WO2017169527A1

WO2017169527A1 - Inkjet recording device and recording control method for inkjet recording device

Info

Publication number: WO2017169527A1
Application number: PCT/JP2017/008672
Authority: WO
Inventors: 直也駒田; 暢彦小山
Original assignee: コニカミノルタ株式会社
Priority date: 2016-03-28
Filing date: 2017-03-06
Publication date: 2017-10-05
Also published as: CN108883633A; JP6753463B2; JPWO2017169527A1; CN108883633B

Abstract

Provided are an inkjet recording device and a recording control method for an inkjet recording device with which it is possible to maintain the quality of a recording operation more stably. This inkjet recording device comprises: a transportation unit that performs a transportation operation for transporting a recording medium by moving, in a predetermined transportation direction, a transportation belt on which the recording medium is placed; an image recording unit that performs a recording operation for applying ink onto the transported recording medium; and a control unit that starts the recording operation at a timing when the recording medium is transported by a predetermined distance from when the transportation unit has started the transportation operation, said predetermined distance corresponding to the attenuation of stretching vibration that occurs in the transportation belt in association with a change in acceleration of the transportation belt in the transportation direction at the time of starting the transportation operation.

Description

Inkjet recording apparatus and recording control method for inkjet recording apparatus

The present invention relates to an ink jet recording apparatus and a recording control method for the ink jet recording apparatus.

Conventionally, there is an ink jet recording apparatus that records an image or the like by ejecting ink from nozzles and landing the ejected ink on a recording medium. An ink jet recording apparatus can perform recording operations on recording media of various thicknesses and materials.

In an ink jet recording apparatus, ink is ejected at various locations on the surface of the recording medium by ejecting ink while relatively moving the recording head provided with the nozzle and the recording medium by the conveying means. As a pulling member that moves the recording head and a mounting member that moves the recording medium, belts made of various materials such as resins are often used. In particular, by using a recording head (line head) in which nozzles are arranged over the entire width of the recording medium in the width direction that intersects and is mainly orthogonal to the conveyance direction of the recording medium, ink is ejected from the fixed recording head. However, an ink jet recording apparatus that transports a recording medium in the transport direction can perform a recording operation at high speed.

In such an ink jet recording apparatus, when the recording head and the recording medium are moved relative to each other, the recording medium is not properly placed on the placement surface, and the recording head comes into contact with the recording head or entangles with the recording head. There is a problem that the operation may not be performed or the recording head may be damaged. On the other hand, conventionally, there is a technique for detecting the mounting state of the recording medium to be conveyed and stopping the conveyance of the recording medium when an abnormality such as lifting up so as to contact the recording head is detected (Patent Document 1). ). By starting the recording operation after the abnormality is resolved, normal image recording can be continued while ensuring the safety of the ink jet recording apparatus.

JP 2011-126131 A

However, since the member that forms the conveyance surface of the recording medium in the conveyance unit and the conveyance member that moves the conveyance surface have some elasticity, a force corresponding to a sudden acceleration change that occurs at the start of movement is locally applied. As a result, elastic vibration occurs in the expansion and contraction direction. As a result, there is a problem that local displacement occurs at various positions on the conveyance surface with respect to the movement amount of the entire conveyance member, and the position of the ink on the recording medium is deviated to deteriorate the quality of the recording operation.

An object of the present invention is to provide an ink jet recording apparatus and a recording control method for the ink jet recording apparatus that can maintain the quality of recording operation more stably.

In order to achieve the above object, the invention according to claim 1
A transport unit that performs a transport operation of transporting the recording medium by moving a transport member on which the recording medium is placed in a predetermined transport direction;
Recording means for performing a recording operation for applying ink to a recording medium to be conveyed;
After starting the transport operation by the transport means, transport for a predetermined distance according to the attenuation of the expansion and contraction vibration generated in the transport member with a change in acceleration in the transport direction of the transport member at the start of the transport operation Control means for starting the recording operation at a timing when
An ink jet recording apparatus comprising:

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the ink jet recording apparatus of the first aspect,
Storage means for storing the predetermined distance is provided.

The invention according to claim 3 is the ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 1 or 2,
Comprising position acquisition means for acquiring position information of a recording medium to be conveyed;
The control means includes
When the recording operation to the recording medium by the recording unit and the conveyance operation of the recording medium by the conveying unit are interrupted, the information about the content interruption position of the recording target data related to the recording operation is acquired and the position acquisition is performed Obtaining information on the recording interruption position on the recording medium by means,
After the interruption, when the recording operation and the conveyance operation are resumed, the recording interruption is performed from the conveyance resumption position on the upstream side of the predetermined distance in the conveyance direction with respect to the recording position where the recording unit applies ink to the recording medium. The conveyance operation of the recording medium in the conveyance direction is started so that the position starts to move, and the recording operation to the recording medium is started from the content interruption position at a timing when the recording medium is conveyed by the predetermined distance. It is characterized by that.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the ink jet recording apparatus according to the third aspect,
After the interruption, when the recording operation and the conveyance operation are resumed, the control unit moves the recording interruption position to the conveyance resumption position by the conveyance unit based on the acquired position information. The conveyance operation of the recording medium in the conveyance direction is started.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the ink jet recording apparatus according to the fourth aspect,
The conveying means is characterized in that the recording interruption position is moved to the conveyance resuming position by moving the conveying member on which the recording medium is placed in a direction opposite to the conveying direction.

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, in the ink jet recording apparatus of the third aspect,
The transport resumption position is set with respect to the recording position according to attenuation of expansion and contraction vibration in the transport direction generated in the transport member in accordance with a change in acceleration of the transport member in the transport direction at the start of the transport operation. The predetermined distance is determined within a set reference distance range, and the predetermined distance is determined as a distance from the determined transport resumption position to the recording position.

The invention according to claim 7 is the ink jet recording apparatus according to any one of claims 3 to 6,
In the case where the recording operation and the transport operation are interrupted, the control unit causes the transport unit to perform an operation related to the stop of the transport operation after the recording operation is stopped.

The invention according to claim 8 is the ink jet recording apparatus according to any one of claims 3 to 7,
The control means is characterized in that the transport speed of the recording medium is increased at a constant acceleration when the transport operation is resumed.

The invention according to claim 9 is the ink jet recording apparatus according to any one of claims 3 to 8,
Comprising an operation receiving means for receiving a command operation related to the resumption of the recording operation and the transport operation;
The control means restarts the transport operation by the transport means and the recording operation by the recording means when the command operation is accepted after the recording operation and the transport operation are stopped.

The invention according to claim 10 is the ink jet recording apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 9,
The conveying member is an endless belt material spanned between a plurality of rotating members,
The conveying means is characterized in that the conveying member is moved by rotating one of the plurality of rotating members.

The invention according to claim 11 is the ink jet recording apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 10,
The predetermined distance is characterized by being shorter than a moving distance in a period of accelerating the transport member at the start of the transport operation.

The invention according to claim 12 is the ink jet recording apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 11,
The control means adjusts the ink ejection timing by the recording means during a period of accelerating / decelerating the conveying member according to the speed of the conveying member.

The invention as set forth in claim 13
A transport unit that performs a transport operation of transporting the recording medium by moving a transport member on which the recording medium is placed in a predetermined transport direction; a recording unit that performs a recording operation of applying ink to the transported recording medium; A recording control method for an inkjet recording apparatus comprising:
After starting the transport operation by the transport means, transport for a predetermined distance according to the attenuation of the expansion and contraction vibration generated in the transport member with a change in acceleration in the transport direction of the transport member at the start of the transport operation A control step of starting the recording operation at a timing when
It is characterized by including.

According to the present invention, there is an effect that the quality of the recording operation can be more stably maintained in the ink jet recording apparatus.

1 is an overall perspective view illustrating an inkjet recording apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. It is a figure which shows typically the surface facing the conveyance surface of a head unit. It is a block diagram which shows the function structure of an inkjet recording device. It is a figure explaining the movement state and movement operation | movement of a recording medium at the time of image recording resumption. It is a figure explaining the movement state and movement operation | movement of a recording medium at the time of image recording resumption. 6 is a flowchart showing a control procedure of image recording control processing in the ink jet recording apparatus. It is a flowchart which shows the control procedure of the interruption process called by an image recording control process.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 is an overall perspective view showing an ink jet recording apparatus 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention.

The inkjet recording apparatus 1 includes a transport unit 10 (transport unit), an image recording unit 20 (recording unit), a medium detection unit 30, a control unit 40 (control unit), and the like.

The conveyance unit 10 includes a drive roller 11, a conveyance belt 12 (conveyance member, belt material), a driven roller 13, a conveyance motor 14, an encoder 15 (position acquisition means), a pressing roller 16, a peeling roller 17, and the like. Have The endless transport belt 12 is stretched between the drive roller 11 and the driven roller 13 (both are collectively a plurality of rotating members), and moves around as the drive roller 11 rotates by driving the transport motor 14. . A transport operation for moving the recording medium P placed on the transport surface in the transport direction by moving the outer peripheral surface of the transport belt 12 relative to the image recording unit 20 in a predetermined transport direction using the transport surface as the transport surface. Do. The transport belt 12 is made of a material that flexibly bends at the contact surface with the driving roller 11 and the driven roller 13 and reliably supports the recording medium P. For example, a belt made of resin such as rubber, Examples include steel belts. Since the conveyance belt 12 has a material and / or a configuration on which the recording medium P is adsorbed, the recording medium P can be more stably placed on the conveyance belt 12. In this case, a configuration for separating the recording medium P from the conveyance belt 12 on the downstream side in the conveyance direction from the image recording unit 20 may be further provided.
The driven roller 13 rotates as the transport belt 12 moves.
The recording medium P is not particularly limited, but here, a continuous cloth or the like in the transport direction is used, and a plurality of images recorded at appropriate intervals on the recording medium P are displayed by a post-processing device (not shown). It is dried and rolled up or shaken off and / or cut each.

The transport motor 14 rotates the drive roller 11 at a rotation speed according to a control signal from the control unit 40. The transport motor 14 can also rotate the drive roller 11 in the reverse direction to the normal transport direction. As a result, the transport belt 12 transports the recording medium P at a transport speed corresponding to the rotational speed of the drive roller 11.

Here, the encoder 15 is a rotary encoder, and detects the amount of rotation of the driving roller 11 to measure the amount of movement and the position (conveying position) of the recording medium P on the conveying surface. In addition, the encoder 15 may measure the rotation amount of the driven roller, or may directly measure the movement amount of the conveyor belt 12. Alternatively, the encoder 15 may detect the rotational operation amount of the transport motor 14.

The pressing roller 16 removes floating from the mounting surface such as wrinkles by pressing the recording medium P supplied to the mounting surface of the conveyor belt 12 against the mounting surface.
The peeling roller 17 pulls the recording medium P that has been conveyed while being adsorbed to the conveying belt 12 with a predetermined pressure, thereby peeling the recording medium P from the conveying surface and sending it to the post-processing device.

The medium detection unit 30 detects the surface of the recording medium P before being transported to a position facing the head unit 21 after being placed on the transport belt 12, and mounting abnormalities such as floating of the recording medium or on the recording medium P are detected. Detecting garbage etc. When the abnormality of the recording medium P is detected and the conveyance of the recording medium P is stopped, the medium detection unit 30 moves the recording medium P before the detection point of the abnormality reaches a position facing the head unit 21. It is preferable that the head unit 21 is provided upstream from the head unit 21 by a distance that can be stopped. Alternatively, instead of or sufficiently taking the distance between the medium detection unit 30 and the head unit 21, the head unit 21 at the abnormal portion of the recording medium P is interposed between the medium detection unit 30 and the head unit 21. An anti-collision mechanism may be provided.

The control unit 40 performs overall control of the operation of each unit of the inkjet recording apparatus 1.

The image recording unit 20 performs a recording operation of recording (forming) an image by ejecting ink from nozzles and landing (applying) the ink on the upper surface of the recording medium P (the surface opposite to the side in contact with the conveying surface). . Here, the image recording unit 20 includes a plurality of head units 21, and here, four

head units

21Y, 21M, 21C, and 21K are illustrated, but the present invention is not limited thereto. From these head units 21, inks of different colors supplied from an ink storage unit (not shown), for example, yellow, magenta, cyan, and black inks are ejected. In each of the head units 21, nozzles are provided over the recordable width of the recording medium P having a predetermined size (the above-mentioned maximum width size) in the width direction within a plane parallel to the transport surface, and ink can be ejected. Yes.

FIG. 2 is a diagram schematically showing a surface (nozzle surface) facing the transport surface of the head unit 21K.
Since the

head units

21C, 21M, and 21Y have the same configuration, description thereof will be omitted.

The head unit 21K includes a plurality of discharge heads 211 (here, 16 nozzles) in which nozzle openings are arranged at a predetermined interval (nozzle interval) on the bottom surface, for example, about 141 μm intervals corresponding to 360 dpi (dots per inch). Pieces). The two ejection heads 211 form a set, and the nozzle openings of the ejection heads 211 are alternately arranged in the width direction, so that image recording with a recording resolution of 720 dpi (nozzle interval is about 70.5 μm) is performed. It is possible. By further disposing this set of ejection heads 211 in a staggered pattern, a line head is formed in which nozzle openings are arranged over the above-mentioned recordable width at uniform intervals in the width direction. That is, the head unit 21K is fixed during the image recording operation, and sequentially discharges ink at predetermined intervals (intervals in the conveyance direction) to different positions in the conveyance direction in accordance with the conveyance of the recording medium P. Record an image with. The interval in the conveyance direction, that is, the recording resolution in the conveyance direction is determined by the ejection frequency from the nozzles and the conveyance speed, but may be equal to or different from the above-described 720 dpi.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a functional configuration of the inkjet recording apparatus 1 of the present embodiment.

The inkjet recording apparatus 1 includes a control unit 40, a conveyance motor 14 and an encoder 15 of the conveyance unit 10, a head drive unit 22 of the image recording unit 20, a sensor 31 of the medium detection unit 30, a communication unit 50, and a storage. A unit 60 (storage means), an operation display unit 70, a bus 80, and the like are provided.

The control unit 40 performs a control operation for overall control of the entire operation of the inkjet recording apparatus 1. The control unit 40 includes a CPU 41 (Central Processing Unit), a ROM 42 (Read Only Memory), a RAM 43 (Random Access Memory), and the like. The CPU 41 performs various arithmetic processes and executes processes related to various controls. The ROM 42 stores and saves control programs related to various controls. As the ROM 42, a mask ROM or a readable / writable nonvolatile memory is used.

The RAM 43 provides a working memory space to the CPU 41 and stores temporary data and various settings. As the RAM 43, various volatile memories such as SRAM and DRAM are used.

The transport motor 14 rotates the drive roller 11 in accordance with a control signal from the control unit 40 to move the transport belt 12 around. The rotation speed of the transport motor 14 may be changeable according to the image quality required for the recorded image. Further, when stopping the conveyance belt 12 or resuming the movement, the movement speed of the conveyance belt 12 can be accelerated / decelerated according to a predetermined speed profile. Further, the transport motor 14 can reversely feed the recording medium P in the direction opposite to the transport direction. The reverse feed speed may be slower than the normal transport speed.
Further, the transport motor 14 may include one that rotates and moves the pressing roller 16 and the peeling roller 17.

The encoder 15 measures the conveyance speed and position of the recording medium P by detecting the rotation amount of the driving roller 11 at predetermined time intervals. The measurement data of the encoder 15 is processed by the control unit 40 and fed back to the adjustment of the operation speed of the transport motor 14 and the ink discharge timing of each head unit 21 of the image recording unit 20 as a control signal. Further, when the image recording is interrupted in the middle, it is also used for obtaining the position of the recording medium P at the interrupted timing and adjusting to the set position when the image recording is resumed thereafter. When the transport motor 14 reversely feeds the recording medium P, the encoder 15 can obtain the recording medium P by subtracting the position of the recording medium P according to the reverse feeding.

The head drive unit 22 outputs a drive signal for operating the ink discharge mechanism in the discharge head 211 of each head unit 21, and discharges ink from the opening of the target nozzle at an appropriate timing. These drive signals are output in parallel to each head unit 21 (discharge head 211). The drive signal is output in synchronization with an encoder (not shown) that measures the conveyance speed (position) of the recording medium P by the conveyance unit 10. As an ink discharge mechanism, for example, a voltage is applied to a piezoelectric element provided along an ink flow path communicating with a nozzle to deform the piezoelectric element, and pressure is applied to the ink in the ink flow path with a predetermined pressure pattern. In addition, a piezo type that discharges ink or generates heat by passing current through a heating wire, heats the ink in the ink flow path, and vaporizes a part of the ink to cause volume change and discharge by applying pressure to the ink A thermal type is used.

The sensor 31 detects floating of the recording medium P, dust on the recording medium P, and the like. As the sensor 31, for example, an emission unit that emits laser light in the width direction at a predetermined height from the conveyance surface, and the laser light is detected on the opposite side of the conveyance surface in the width direction, so that floating portions, dust, etc. And a line sensor that detects a color unevenness on the surface of the recording medium P due to dust or a shadow of a floating part by using an image of the upper surface of the recording medium P. .

The communication unit 50 acquires image data to be recorded and a print job from an external computer terminal or a print server, and outputs a status signal related to image recording.

The storage unit 60 stores recording target image data (recording target data) acquired through the communication unit 50, processing data thereof, and the like. The storage unit 60 also stores vibration convergence information 61 such as a distance and time necessary for converging the expansion and contraction vibration of the conveyor belt 12 generated when the conveyor belt 12 of the conveyor unit 10 starts to move. Remember. Further, the storage unit 60 may store various execution programs related to image recording and adjustment inspection, and the CPU 41 reads out and loads them into the RAM 43 when the execution programs are executed. As the storage unit 60, for example, an HDD (Hard Disk Drive) or a flash memory is used, and a RAM or the like may be used in combination.

The operation display unit 70 includes a display unit 71 that displays a user input operation reception screen and status information, an operation reception unit 72 (operation reception unit) that receives a user input operation and outputs an operation signal to the control unit 40. Have Here, the operation display unit 70 includes, for example, a liquid crystal screen provided with a touch sensor and its driver. Or as the display part 71, the display screen which concerns on other display systems, such as an organic EL display, may be used, and the LED lamp for status display etc. may be used together. Further, as the operation reception unit 72, a push button switch, a rotation switch, or the like may be provided instead of or in addition to the touch panel.

The bus 80 is a transmission path for transmitting and receiving signals between the control unit 40 and other components.

Next, an image recording operation in the inkjet recording apparatus 1 of the present embodiment will be described.
4A and 4B are diagrams for explaining the movement state and movement operation of the recording medium when image recording is resumed.
In the ink jet recording apparatus 1 of the present embodiment, as described above, a plurality of images can be continuously recorded in adjacent areas on the recording medium P continuous in the transport direction or a plurality of recording media P. At this time, if an abnormality of the recording medium P is detected by the medium detection unit 30, the image recording operation is interrupted and the conveyance of the recording medium P is stopped.

On the other hand, after the interruption of the recording operation, as shown in FIG. 4A, when the image recording operation is resumed after dust or wrinkles are removed, the recording medium P is slightly reversed by rotating the transport motor 14 or the like in reverse. The position where the recording of the image is interrupted after the recording is moved to the upstream side of the recording position x1 (positions x3 to x4 between timings t32 to t41), and the conveyance is resumed in the normal conveyance direction (t42). Image recording is resumed from the timing when (recording interruption position xp1) coincides with the landing position (recording position x1) of the ink ejected by the head unit 21.

In the inkjet recording apparatus 1 using a line head, since the conveyance speed is high, when the movement of the conveyance belt 12 by the conveyance unit 10 is stopped quickly or the movement is resumed, for example, the acceleration is stepped as shown here. When the movement of the conveyor belt 12 is stopped (decrease in speed) or restarted (increase in speed) at a constant acceleration, a large change in acceleration occurs at the position of the step (timing t42, t51). At this time, a force for causing the conveyor belt 12 to follow the change in the rotation speed of the drive roller 11 is locally applied to the contact portion between the conveyor belt 12 and the drive roller 11. On the other hand, in the contact portion of the driven roller 13 with the conveyance belt 12, a change in rotational speed equal to that of the driving roller 11 does not immediately occur according to the inertia of the driven roller 13, so the driving roller 11 and the driven roller 13 of the conveying belt 12. In FIG. 4A, the change in speed and position (thick solid line) when not affected by the acceleration change in p1, p2, v1, and v2 is shown by being overwritten (thin solid line), Expansion and contraction according to the elastic force occurs. This thin solid line is for schematically explaining, and the actual vibration frequency, amplitude, and attenuation rate (attenuation characteristic) vary depending on various conditions as described later.

At the timing t51 when the acceleration returns to zero, due to the rotational resistance of the driven roller 13 and the like, the rotational speed of the driving roller 11 is easily settled, and the expansion and contraction vibration is also quickly attenuated (p2, v2), while the movement of the conveyor belt 12 is stopped. At timing t42, which is immediately after the restart, the conveyor belt 12 expands with the start of the rotation operation of the drive roller 11, and the rotation of the driven roller 13 is difficult to follow the increase in the rotation speed of the drive roller 11 thereafter. Then, until the timing t13, a damped vibration (stretching vibration) occurs in the transport direction (p1, v1). This damped vibration is a primary and / or higher-order vibration having both contact points of the driving roller 11 and the driven roller 13 as fixed ends. As a result, a deviation occurs between the conveyance amount obtained by the encoder 15 and a local position on the conveyance belt 12, and this deviation amount differs for each position on the conveyance belt 12. As long as it is too large to be ignored in order to maintain the image, it is difficult to record an image at a precise position (to make ink land).
The large value that cannot be ignored here depends on the image quality accuracy required for the image, but is generally a predetermined ratio (for example, 5% to 50%) with respect to the image resolution in the conveyance direction, that is, the interval in the conveyance direction. %)) Or more. Based on this setting or the like, it may be determined whether or not image recording in the period v2 may be performed. In the case of performing image recording in the period v2, the distance d1 is smaller than the moving distance during the acceleration period (timing t42 to t51), that is, the acceleration is not zero when the image recording is resumed and the conveyance speed is changing. In the case of (acceleration / deceleration), ink discharge is performed in accordance with the measurement value of the encoder 15 (the rotational speed of the drive roller 11, that is, the speed of movement of the transport belt 12) so that the transport direction interval is constant. Adjust the timing sequentially.

It should be noted that although a damped vibration may occur due to a change in acceleration when the movement is temporarily stopped, the expansion and contraction vibration is likely to converge quickly and at the same time as in the period v2 at the start of the conveyance speed deceleration. Even when considering the above, it is sufficient to simply interrupt the image recording before starting deceleration. Further, since the image recording is always interrupted before the end of the deceleration of the conveyance speed, that is, before the conveyance is stopped, it is not necessary to consider the influence on the recorded image.

In the inkjet recording apparatus 1 of the present embodiment, the image recording is reliably interrupted before and after the image recording is interrupted while the image recording is not performed until the damping vibration related to the expansion and contraction of the transport belt 12 is sufficiently reduced. Adjustment is performed so that the position xp1 / recording resume position is matched.

As shown in FIG. 4B, when an abnormality is found in the transported recording medium P during the image recording operation on the continuous recording medium P and the recording operation and the transport operation are interrupted, first, image recording on the recording medium P is performed. Is immediately stopped at the recording interruption position xp1 in the recording range indicated by the hatched hatch on the recording medium P. Immediately thereafter, at the timing when the recording interruption position xp1 moves to the position x2 along the conveyance direction, an operation for stopping the conveyance operation of the recording medium P is started, and the conveyance operation is performed in a state where the recording interruption position xp1 has reached the position x3. Stop.

When resuming the image recording operation, the recording medium P is once sent back to a position where the recording interruption position xp1 overlaps with the conveyance resumption position x4 along the conveyance direction. The transport resumption position x4 is set upstream of the recording position x1 by a distance d1 (predetermined distance) in the transport direction. Then, when conveyance of the recording medium P in the conveyance direction is resumed from this state and the recording interruption position xp1 reaches the recording position x1, image recording for the next row of the pixel row formed as the recording interruption position xp1 is started. Resumed. Note that the recording operation is interrupted all at once when there are a plurality of head units 21 as in the ink jet recording apparatus 1 of the present embodiment or when there are a plurality of nozzle arrays on the nozzle surface of the head unit 21 in the transport direction. In this case, the positions at which image recording is resumed for each color and each nozzle row are also different.

As described above, the distance d1 set at this time is such that the amplitude of the damped vibration in the conveyance direction of the conveyance belt 12 can maintain the image quality as compared with the interval in the conveyance direction of the recording pixels by the head unit 21. A small value, that is, a distance necessary to attenuate to less than a predetermined ratio with respect to the conveyance direction interval. Therefore, the distance d1 is an amplitude attenuation rate (attenuation, which depends on the material of the conveyance belt 12, the distance between the driving roller 11 and the driven roller 13, the speed change pattern of the driving roller 11 when the conveyance operation is resumed, and the like. It depends on the attenuation characteristics. Among these, the material of the conveyance belt 12 and the distance between the driving roller 11 and the driven roller 13 are fixed values in the ink jet recording apparatus 1, and the speed change pattern of the driving roller 11 depends on the image recording mode and the like. Since a plurality of distances can be set, each distance d1 may be set according to the plurality of settings, or the maximum distance among them may be set as a single distance d1. The distance d1 can be set to a distance obtained by adding a predetermined offset value to the above-mentioned shortest distance necessary for maintaining image quality, or a distance obtained by multiplying the shortest distance by a predetermined number. In addition, as the allowable distance d1, a reference distance range dm having a minimum value as the distance d1 is set as the distance d1 that can be set.

Note that when image recording is resumed in consideration of the damped vibration that occurs at timing t51 when the acceleration ends and becomes a constant speed (acceleration changes to zero), the conveyance is resumed at timing t41 until timing t51. Corresponding to the moving distance d1a of the recording medium P during the sum of the acceleration duration time and the duration v2 (timing t51 to t52) in which the damped oscillation occurs, the transport resume position x4 is set, and the position x1a is recorded. It coincides with or is upstream of the position x1.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating a control procedure by the control unit 40 of the image recording control process in the inkjet recording apparatus 1 of the present embodiment.
This image recording control process is started when a print job transmitted from an external server or terminal device is received.

When the image recording control process is started, the control unit 40 (CPU 41) performs an initial operation (step S101). Examples of the initial operation include detection of the remaining amount of ink, confirmation of setting of the recording medium, and confirmation of operation of the transport motor 14. The control unit 40 analyzes the acquired print job and performs various initial settings, and adjusts the acquired image data to be recorded as necessary (step S102).

The control unit 40 starts the operation of the transport motor 14 and starts the operation of the medium detection unit 30 (step S103). Then, the control unit 40 causes the image recording unit 20 to start an image recording operation (step S104). The control unit 40 determines whether or not the detection of the recording medium P is normal by the medium detection unit 30 (step S105). If it is determined that there is an abnormality ("NO" in step S105), the control unit 40 is interrupted. The process is called and executed (step S108).

After the interruption process, the control unit 40 determines whether or not the image recording operation has been resumed (step S109). If it is determined that the image recording operation has been resumed ("YES" in step S109), the process proceeds to step S105. return. If it is determined that the restart has not been performed (“NO” in step S109), the control unit 40 ends the image recording control process.

If it is determined in the determination process in step S105 that there is no abnormality in the detection of the recording medium P (“YES” in step S105), the control unit 40 finishes recording all the images set in the print job. It is discriminate | determined (step S106). If it is determined that the processing has not ended ("NO" in step S106), the process of the control unit 40 returns to step S105.

If it is determined that all set image recording has been completed ("YES" in step S106), the control unit 40 performs various processes related to the end of image recording (step S107). The control unit 40 stops the conveyance motor 14 and performs a notification operation that the image recording is completed. In addition, the control unit 40 deletes the settings relating to the print job and the image data to be recorded stored in the storage unit 60. Then, the control unit 40 ends the image recording control process.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing a control procedure of interruption processing called up in the image recording control processing.

When the interruption process is called, the control unit 40 interrupts the image recording operation by the image recording unit 20, and the movement amount from the recording position x1 of the interruption position (recording interruption position xp1) measured by the encoder 15 and the recording target are recorded. The interruption position (content interruption position) in the image data (recording target data) is stored (step S181). The control unit 40 stops the conveyance motor 14 and interrupts the conveyance (step S182). At this time, the control unit 40 appropriately maintains the suction state of the recording medium on the conveyance belt 12 and adjusts the operation of the peeling roller 17 so that the position of the recorded part of the image of the recording medium does not shift. You may adjust.

The control unit 40 refers to the storage unit 60, acquires the rewind reference amount corresponding to the distance necessary for the expansion and contraction of the transport belt 12 when transport is resumed, and is before the rewind reference amount from the recording position x1. The position between the recording interruption position xp1 and the conveyance resumption position x4 is calculated with the position (upstream in the conveyance direction) as the conveyance resumption position x4 (step S183).

The control unit 40 determines whether or not an image recording operation restart command has been acquired (step S184). This image recording operation restart command is acquired in response to a predetermined input operation (command operation) to the operation display unit 70 by the user. When it is determined that the image recording operation restart command has not been acquired (“NO” in step S184), the control unit 40 determines whether an image recording operation stop command has been acquired (step S185). This image recording operation stop command is acquired in response to a predetermined input operation to the operation display unit 70 by the user, similarly to the image recording restart command. If it is determined that the image recording operation stop command has not been acquired (“NO” in step S185), the process of the control unit 40 returns to step S184. If it is determined that the image recording operation stop command has been acquired (“YES” in step S185), the control unit 40 ends the interruption process and returns the process to the image recording control process.

When it is determined that the image recording operation restart command has been acquired (“YES” in step S184), the control unit 40 operates the transport motor 14 until the recording interruption position xp1 reaches the transport restart position x4. That is, the recording medium P is reversely fed until the distance between the recording interruption position xp1 where the movement amount measured by the encoder 15 is calculated and the conveyance resumption position x4 is reached (step S186). At this time, if the recording interruption position xp1 is within the reference distance range dm further upstream than the conveyance resuming position x4, it is not necessary to exactly match the conveyance resuming position x4. If they do not match, the control unit 40 extends (adds) the distance d1 by a distance that exceeds the transport resumption position x4. The control unit 40 restarts the transport motor 14 to restart the movement of the recording medium P in the transport direction, and restarts the operation of the medium detection unit 30 (step S187). The control unit 40 resumes the image recording operation at the timing when the recording interruption position xp1 of the recording medium P reaches (overlaps) the recording position x1, that is, the timing at which the movement amount measured by the encoder 15 becomes the distance d1. The operation of the image recording unit 20 is controlled (step S188; control step). Then, the control unit 40 ends the interruption process and returns the process to the image recording control process.

As described above, the inkjet recording apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment includes the transport unit 10 that performs the transport operation of transporting the recording medium P by moving the transport belt 12 on which the recording medium P is placed in a predetermined transport direction. The image recording unit 20 that performs a recording operation for applying ink to the recording medium to be transported, and the acceleration change in the transport direction of the transport belt 12 at the start of the transport operation after the transport operation by the transport unit 10 is started. A control unit 40 that starts a recording operation at a timing at which a predetermined distance d1 is conveyed according to the attenuation of the expansion and contraction vibration generated in the conveyance belt 12 is provided.
As described above, the image recording operation is started after the expansion and contraction of the conveyor belt 12 caused by the operation deviation between the driving roller 11 and the driven roller 13 at the start of the operation of the conveyor belt 12 is sufficiently attenuated. It is possible to suppress deterioration in image quality due to the influence of local positional deviation due to expansion and contraction, and to maintain the quality of recording operation more stably.

Further, the ink jet recording apparatus 1 includes a storage unit 60 that stores a predetermined distance d1 as vibration convergence information 61. Therefore, when the transport operation is started, the distance d1 is read, and the image recording operation may be started at the timing when the transport operation is performed by the distance d1, so that the quality of the recording operation can be maintained with easy processing. I can do it.

In addition, the inkjet recording apparatus 1 includes an encoder 15 for acquiring position information of the recording medium P to be transported, and the control unit 40 performs recording operation on the recording medium P by the image recording unit 20 and recording by the transport unit 10. When the conveyance operation of the medium P is interrupted, information related to the content interruption position of the recording target data related to the recording operation is acquired and information related to the recording interruption position xp1 on the recording medium P is acquired using the encoder 15. When the recording operation and the transport operation are resumed after the interruption of the recording operation and the transport operation, the transport on the upstream side of the distance d1 in the transport direction from the recording position x1 where the ink is applied to the recording medium P by the image recording unit 20. The conveyance operation in the conveyance direction of the recording medium P is started so that the recording interruption position xp1 on the recording medium P starts to move from the resume position x4. Distance d1 recording operation to conveyed are recorded at a timing medium P to be started from the content interrupted position.
As described above, when the image recording operation is interrupted halfway, when the recording is resumed from the same position, the expansion / contraction vibration of the transport belt 12 is sufficiently attenuated at the timing when the recording interruption position xp1 coincides with the recording position x1. As described above, by starting to move the recording interruption position xp1 from the conveyance resumption position x4 upstream of the recording position x1, a more stable image without deterioration in image quality before and after the recording interruption position xp1 is recorded on the recording medium P. I can do it.

In addition, when the recording operation and the conveyance operation are resumed after the recording operation and the conveyance operation are interrupted, the control unit 40 performs the recording interruption position xp1 by the conveyance unit 10 based on the position information acquired using the encoder 15. Since the transport operation in the transport direction of the recording medium P is started after being moved to the transport restart position x4, a stable image can be easily recorded on the recording medium P without greatly increasing the user's labor.

Further, the transport unit 10 moves the recording belt P on which the recording medium P is placed in the direction opposite to the transport direction to move the recording interruption position xp1 to the transport resume position x4. As described above, the conveyance belt 12 of the conveyance unit 10 can be driven in the direction opposite to the normal direction, so that the conveyance belt 12 can be easily moved to the conveyance resumption position x4. In particular, the position of a long continuous paper or fabric cannot be moved around the normal movement direction of the conveyor belt 12, so that it can be automatically moved in the reverse drive direction instead of manually. It becomes possible to reduce the trouble of the user.

Further, the conveyance resumption position x4 is relative to the recording position x1 in accordance with the attenuation of the expansion and contraction vibration in the conveyance direction generated in the conveyance belt 12 in accordance with the acceleration change in the conveyance direction of the conveyance belt 12 at the start of the conveyance operation. The distance d1 is determined within the set reference distance range, and the distance d1 is determined as the distance from the determined transport resumption position x4 to the recording position x1.
In this way, instead of determining the distance d1, the transport resumption position x4 is set within an appropriate range, and the resumption timing of the recording operation is determined according to the set distance between the transport resumption position x4 and the recording position x1. Thus, the resumption timing of the recording operation is controlled based on the signal related to the measurement of the encoder 15 without the need to move the conveyance belt 12 so that the conveyance resumption position x4 and the recording interruption position xp1 coincide mechanically strictly. Therefore, it is possible to easily and accurately connect and record the image before the interruption and the image after the interruption on the recording medium P.

In addition, when interrupting the recording operation and the transport operation, the control unit 40 causes the transport unit 10 to perform an operation related to the stop of the transport operation after stopping the recording operation. As described above, the expansion and contraction vibration accompanying the acceleration change at the time of deceleration related to the stop of the transport operation is small compared to the expansion and contraction vibration accompanying the acceleration change at the start of the acceleration related to the start of the transport operation and large in the quality of the recorded image. The image recording operation may be continued during the occurrence of the stretching vibration because it does not affect the recording. However, by stopping the recording operation before the stretching vibration occurs, the quality of the recorded image is more stably maintained. I can do it.

Further, the control unit 40 increases the conveyance speed of the recording medium P at a constant acceleration when the conveyance operation is resumed. That is, when the acceleration is changed stepwise, the above-described stretching vibration is likely to increase compared to the case where the acceleration is continuously changed. However, in the above embodiment, the image recording operation is performed during a period when the stretching vibration is large. Therefore, the quality of the recorded image can be maintained while the conveyance operation is started easily and quickly by such a change in acceleration.

In addition, an operation receiving unit 72 that receives a command operation related to the resumption of the recording operation and the transport operation is provided, and the control unit 40 performs transport by the transport unit 10 when the command operation is received after the recording operation and the transport operation are stopped. The operation and the recording operation by the image recording unit 20 are resumed.
As described above, the interruption of the image recording operation and the conveyance operation is often performed due to a mounting abnormality of the recording medium P, and usually, confirmation and handling of such a mounting abnormality is performed by the user. The time required for handling is indefinite. Therefore, by enabling a series of operations related to the resumption of the recording operation and the conveyance operation by the input operation in this way, the image recording operation can be resumed easily and accurately at an appropriate timing to obtain a recorded image with maintained quality. Can be output.

Further, the transport belt 12 is an endless belt material spanned between a plurality of rotating members (the driving roller 11 and the driven roller 13), and the transport unit 10 is one of the plurality of rotating members. The conveyance belt 12 is moved by rotating the driving roller 11.
In this way, in the configuration in which a deviation easily occurs between the driving roller 11 that rotates in response to the rotation control of the driving roller 11 and the driven roller 13 that rotates by the rotation operation transmitted through the conveyor belt 12, The stretching vibration of the conveyor belt 12 is likely to occur, and the present invention is more effective.

Further, the distance d1 is shorter than the moving distance in the period in which the conveyor belt 12 is accelerated at the start of the conveying operation. Therefore, it is not necessary to postpone the start of the recording operation until the speed of the conveyor belt 12 becomes constant, and it is not necessary to determine a long distance d1. Therefore, it is possible to reduce the possibility of trouble occurring when the transport belt 12 is moved in the direction opposite to the transport direction.

Further, the control unit 40 adjusts the ink ejection timing by the head unit 21 of the image recording unit 20 during the period of acceleration / deceleration of the conveyance belt 12 according to the speed of the conveyance belt 12. As a result, even when the speed of the conveyor belt 12 is changing as described above, the ink can be landed at an accurate position on the recording medium P, so that the image recording operation can be performed more efficiently. It can be made.

Further, by performing the recording control of the ink jet recording apparatus 1 by the above-described recording control method, it is possible to suppress the deterioration of the image quality due to the influence of the local misalignment due to the expansion and contraction of the conveying member, and to maintain the recording operation quality more stably I can do it.

The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and various modifications can be made.
For example, in the above-described embodiment, the control in the case of achieving both the alignment and the maintenance of the image quality when the image recording is resumed after being interrupted has been described. It is not always necessary to record an image following the recording image before the interruption, and a new image may be recorded again, for example, immediately after the interruption (end) position of the previous image (without being connected to the previous image). The operation at the start of image recording is also the same when starting image recording after positioning with respect to a recording medium that has already been recorded by another image forming apparatus or a recording medium that originally has a ground pattern. Therefore, it is possible to achieve both alignment and maintenance of image quality accurately. In this case, if the recording medium P can be set at the conveyance start position that is a distance d1 before the image recording start position of the recording medium P, the conveyance unit 10 does not need to reversely feed the recording medium P. For example, when the transport start position (and the image recording start position) can be specified from the reference position of the recording medium P that can be detected on the upstream side of the head unit 21 in the transport direction, the transport start position is simply transported from the upstream side. After the temporary stop, the conveyance of the recording medium P may be started.

In the above embodiment, the image recording is automatically interrupted based on the detection result of the sensor 31. However, the person in charge of the monitoring visually detects the abnormality by detecting the recording medium, and the operation receiving unit 72 The image recording operation may be manually interrupted by the input operation.

In the above embodiment, the user inputs a restart command to the operation accepting unit 72 of the operation display unit 70 when resuming after interrupting image recording. When the removal can be performed automatically, for example, when the pressing roller 16 for removing wrinkles can be automatically operated appropriately, the image recording may be resumed without requiring a user input operation. .

In the above embodiment, the CPU 41 calculates the transport restart position, and the transport unit 10 reversely feeds the recording medium P and moves it to the transport restart position. However, the user manually rotates the drive roller 11 to perform recording. The medium P may be reversely fed by an appropriate distance. In this case, since it is necessary for the user to always reverse the distance necessary for maintaining the image quality, for example, a sign indicating the range of the above-mentioned reference distance range dm is provided on the side of the conveyor belt 12 or at the opposite position, and the recording medium is used. It is possible to reversely feed the image recording interruption position on P so as to be within the range indicated by the sign. Further, it is only necessary that the encoder 15 measures the manual reverse feed amount, and the restart position of the image recording operation is accurately determined according to the measured amount. In such a case, it is not necessary to store a numerical value in the storage unit 60 as the distance d1, but it is preferable to store the reference distance range dm.

In addition, when the recording medium P is not a long cloth or continuous paper but a sheet of paper, the conveyance can be resumed by moving the recording medium P slightly less than one rotation according to the circumferential direction of the conveyance belt 12 instead of reverse feeding. It can be moved to a position.

Moreover, in the said embodiment, although what carried out the rotation operation of the conveyance belt 12 with the drive roller 11 and the driven roller 13 was mentioned as an example, a roller is not restricted to two. Further, the conveyance path of the recording medium P may be bent halfway by three or more rollers.
In addition, specific details such as the configuration, arrangement, control content, and procedure shown in the above embodiment can be changed as appropriate without departing from the spirit of the present invention.

The present invention can be used in an ink jet recording apparatus and a recording control method for an ink jet recording apparatus.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Inkjet recording device 10 Conveying part 11 Driving roller 12 Conveying belt 13 Driven roller 14 Conveying motor 15 Encoder 16 Pressing roller 17 Peeling roller 20

Image recording part

21C, 21K, 21M, 21Y Head unit 211 Discharge head 22 Head driving part 30 Medium detection Unit 31 Sensor 40 Control unit 41 CPU
42 ROM
43 RAM
50 communication unit 60 storage unit 61 vibration convergence information 70 operation display unit 71 display unit 72 operation reception unit 80 bus P recording medium

Claims

A transport unit that performs a transport operation of transporting the recording medium by moving a transport member on which the recording medium is placed in a predetermined transport direction;
Recording means for performing a recording operation for applying ink to a recording medium to be conveyed;
After starting the transport operation by the transport means, transport for a predetermined distance according to the attenuation of the expansion and contraction vibration generated in the transport member with a change in acceleration in the transport direction of the transport member at the start of the transport operation Control means for starting the recording operation at a timing when
An ink jet recording apparatus comprising:
2. An ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising storage means for storing the predetermined distance.
Comprising position acquisition means for acquiring position information of a recording medium to be conveyed;
The control means includes
When the recording operation to the recording medium by the recording unit and the conveyance operation of the recording medium by the conveying unit are interrupted, the information about the content interruption position of the recording target data related to the recording operation is acquired and the position acquisition is performed Obtaining information on the recording interruption position on the recording medium by means,
After the interruption, when the recording operation and the conveyance operation are resumed, the recording interruption is performed from the conveyance resumption position on the upstream side of the predetermined distance in the conveyance direction with respect to the recording position where the recording unit applies ink to the recording medium. The conveyance operation of the recording medium in the conveyance direction is started so that the position starts to move, and the recording operation to the recording medium is started from the content interruption position at a timing when the recording medium is conveyed by the predetermined distance. The ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, wherein
After the interruption, when the recording operation and the conveyance operation are resumed, the control unit moves the recording interruption position to the conveyance resumption position by the conveyance unit based on the acquired position information. The inkjet recording apparatus according to claim 3, wherein a conveyance operation of the recording medium in the conveyance direction is started.
5. The transfer unit according to claim 4, wherein the transfer unit moves the recording stop position to the transfer restart position by moving the transfer member on which the recording medium is placed in a direction opposite to the transfer direction. Inkjet recording device.
The transport resumption position is set with respect to the recording position according to attenuation of expansion and contraction vibration in the transport direction generated in the transport member in accordance with a change in acceleration of the transport member in the transport direction at the start of the transport operation. 4. The ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the ink jet recording apparatus is determined within a set reference distance range, and the predetermined distance is determined as a distance from the determined transport resumption position to the recording position.
The control unit, when interrupting the recording operation and the transport operation, causes the transport unit to perform an operation related to the stop of the transport operation after stopping the recording operation. The ink jet recording apparatus according to any one of 3 to 6.
The inkjet recording apparatus according to any one of claims 3 to 7, wherein the control unit increases the conveyance speed of the recording medium at a constant acceleration when the conveyance operation is resumed.
Comprising an operation receiving means for receiving a command operation related to the resumption of the recording operation and the transport operation;
The control unit restarts the transport operation by the transport unit and the recording operation by the recording unit when the command operation is accepted after the recording operation and the transport operation are stopped. The ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 8.
The conveying member is an endless belt material spanned between a plurality of rotating members,
The inkjet recording apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 9, wherein the conveying unit moves the conveying member by rotating one of the plurality of rotating members.
The inkjet recording apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 10, wherein the predetermined distance is shorter than a moving distance during a period in which the conveying member is accelerated at the start of the conveying operation.
12. The control unit according to claim 1, wherein the control unit adjusts ink ejection timing by the recording unit during a period of accelerating / decelerating the transport member according to a speed of the transport member. Inkjet recording apparatus.
A transport unit that performs a transport operation of transporting the recording medium by moving a transport member on which the recording medium is placed in a predetermined transport direction; a recording unit that performs a recording operation of applying ink to the transported recording medium; A recording control method for an inkjet recording apparatus comprising:
After starting the transport operation by the transport means, transport for a predetermined distance according to the attenuation of the expansion and contraction vibration generated in the transport member with a change in acceleration in the transport direction of the transport member at the start of the transport operation A control step of starting the recording operation at a timing when
A recording control method for an ink jet recording apparatus.