Liquid ejection device, liquid ejection system, pattern recording method and storage medium

Abstract

A liquid ejection device, a liquid ejection system, a mold recording method and a program are provided, wherein a plurality of patterns for adjusting the relative movement amount between a liquid ejection head and a medium to be ejected and other patterns requiring the relative movement between the liquid ejection head and the medium to be ejected are recorded on the same medium to be ejected. The measurement pattern includes four conveying adjustment patterns (61B) and four concentration unevenness adjustment patterns (62) arranged in a scanning direction with the four conveying adjustment patterns (61B). After the second conveying adjustment pattern (61B) from the downstream side of the conveying direction is recorded and before the second conveying adjustment pattern (61B) from the downstream side of the conveying direction is recorded, a recording paper (P) for recording the concentration unevenness adjustment pattern (62) is conveyed.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a liquid ejecting device for ejecting liquid from a nozzle, a liquid ejecting system including the liquid ejecting device, a pattern recording method for recording a pattern on the liquid ejecting device, and a program for recording a pattern on the liquid ejecting device. Background Art

[0002] As an example of a liquid ejecting device that ejects liquid from a nozzle, a printer that ejects ink from a nozzle to perform recording is described in Patent Document 1. In the printer described in Patent Document 1, a transport amount adjustment pattern for adjusting the transport amount of recording paper generated by a transport roller and an ejection timing adjustment pattern for adjusting the ejection timing of ejecting ink from the nozzle can be recorded.

[0003] When recording a pattern for adjusting the conveying amount, first, a plurality of first parts arranged in a scanning direction are printed by scanning printing, and then, the conveying roller is conveyed at a specified distance, and each time a second part is printed by scanning printing in a manner that the position in the scanning direction is the same as that of a different first part among the plurality of first parts.

[0004] When recording the ejection timing adjustment pattern, the first portion is printed by scanning printing with the carriage moving to the right, and then the second portion is printed by scanning printing with the carriage moving to the left. After that, after the recording paper is transported by the transport roller, the operation of printing the first portion and the second portion is repeated in the same manner as above.

[0005] Prior art literature

[0006] Patent Literature

[0007] Patent Document 1: Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2018-39232

[0008] Technical problem to be solved by the invention

[0009] Here, in Patent Document 1, when the transport amount adjustment pattern and the ejection timing adjustment pattern are recorded on different recording papers, the number of recording papers used for recording the patterns increases. Therefore, it is considered to record the transport amount adjustment pattern and the ejection timing adjustment pattern on the same recording paper.

[0010] At this time, it is considered to record the pattern for adjusting the amount of conveyance and the pattern for adjusting the ejection timing in a row in the scanning direction. However, in Patent Document 1, when recording the pattern for adjusting the amount of conveyance and when recording the pattern for adjusting the ejection timing, the action of conveying the recording paper in the middle is included. In addition, when recording the pattern for adjusting the amount of conveyance and when recording the pattern for adjusting the ejection timing, the conveyance amount of the recording paper in the middle is usually different. Therefore, in order to record the pattern for adjusting the amount of conveyance and the pattern for adjusting the ejection timing in a row in the scanning direction, some effort is needed. Summary of the invention

[0011] The object of the present invention is to provide a liquid ejection device, a liquid ejection system, a pattern recording method and a program that are capable of recording multiple patterns for adjusting the relative movement amount between a liquid ejection head and a ejected medium and other patterns that require relative movement of the liquid ejection head and the ejected medium during recording on the same ejected medium.

[0012] Technical means for solving technical problems

[0013] The liquid ejection device of the present invention comprises: a liquid ejection head, which has a plurality of nozzles arranged in an arrangement direction; a relatively moving member, which performs a relative movement action that causes the liquid ejection head and the ejected medium to move relative to each other in the arrangement direction; and a control device, which causes the liquid ejection head to perform an ejection action to eject liquid from the nozzles, thereby recording a first pattern portion on the ejected medium, and after the first pattern portion is recorded, performs the ejection action after causing the liquid ejection head and the ejected medium to move relative to each other by a predetermined relative movement amount through at least one relative movement action, thereby recording a second pattern portion on the ejected medium, whereby the control device causes a relative movement adjustment pattern to be recorded on the ejected medium, the relative movement adjustment pattern having the first pattern portion and the second pattern portion, and being used to adjust the liquid ejection head generated by the relatively moving member. The relative movement amount with respect to the ejected medium is recorded on the ejected medium by performing the ejection action multiple times and at least one relative movement action in which the relative movement amount between the liquid ejection head and the ejected medium is different from the specified relative movement amount, and the other pattern has multiple other pattern parts recorded by the ejection action multiple times and is used to adjust adjustment elements other than the relative movement amount. Moreover, when recording multiple relative movement adjustment patterns with different positions in the arrangement direction, the multiple relative movement adjustment patterns and the other patterns are recorded in a manner that the relative movement action of recording the other patterns is performed at least once after at least one relative movement adjustment pattern is recorded and before the next relative movement adjustment pattern is recorded, so that the multiple relative movement adjustment patterns and the other patterns are recorded on the same ejected medium in a manner that they are arranged in a direction orthogonal to the arrangement direction.

[0014] The liquid ejection system of the present invention is a liquid ejection system comprising a liquid ejection device and a control device connected to the liquid ejection device, the liquid ejection device comprising: a liquid ejection head having a plurality of nozzles arranged in an arrangement direction; and a relative movement member, the relative movement member performing a relative movement action to cause the liquid ejection head and a medium to be ejected to move relative to each other in the arrangement direction, the control device causing the liquid ejection head to perform an ejection action to eject liquid from the nozzles so that a first pattern portion is recorded on the medium to be ejected, and after the first pattern portion is recorded, the liquid ejection head and the medium to be ejected are relatively moved by a predetermined relative movement amount through at least one relative movement action, and then the ejection action is performed so that a second pattern portion is recorded on the medium to be ejected, whereby the control device causes a relative movement adjustment pattern to be recorded on the medium to be ejected, the relative movement adjustment pattern having the first pattern portion and the second pattern portion, and being used to adjust the relative movement caused by the relative movement adjustment pattern. For the relative movement amount between the liquid ejection head and the ejected medium generated by the moving component, other patterns are recorded on the ejected medium by performing the ejection action multiple times and at least one relative movement action in which the relative movement amount between the liquid ejection head and the ejected medium is different from the specified relative movement amount. The other pattern has multiple other pattern parts recorded by each of the multiple ejection actions and is used to adjust adjustment elements other than the relative movement amount. Moreover, when recording multiple relative movement adjustment patterns with different positions in the arrangement direction, the multiple relative movement adjustment patterns and the other patterns are recorded in a manner that the relative movement action of recording the other patterns is performed at least once after at least one relative movement adjustment pattern is recorded and before the next relative movement adjustment pattern is recorded, so that the multiple relative movement adjustment patterns and the other patterns are recorded on the same ejected medium in a manner that they are arranged in a direction orthogonal to the arrangement direction.

[0015] The pattern recording method of the present invention is a pattern recording method of a liquid ejecting device, the liquid ejecting device comprising: a liquid ejecting head having a plurality of nozzles arranged in an arrangement direction; and a relatively moving member, the relatively moving member performing a relative movement action to cause the liquid ejecting head and a medium to be ejected to move relative to each other in the relative movement direction, wherein a first pattern portion is recorded on the medium to be ejected by causing the liquid ejecting head to perform an ejection action to eject liquid from the nozzles, and after the first pattern portion is recorded, the liquid ejecting head and the medium to be ejected are relatively moved by a predetermined relative movement amount through at least one relative movement action, and then the ejection action is performed, thereby causing a second pattern portion to be recorded on the medium to be ejected, thereby causing a relative movement adjustment pattern to be recorded on the medium to be ejected, the relative movement adjustment pattern having the first pattern portion and the second pattern portion, and being used to adjust the liquid generated by the relatively moving member The relative movement amount between the ejection head and the ejected medium is recorded on the ejected medium by performing the ejection action multiple times and at least one relative movement action in which the relative movement amount between the liquid ejection head and the ejected medium is different from the specified relative movement amount. The other pattern has multiple other pattern parts recorded by the ejection action multiple times and is used to adjust adjustment elements other than the relative movement amount. Moreover, when recording multiple relative movement adjustment patterns with different positions in the arrangement direction, the multiple relative movement adjustment patterns and the other patterns are recorded in a manner that the relative movement action of recording the other patterns is performed at least once after at least one relative movement adjustment pattern is recorded and before the next relative movement adjustment pattern is recorded, so that the multiple relative movement adjustment patterns and the other patterns are recorded on the same ejected medium in a manner that they are arranged in a direction orthogonal to the arrangement direction.

[0016] The storage medium of the present invention stores a computer-readable program, which is used to control a liquid ejection device, wherein the liquid ejection device comprises: a liquid ejection head, the liquid ejection head having a plurality of nozzles arranged in an arrangement direction; and a relative moving member, the relative moving member performing a relative movement action that causes the liquid ejection head and the ejected medium to move relative to each other in the relative movement direction, wherein the program causes the computer to perform the following control: a first pattern portion is recorded on the ejected medium by causing the liquid ejection head to perform an ejection action to eject liquid from the nozzle, and after the first pattern portion is recorded, the liquid ejection head and the ejected medium are relatively moved by a predetermined relative movement amount through at least one relative movement action, and then the ejection action is performed, thereby causing a second pattern portion to be recorded on the ejected medium, thereby causing a relative movement adjustment pattern to be recorded on the ejected medium, the relative movement adjustment pattern having the first pattern portion and the second pattern portion, and being used to adjust the relative movement member The relative movement amount of the liquid ejection head and the ejected medium is recorded on the ejected medium by performing the ejection action multiple times and at least one relative movement action in which the relative movement amount of the liquid ejection head and the ejected medium is different from the specified relative movement amount, and the other pattern has multiple other pattern parts recorded by each of the multiple ejection actions and is used to adjust adjustment elements other than the relative movement amount. Moreover, when recording multiple relative movement adjustment patterns with different positions in the arrangement direction, the processing of recording multiple relative movement adjustment patterns and the other patterns is performed in a manner that the relative movement action of recording the other patterns is performed at least once after at least one relative movement adjustment pattern is recorded and before the next relative movement adjustment pattern is recorded, so that the multiple relative movement adjustment patterns and the other patterns are recorded on the same ejected medium in a manner arranged in a direction orthogonal to the arrangement direction.

[0017] Effects of the Invention

[0018] In the present invention, after recording at least one relative movement adjustment pattern and before recording the next relative movement adjustment pattern, at least one relative movement action of recording other patterns is performed to record a plurality of relative movement adjustment patterns and other patterns. Thus, even if the relative movement amount between the liquid ejection head and the ejected medium generated by the relative movement action recorded by the other patterns is different from the prescribed relative movement amount, the relative movement adjustment pattern and other patterns can be recorded side by side in a direction orthogonal to the arrangement direction. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0019] Figure 1 It is a schematic diagram of the structure of a multifunction peripheral according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0020] Figure 2 yes Figure 1 A top view of the recording portion of the device.

[0021] Figure 3 (a) is viewed from the direction of arrow IIIA Figure 2 The picture, Figure 3 (b) is viewed from the direction of arrow IIIB Figure 2 .

[0022] Figure 4 (a) is Figure 2 IVA-IVA line cross-sectional view, Figure 4 (b) is Figure 2 IVB-IVB line cross-sectional view.

[0023] Figure 5 This is a block diagram showing the electrical structure of the multifunction peripheral.

[0024] Figure 6 A diagram showing a test pattern.

[0025] Figure 7 (a) is the magnified Figure 6 Figure 1.1 shows the conveyor adjustment pattern. Figure 7 (b) is the magnified Figure 6 Figure 1 shows the density unevenness adjustment pattern. Figure 7 (c) is the magnified Figure 6 A diagram of the moment adjustment pattern.

[0026] Figure 8 (a) is a diagram for explaining a state in which the recording paper is clamped by the conveying rollers and not clamped by the discharge rollers. Figure 8 (b) is a diagram for explaining a state in which the recording paper is clamped by both the conveying roller and the discharge roller. Figure 8 (c) is a diagram for explaining a state in which the recording paper is not clamped by the conveying roller but is clamped by the discharge roller. Figure 8 (d) is a diagram for explaining a state in which the upstream end is separated from the pressing portion in the conveying direction of the recording paper.

[0027] Fig. 9 This is a flowchart showing the flow of processing when adjusting the recording unit.

[0028] Fig.10 It is a diagram for explaining the procedure of recording the conveyance adjustment pattern on the downstream side in the conveyance direction.

[0029] Fig.11 This is a diagram for explaining a procedure of recording a density unevenness adjustment pattern and a conveyance adjustment pattern arranged in a scanning direction with the density unevenness adjustment pattern.

[0030] Fig.12This is a diagram for explaining the procedure of recording a timing adjustment pattern arranged over the entire length of recording paper in the scanning direction.

[0031] Fig.13 This is a diagram for explaining a procedure of recording a timing adjustment pattern and a conveyance adjustment pattern arranged in a scanning direction with the timing adjustment pattern.

[0032] Fig.14 (a) is a diagram showing a transport adjustment pattern and a margin adjustment pattern recorded in Modification Example 1. Fig.14 (b) is used to describe the record Fig.14 (a) Diagram of the pattern steps.

[0033] Fig.15 (a) is a diagram showing a conveying adjustment pattern and a recording adjustment pattern recorded in Modification Example 2, Fig.15 (b) is used to describe the record Fig.15 (a) Diagram of the pattern steps.

[0034] Fig.16 (a) is a block diagram of a system according to Modification 3. Fig.16 (b) is a flowchart showing the flow of processing of the PC when adjusting the recording unit in Modification Example 3. Fig.16 (c) is a flowchart showing the flow of processing of the inkjet printer when adjusting the recording unit in Modification 3.

[0035] Explanation of symbols

[0036] 1 Inkjet Printer

[0037] 11 Slide

[0038] 12 Inkjet Head

[0039] 13 Conveyor roller

[0040] 14a Pressing part

[0041] 16 Exit roller

[0042] 17 Ripple Accelerator

[0043] 20 ribs

[0044] 50 Control device

[0045] 61 Delivery adjustment pattern

[0046] 62 Density unevenness adjustment pattern

[0047] 63 Momentary adjustment pattern

[0048] 71 First pattern part

[0049] 72 Second pattern part

[0050] 81 First smear part

[0051] 82 Second smearing part

[0052] 83 Third smear part

[0053] 90 Pattern section

[0054] 91 First straight line

[0055] 92 Second straight line

[0056] 101 White Space Adjustment Pattern

[0057] 111 Recording adjustment pattern

[0058] 120 Recording System

[0059] 121 Inkjet Printer

[0060] 122PC DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0061] Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described.

[0062] <Overall structure of the multifunction device>

[0063] The inkjet printer 1 (the "liquid ejection device" of the present invention) according to the present embodiment is a so-called multifunction device that can perform image reading, etc. in addition to recording on recording paper P (the "ejected medium" of the present invention). Figure 1 As shown, the inkjet printer 1 includes a recording unit 2 (see Figure 2 ), a paper feed unit 3, a paper discharge unit 4, a reading unit 5 (the "signal receiving unit" of the present invention), an operation unit 7, and a display unit 6. In addition, the operation of the inkjet printer 1 is controlled by a control device 50 (refer to Figure 5 )control.

[0064] The recording unit 2 is provided inside the inkjet printer 1, and records on the recording paper P. In addition, the recording unit 2 will be described in detail later. The paper feeding unit 3 is a unit for feeding the recording paper P to the recording unit 2. The paper discharge unit 4 is a unit from which the recording paper P recorded by the recording unit 2 is discharged. The reading unit 5 is a scanner or the like, and reads the original document. The display unit 6 is a liquid crystal display or the like, and displays necessary information when the inkjet printer 1 is used. The operation unit 7 is a button, a touch panel provided on the display unit 6, etc., and the operation unit 7 receives a signal corresponding to the user's operation.

[0065] <Structure of Recording Unit>

[0066] Next, the recording unit 2 will be described. Figure 2 to Figure 4 As shown, the recording unit 2 includes: a carriage 11, an inkjet head 12 (the "liquid ejection head" of the present invention), a conveying roller 13, a platen 15, a plurality of corrugated boards 14, a plurality of discharge rollers 16, a plurality of corrugated accelerators 17, etc. However, in Figure 2 In order to facilitate observation of the corrugated board 14, the ribs 20 described later, etc., the carriage 11 is indicated by a double-dashed line. In fact, these components are hidden in the carriage 11 and cannot be observed, and the components arranged on the lower side of the carriage 11 are indicated by a solid line. Figure 2 In the figure, the guide rails and the like for supporting the carriage 11 are omitted.

[0067] The carriage 11 is supported by a guide rail (not shown) and can move in the scanning direction along the guide rail. The carriage 11 is connected to the carriage motor 56 (see FIG. 1 ) via a belt (not shown). Figure 5 ) is connected, and the carriage 11 is driven by the carriage motor 56 to reciprocate in the scanning direction. Figure 1 , Figure 2 As shown, the description is given by defining the left side and the right side of the scanning direction.

[0068] The inkjet head 12 is mounted on the carriage 11. In addition, the inkjet head 12 ejects ink from a plurality of nozzles 10 formed on the lower surface of the inkjet head 12, i.e., the inkjet surface 12a. The plurality of nozzles 10 are arranged in a conveying direction (the "arrangement direction" of the present invention) orthogonal to the scanning direction to form a nozzle row 9. In addition, in the inkjet head 12, such nozzle rows 9 are arranged in four rows side by side in the scanning direction. And, black, yellow, cyan and magenta inks are ejected from the plurality of nozzles 10, i.e., the structure forming the nozzle row 9 on the right side. In addition, in the present embodiment, the downstream side and the upstream side of the conveying direction correspond to the "one side of the arrangement direction" and the "other side of the arrangement direction" of the present invention, respectively.

[0069] The conveying roller 13 is arranged on the upstream side of the conveying direction relative to the inkjet head 12. The conveying roller 13 includes an upper roller 13a and a lower roller 13b, and the recording paper P supplied from the paper feed unit 3 is clamped from the upper and lower directions by these rollers and conveyed in the conveying direction. The upper roller 13a is driven by a conveying motor 57 (see Figure 5 The lower roller 13b rotates in conjunction with the rotation of the upper roller 13a.

[0070] The plurality of corrugated boards 14 extend from a position overlapping with the conveying roller 13 to a position downstream of the conveying roller 13 in the conveying direction, and are arranged at equal intervals in the reverse scanning direction. Each corrugated board 14 has a pressing portion 14a at an end portion on the downstream side in the conveying direction, and the recording paper P is pressed from above by the pressing portion 14a.

[0071] The platen 15 is disposed opposite to the inkjet surface 12a on the downstream side of the conveying direction of the conveying roller 13. The platen 15 extends in the scanning direction across the entire length of the moving range of the carriage 11 during recording. A plurality of ribs 20 are formed on the upper surface of the platen 15. The plurality of ribs 20 extend in the conveying direction and are arranged at equal intervals in the scanning direction so as to be located between adjacent corrugated boards 14.

[0072] The plurality of discharge rollers 16 are arranged on the downstream side of the conveying direction relative to the inkjet head 12. In addition, the positions of the plurality of discharge rollers 16 in the scanning direction are almost the same as those of the plurality of ribs 20. Each discharge roller 16 has an upper roller 16a and a lower roller 16b, and these rollers clamp the recording paper P from the upper and lower directions and convey it in the conveying direction. In addition, the discharge roller 16 conveys the recording paper P in the conveying direction toward the paper discharge unit 4. The lower roller 16b is driven by a conveying motor 57 (see Figure 5 ) is driven. The upper roller 16a is an accelerator, and rotates in conjunction with the rotation of the lower roller 16b. Here, although the upper roller 16a contacts the recording surface of the recording paper P after recording, the upper roller 16a is not a roller with a flat outer peripheral surface but an accelerator, so that the ink on the recording paper P is difficult to adhere. In addition, in this embodiment, the structure formed by combining the conveying roller 13 and the discharge roller 16 is equivalent to the "relative moving member" and "conveying mechanism" of the present invention.

[0073] The plurality of corrugated accelerators 17 are arranged on the downstream side of the discharge rollers 16 in the conveying direction. In addition, the positions of the plurality of corrugated accelerators 17 in the scanning direction are almost the same as the pressing portions 14a of the plurality of corrugated boards 14. In addition, the plurality of corrugated accelerators 17 are arranged on the lower side than the upper rollers 16a of the plurality of discharge rollers 16. Thus, the plurality of corrugated accelerators 17 press the recording paper P from above below the position where the plurality of discharge rollers 16 clamp the recording paper P. However, the lower end of the corrugated accelerator 17 is located above the pressing portion 14a of the corrugated board 14. Thus, the pressing force of the corrugated accelerator 17 on the recording paper P is weaker than that of the corrugated board 14, and the ink that bounces onto the recording paper P is difficult to adhere to the corrugated accelerator 17. In addition, since the corrugated accelerator 17 is not a roller with a flat outer peripheral surface but an accelerator, the ink on the recording paper P is difficult to adhere to.

[0074] The recording paper P is supported from below by the plurality of ribs 20 on the platen 15 and is pressed from above by the pressing portions 14a of the plurality of corrugated boards 14 and the plurality of corrugated accelerators 17 to be bent, as shown in FIG. Figure 3 , Figure 4 As shown, the ribs 20, the pressing portions 14a of the corrugated boards 14, and the corrugated accelerators 17 in this embodiment correspond to the "corrugated shape forming member" of the present invention.

[0075] <Control device>

[0076] Next, the control device 50 for controlling the operation of the inkjet printer 1 will be described. Figure 5 As shown, the control device 50 includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 51 , a ROM (Read Only Memory) 52 , a RAM (Random Access Memory) 53 , a flash memory 54 , an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit) 55 , and the like.

[0077] The control device 50 controls the operation of the carriage motor 56, the inkjet head 12, the transport motor 57, the reading unit 5, the display unit 6, and the like. In addition, a signal from the reading unit 5, a signal corresponding to the operation of the operation unit 7, and the like are input to the control device 50. In addition, the recording unit 2 is provided with a rotary encoder 58 provided on the upper roller 13a. Whenever the upper roller 13a rotates by a certain angle, a signal is input from the rotary encoder 58 to the control device 50. In addition, in the present embodiment, as described below, although the transport amount of the recording paper P is determined based on the rotation angle of the upper roller 13a based on the signal from the rotary encoder 58, it is also possible that, for example, the rotary encoder 58 is provided on another roller such as the lower roller 16b, and the transport amount of the recording paper P is determined based on the rotation angle of the roller.

[0078] In addition, the control device 50 may be a CPU 51 alone performing various processes, or an ASIC 55 alone performing various processes, or a CPU 51 and an ASIC 55 may perform various processes in cooperation. In addition, the control device 50 may be a CPU 51 alone performing processes, or a plurality of CPUs 51 may share the processes. In addition, the control device 50 may be a ASIC 55 alone performing processes, or a plurality of ASICs 55 may share the processes.

[0079] <Test Pattern>

[0080] Next, the test pattern recorded in the recording unit 2 is described. In the recording unit 2, the test pattern can be recorded under the control of the control device 50. Figure 6 The test pattern 60 shown. In the present embodiment, for example, the flash memory 54 stores data for recording the test pattern 60.

[0081] The test pattern 60 includes ten conveyance adjustment patterns 61 (the "relative movement adjustment pattern" of the present invention), four concentration unevenness adjustment patterns 62, and a plurality of timing adjustment patterns 63. In addition, in the present embodiment, the concentration unevenness adjustment pattern 62 is equivalent to the "other pattern" and the "first other pattern" of the present invention, and the timing adjustment pattern 63 is equivalent to the "other pattern" and the "second other pattern" of the present invention.

[0082] <Conveyance Adjustment Pattern>

[0083] like Figure 7 As shown in (a), the conveyance adjustment pattern 61 includes a first pattern portion 71 and a second pattern portion 72. The first pattern portion 71 is a straight line inclined with respect to the scanning direction. The second pattern portion 72 is a straight line parallel to the scanning direction. As described below, the second pattern portion 72 records the recording paper P in a state where the recording paper P is conveyed in the conveyance direction by the conveyance roller 13 and the discharge roller 16 by rotating the upper roller 13a by a rotation angle K1a from the position where the first pattern portion 71 is recorded.

[0084] At this time, if the conveyance amount of the recording paper P is the assumed conveyance amount, Figure 7 As shown by the solid line in (a), the second pattern portion 72 is recorded as the intersection of the first pattern portion 71 and the second pattern portion 72 is located at the midpoint of the first pattern portion 71 and the second pattern portion 72.

[0085] On the other hand, when the conveyance amount of the recording paper P is larger than the expected conveyance amount, Figure 7 As shown by the dotted line in (a), the second pattern portion 72 is recorded at a position deviated from the upstream side of the conveying direction. As a result, the intersection 73 of the first pattern portion 71 and the second pattern portion 72 deviates to the right from the midpoint between the first pattern portion 71 and the second pattern portion 72. In addition, the greater the difference between the conveyed amount of the recording paper P and the assumed conveyed amount at this time, the greater the degree of deviation of the intersection 73 from the above midpoint.

[0086] On the other hand, when the conveyance amount of the recording paper P is smaller than the expected conveyance amount, Figure 7 As shown by the dashed line in (a), the second pattern portion 72 is recorded at a position deviated from the downstream side of the conveying direction. As a result, the intersection 73 of the first pattern portion 71 and the second pattern portion 72 deviates to the left from the midpoint between the first pattern portion 71 and the second pattern portion 72. In addition, the greater the difference between the conveying amount of the recording paper P and the assumed conveying amount at this time, the greater the degree of deviation of the intersection 73 from the above midpoint.

[0087] Thus, the transport amount of the recording paper P can be understood based on the position of the intersection 73 of the transport adjustment pattern 61, and the transport amount of the recording paper P (rotation angle of the upper roller 13a) can be adjusted.

[0088] In addition, the ten adjustment conveyance patterns 61 have two conveyance adjustment patterns 61A, four conveyance adjustment patterns 61B, two conveyance adjustment patterns 61C, and two conveyance adjustment patterns 61D.

[0089] The two transport adjustment patterns 61A are arranged at the downstream side of the transport direction of the recording paper P, and are arranged at intervals in the transport direction. The four transport adjustment patterns 61B are located on the upstream side of the two transport adjustment patterns 61A in the transport direction, and are arranged at intervals in the transport direction. The two transport adjustment patterns 61C are located on the upstream side of the four transport adjustment patterns 61B in the transport direction, and are arranged at intervals in the transport direction. The two transport adjustment patterns 61D are located on the upstream side of the two transport adjustment patterns 61C in the transport direction, and are arranged at intervals in the transport direction.

[0090] Here, if Figure 8 As shown in (a), when the recording paper P is transported along the transport direction by the transport roller 13 and the discharge roller 16, the recording paper P is clamped by the transport roller 13 and not clamped by the discharge roller 16 until the downstream end of the recording paper P in the transport direction reaches the discharge roller 16.

[0091] Then, if Figure 8 As shown in (b) of FIG. 1 , when the downstream end of the recording paper P in the conveying direction reaches the discharge roller 16 , the recording paper P is sandwiched between both the conveying roller 13 and the discharge roller 16 .

[0092] Then, if Figure 8 As shown in (c), when the upstream end of the recording paper P in the conveying direction is conveyed to the downstream side of the conveying roller 13 , the recording paper P is not clamped by the conveying roller 13 but is clamped by the discharge roller 16 .

[0093] In addition, Figure 8 In the states (a) to (c), the recording paper P is pressed by the pressing portion 14a. Figure 8 As shown in (d), Figure 8 After the state (c), when the end on the upstream side of the conveying direction of the recording paper P is conveyed to the downstream side of the conveying direction compared to the pressing portion 14a, the recording paper P is not clamped by the conveying roller 13 but is clamped by the discharge roller 16, and is not pressed by the pressing portion 14a.

[0094] Furthermore, the transport adjustment pattern 61A is recorded on the recording paper P and the recording paper P is in the Figure 8 The portion where the plurality of nozzles 10 of the inkjet head 12 face each other in the state (a). In addition, the transport adjustment pattern 61B is recorded on the recording paper P and the portion where the plurality of nozzles 10 of the inkjet head 12 face each other. Figure 8The portion where the plurality of nozzles 10 of the inkjet head 12 face each other in the state (b). In addition, the transport adjustment pattern 61C is recorded on the recording paper P. Figure 8 The portion where the plurality of nozzles 10 of the inkjet head 12 face each other in the state (c). In addition, the transport adjustment pattern 61D is recorded on the recording paper P. Figure 8 The portion where the plurality of nozzles 10 of the inkjet head 12 face each other in the state (d).

[0095] The amount of recording paper P conveyed relative to the rotation angle of the upper roller 13a is different depending on whether the recording paper P is held by the conveying roller 13 and the discharge roller 16, and whether it is pressed by the pressing portion 14a. In this embodiment, the conveying adjustment patterns 61A to 61D are recorded on the above-mentioned portions of the recording paper P. When the recording paper P is in Figure 8 In each of the states (a) to (d), the transport amount of the recording paper P can be appropriately adjusted.

[0096] <Density Unevenness Adjustment Pattern>

[0097] like Figure 7 As shown in (b), the uneven density adjustment pattern 62 is a smear pattern extending in the conveying direction. The uneven density adjustment pattern 62 is formed by three groups of band-shaped portions 80 arranged continuously in the conveying direction. Each band-shaped portion 80 has a first smear portion 81, a second smear portion 82, and a third smear portion 83. In addition, in this embodiment, the smear portions 81 to 83 are equivalent to the "other pattern portions" of the present invention.

[0098] The first smear portion 81 is recorded by ink ejected from the nozzles 10 located at the end portion on the downstream side in the transport direction of the inkjet head 12 (“a part of the nozzles on one side in the arrangement direction” in the present invention).

[0099] The second smearing portion 82 is arranged continuously with the first smearing portion 81 on the upstream side in the conveying direction of the first smearing portion 81. The second smearing portion 82 is recorded by the ink ejected from all the nozzles 10 of the inkjet head 12 in a state where the recording paper P is moved from the position where the first smearing portion 81 is recorded to the position where the length of the conveying direction of the first smearing portion 81 is conveyed.

[0100] The third smear portion 83 is arranged continuously with the second smear portion 82 on the upstream side in the conveying direction of the second smear portion 82. The third smear portion 83 is recorded by ink ejected from the nozzles 10 located at the end portion on the upstream side in the conveying direction of the inkjet head 12 ("a part of the nozzles on the other side of the arrangement direction" in the present invention) in a state where the recording paper P is moved from the position where the second smear portion 82 is recorded to the position where the length of the third smear portion 83 in the conveying direction is conveyed.

[0101] In addition, the first smearing portion 81 constituting the second and third pattern portions 90 from the downstream side in the conveying direction is recorded in a state where the recording paper P is moved from the position when the third smearing portion 83 arranged continuously on the downstream side in the conveying direction of the first smearing portion 81 is recorded to a position at a length of the nozzle row 9 conveyed.

[0102] In addition, two of the four uneven density adjustment patterns 62A and 62B are located on the left side of the four conveying adjustment patterns 61B in the scanning direction and are arranged in the scanning direction. In addition, the remaining two uneven density adjustment patterns 62C and 62D of the four uneven density adjustment patterns 62 are located on the right side of the four conveying adjustment patterns 61B in the scanning direction and are arranged in the scanning direction.

[0103] Thus, the portion of the recording paper P where the four density unevenness adjustment patterns 62 are recorded is Figure 8 The portion facing the plurality of nozzles 10 of the inkjet head 12 in the state shown in (b). In addition, the density unevenness adjustment patterns 62A, 62B, 62C, and 62D are recorded using black, yellow, cyan, and magenta inks, respectively.

[0104] Furthermore, in the concentration unevenness adjustment pattern 62 , the ink ejection amount between the plurality of nozzles 10 of the inkjet head 12 can be adjusted by adjusting the driving waveform of the inkjet head 12 , for example, according to the concentration difference between the portions in the conveying direction of the second smearing portion 82 .

[0105] Here, in the present embodiment, the first application portion 81 and the second application portion 82 are arranged continuously in the downstream side of the conveying direction, and the nozzle 10 used for recording the first application portion 81 is the same as the nozzle 10 used for recording the end portion of the downstream side of the conveying direction of the second application portion 82. In addition, the third application portion 83 is arranged continuously in the upstream side of the conveying direction of the second application portion 82, and the nozzle 10 used for recording the third application portion 83 is the same as the nozzle 10 used for recording the end portion of the upstream side of the conveying direction of the second application portion 82. Thus, for each portion of the second application portion, there are application portions recorded by using the nozzle 10 used for recording each portion and the nearby nozzles 10 on both sides of the conveying direction, so that the density unevenness between the plurality of nozzles 10 can be adjusted with high accuracy.

[0106] <Time Adjustment Pattern>

[0107] like Figure 7As shown in (c), the timing adjustment pattern 63 has a plurality of pattern portions 90 ("other pattern portions" of the present invention). The plurality of pattern portions 90 are arranged along the conveying direction, and between the plurality of pattern portions 90, the position deviation in the conveying direction of the recording paper P causes the conveying amount of the recording paper P when the upper roller 13a rotates by the rotation angle K2a.

[0108] In addition, each pattern portion 90 has a first straight portion 91 and a second straight portion 92. The first straight portion 91 is a straight portion parallel to the conveying direction that moves the carriage 11 to the left side (the "scanning direction side" of the present invention) and causes ink to be ejected from the nozzle 10 for recording. In addition, the ejection timing of ink ejected from the nozzle 10 when recording the first straight portion 91 is the same among the plurality of pattern portions 90.

[0109] The second straight portion 92 is a straight portion parallel to the conveying direction that is recorded by moving the carriage 11 to the right side (the "other side of the scanning direction" of the present invention) and ejecting ink from the nozzle 10. In addition, between the plurality of pattern portions 90, the timing of ejecting ink from the nozzle 10 when recording the second straight portion 92 is different. That is, between the plurality of pattern portions 90, the timing of ejecting ink from the nozzle 10 when recording the first straight portion 91 is different from the timing of ejecting ink from the nozzle 10 when recording the second straight portion 92. In addition, at this time, when the interval between the nozzle 10 and the recording paper P is a specified interval, as Figure 7 As shown by the solid line in (b), in the pattern portion 90 located in the center of the conveying direction among the plurality of pattern portions 90, the ink is ejected from the nozzle 10 at the time when the first straight portion 91 and the second straight portion 92 overlap, thereby recording the first straight portion 91 and the second straight portion 92.

[0110] Therefore, when the interval between the nozzle 10 and the recording paper P is smaller than the predetermined interval, the time from when the ink is ejected from the nozzle 10 to when the ink hits the recording paper P is shorter than when the interval is the predetermined interval, so the first straight portion 91 deviates to the right and the second straight portion 92 deviates to the left. Figure 7 As shown by the dotted line in (b), the second straight portion 92 deviates to the left relative to the first straight portion 91, and the first straight portion 91 overlaps with the second straight portion 92 in the pattern portion 90 located upstream in the conveying direction of the plurality of pattern portions 90 relative to the pattern portion 90 located in the center of the conveying direction. In addition, at this time, the larger the difference between the interval between the nozzle 10 and the recording paper P and the predetermined interval, the more the first straight portion 91 and the second straight portion 92 overlap in the pattern portion 90 located further upstream in the conveying direction.

[0111] On the other hand, when the interval between the nozzle 10 and the recording paper P is larger than the predetermined interval, the time from when the ink is ejected from the nozzle 10 to when the ink hits the recording paper P is longer than when the interval is the predetermined interval, so the first straight portion 91 deviates to the left and the second straight portion 92 deviates to the right. Figure 7 As shown by the dashed line in (b), the second straight portion 92 deviates to the right relative to the first straight portion 91, and the first straight portion 91 overlaps with the second straight portion 92 in the pattern portion 90 located downstream in the conveying direction of the pattern portion 90 located in the center of the conveying direction among the plurality of pattern portions 90. In addition, at this time, the larger the difference between the interval between the nozzle 10 and the recording paper P and the predetermined interval, the more the first straight portion 91 and the second straight portion 92 overlap in the pattern portion 90 located further downstream in the conveying direction.

[0112] Thus, in the timing adjustment pattern 63, the interval between the nozzle 10 and the recording paper P can be determined by which pattern portion 90 among the plurality of pattern portions 90 the first straight portion 91 and the second straight portion 92 overlap. In addition, the timing of ejecting ink from the nozzle 10 when the carriage 11 is moved to the left and right in the scanning direction can be adjusted.

[0113] In addition, the plurality of timing adjustment patterns 63 include a plurality of timing adjustment patterns 63A, a plurality of timing adjustment patterns 63B, and a plurality of timing adjustment patterns 63C.

[0114] The plurality of timing adjustment patterns 63A are located between the transport adjustment pattern 61B and the transport adjustment pattern 61C in the transport direction. Figure 8 In the state shown in (b), the portion facing the plurality of nozzles 10 of the inkjet head 12. In addition, the plurality of timing adjustment patterns 63A are arranged over almost the entire length of the recording paper P. Thus, the timing adjustment can be appropriately performed. Figure 8 The ink is ejected from the nozzle 10 in the state shown in (b).

[0115] The plurality of timing adjustment patterns 63B are arranged downstream of the plurality of timing adjustment patterns 63A in the conveying direction, and are arranged in the scanning direction on both sides of the conveying adjustment pattern 61C in the scanning direction, and are parallel to the conveying adjustment pattern 61C in the scanning direction. The portion where the timing adjustment pattern 63B is recorded on the recording paper P is Figure 8 The portion facing the plurality of nozzles 10 of the inkjet head 12 in the state shown in (c).

[0116] The plurality of timing adjustment patterns 63C are arranged downstream of the plurality of timing adjustment patterns 63B in the conveying direction, and are arranged in the scanning direction on both sides of the conveying adjustment pattern 61D in the scanning direction, and are parallel to the conveying adjustment pattern 61D in the scanning direction. The portion where the timing adjustment pattern 63B of the recording paper P is recorded is Figure 8 The portion facing the plurality of nozzles 10 of the inkjet head 12 in the state shown in (d).

[0117] Here, although the timing adjustment patterns 63B and 63C are not arranged in the center of the scanning direction of the recording paper P, the ejection timing can be appropriately adjusted over the entire length of the scanning direction based on the recording result of the timing adjustment pattern 63A and the difference between the recording results of the timing adjustment pattern 63A and the timing adjustment patterns 63B and 63C at the same position in the scanning direction. Figure 8 The ink is ejected from the nozzle 10 when the carriage 11 moves to the left and right in the scanning direction in the states shown in (c) and (d).

[0118] <Processing during Recording Unit Adjustment>

[0119] Next, the processing flow for adjusting the conveyance amount of the recording paper P, the ejection amount of ink from each nozzle 10, and the ejection timing of ink in the recording path by the recording unit 2 will be described. Fig. 9 In addition, in the present embodiment, a storage medium such as the ROM 52 of the control device 50 stores a program for causing the control device 50 to perform the processing according to the process. Fig. 9 A program that can be read by a computer that processes the process.

[0120] When more detailed Fig. 9 When describing the process of FIG. 1 , the control device 50 controls the carriage motor 56, the inkjet head 12, the conveying motor 57 and the paper feeding unit 3 of the recording unit 2, so as to record the Figure 6 The test pattern 60 shown is recorded (S101). The detailed procedure of recording the measurement pattern 60 will be described later.

[0121] Next, the control device 50 causes the display unit 6 to display information prompting the user to set the recording paper P with the test pattern 60 recorded on it to the reading unit 5 (S102). In addition, at this time, after setting the recording paper P to the reading unit 5, the control device 50 causes the display unit 6 to display information instructing the user to perform a predetermined operation on the operation unit 7.

[0122] Then, the control device 50 waits until the user performs the above-mentioned predetermined operation on the operation unit 7 and a setting completion signal indicating that the recording paper P with the test pattern 60 recorded thereon has been set in the reading unit 5 is input (S103: No). When the setting completion signal is input (S103: Yes), the control device 50 reads the test pattern 60 (the transport adjustment pattern 61, the density unevenness adjustment pattern 62, and the timing adjustment pattern 63) recorded on the recording paper P set in the reading unit 5 (S104). Thus, the reading unit 5 receives an adjustment signal corresponding to the reading result of the test pattern 60.

[0123] Then, the control device 50 adjusts the position of the recording paper P at each position based on the reading result of the transport adjustment pattern 61 indicated by the adjustment signal received by the reading section 5 in S104. Figure 8 The conveyance amount of the recording paper P (rotation angle of the upper roller 13a) when the recording paper P is in the positions (a) to (d) (S105).

[0124] In addition, the control device 50 adjusts the ink ejection amount (S106) for each of the multiple nozzles 10 of the inkjet head 12, for example, by adjusting the driving waveform of the inkjet head 12 based on the reading result of the concentration unevenness adjustment pattern 62 represented by the adjustment signal received by the reading unit 5 in S104.

[0125] Furthermore, the control device 50 adjusts the ink ejection timing from the nozzle 10 when the carriage 11 moves to the left and right in the scanning direction based on the reading result of the timing adjustment pattern 63 indicated by the adjustment signal received by the reading unit 5 in S104 ( S107 ).

[0126] In addition, the processing of S105 to S107 may be performed in the same manner as Fig. 9 The steps may be performed in other orders than those shown, or in parallel.

[0127] <Test Pattern Recording Procedure>

[0128] Next, the step of recording the test pattern 60 in the recording unit 2 of S101 is described. In the recording unit 2, when recording the test pattern 60, first, two conveyance adjustment patterns 61A are recorded. Next, four conveyance adjustment patterns 61B and four density unevenness adjustment patterns 62A to 62D are recorded. Next, a plurality of timing adjustment patterns 63A are recorded. Next, two conveyance adjustment patterns 61C and a plurality of timing adjustment patterns 63B are recorded. Then, finally, two conveyance adjustment patterns 61D and a plurality of timing adjustment patterns 63C are recorded.

[0129] <Recording of Conveyance Adjustment Pattern 61A>

[0130] When recording two conveyance adjustment patterns 61A, as shown in FIG. Fig.10As shown, by making the Na-th recording path (Na is an integer greater than 1, for example, Na=1 in this embodiment) proceed, the first pattern portion 71 of the conveying adjustment pattern 61A on the downstream side of the conveying direction is recorded. Here, the so-called "Na-th recording path" refers to the Na-th recording path after the start of recording. The following "(Na+1)-th recording path" and the like have the same meaning. In addition, Fig.10 and the following Figure 11 to Figure 13 The range R represents the range in which recording can be performed by the inkjet head 12 .

[0131] Next, the control device 50 controls the conveying motor 57 based on the signal from the rotary encoder 58, so that the conveying roller 13 and the discharge roller 16 convey the recording paper P by an amount corresponding to the rotation angle K1a of the upper roller 13a (the "relative movement action", "prescribed relative movement action" of the present invention). In addition, hereinafter, for example, the above-mentioned conveying action is described as "the conveying action of the rotation angle K1a" or the like to simplify the description. In addition, in the present embodiment, the conveying amount of the recording paper P caused by the conveying action of the rotation angle K1a corresponds to the "prescribed relative movement amount" of the present invention.

[0132] After the above transport operation, the second pattern portion 72 of the transport adjustment pattern 61A on the downstream side in the transport direction is recorded by performing the (Na+1)th recording path. Thus, the recording of the transport adjustment pattern 61A on the downstream side in the transport direction of the two transport adjustment patterns 61A is completed.

[0133] Next, the control device 50 performs a conveying operation at a rotation angle K1b. Then, after the above-mentioned conveying operation, the first pattern portion 71 of the conveyance adjustment pattern 61A on the upstream side in the conveyance direction is recorded by performing the (Na+2)th recording path.

[0134] Next, the control device 50 performs a conveying operation with a rotation angle K1a. After the conveying operation, the second pattern portion 72 of the conveying adjustment pattern 61A on the upstream side in the conveying direction is recorded by performing the (Na+3)th recording path. Thus, the recording of the two conveying adjustment patterns 61A is completed.

[0135] <Recording of Conveyance Adjustment Pattern 61B and Density Unevenness Adjustment Pattern 62>

[0136] Next, the steps of recording the four conveyance adjustment patterns 61B and the four uneven density adjustment patterns 62 are described. As described above, after recording the two conveyance adjustment patterns 61, the control device 50 performs a conveyance operation to convey the recording paper P to the start position of recording the four conveyance adjustment patterns 61B and the four uneven density adjustment patterns 62. Then, as shown in FIG. Fig.11As shown, the control device 50 records the first smear portion 81 of the band-shaped portion 80 on the downstream side of the conveying direction by performing the Nb-th recording path (Nb is an integer greater than (Na+4), for example, in this embodiment, Nb=(Na+4)).

[0137] Next, the control device 50 performs the conveying operation of the rotation angle K2a (the "small relative movement operation" of the present invention), and then performs the (Nb+1)th recording path to record the second smearing portion 82 of the strip-shaped portion 80 on the downstream side in the conveying direction. Here, the rotation angle K2a is a rotation angle of the upper roller 13a set so that the conveying amount of the recording paper P is the same as the length of the first smearing portion 81 in the conveying direction, and is smaller than the rotation angle K1a.

[0138] Next, after performing the conveying operation of the rotation angle K2a, the control device 50 performs the (Nb+2)th recording path to record the third smear portion 83 of the strip-shaped portion 80 on the downstream side in the conveying direction. Thus, the recording of the strip-shaped portion 80 on the downstream side in the conveying direction is completed. In addition, in the (Nb+2)th recording path, the first pattern portion 71 of the conveying adjustment pattern 61B on the most downstream side in the conveying direction is recorded.

[0139] Next, after performing the conveying operation of the rotation angle K1a, the control device 50 records the second pattern portion 72 of the conveying adjustment pattern 61B on the most downstream side in the conveying direction by performing the (Nb+3)th recording path. Thus, the recording of the conveying adjustment pattern 61B on the most downstream side in the conveying direction is completed. In addition, in the (Nb+3)th recording path, the first pattern portion 71 of the second conveying adjustment pattern 61B from the downstream side in the conveying direction is also recorded.

[0140] Next, after performing the conveying operation of the rotation angle K1a, the control device 50 performs the (Nb+4)th recording path to record the second pattern portion 72 of the second conveying adjustment pattern 61B from the downstream side in the conveying direction. Thus, the recording of the second conveying adjustment pattern 61B from the downstream side in the conveying direction is completed.

[0141] Next, the control device 50 performs the conveying operation of the rotation angle (K2b-2×K1a), and then performs the (Nb+5)th recording path to record the first smear portion 81 of the band-shaped portion 80 at the center in the conveying direction.

[0142] Thus, in this embodiment, the recording paper P is conveyed by the same amount as the conveying operation (the "large relative movement operation" of the present invention) performed by the rotation angle K2b after the third smearing portion 83 of the strip-shaped portion 80 on the downstream side in the conveying direction is recorded and before the first smearing portion 81 of the strip-shaped portion 80 in the center in the conveying direction is recorded. Here, the rotation angle K2b is the rotation angle of the upper roller 13a set so that the recording paper P is conveyed by the length of the nozzle array 9 in the conveying direction (the "large relative movement amount" of the present invention).

[0143] That is, in this embodiment, instead of the conveying action at the rotation angle K2b, two conveying actions at the rotation angle K1a (the "prescribed relative movement action" of the present invention) and one conveying action at the rotation angle (K2b-2×K1a) are performed. In addition, in this embodiment, these three conveying actions performed instead of the conveying action at the rotation angle K2b are respectively equivalent to the "divided relative movement action" of the present invention.

[0144] Thereafter, similarly to the (Nb+1)th to (Nb+4)th recording paths, the second smear portion 82 and the third smear portion 83 of the strip portion 80 in the center of the conveying direction and the first pattern portion 71 and the second pattern portion 72 of the third and fourth conveying adjustment patterns 61B from the downstream side in the conveying direction are recorded through the (Nb+6)th to (Nb+9)th recording paths.

[0145] Moreover, although not shown in the figure, after the control device 50 performs the conveying action of the rotation angle K2b after the (Nb+9)th recording path, the first smearing portion 81, the second smearing portion 82 and the third smearing portion 83 of the strip portion 80 on the upstream side of the conveying direction are recorded through the (Nb+10)th recording path to the (Nb+12)th recording path, in the same manner as the Nb-(Nb+2)th recording path.

[0146] <Recording of Timing Adjustment Pattern 63A>

[0147] Next, the procedure of recording the plurality of timing adjustment patterns 63A will be described. As described above, after recording the four transport adjustment patterns 61 and the four density unevenness adjustment patterns 62, the control device 50 performs the transport operation to transport the recording paper P to the start position of recording the plurality of timing adjustment patterns 63A.

[0148] Then, if Fig.12As shown, the control device 50 records the first straight portion 91 and the second straight portion 92 of the pattern portion 90 on the most downstream side of the conveying direction of the multiple moment adjustment pattern 63A in two consecutive Nc and (Nc+1)th recording paths (Nc is an integer greater than (Nb+13), for example, in the present embodiment, Nc=(Nb+13)). In more detail, the Ncth recording path is a recording path for moving the carriage 11 to the left, and in the Ncth recording path, the first straight portion 91 of the pattern portion 90 is recorded. In addition, the (Nc+1)th recording path is a recording path for moving the carriage 11 to the right, and in the (Nc+1)th recording path, the second straight portion 92 of the pattern portion 90 is recorded. In addition, no conveying action is performed after the Ncth recording path and before the (Nc+1)th recording path.

[0149] In addition, in the consecutive (Nc+2) and (Nc+3) recording paths described below, as described above, the first straight line portion 91 is recorded on the previous recording path of the two consecutive recording paths, and the second straight line portion 92 is recorded on the subsequent recording path.

[0150] Next, the control device 50 records the second pattern portion 90 from the downstream side in the conveying direction in two consecutive (Nc+2)th and (Nc+3)th recording paths after performing the conveying operation of the rotation angle K3a. Here, the rotation angle K3a is the rotation angle of the upper roller 13a set so that the conveying amount of the recording paper P is the same as the length of the pattern portion 90 in the conveying direction. In addition, the above-mentioned rotation angle K1a is four times the rotation angle K3a (the "prescribed integer multiple" of the present invention).

[0151] Similarly, the pattern portion 90 is recorded alternately by the conveying operation of the rotation angle K3a and two consecutive recording paths (the (Nc+4), (Nc+5)th recording path, the (Nc+6), (Nc+7)th recording path, ..., the (Nc+20), (Nc+21)th recording path). Thus, a plurality of timing adjustment patterns 63A are recorded.

[0152] <Recording of Conveyance Adjustment Pattern 61C and Timing Adjustment Pattern 63B>

[0153] Next, the recording procedure of the two conveyance adjustment patterns 61C and the plurality of timing adjustment patterns 63B is described. As described above, after recording the plurality of timing adjustment patterns 63A, the control device 50 performs a conveyance operation to convey the recording paper P to the start position of recording the conveyance adjustment patterns 61C and the timing adjustment patterns 63B.

[0154] Then, if Fig.13As shown, the control device 50 records the first straight line portion 91 and the second straight line portion 92 of the pattern portion 90 on the downstream side of the conveying direction of multiple moment adjustment patterns 63B and the first pattern portion 71 of the conveying adjustment pattern 61C on the downstream side of the conveying direction by performing two consecutive Nd and (Nd+1)th recording paths (Nd is an integer greater than (Nc+22), for example, in the present embodiment, Nd=(Nc+22)).

[0155] The recording method of the first straight line portion 91 and the second straight line portion 92 of the timing adjustment pattern 63B is the same as the recording method of the first straight line portion 91 and the second straight line portion 92 of the timing adjustment pattern 63A described above. In addition, at this time, the first pattern portion 71 of the transport adjustment pattern 61C is recorded in any one of the recording paths of the Ndth and (Nd+1)th recording paths.

[0156] Then, hereinafter, similarly to the case of recording a plurality of timing adjustment patterns 63A, the control device 50 alternately performs the recording of the pattern portion 90 of the timing adjustment pattern 63B by the conveying operation of the rotation angle K3 a and the continuous recording paths twice.

[0157] In addition, after the control device 50 records the first pattern portion 71 of the conveying adjustment pattern 61C on the downstream side of the conveying direction in any of the Nd and (Nd+1) recording paths, it constantly adjusts the second pattern portion 72 of the conveying adjustment pattern 61C on the most downstream side of the conveying direction and the pattern portion 90 of the adjustment pattern 63B in the next recording path, that is, any of the (Nd+8) and (Nd+9) recording paths, in which the conveying action of the rotation angle K3a is performed four times.

[0158] Moreover, after recording the second pattern portion 72, the control device 50 momentarily adjusts and records the first pattern portion 71 of the conveying adjustment pattern 61C and the pattern portion 90 of the timing adjustment pattern 63B on the upstream side of the conveying direction in the next recording path in which the conveying action of the rotation angle K3a is performed twice, that is, any one of the (Nd+12)th and (Nd+13)th recording paths.

[0159] Moreover, after recording the first pattern portion 71, the control device 50 momentarily adjusts and records the second pattern portion 72 of the conveying adjustment pattern 61C on the upstream side of the conveying direction and the pattern portion 90 of the timing adjustment pattern 63B in the next recording path, i.e., any one of the (Nd+20)th and (Nd+21)th recording paths, in which the conveying action at the rotation angle K3a is performed four times.

[0160] Therefore, in this embodiment, the second pattern portion 72 of each transport adjustment pattern 61C is recorded on the recording paper P at a position which deviates from the position when the first pattern portion 71 of each transport adjustment pattern 61C is recorded toward the downstream side in the transport direction by an amount that is substantially the same as the amount that is produced by the transport action of four rotation angles K3a, that is, by an amount that is substantially the same as the amount that is produced by the transport action of one rotation angle K1a.

[0161] Furthermore, the transport operation for recording the timing adjustment pattern 63B is performed twice after the second pattern portion 72 of the transport adjustment pattern 61C on the downstream side in the transport direction is recorded and before the first pattern portion 71 of the transport adjustment pattern 61C on the upstream side in the transport direction is recorded.

[0162] <Recording of Conveyance Adjustment Pattern 61D and Timing Adjustment Pattern 63C>

[0163] Next, the procedure of recording the two conveyance adjustment patterns 61D and the plurality of timing adjustment patterns 63C will be described. After recording the two conveyance adjustment patterns 61C and the plurality of timing adjustment patterns 63B as described above, the control device 50 conveys the recording paper P to the start position of recording the conveyance adjustment patterns 61D and the timing adjustment patterns 63C by performing a conveying operation. Furthermore, the control device 50 records the two conveyance adjustment patterns 61D and the plurality of timing adjustment patterns 63C by the same procedure as the procedure of recording the two conveyance adjustment patterns 61C and the plurality of timing adjustment patterns 63B.

[0164] In addition, in the present embodiment, the pattern portion 90 of the timing adjustment pattern 63B in which the first straight line portion 91 or the second straight line portion 92 is recorded along the same recording path as the first pattern portion 71 of the conveying adjustment pattern 61C and the pattern portion 90 of the timing adjustment pattern 63C in which the first straight line portion 91 or the second straight line portion 92 is recorded along the same recording path as the first pattern portion 71 of the conveying adjustment pattern 61D are equivalent to the "first other pattern portion" of the present invention.

[0165] In addition, in the present embodiment, the pattern portion 90 of the timing adjustment pattern 63B in which the first straight line portion 91 or the second straight line portion 92 is recorded along the same recording path as the second pattern portion 72 of the conveying adjustment pattern 61C and the pattern portion 90 of the timing adjustment pattern 63C in which the first straight line portion 91 or the second straight line portion 92 is recorded along the same recording path as the second pattern portion 72 of the conveying adjustment pattern 61D are equivalent to the "second other pattern portion" of the present invention.

[0166] <Effect>

[0167] In this embodiment, as described above, after the second pattern portion 72 of the second conveying adjustment pattern 61B from the downstream side of the conveying direction is recorded and before the first pattern portion 71 of the third conveying adjustment pattern 61B from the downstream side of the conveying direction is recorded, by performing a conveying action for recording the concentration unevenness adjustment pattern 62, four conveying adjustment patterns 61B and four concentration unevenness adjustment patterns 62 can be recorded in parallel in the conveying direction.

[0168] In addition, after the second pattern portion 72 of the conveying adjustment pattern 61C on the downstream side of the conveying direction is recorded and before the first pattern portion 71 of the conveying adjustment pattern 61C on the upstream side of the conveying direction is recorded, by performing a conveying action for recording the timing adjustment pattern 63B, the two conveying adjustment patterns 61C and the timing adjustment pattern 63B can be recorded in parallel in the scanning direction.

[0169] Similarly, after the second pattern portion 72 of the conveying adjustment pattern 61D on the downstream side of the conveying direction is recorded and before the first pattern portion 71 of the conveying adjustment pattern 61D on the upstream side of the conveying direction is recorded, by performing a conveying action for recording the timing adjustment pattern 63C, the two conveying adjustment patterns 61D and the timing adjustment pattern 63C can be recorded in parallel in the scanning direction.

[0170] In addition, the conveyance amount (rotation angle of the upper roller 13a) of the recording paper P for the conveyance operation for recording the density unevenness adjustment pattern 62 and the conveyance operation for recording the timing adjustment patterns 63B and 63C are different. Therefore, in the present embodiment, among the intervals between at least ten conveyance adjustment patterns 61, the interval T1 between the second conveyance adjustment pattern 61B from the downstream side in the conveyance direction (the "first relative movement adjustment pattern" of the present invention) and the third conveyance adjustment pattern 61B recorded next from the downstream side in the conveyance direction and the interval T2 between the conveyance adjustment patterns 61C and 61D on the downstream side in the conveyance direction (the "second relative movement adjustment pattern" of the present invention) and the conveyance adjustment patterns 61C and 61D on the upstream side in the conveyance direction recorded next are different.

[0171] Then, in this way, among the ten conveying adjustment patterns 61, by making at least the intervals T1 and T2 different, the concentration unevenness adjustment pattern 62 and the timing adjustment pattern 63 with different conveying amounts of the recording paper P used for the recording conveying action can be recorded as other patterns different from the conveying adjustment pattern 61, and are recorded on the same recording paper P in parallel with the conveying adjustment pattern 61 in the scanning direction.

[0172] In this embodiment, the conveyance amount of the recording paper P, the ejection amount of ink from each nozzle 10 , and the ejection timing of ink from the nozzles 10 in the recording path can be adjusted based on the adjustment signal received by the reading unit 5 by reading the test pattern 60 .

[0173] In addition, in the present embodiment, the conveyance amount (rotation angle K1a) of the recording paper P between recording of the first pattern portion 71 and recording of the second pattern portion 72 of the conveyance adjustment pattern 61 is four times the conveyance amount (rotation angle K3a) of the recording paper P in the conveyance operation for recording the timing adjustment pattern 63. In contrast, in the present embodiment, when the conveyance adjustment pattern 61C and the timing adjustment pattern 63B, and the conveyance adjustment pattern 61D and the timing adjustment pattern 63C are recorded in parallel in the scanning direction, the first straight line portion 91 or the second straight line portion 92 of the pattern 90 and the first pattern portion 71 are recorded in a certain recording path, and then the first straight line portion 91 or the second straight line portion 92 of the pattern portion 90 and the second pattern portion 72 are recorded in the next recording path after the conveyance operation of the rotation angle K3a is performed four times. As a result, the first pattern portion 71 and the second pattern portion 72 of the conveyance adjustment patterns 61C and 61D can be appropriately recorded.

[0174] In addition, in the present embodiment, after recording the third smear portion 83 of a certain band-shaped portion 80 of the density unevenness adjustment pattern 62 and before recording the first smear portion 81 of the band-shaped portion 80 adjacent to the upstream side of the conveying direction of the band-shaped portion 80, it is necessary to convey the recording paper P by the conveying operation of the rotation angle K2b. The rotation angle K2b is larger than the rotation angle K1a.

[0175] Therefore, in this embodiment, instead of performing the conveying operation of the rotation angle K2b, the conveying operation of the rotation angle K1a is performed twice and the conveying operation of the rotation angle (K2b-2xK1a) is performed once. Then, before and after the conveying operation of each rotation angle K1a, the first pattern portion 71 and the second pattern portion 72 of the conveying adjustment pattern 61B are recorded respectively. Thus, the first pattern portion 71 and the second pattern portion 72 of the conveying adjustment pattern 61B can be appropriately recorded.

[0176] In this case, after the first pattern portion 71 is recorded, the recording paper P is transported by a single rotation angle K1a and then the second pattern portion 72 is recorded. Therefore, the accuracy of adjusting the transport amount based on the reading result of the transport adjustment pattern 61B can be improved.

[0177] In addition, in the present embodiment, the density unevenness adjustment pattern 62 is a structure in which the first and third smearing parts 81 and 83 are arranged continuously on the downstream and upstream sides of the conveying direction of the second smearing part 82, respectively. In addition, the nozzle 10 used for recording the first smearing part 81 is the same as the nozzle 10 used for recording the end portion on the downstream side of the conveying direction of the second smearing part 82, and the nozzle 10 used for recording the third smearing part 83 is the same as the nozzle 10 used for recording the end portion on the upstream side of the conveying direction of the second smearing part 82. Thus, as described above, the density of each part of the second smearing part 82 can be appropriately acquired by the reading result of the density unevenness adjustment pattern 62.

[0178] <Modification>

[0179] Although preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described above, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications can be made within the scope of the invention.

[0180] In the above-described embodiment, the transport adjustment pattern 61 , the density unevenness adjustment pattern 62 , and the timing adjustment pattern 63 are recorded on the same recording paper P. However, other patterns recorded together with the transport adjustment pattern 61 are not limited to these.

[0181] like Fig.14 As shown in (a), in variant example 1, the test pattern has two conveying adjustment patterns 61D and two margin adjustment patterns 101 (the "other patterns" of the present invention). The two conveying adjustment patterns 61D are the same as the conveying adjustment patterns 61 of the above-mentioned embodiment, and are arranged at intervals in the conveying direction. The two margin adjustment patterns 101 are arranged at the left end and the right end in the scanning direction of the recording paper P, and are arranged in the scanning direction with the two conveying adjustment patterns 61D. Each margin adjustment pattern 101 has pattern parts 102 and 103 (the "other pattern parts" of the present invention). The pattern parts 102 and 103 are rectangular smear patterns, and the pattern part 103 is arranged at intervals from the pattern part 102 on the downstream side in the conveying direction of the pattern part 102. The pattern part 103 is recorded in a state where the recording paper P is conveyed in the conveying direction by the amount of the conveying action of the rotation angle K4a from the position when the pattern part 102 is recorded. Here, the rotation angle K4a is larger than the rotation angle K1a.

[0182] Next, the steps of recording the two conveying adjustment patterns 61D and the two margin adjustment patterns 101 are described. Fig.14As shown in (b), in order to record these patterns, the control device 50 records the first pattern portion 71 of the conveying adjustment pattern 61D on the downstream side of the conveying direction and the pattern portions 102 of the two margin adjustment patterns 101 by performing the Ne-th recording path (Ne is an integer greater than 1).

[0183] Next, the control device 50 records the second pattern portion 72 of the transport adjustment pattern 61D on the downstream side in the transport direction by performing the (Ne+1)th recording path after performing the transport operation at the rotation angle K1a.

[0184] Next, the control device 50 performs the conveying operation of the rotation angle (K4a-K1a) and then performs the (Ne+2)th recording path to record the first pattern portion 71 of the conveying adjustment pattern 61D on the upstream side of the conveying direction and the pattern portions 103 of the two margin adjustment patterns 101. In addition, in the (Ne+2)th recording path, the moving speed of the carriage 11 is made different from that in the Neth recording path.

[0185] Next, the control device 50 records the second pattern portion 72 of the transport adjustment pattern 61D on the upstream side in the transport direction by performing the (Ne+3)th recording path after performing the transport operation at the rotation angle K1a.

[0186] Then, in the margin adjustment pattern 101 recorded in this way, the degree of difference between the left and right margins of the recording paper P can be obtained based on the difference between the distance D1 between the left pattern portion 102 and the left end of the recording paper P and the distance D2 between the right pattern portion 102 and the right end of the recording paper P in the scanning direction, and the difference between the distance D3 between the left pattern portion 103 and the left end of the recording paper P and the distance D4 between the right pattern portion 103 and the right end of the recording paper P. Then, based on this, the length of the left and right margins in the scanning direction can be adjusted by adjusting the ejection timing of ink ejected from the nozzle 10.

[0187] like Fig.15As shown in (a), in variant example 2, the test pattern has two conveying adjustment patterns 61E and two recording adjustment patterns 111 (the "other patterns" of the present invention). The two conveying adjustment patterns 61E are the same as the conveying adjustment patterns 61 of the above-mentioned embodiment, and are arranged at intervals in the conveying direction. The two recording adjustment patterns 111 are arranged at the ends on the upstream side of the scanning direction of the recording paper P, and are arranged in the scanning direction with the two conveying adjustment patterns 61E. Each recording adjustment pattern 111 has two pattern portions 112 and 113 (the "other pattern portions" of the present invention). The pattern portions 112 and 113 are rectangular smear patterns, and the pattern portion 113 overlaps with the ends on the upstream side of the pattern portion 112 in the conveying direction. The pattern portion 113 is recorded in a state where the recording paper P is conveyed in the conveying direction by the amount of conveying action of the rotation angle K5a from the position when the pattern portion 112 is recorded. Here, the rotation angle K5a is larger than the rotation angle K1a.

[0188] Next, the steps of recording the two conveying adjustment patterns 61E and the two recording adjustment patterns 111 will be described. Fig.15 As shown in (b), in order to record these patterns, the control device 50 records the first pattern portion 71 of the conveying adjustment pattern 61E on the downstream side of the conveying direction and the pattern portions 112 of the two recording adjustment patterns 111 by performing the Nfth recording path (Nf is an integer greater than 1).

[0189] Next, the control device 50 records the second pattern portion 72 of the transport adjustment pattern 61E on the upstream side in the transport direction by performing the (Nf+1)th recording path after performing the transport operation at the rotation angle K1a.

[0190] Next, the control device 50 records the first pattern portion 71 of the conveyance adjustment pattern 61E on the upstream side of the conveyance direction and the pattern portions 113 of the two recording adjustment patterns 111 by performing the (Nf+2)th recording path after performing the conveyance operation of the rotation angle (K5a-K1a).

[0191] Next, the control device 50 records the second pattern portion 72 of the transport adjustment pattern 61E on the upstream side in the transport direction by performing the (Nf+3)th recording path after performing the transport operation at the rotation angle K1a.

[0192] Then, in the recorded adjustment pattern 111 recorded in this way, information on the degree of inclination of the recording paper P can be obtained based on the difference between the distance E1 between the recording pattern portion 111 on the left side in the conveying direction and the end on the upstream side of the recording paper P and the distance E2 between the recording adjustment pattern 111 on the right side in the conveying direction and the end on the upstream side of the recording paper P. Then, based on this, the inclination of the fed recording paper P can be corrected by adjusting the paper feed unit 3 and the like.

[0193] In addition, the conveying adjustment pattern 61D and the blank adjustment pattern 101 of variant example 1 and the conveying adjustment pattern 61E and the recording adjustment pattern 111 of variant example 2 can be recorded on the same recording paper P together with the conveying adjustment pattern 61B and the concentration unevenness adjustment pattern 62, the conveying adjustment pattern 61C and the timing adjustment pattern 63B, and the conveying adjustment pattern 61D and the timing adjustment pattern 63C of the above-mentioned embodiment, or can be recorded in place of at least part of them.

[0194] In the above-mentioned embodiment, the recording paper P is formed into a corrugated shape along the scanning direction by the pressing portion 14a of the corrugated plate 14, the ribs 20, and the corrugated accelerator 17, but the present invention is not limited thereto. For example, a suction port may be provided in place of the corrugated plate 14 and the corrugated accelerator 17, the suction port being opened in a portion of the upper surface of the platen 15 located between adjacent ribs 20 in the scanning direction, and sucking the recording paper P. Even in this case, the recording paper P can be formed into a corrugated shape along the scanning direction by sucking the recording paper P at the suction port. In this case, the structure combining the ribs 20 and the suction port corresponds to the "corrugated shape forming member" of the present invention.

[0195] In the above embodiment, the rotation angle K1a is four times the rotation angle K3a, but the present invention is not limited thereto. The rotation angle K1a may be two or three times the rotation angle K3a, or an integer multiple of 5 or more.

[0196] Alternatively, other patterns different from the timing adjustment pattern 63 may be recorded in alignment with the conveying adjustment pattern 61 in the scanning direction, wherein the rotation angle of the upper roller 13a corresponding to the conveying amount of the recording paper P during the conveying action during recording is a specified integer multiple of the above-mentioned rotation angle K1a.

[0197] In addition, in the above-mentioned embodiment, although two other patterns, namely, the density unevenness adjustment pattern 62 and the timing adjustment pattern 63, are recorded on the same recording paper P together with the conveyance adjustment pattern 61, the present invention is not limited thereto. For example, only one other pattern, such as the density unevenness adjustment pattern 62 and the timing adjustment pattern 63, may be recorded on the same recording paper P together with the conveyance adjustment pattern 61. Alternatively, three or more other patterns may be recorded on the same recording paper P together with the conveyance adjustment pattern 61.

[0198] In addition, in the above-mentioned embodiment, although the conveying action for recording the uneven density adjustment pattern 62 includes a conveying action with a smaller conveying amount than the conveying action for recording the adjustment pattern 61 and a conveying action with a larger conveying amount than the conveying action for recording the adjustment pattern 61, it is not limited to this. For example, it is also possible that the conveying action for recording the uneven density adjustment pattern 62 includes a conveying action with a smaller conveying amount than the conveying action for recording the adjustment pattern 61 and a conveying action with the same conveying amount as the conveying action for recording the adjustment pattern 61. And in this case, it is also possible that the first pattern portion 71 and the second pattern portion 72 of the conveying adjustment pattern 61 are recorded before and after the conveying action with the same conveying amount as the conveying action for recording the adjustment pattern 61 in the conveying action for recording the uneven density adjustment pattern 62.

[0199] In the above-described embodiment, the control device 50 of the inkjet printer 1 performs various adjustments based on the adjustment signal received when the reading unit 5 reads the test pattern 60 , but the present invention is not limited to this.

[0200] like Fig.16 As shown, in the modification 3, the recording system 120 (the "liquid ejection system" of the present invention) is formed by an inkjet printer 121 (the "liquid ejection device" of the present invention) and a PC 122 (the "control device" of the present invention). The inkjet printer 121 is the same as the inkjet printer 1 of the above-mentioned embodiment. The PC 122 is connected to the inkjet printer 121 and has a display unit 123 and an operation unit 124. The display unit 123 is a liquid crystal display or the like. The operation unit 124 is, for example, a mouse, a keyboard, etc.

[0201] Then, in the recording system 120, when the user operates the operation unit 124 to instruct the adjustment of the inkjet printer 121, Fig.16 When the process of (b) is described in more detail Fig.16 In the process (b), the PC 122 sends a pattern recording instruction signal instructing the recording of the test pattern 60 to the inkjet printer 121 (S201).

[0202] In the inkjet printer 121, when receiving a pattern recording instruction signal from the PC 122, Fig.16 When the process of (c) is described in more detail Fig.16 In the process (c) of FIG. 1 , the inkjet printer 121 first records the test pattern 60 (S301). Then, the inkjet printer 121 sends an information display signal to the PC 122 (S302), which is used to cause the display unit 123 to display that the recording paper P with the test pattern 60 recorded is set on the reading unit 5 (refer to FIG. 1 ). Figure 1 ) information.

[0203] After the pattern recording instruction signal of S201 is sent, the PC 122 waits until receiving the information display signal from the inkjet printer 121 (S202: No). When the PC 122 receives the information display signal (S202: Yes), it displays the above information on the display unit 123 (S203). Then, the PC 122 waits until receiving the setting completion signal indicating that the user has operated the operation unit 124 and set the above recording paper P in the reading unit 5 (S204: No). When the setting completion signal is received (S204: Yes), the PC 122 sends a reading instruction signal to instruct the reading unit 5 to read to the inkjet printer 121 (S205).

[0204] After the information display signal is sent in S302, the inkjet printer 121 waits until a read instruction signal is received (S303: No), and when the read instruction signal is received (S303: Yes), the reading unit 5 reads the test pattern 60 recorded on the set recording paper P (S304). Then, the inkjet printer 121 sends the reading result of the test pattern 60 to the PC 122 (S305).

[0205] After sending the reading instruction signal in S205, the PC 122 waits until receiving the reading result of the reading unit 5 (S206: No). Then, when the PC 122 receives the reading result (S206: Yes), it generates an adjustment signal for adjusting the conveyance amount of the recording paper P, the density unevenness between the plurality of nozzles 10, and the ejection timing of the ink ejected from the nozzles 10 based on the reading result, and sends the adjustment signal to the inkjet printer 121 (S207). As a result, in the inkjet printer 121, the conveyance amount of the recording paper P, the density unevenness between the plurality of nozzles 10, and the ejection timing of the ink ejected from the nozzles 10 are adjusted.

[0206] In the above example, the test pattern is recorded and read by the reading unit 5, but the present invention is not limited thereto. For example, the user may operate the operating unit 7 according to the recorded result of the test pattern to input an adjustment signal, and the adjustment may be performed based on the input adjustment signal.

[0207] In addition, in the above-mentioned embodiment, although the recording paper P is transported in the transport direction by the transport roller 13 and the discharge roller 16, so that the inkjet head 12 and the recording paper P are relatively moved in the transport direction, it is not limited to this. For example, the guide rail supporting the carriage 11 can be moved in the transport direction together with the carriage 11, and the inkjet head 12 and the recording paper P are relatively moved in the transport direction by the guide rail moving in the transport direction. In addition, in this case, the guide rail is equivalent to the "relative movement member" of the present invention, and the action of moving the guide rail in the transport direction is equivalent to the "relative movement action" of the present invention.

[0208] In the above, the inkjet printer includes a so-called string head that moves with the carriage in the scanning direction and ejects ink from a plurality of nozzles, but the present invention is not limited thereto. The inkjet printer may also include a so-called line head that extends over the entire length of the recording paper P in the scanning direction.

[0209] In addition, although the above description is made of an example in which the present invention is applied to a printer that records on recording paper P by ejecting ink from a nozzle, the present invention is not limited to this. The present invention can also be applied to a printer that records images on recording media other than recording paper, such as T-shirts, sheets for outdoor advertising, housings of portable terminals such as smartphones, corrugated paper, and resin parts. In addition, the present invention can also be applied to a liquid ejection device that ejects liquids other than ink, such as liquid resins and metals, a liquid ejection system, a pattern recording method for a liquid ejection device, and a program for controlling a liquid ejection device.

Claims

1. A liquid ejection device, characterized in that: have: a liquid ejection head having a plurality of nozzles arranged in an arrangement direction; a relative moving member for performing a relative moving action to relatively move the liquid ejection head and the ejected medium in the arrangement direction; as well as Control device, The control device causes the liquid ejection head to perform an ejection action to eject liquid from the nozzle, thereby recording the first pattern portion on the ejected medium, and after the first pattern portion is recorded, the control device performs the ejection action after causing the liquid ejection head and the ejected medium to move relative to each other by a predetermined relative movement amount through at least one relative movement action, thereby recording the second pattern portion on the ejected medium. Thus, the control device causes a relative movement adjustment pattern to be recorded on the ejected medium, the relative movement adjustment pattern having the first pattern portion and the second pattern portion and used to adjust the relative movement amount between the liquid ejection head and the ejected medium generated by the relative movement member. By performing the ejection action a plurality of times and at least one relative movement action in which the relative movement amount between the liquid ejection head and the ejected medium is different from the prescribed relative movement amount, another pattern is recorded on the ejected medium, the other pattern having a plurality of other pattern portions recorded by the plurality of ejection actions and used to adjust adjustment elements other than the relative movement amount, Furthermore, when recording a plurality of relative movement adjustment patterns having different positions in the arrangement direction, The plurality of relative movement adjustment patterns and the other patterns are recorded in such a manner that the relative movement action of recording the other patterns is performed at least once after at least one of the relative movement adjustment patterns is recorded and before the next relative movement adjustment pattern is recorded, thereby allowing the plurality of relative movement adjustment patterns and the other patterns to be recorded on the same ejected medium in such a manner that they are arranged in a direction orthogonal to the arrangement direction.

2. The liquid ejection device according to claim 1, wherein: The relative movement member includes a transport portion that transports the ejected medium in the arrangement direction to relatively move the liquid ejection head and the ejected medium.

3. The liquid ejection device according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that: A signal receiving unit is provided, the signal receiving unit receiving an adjustment signal corresponding to the recording result of the relative movement adjustment pattern and the other pattern, When the signal receiving unit receives the adjustment signal, the control device adjusts the relative movement amount between the liquid ejection head and the ejected medium caused by the relative movement member and the adjustment element corresponding to the other pattern based on the adjustment signal.

4. The liquid ejection device according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that: The control device is capable of recording a first other pattern and a second other pattern as the other patterns, The relative movement amount in the relative movement action during recording of the second other pattern is different from that of the first other pattern. When recording a plurality of the relative movement adjustment patterns, After a first relative movement adjustment pattern as at least one of the relative movement adjustment patterns is recorded and before a next relative movement adjustment pattern is recorded, the relative movement action of recording the first other pattern is performed at least once, After the second relative movement adjustment pattern as at least one of the relative movement adjustment patterns is recorded and before the next relative movement adjustment pattern is recorded, the relative movement action of recording the second other pattern is performed at least once, Thus, a plurality of relative movement adjustment patterns are recorded, wherein the intervals in the arrangement direction between the first relative movement adjustment pattern and the next relative movement adjustment pattern recorded are different from the intervals in the arrangement direction between the second relative movement adjustment pattern and the next relative movement adjustment pattern recorded.

5. The liquid ejection device according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that: The predetermined relative movement amount is a predetermined integer multiple of the relative movement amount of the relative movement action of the record of the other pattern, When recording the other patterns, The control device records the first pattern portion of the relative movement adjustment pattern together with the first other pattern portion as the other pattern portion in a certain ejection operation. The control device records the second pattern portion of the relative movement adjustment pattern together with the second other pattern portion as the other pattern portion in the next ejection operation in which the relative movement operation is performed the predetermined integer number of times after the certain ejection operation.

6. The liquid ejection device according to claim 5, characterized in that: have: a carriage that carries the liquid ejection head and moves in a scanning direction orthogonal to the arrangement direction; and a corrugated shape forming member that causes the ejected medium to have a corrugated shape along the scanning direction, The control device causes the slide to reciprocate in the scanning direction, and when the slide is moved to one side and the other side of the scanning direction, the liquid ejection head is caused to eject liquid from the plurality of nozzles multiple times and the relative movement actions multiple times, respectively. During the ejection action, the relationship between the ejection timings of ejecting liquid from the plurality of nozzles when the slide is moved to the one side of the scanning direction and when the slide is moved to the other side of the scanning direction is different, thereby recording a timing adjustment pattern as the other pattern, and the timing adjustment pattern is used to adjust the ejection timing of ejecting liquid from the nozzles to the ejected medium having the corrugated shape.

7. The liquid ejection device according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that: After the first pattern portion is recorded, the control device causes the relative moving component to perform a prescribed relative moving action of moving the liquid ejection head and the ejected medium relative to each other by the relative moving amount as the relative moving action, and then performs the ejection action to record the second pattern portion, thereby recording the relative moving adjustment pattern.

8. The liquid ejection device according to claim 7, characterized in that: When the control device records the other patterns, As the relative movement action, at least one large relative movement action with a relative movement amount larger than the predetermined relative movement amount is performed, In a certain large relative movement action, the liquid ejection head and the ejected medium are relatively moved by the large relative movement amount by causing the relative movement member to perform a plurality of split relative movement actions, wherein the split relative movement actions include at least one of the specified relative movement actions and cause the liquid ejection head and the ejected medium to relatively move by a relative movement amount that is smaller than the large relative movement amount. The ejection operation is performed to record the first pattern portion before the at least one predetermined relative movement operation among the plurality of divided relative movement operations, and the ejection operation is performed to record the second pattern portion after the predetermined relative movement operation.

9. The liquid ejection device according to claim 8, characterized in that: The relative moving member causes the liquid ejection head and the ejected medium to move relative to each other, so that the ejected medium moves relative to the liquid ejection head toward one side of the arrangement direction. When the control device records the other patterns, The unit smearing operation for recording a part of the other pattern is repeated multiple times, and the unit smearing operation is the following operation: By causing the liquid to be ejected from a portion of the nozzles on the one side of the arrangement direction among the plurality of nozzles, the first smear portion is recorded as the other pattern portion on the ejected medium. After the first smear portion is recorded, after a small relative movement action with a relative movement amount smaller than the prescribed relative movement amount is performed, the second smear portion arranged continuously with the first smear portion in the arrangement direction is recorded as the other pattern portion on the ejected medium by the ejection action of ejecting liquid from all of the plurality of nozzles, After the second smear portion is recorded, after the small relative movement action is performed, the third smear portion arranged continuously with the second smear portion in the arrangement direction is recorded as the other pattern portion on the ejected medium by the ejection action of ejecting liquid from a part of the nozzles on the other side of the arrangement direction among the plurality of nozzles, After the third smeared portion is recorded, the large relative movement action is performed, By repeatedly performing the unit smearing action multiple times, a concentration unevenness adjustment pattern is recorded as the other pattern on the ejected medium. The concentration unevenness adjustment pattern has the first smearing part, the second smearing part and the third smearing part and is used to adjust the concentration unevenness between the multiple nozzles.

10. The liquid ejection device according to claim 8, wherein: When recording the other patterns, the control device successively performs the following actions: An operation of recording the first pattern portion by performing the ejection operation, the at least one predetermined relative movement operation among the plurality of divided relative movement operations, and an operation of recording the second pattern portion by performing the ejection operation.

11. A liquid ejection system comprising a liquid ejection device and a control device connected to the liquid ejection device, wherein the liquid ejection system is characterized in that: The liquid ejection device comprises: a liquid ejection head having a plurality of nozzles arranged in an arrangement direction; and a relative moving member for performing a relative moving action of relatively moving the liquid ejection head and the ejected medium in the arrangement direction; The control device causes the liquid ejection head to perform an ejection action to eject liquid from the nozzle, thereby recording the first pattern portion on the ejected medium, and after the first pattern portion is recorded, the control device performs the ejection action after causing the liquid ejection head and the ejected medium to move relative to each other by a predetermined relative movement amount through at least one relative movement action, thereby recording the second pattern portion on the ejected medium. Thus, the control device causes a relative movement adjustment pattern to be recorded on the ejected medium, the relative movement adjustment pattern having the first pattern portion and the second pattern portion and used to adjust the relative movement amount of the liquid ejection head and the ejected medium generated by the relative movement member. By performing the ejection action a plurality of times and at least one relative movement action in which the relative movement amount between the liquid ejection head and the ejected medium is different from the prescribed relative movement amount, another pattern is recorded on the ejected medium, the other pattern having a plurality of other pattern portions recorded by each of the plurality of ejection actions and used to adjust adjustment elements other than the relative movement amount, Furthermore, when recording a plurality of relative movement adjustment patterns having different positions in the arrangement direction, A plurality of relative movement adjustment patterns and the other patterns are recorded in such a manner that the relative movement action of recording the other patterns is performed at least once after at least one relative movement adjustment pattern is recorded and before the next relative movement adjustment pattern is recorded, so that the plurality of relative movement adjustment patterns and the other patterns are recorded on the same ejected medium in such a manner that they are arranged in a direction orthogonal to the arrangement direction.

12. A pattern recording method, a method for recording a pattern by a liquid ejecting device, the liquid ejecting device comprising: a liquid ejecting head having a plurality of nozzles arranged in an arrangement direction; and a relative moving member, the relative moving member performing a relative moving action of moving the liquid ejecting head and the ejected medium relative to each other in the relative moving direction, the pattern recording method being characterized in that: The first pattern portion is recorded on the ejected medium by causing the liquid ejection head to perform an ejection action to eject liquid from the nozzle, and after the first pattern portion is recorded, the liquid ejection head and the ejected medium are relatively moved by a predetermined relative movement amount through at least one relative movement action, and then the ejection action is performed, so that the second pattern portion is recorded on the ejected medium, thereby recording a relative movement adjustment pattern on the ejected medium, the relative movement adjustment pattern having the first pattern portion and the second pattern portion and used to adjust the relative movement amount between the liquid ejection head and the ejected medium generated by the relative movement member, By performing the ejection action a plurality of times and at least one relative movement action in which the relative movement amount between the liquid ejection head and the ejected medium is different from the prescribed relative movement amount, another pattern is recorded on the ejected medium, the other pattern having a plurality of other pattern portions recorded by each of the plurality of ejection actions and used to adjust adjustment elements other than the relative movement amount, Furthermore, when recording a plurality of relative movement adjustment patterns having different positions in the arrangement direction, A plurality of relative movement adjustment patterns and the other patterns are recorded in such a manner that the relative movement action of recording the other patterns is performed at least once after at least one relative movement adjustment pattern is recorded and before the next relative movement adjustment pattern is recorded, so that the plurality of relative movement adjustment patterns and the other patterns are recorded on the same ejected medium in such a manner that they are arranged in a direction orthogonal to the arrangement direction.

13. A storage medium storing a computer-readable program for controlling a liquid ejection device, the liquid ejection device comprising: a liquid ejection head having a plurality of nozzles arranged in an arrangement direction; and a relative moving member for performing a relative movement action of moving the liquid ejection head and a medium to be ejected relative to each other in the relative movement direction, wherein the storage medium is characterized in that: The program enables the computer to perform the following control: The first pattern portion is recorded on the ejected medium by causing the liquid ejection head to perform an ejection action to eject liquid from the nozzle, and after the first pattern portion is recorded, the liquid ejection head and the ejected medium are relatively moved by a predetermined relative movement amount through at least one relative movement action, and then the ejection action is performed, so that the second pattern portion is recorded on the ejected medium, thereby recording a relative movement adjustment pattern on the ejected medium, the relative movement adjustment pattern having the first pattern portion and the second pattern portion and used to adjust the relative movement amount between the liquid ejection head and the ejected medium generated by the relative movement member, By performing the ejection action a plurality of times and at least one relative movement action in which the relative movement amount between the liquid ejection head and the ejected medium is different from the prescribed relative movement amount, another pattern is recorded on the ejected medium, the other pattern having a plurality of other pattern portions recorded by each of the plurality of ejection actions and used to adjust adjustment elements other than the relative movement amount, Furthermore, when recording a plurality of relative movement adjustment patterns having different positions in the arrangement direction, The processing of recording a plurality of the relative movement adjustment patterns and the other patterns is performed in such a manner that the relative movement action of recording the other patterns is performed at least once after at least one of the relative movement adjustment patterns is recorded and before the next relative movement adjustment pattern is recorded, so that the plurality of the relative movement adjustment patterns and the other patterns are recorded on the same ejected medium in such a manner that they are arranged in a direction orthogonal to the arrangement direction.

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