink tank 203 stores the ink to be ejected, and supplies the ink to the IJ print head 19 at the time of ejection. A heater circuit 204 performs heater control for warming the IJ print head 19 based on temperature information from the thermistor 202 .

The head module is connected to the control unit 14 via a serial I/F or the like to exchange information and control signals. Upon receiving a control request from the CPU 101, the IJ print head control unit 111 controls the IJ print head drive circuit 15, for example, sets a drive waveform, turns on/off heater control, and the like.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing an example of print processing by the handheld printer 10 according to the embodiment of the invention.

In step S201, when the user presses the power button of the handheld printer 10, the handheld printer 10 starts operating. Subsequently, the handheld printer 10 is supplied with power from the power source, and the control unit 14 initializes devices such as position sensors, and starts up each device (S101). When the initialization is completed (S102), for example, an LED is turned on to notify the user that printing is possible (S103). The user confirms the notification and selects an image to be printed using an image input device (for example, smart device or PC) (S202). Subsequently, a print job such as wirelessly outputting image data in TIFF format, JPEG format, or the like is executed from an application or printer driver installed in the image input device (S203). When the image data is input, the handheld printer 10 notifies the user, for example, by blinking an LED (S104).

In step S204, the user determines the initial position of the handheld printer 10 on the medium to be printed (for example, a notebook), and presses a print start button provided on the handheld printer 10 (S205). Thereafter, the user freely scans (freehand scans) the flat surface of the print medium to form an image (S206).

When steps S<b>205 and S<b>206 are executed by the user, the handheld printer 10 receives the press of the print start button and notifies the navigation sensor I/F 109 to read the position information of the navigation sensor 30 . Subsequently, the navigation sensor 30 starts detecting position information and stores it in the internal memory of the control section 14 (S301). The navigation sensor I/F 109 communicates with the navigation sensor 30 and reads position information (S105). Subsequently, the handheld printer 10 takes the position information as an initial position, for example coordinates (0, 0) (S106).

Subsequently, the print/sensor timing generation unit 110 inside the control unit 14 measures the time (S107), and at each read timing (=driving cycle of the IJ recording head control unit 111) set in advance to the navigation sensor 30, ( S108) Repeat reading of position information (S109). In step S110, based on the read positional information, the control unit 14 calculates the coordinates (X, Y) of the navigation sensor 30 calculated last time and the movement amount (ΔX, ΔY) read this time, as shown in FIGS. The current coordinates of the navigation sensor 30 are calculated by the method described in , and stored in the internal memory of the control unit 14 (S110). Subsequently, the control unit 14 controls each nozzle on the IJ recording head 19 based on the calculated current position information of each navigation sensor 30 and predetermined assembly position information of the navigation sensor 30 and the IJ recording head 19 . is calculated (S111).

Subsequently, the DMAC (CACHE) 105 and the rotator 106 read the image data around the IJ recording head 19 or each nozzle from the RAM 17 based on the positional information of each nozzle calculated in step S111. After rotating according to the position and inclination of the IJ recording head 19, it is transferred to the ImageRAM 104 (S112). Subsequently, the DMAC (CACHE) unit 105 compares the image data stored in the internal memory with the coordinates of each nozzle position (S113), and if it determines that the set ejection condition is satisfied (YES in S114). , and outputs the image data to the IJ recording head control unit 111 (S115). If it is determined that the set ejection conditions are not satisfied (NO in S114), the process returns to step S108.

By repeating steps S108 to S115, an image is formed on the print medium, and when all the data has been ejected (YES in S116), the handheld printer 10 turns on the LED, for example, to notify the user of the image. The completion of printing is notified (S117). If all the data has not been ejected (NO in S116), the process returns to step S108.

It should be noted that the printing may be completed by pressing the print completion button when the user determines that it is sufficient even if all the data is not ejected.

FIG. 11 is a diagram showing an example of head temperature transition by heater control according to the embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 11 is a graph in which the horizontal axis represents the time series from when the handheld printer 10 turns on the heater to the start and end of printing, and the vertical axis represents the temperature of the head to be temperature-controlled.

The definition of the head temperature range by the heater control of the heater circuit 204 shown in FIG. 9 is indicated by the threshold values in the graph of FIG. If the threshold is less than 1, the heater circuit 204 warms the heater. If the threshold value is 1 to 2, the recommended head temperature, that is, the print quality guarantee range, is ready for printing. If it is equal to or greater than threshold 2, the heater circuit 204 turns off the heater and waits until the temperature drops. If it is equal to or greater than the threshold value 3, it is determined to be in an abnormal state, and the handheld printer 10 immediately stops due to an error.

Specifically, when a print job is started in a standard temperature state, the heater circuit 204 is turned on under the control of the controller 14 . With this control, the heater starts warming the IJ print head 19, and reaches the target temperature range in about two seconds. Then, when the print start trigger is applied, the handheld printer 10 starts the print operation. By heating the IJ recording head 19 to the recommended temperature by the heater control before printing, the print quality can be improved compared to the case where the heater control is not performed. During the heater control, the controller 14 controls the heater circuit 204 to turn the heater ON/OFF for each printing cycle, thereby maintaining the temperature range of threshold 1 to threshold 2 shown in FIG. Then, the handheld printer 10 terminates the print processing by the print end trigger.

12A and 12B are diagrams for explaining a floating determination method by the navigation sensor 30 according to the embodiment of the present invention.

As shown in FIG. 12, "when floating does not occur", the navigation sensor 30 irradiates the print medium with light from the LED and receives the light reflected from the print medium to calculate the movement amount. is doing. The handheld printer 10 and the print medium are in substantially parallel contact.

12, when the handheld printer 10 is lifted, the navigation sensor 30 detects light reflected from the print medium even if the print medium is irradiated with light from the LED. cannot receive light. The handheld printer 10 can detect floating by acquiring information from the navigation sensor 30 indicating that it has become unable to receive light. When the handheld printer 10 is floating above the print medium, the handheld printer 10 and the print medium are not in intimate contact, for example, tilting the handheld printer 10 in either direction may cause a gap between the handheld printer 10 and the print medium. is occurring.

The floating detection is performed by the control unit 14 based on information from the navigation sensor 30 .

FIG. 13 is a diagram for explaining state transitions related to heater control before a print job is received in the embodiment of the present invention. “Heat” in FIG. 13 corresponds to heater ON by the heater circuit 204 . FIG. 13(a) shows the state transition from "floating" as described in FIG. 12 before receiving the print job.

In the "no data" state S13a-1 before the handheld printer 10 receives a print job, the controller 14 does not perform any processing even if the handheld printer 10 is not operated for a certain period of time or a print start trigger occurs. state does not change. For “no operation for a certain period of time”, the control unit 14 determines whether or not there is a user operation based on the output of the gyro sensor 20 or the navigation sensor 30 . The period of "no operation for a certain period of time" is also referred to as "standby time". When the handheld printer 10 receives a print job in the "no data" state S13a-1, the state transitions to the "data present" state S13a-2. Similarly, even if the handheld printer 10 is not operated for a certain period of time or a print start trigger occurs, the control unit 14 does not perform any processing and the state does not change. In the "data present" state S13a-2, when the floating state is resolved and the paper is detected, the state transitions to the "data present" state S13a-3, and the heater circuit 204 turns on the heater. When floating is detected in the "with data" state S13a-3, the state transitions to the "with data" state S13a-2, and the heater circuit 204 turns off the heater.

FIG. 13(b) shows the state transition from the state before reception of the print job and without "floating" described with reference to FIG. In the "no data" state S13b-1 before the handheld printer 10 receives a print job, the controller 14 does not perform any processing even if the handheld printer 10 is not operated for a certain period of time or a print start trigger occurs. state does not change. When the handheld printer 10 receives a print job in the "no data" state S13b-1, the state transitions to the "data present" state S13b-2, and the heater circuit 204 turns on the heater. In the "with data" state 13b-2, if the handheld printer 10 is not operated for a certain period of time, the state transitions to the "with data" state 13b-3, and the heater circuit 204 turns off. When a print start trigger is generated in the "with data" state 13b-3, the state transitions to the "with data" state 13b-2, and the heater circuit 204 turns ON the heater again.

FIG. 14 is a diagram for explaining the state transition related to heater control from the print job reception state in the embodiment of the present invention. “Heat” in FIG. 14 corresponds to the heater ON by the heater circuit 204 . FIG. 14 shows the state transition from the state in which the print job has already been received and the "floating" state described with reference to FIG. 12 does not occur.

In the "data exist" state S14-1 after the handheld printer 10 receives the print job, the heater is started to be turned on as described in FIG. 13(b). When a print start trigger is generated, the state transitions to the "printing" state S14-2. In the "printing" state S14-2, even if a print start trigger occurs, the state does not change and printing continues. Further, when floating is detected in the "printing" state S14-2, the state transitions to the "no data" state S14-3, printing ends, and the heater circuit 204 turns off. The state S14-3 is the same as the state S13a-1 of "no data" and floating shown in FIG. 13(a). In addition, in the "printing" state S14-2, if a print end trigger or no operation for a certain period of time occurs, the state transitions to the "no data" state S14-4, printing ends, and the heater circuit 204 turns off the heater. Turn off. The state S14-4 is the same as the "no data" and no floating state S13b-1 shown in FIG. 13(b).

FIG. 15 is a flow chart showing an example of heater control in the embodiment of the invention. Threshold 1, Threshold 2 and Threshold 3 shown in FIG. 11 are used for illustration.

In step S<b>401 , the controller 14 acquires the absolute temperature from the thermistor 202 after the power of the handheld printer 10 is turned on. Subsequently, when the print JOB is received, the process proceeds to step S403 (YES in S402). It waits until the print job is received (NO in S402). In step S403, it is determined whether or not no paper has been detected or no operation has been performed for a certain period of time. If the determination is YES, the process proceeds to step S404, and if the determination is NO, the process proceeds to step S405. In step S404, the heater is turned off, and the process returns to step S403. In step S405, the control unit 14 acquires temperature information from the thermistor 202 and uses it to determine the head temperature. The temperature information may be information indicating a temperature difference.

Subsequently, when the acquired temperature is equal to or lower than threshold 1, the heater is turned on (YES in S406, S407), and the process proceeds to step S408. If the acquired temperature is higher than threshold 1 (NO in S406), the process proceeds to step S408.

In step S408, if the obtained temperature is in the range of threshold 2 to threshold 3, it is assumed that the head is in a high temperature state, the heater is turned off (YES in S408, S409), and the process returns to step S403. If the acquired temperature is not within the range of threshold 2 to threshold 3 (NO in S408), the process proceeds to step S410.

In step S410, if the acquired temperature is equal to or higher than the threshold value 3 (YES in S410), the process proceeds to step S411, the head is considered to be in an abnormal state, the heater is turned off, and an error is detected by user notification means such as an LED. After displaying, stop printing and terminate abnormally. If the acquired temperature is less than threshold 3, the process proceeds to step S412.

In step S412, if the acquired temperature is in the range of threshold 1 to threshold 2 (YES in S412), the head temperature is considered to be within the print quality assurance range, and printing is possible by user notification means such as an LED. is notified (S413), and the process proceeds to step S414. If the acquired temperature is in the range of threshold 1 to threshold 2 (NO in S412), the process proceeds to step S414.

In step S414, if a print start trigger has not occurred (NO in S414), the process returns to step S403. If a print start trigger has been generated (YES in S414), the process proceeds to step S415. Subsequently, print processing is started (S415). During print processing, temperature control is executed to keep the temperature range within the print quality assurance range (threshold 1 to threshold 2). Specifically, the heater circuit 204 turns the heater ON/OFF based on the temperature information from the thermistor 202 (S416).

In step S417, if neither a print end trigger, no operation for a certain period of time, nor no paper detection has been detected (NO in S417), the printing process is continued. If either no operation for a certain period of time or no paper detection is detected (YES in S417), the process proceeds to step S418, the handheld printer 10 finishes printing, and the heater circuit 204 turns off. Subsequently, the process returns to step S402 to wait for a print job.

Note that in step S402, the heater circuit 204 may be turned on immediately after a print job is received.

FIG. 16 is a diagram showing an example of head temperature transition due to heater and preheater control according to the embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 16, pre-heater control is introduced, and the handheld printer 10 turns on the pre-heater by pre-heater control, turns on the heater by heater control, starts printing, and ends printing. It is a graph shown on the vertical axis.

The definition of the head temperature range by the heater and preheater control of the heater circuit 204 shown in FIG. 9 is indicated by the threshold values in the graph of FIG.

When a print job is started in a standard temperature state, the heater circuit 204 is controlled by the control unit 14 to turn on the preheater. The head is warmed within a temperature range where the head temperature does not fall within the print quality assurance range. As shown in FIG. 16, the period during which the preheater is turned on is defined as the warm-up period. Here, since the IJ recording head 19 is maintained at a temperature that does not cause burns even if the user touches the bare head, safety is ensured even if the user accidentally touches the head. There is

Next, based on the angular velocity information of the gyro sensor 20 or the movement amount information of the navigation sensor 30, the user's movement of the handheld printer, that is, the actual printing operation, is detected based on the detected angular velocity or movement amount. Determined by, for example, continuing to exceed the threshold. When determining that the user has performed an operation to start printing (hereinafter referred to as a “user operation”), the control unit 14 starts preheater control or heater control. Here, for example, when the handheld printer 10 is moved while floating in the air, the preheater control or heater control is not started when the navigation sensor 30 detects the floating.

The pre-heater is turned on during the warm-up period by pre-heater control, and the head temperature rises to the range of threshold A to threshold B shown in FIG. The temperature reaching time can be shortened. For example, in the case of FIG. 11 where only the heater control is performed, the time required to reach the target temperature is about 2 seconds, but in the case of FIG. 16 where the preheater control is performed, it is shortened to less than 1 second. Therefore, there is an effect of shortening the time from the start of operation by the user to the start of printing. Heater control after the start of printing is the same as in FIG.

Note that when the reload notification temperature corresponding to the threshold value C shown in FIG. 16 is reached in the preheater ON state, notification to the user is carried out. The notification indicates to the user that the handheld printer is ready for operation. This notification has effects such as shortening the total operation time of the user and reducing power consumption due to the shortening of the operation time.

FIG. 17 is a diagram for explaining state transitions related to heater and preheater control before a print job is received in the embodiment of the present invention. “Preheat” or “Heat” in FIG. 17 corresponds to preheater ON or heater ON by the heater circuit 204 . FIG. 17(a) shows the state transition from "floating" as described in FIG. 12 before receiving the print job.

In the "no data" state S17a-1 before the handheld printer 10 receives a print job, even if the handheld printer 10 is not operated for a certain period of time, or if a print start trigger or user operation occurs, the control unit 14 does nothing. No processing is performed and the state does not change. When the handheld printer 10 receives a print job in the "no data" state S17a-1, the state transitions to the "data present" state S17a-2. Similarly, even if the handheld printer 10 is not operated for a certain period of time, a print start trigger, or a user operation occurs, the control unit 14 does not perform any processing and the state does not change. In the "data present" state S17a-2, when the floating state is resolved and the paper is detected, the state transitions to the "data present" state S17a-3, and the heater circuit 204 turns on the preheater. In the "data present" state S17a-3, when the reload notification temperature described with reference to FIG. 16 is reached, the handheld printer 10 notifies the user. The user may be notified by lighting or blinking of a status display LED provided in the handheld printer 10, sound generation by a buzzer, or the like, or by displaying a screen provided in a smart device that transmits image data to the handheld printer 10. may be done. When the notification is completed, the user knows that the handheld printer 10 is ready for operation. When floating is detected in the "with data" state S17a-3, the state transitions to the "with data" state S17a-2, and the heater circuit 204 turns off the pre-heater. In the "data present" state S17a-3, when a user operation occurs, the state transitions to the "data present" state S17a-4, and the heater circuit 204 is turned on. When floating is detected in the "data present" state S17a-4, the state transitions to the "data present" state S17a-2.

Even if the paper is not detected when a print job is received, the preheater may be turned ON because the head temperature does not rise to a dangerous temperature for the user during preheating. That is, in the "data present" state S17a-2, the heater circuit 204 may turn on the pre-heater.

FIG. 17(b) shows the state transition from "no floating" described in FIG. 12 before receiving the print job. In the "no data" state S17b-1 before the handheld printer 10 receives a print job, no processing is performed even if the handheld printer 10 is not operated for a certain period of time, or if a print start trigger or user operation occurs. . When the handheld printer 10 receives a print job in the "no data" state S17b-1, the state transitions to the "data present" state S17b-2, and the heater circuit 204 turns on the pre-heater. In the "data present" state S17b-2, when the reload notification temperature described with reference to FIG. 16 is reached, the handheld printer 10 notifies the user. As in S17a-3, the user may be notified by lighting or blinking of a status display LED provided in the handheld printer 10, sound generation by a buzzer, or the like. It may be performed by displaying a provided screen. When the notification is completed, the user knows that the handheld printer 10 is ready for operation. In the "with data" state 17b-2, if the handheld printer 10 is not operated for a certain period of time, the state transitions to the "with data" state 17b-3, and the heater circuit 204 turns off the pre-heater. When a user operation occurs in the "with data" state 17b-2, the state transitions to the "with data" state 17b-4, and the heater circuit 204 turns on the heater. Further, when a user operation occurs in the "with data" state 17b-3, the state transitions to the "with data" state 17b-4, and the heater circuit 204 turns on the heater. In the "with data" state 17b-4, if no operation occurs for a certain period of time, the state transitions to the "with data" state 17b-3, and the heater circuit turns off the heater.

FIG. 18 is a diagram for explaining the state transition related to heater and preheater control from the print job reception state in the embodiment of the present invention. “Preheat” or “Heat” in FIG. 18 corresponds to preheater ON or heater ON by the heater circuit 204 . FIG. 18 shows the state transition after the print job has already been received, there is no "floating" described in FIG. 12, and the user's operation has occurred.

In the state S18-1 of "with data" after the handheld printer 10 receives the print job, the heater is started to be turned on. In the "data present" state S18-1, even if a user operation occurs, the control unit 14 does not perform any processing and the state does not change. When a print start trigger is generated, the state transitions to the "printing" state S18-2. In the "printing" state S18-2, even if a print start trigger is generated, the state does not change and printing continues. Further, when floating is detected in the "printing" state S18-2, the state transitions to the "no data" state S18-3, printing ends, and the heater circuit 204 turns off. The state S18-3 is the same as the state S17a-1 of "no data" and floating shown in FIG. 13(a). In addition, in the "printing" state S18-2, if a print end trigger or no operation for a certain period of time occurs, the state transitions to the "no data" state S18-4, printing ends, and the heater circuit 204 turns off the heater. Turn off. The state S18-4 is the same as the "no data" and no floating state S17b-1 shown in FIG. 17(b).

FIG. 19 is a flow chart showing an example of heater and preheater control according to the embodiment of the present invention. Steps S503 to S511 for performing preheater control will be described. Steps S501, S502, and steps S514 to S529 are similar to the heater control shown in FIG. Threshold A and threshold B shown in FIG. 16 are used for explanation.

In step S503, it is determined whether or not no paper has been detected or no operation has been performed for a certain period of time. If the determination is YES, the process proceeds to step S504, and if the determination is NO, the process proceeds to step S505. In step S504, the preheater is turned off, and the process returns to step S503. In step S505, the control unit 14 acquires temperature information from the thermistor 202 and uses it to determine the head temperature. The temperature information may be information indicating a temperature difference.

Subsequently, when the acquired temperature is equal to or lower than the threshold value A, the preheater is turned ON (YES in S506, S507), and the process proceeds to step S508. If the acquired temperature is higher than the threshold A (NO in S506), the process proceeds to step S508.

Subsequently, when the acquired temperature is equal to or higher than the threshold value B, the preheater is turned off (YES in S508, S509), and the process returns to step S503. If the acquired temperature is less than threshold B (NO in S508), the process proceeds to step S510.

In step S510, if the acquired temperature is equal to or higher than the threshold value C and the user has not been notified (YES in S510), the user is notified (S511), and the process proceeds to step S512. The notification to the user is a notification indicating that "the handheld printer 10 is in an operable state" described with reference to FIG. If the acquired temperature is less than the threshold C or has already been notified to the user (NO in S510), the process proceeds to step S512.

If no user operation is detected in step S512, the process returns to step S503. If the user device is detected, the process advances to step S513 to turn off the preheater. After step S514, heater control is performed.

FIG. 20 is a diagram for explaining state transitions related to heater control triggered by a user's operation before receiving a print job according to the embodiment of the present invention. “Heat” in FIG. 20 corresponds to heater ON by the heater circuit 204 . FIG. 20(a) shows the state transition from "floating" as described in FIG. 12 before the print job is received. In FIG. 20, no preheater control is performed.

In the "no data" state S20a-1 before the handheld printer 10 receives a print JOB, even if the handheld printer 10 is not operated for a certain period of time, or if a print start trigger or user operation occurs, the control unit 14 does nothing. No processing is performed and the state does not change. When the handheld printer 10 receives a print job in the "no data" state S20a-1, the state transitions to the "data present" state S20a-2. Similarly, even if the handheld printer 10 is not operated for a certain period of time or a print start trigger occurs, the control unit 14 does not perform any processing and the state does not change. In the "data present" state S20a-2, when the floating state is resolved and the paper is detected, the state transitions to the "data present" state S20a-3. In the "data present" state S20a-3, the heater circuit 204 does not turn on the heater. When floating is detected in the "with data" state S20a-3, the state transitions to the "with data" state S20a-2. Further, when a user operation occurs in the "with data" state S20a-3, the state transitions to the "with data" state S20a-4, and the heater circuit 204 turns on the heater. When floating is detected in the "with data" state S20a-4, the state transitions to the "with data" state S20a-2, and the heater circuit 204 turns off the heater.

FIG. 20(b) shows the state transition from "no float" described in FIG. 12 before receiving the print job. In the "no data" state S20b-1 before the handheld printer 10 receives a print job, even if the handheld printer 10 is not operated for a certain period of time, or if a print start trigger or user operation occurs, the control unit 14 does nothing. No processing is performed and the state does not change. When the handheld printer 10 receives a print JOB in the "no data" state S20b-1, the state transitions to the "data present" state S20b-2. In the "data present" state S20b-2, even if the handheld printer 10 is not operated for a certain period of time, no processing is performed and the state does not change. When a user operation occurs in the "with data" state S20b-2, the state transitions to the "with data" state S20b-3, and the heater circuit 204 turns on the heater. In the "data present" state S20b-3, if no operation occurs for a certain period of time, the state transitions to the "data present" state S20b-2, and the heater circuit 204 turns off the heater.

As described above, heater control is not performed until the user actually tries to start printing, reducing the chances of the user accidentally touching the hot, bare head and improving safety. do.

FIG. 21 is a diagram for explaining the state transition from the print job reception state related to heater control triggered by a user operation according to the embodiment of the present invention. “Heat” in FIG. 21 corresponds to heater ON by the heater circuit 204 . FIG. 21 shows the state transition after the print job has already been received, there is no "floating" described in FIG. 12, and the user's operation has occurred.

In the state S21-1 of "with data" after the handheld printer 10 receives the print job, the heater has already been turned on because the user's operation has already occurred. Further, in the "data present" state S21-1, the state does not change even if a user operation occurs. When a print start trigger is generated in the "data present" state S21-1, the state transitions to the "printing" state S21-2. In the "printing" state S21-2, even if a print start trigger is generated, the state does not change and printing continues. In addition, when floating is detected in the "printing" state S21-2, the state transitions to the "no data" state S21-3, printing ends, and the heater circuit 204 turns off. The state S21-3 is the same as the state S20a-1 of "no data" and floating shown in FIG. 20(a). In the "printing" state S21-2, if a print end trigger or no operation for a certain period of time occurs, the state transitions to the "no data" state S21-4, printing ends, and the heater circuit 204 turns off the heater. Turn off. The state S21-4 is the same as the "no data" and no floating state S20b-1 shown in FIG. 20(b).

As described above, according to the embodiment of the present invention, the print quality can be improved by heating the print head to the recommended temperature at which printing is possible by heater control before printing. In addition, even if the user picks up the handheld printer and immediately touches it, the pre-heater control prevents the temperature of the print head from becoming too high, thus ensuring the safety of the user. Furthermore, since the preheater control shortens the time required to reach the target temperature, it is possible to shorten the time from the user's operation to the start of printing. By using the user's operation as a trigger to determine the start of heater control, the heater control is not performed until the user's operation to actually start printing occurs. This reduces the chances of being touched by the hands, and improves safety. That is, it is possible to improve the safety when the temperature of the head portion of the handheld printer is controlled.

In addition, in the embodiment of the present invention, the handheld printer 10 is an example of a droplet ejection device. The IJ recording head 19 is an example of a head. The DMAC (CACHE) 105 and IJ print head control unit 111 are examples of an ejection control unit. The navigation sensor 30 and the gyro sensor 20 are examples of sensors. The control unit 14 is an example of a floating detection unit, a heater control unit, a standby time detection unit, and a notification unit. Pre-heater control is an example of a first control phase. Heater control is an example of a second control phase.

Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described in detail above, the present invention is not limited to such specific embodiments, and various modifications can be made within the scope of the gist of the invention described in the claims.・Changes are possible.

10 handheld printer 11 power supply 12 power supply circuit 13 communication I/F
14 control unit 15 IJ recording head drive circuit 16 ROM
17 DRAM
18 OPUs
19 IJ recording head 20 gyro sensor 30 navigation sensor 31 host I/F
32 image processor 33 LED/LASER driver 34, 36 lens 35 image array 101 CPU
102 position calculator 103 memory controller 104 ImageRAM
105 DMAC (CACHE)
106 rotator 107 interrupt unit 108 gyro sensor I/F
109 Navigation sensor I/F
110 print/sensor timing generator 111 IJ recording head controller 201 non-volatile memory 202 thermistor 203 ink tank 204 heater circuit

Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open No. 63-198264

Claims (10)

A droplet ejection device that receives image data and is scanned by a user to form an image on a medium,
a head that ejects droplets for printing on a medium;
a sensor for detecting the amount of movement or angular velocity of the droplet ejection device in a predetermined period;
an ejection control unit that performs ejection control for instructing the ejection of droplets based on the image data and the movement amount or angular velocity detected by the sensor;
a floating detection unit that detects floating of the droplet discharge device;
a heater control unit that controls a heater for heating the head based on the detection result of the floating detection unit ;
The droplet discharge device , wherein the heater control section stops heating the head when the floating detection section detects the floating . A droplet ejection device that receives image data and is scanned by a user to form an image on a medium,
a head that ejects droplets for printing on a medium;
a sensor for detecting the amount of movement or angular velocity of the droplet ejection device in a predetermined period;
an ejection control unit that performs ejection control for instructing the ejection of droplets based on the image data and the movement amount or angular velocity detected by the sensor;
a standby time detection unit that detects the occurrence of a user operation and a standby time during which no user operation is performed, based on the amount of movement or angular velocity detected by the sensor;
a heater control unit that controls a heater for heating the head based on the detection result of the standby time detection unit ;
The droplet ejection device according to claim 1 , wherein the heater control section starts heating the head after the standby time detection section detects the occurrence of an operation by a user . 3. The heater control unit has a first control stage and a second control stage, and the first control stage and the second control stage have different target temperatures for heating the head. Droplet ejection device as described. The target temperature of the first control stage is a temperature lower than the target temperature of the second control stage,
4. The droplet ejection device according to claim 3, wherein said first control step is performed prior to said second control step. 5. The liquid according to claim 4, further comprising a notification unit that notifies a user that the head is ready for operation when the head reaches a predetermined temperature while the heater control unit is in the first control stage. Dropper. 6. The droplet ejection device according to claim 5 , wherein the notification to the user by the notification unit is performed by lighting or blinking of an LED, sound generation by a buzzer, or display on a screen provided in the device for transmitting the image data. A droplet ejection method executed by a droplet ejection device that receives image data and is scanned by a user to form an image on a medium, comprising:
an ejection procedure for ejecting droplets for printing on a medium;
a detection procedure for detecting the movement amount or angular velocity of the droplet ejection device in a predetermined period;
an ejection control procedure for performing ejection control for instructing the ejection of droplets based on the image data and the movement amount or angular velocity detected by the detection procedure;
a floating detection procedure for detecting floating of the droplet ejection device;
a heater control procedure for controlling a heater for heating the head for executing the discharge procedure based on the result of detection by the floating detection procedure ;
and a step of stopping heating of the head when the floating is detected by the floating detection step . A droplet ejection method executed by a droplet ejection device that receives image data and is scanned by a user to form an image on a medium, comprising:
an ejection procedure for ejecting droplets for printing on a medium;
a detection procedure for detecting the movement amount or angular velocity of the droplet ejection device in a predetermined period;
an ejection control procedure for performing ejection control for instructing the ejection of droplets based on the image data and the movement amount or angular velocity detected by the detection procedure;
A standby time detection procedure for detecting a standby time during which no operation is performed by the user based on the amount of movement or angular velocity detected by the detection procedure;
a heater control procedure for performing heater control for heating the head for executing the ejection procedure, based on the detection result of the standby time detection procedure ;
and a step of starting heating of the head after detecting occurrence of an operation by a user by the waiting time detection step . A program executable by a droplet ejection device that receives image data and is scanned by a user to form an image on a medium, comprising:
an ejection procedure for ejecting droplets for printing on a medium;
a detection procedure for detecting the movement amount or angular velocity of the droplet ejection device in a predetermined period;
an ejection control procedure for performing ejection control for instructing the ejection of droplets based on the image data and the movement amount or angular velocity detected by the detection procedure;
a floating detection procedure for detecting floating of the droplet ejection device;
a heater control procedure for controlling a heater for heating the head for executing the discharge procedure based on the result of detection by the floating detection procedure ;
a program for causing the liquid droplet ejection device to execute a procedure for stopping heating of the head when the floating is detected by the floating detection procedure ; A program executable by a droplet ejection device that receives image data and is scanned by a user to form an image on a medium, comprising:
an ejection procedure for ejecting droplets for printing on a medium;
a detection procedure for detecting the movement amount or angular velocity of the droplet ejection device in a predetermined period;
an ejection control procedure for performing ejection control for instructing the ejection of droplets based on the image data and the movement amount or angular velocity detected by the detection procedure;
A standby time detection procedure for detecting a standby time during which no operation is performed by the user based on the amount of movement or angular velocity detected by the detection procedure;
a heater control procedure for performing heater control for heating the head for executing the ejection procedure, based on the detection result of the standby time detection procedure ;
a program for causing the droplet discharge device to execute a procedure for starting heating of the head after detecting occurrence of an operation by a user by the waiting time detection procedure ;

Images