Recording device

Abstract

To perform appropriate maintenance control in consideration of a recording medium, an image quality in recording and productivity, in a recording device in which a recording head ejects ink and performs maintenance.SOLUTION: A recording device comprises conveying means which conveys a recording medium, a recording head which ejects ink to the recording medium to form an image, and a control portion. The recording head can assume a first position which the head assumes when forming an image on the recording medium and a second position which is different from the first position, and in which ejected ink does not adhere to the recording medium. The control portion uses a recording device which determines whether maintenance accompanied by ejection of ink from the recording head should be performed at the first position or at the second position, on the basis of a type of the recording medium.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 6

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a recording apparatus. [Background technology]

[0002] In the recording head of an inkjet recording device, ink discharge failures may occur in the nozzles of the recording head due to nozzle clogging caused by foreign matter or ink with increased viscosity, air bubbles mixed into the ink supply path or nozzle, changes in wettability of the nozzle surface, etc. When such discharge failures occur, maintenance must be performed promptly to restore the ink discharge state even during printing in order to avoid a decrease in image quality. Maintenance during printing can be performed by controlling the recording head in a position other than the printing position without depositing ink on the recording medium, or by controlling the recording head to remain in the printing position while printing and depositing ink on the recording medium.

[0003] When performing maintenance without droplets landing on the recording medium, it is necessary to interrupt printing and move the recording head from the printing position to another position where there is an ink absorber to perform maintenance. In this case, although productivity decreases due to the recording head movement, since maintenance is not performed on the recording medium, it is possible to prevent loss of the recording medium or adverse effects on image quality.

[0004] On the other hand, when maintenance is performed at the printing position, there is no need to interrupt printing by printing the ejection pattern required for maintenance on the recording medium, and although there may be loss of the recording medium or an effect on image quality, productivity can be maintained. For example, when printing using an expensive recording medium, there are cases where it is not desirable to use that recording medium for maintenance. On the other hand, when printing using an inexpensive recording medium, there are cases where it is desirable to prioritize productivity over loss of the recording medium or image quality.

[0005] Patent document 1 (Patent Publication No. 6149179) discloses a method for selectively controlling the preliminary ejection operation, in which ink is periodically ejected from the recording head, so that the ink is either deposited on the recording medium, or is ejected at a position other than the printing position without depositing the ink on the recording medium. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0006] [Patent Document 1] Patent No. 6149179 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0007] The method disclosed in Patent Document 1 also allows selective control of whether the preliminary ejection operation is performed with or without droplets being deposited on the recording medium. However, depending on the recording medium used, there is a concern that the deposition of droplets of the preliminarily ejected liquid may affect image quality. On the other hand, depending on the recording medium, there may be cases where it is desired to prioritize productivity over avoiding effects on the recording medium by performing the preliminary ejection operation at a position different from the printing position without deposition on the recording medium.

[0008] The present invention has been made in consideration of the above problems, and aims to perform suitable maintenance control in a printing device that performs maintenance by ejecting ink from a printing head, taking into account the printing medium, the image quality of the print, and productivity. [Means for solving the problem]

[0009] The present invention employs the following configuration. A conveying means for conveying a recording medium; a recording head that ejects ink onto the recording medium to form an image; A control unit; A recording device comprising: the recording head is capable of taking a first position that is taken when forming the image on the recording medium, and a second position that is different from the first position and at which the ejected ink does not adhere to the recording medium; The control unit of the recording device is characterized in that it determines whether maintenance involving the ejection of ink from the recording head will be performed at the first position or the second position based on the type of recording medium. Effect of the Invention

[0010] According to the present invention, in a printing apparatus that performs maintenance by ejecting ink from a print head, it is possible to perform suitable maintenance control taking into consideration the printing medium, the image quality of the print, and productivity. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0011] [Figure 1] FIG. 2 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing the internal configuration of the recording apparatus. [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a recording head lifting mechanism. [Diagram 3] FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a nozzle formation surface of a recording head. [Figure 4] FIG. 2 is a control configuration diagram of the recording apparatus. [Diagram 5] 5A-5C are schematic diagrams of the operation of capping a print head during a printing operation. [Figure 6] 13 is a flowchart of an inter-page maintenance determination process. [Figure 7] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing recording media in a conveying path of a recording device during printing. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0012] A preferred embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings. However, unless otherwise specified, the dimensions, materials, shapes, relative positions, etc. of the components described in the embodiment are not intended to limit the scope of the present invention to those alone. Furthermore, the materials, shapes, etc. of the members once described in the following description are the same as those described initially, unless otherwise specified. Well-known or publicly known technologies in the relevant technical field can be applied to configurations and processes not particularly shown or described. Furthermore, duplicated descriptions may be omitted.

[0013] [Embodiment Mode] (Device configuration) FIG. 1 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing the internal configuration of an inkjet recording device 1 (hereinafter, recording device 1) according to this embodiment. The present invention is preferably applicable to the inkjet recording device 1, and particularly relates to a maintenance control method for stably ejecting ink from a recording head. The recording device of this embodiment includes a paper feeder 2, a main body 3, and a paper discharger 4. The paper feeder 2 includes a first cassette 5a, a second cassette 5b, and a plurality of paper feed rollers 7a. The main body 3 includes a recording unit 9 including a plurality of recording heads 16, a drying unit 10, a cooling unit 11, a flapper 13, a trash can 14, and a plurality of conveying rollers 7b. The paper discharger 4 includes a paper discharge tray 6 and a paper discharge roller 7c. A recording medium S (e.g., a cut sheet) is conveyed along a conveying path R indicated by a dotted line in the figure, and is processed in each unit.

[0014] The paper feed device 2 has a first cassette 5a and a second cassette 5b for accommodating recording media S, which are removably installed, and the recording media are stored in a flat stack. A first feeding unit (not shown) for separating and feeding the stored recording media one by one is provided near the first cassette 5a. Similarly, a second feeding unit (not shown) is provided near the second cassette 5b. When a recording operation is performed, a paper feed roller 7a is moved by a transport motor (not shown). By driving the cassettes in this way, the recording medium S is selectively fed from one of the cassettes.

[0015] The main body 3 drives a transport motor (not shown) to transport the recording medium S fed from the paper feeder 2. The recording unit 9 is a recording medium processing unit that performs recording processing on the transported recording medium S from above using a recording head 16 to form an image.

[0016] In the recording unit 9, a plurality of recording heads 16 are arranged along the transport direction. In this example, in addition to the four colors of Bk (black), Y (yellow), M (magenta), and C (cyan), a total of eight line-type recording heads 16 are provided corresponding to the reaction liquid and three special colors. The number of colors and the number of recording heads 16 are not limited to eight. The inkjet method may employ a method using a heating element, a method using a piezoelectric element, a method using an electrostatic element, a method using a MEMS element, or the like. Ink of each color is supplied to the recording head 16 from an ink tank (not shown) via an ink tube.

[0017] 2, the recording head 16 is supported by a recording head holding part 26 for holding the recording head 16 and lifting it up and down, in such a manner that a recording head support shaft 27 is supported from below. The recording head holding part 26 is lifted up and down along a recording head lifting rail 29 provided in a recording head lifting frame 28 by a drive mechanism (not shown) provided inside.

[0018] FIG. 3 is a diagram of the recording head 16 as seen from the recording medium transport side, and a nozzle forming surface 223 facing the recording medium is provided with a plurality of nozzle plates 224 for ejecting ink droplets onto the recording medium S.

[0019] Returning to Fig. 1, the explanation will continue. The drying section 10 is a unit that reduces the liquid content contained in the ink applied onto the recording medium S in the recording section 9, and improves the fixation of the ink to the recording medium S. The drying section 10 heats the recorded recording medium S to dry the applied ink. Inside the drying section 10, hot air is applied to at least the ink-applied surface side of the recording medium S passing through, thereby drying the ink-applied surface of the recording medium S.

[0020] The cooling section 11 cools the recording medium S fixed in the drying section 10, solidifies the softened ink, and suppresses the amount of temperature change of the recording medium S in downstream processes of the recording device 1. Inside the cooling section 11, air having a lower temperature than the recording medium S is applied to at least the ink application surface side of the recording medium S passing through, thereby cooling the ink application surface of the recording medium S.

[0021] The flapper 13 is a transport mechanism for guiding the recording medium S to be discarded to the trash can 14. By driving the flapper 13, the recording medium S to be discarded and thus wasted is discharged into the trash can 14. On the other hand, the recording medium S that is not to be discarded and will not be wasted is further transported and fed to the paper discharge device 4.

[0022] The paper discharge device 4 is a device that discharges the recording medium S after the recording operation is completed by a paper discharge roller 7c and stacks and holds the same.

[0023] The maintenance tray 15 is a unit equipped with a mechanism for recovering the ejection performance of the recording head 16. It has a cap mechanism for protecting the ink ejection surface of the recording head 16, a wiper mechanism for wiping the ink ejection surface, and a suction mechanism for negatively sucking ink from inside the recording head 16 from the ink ejection surface, and is used during maintenance.

[0024] (Control Configuration) FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing the control configuration of the recording device 1. The control configuration is mainly composed of a print engine unit 200 that controls the print engine, and a controller unit 100 that controls the entire recording device. A print controller 202 controls various mechanisms of the print engine unit 200 according to instructions from a main controller 101 of the controller unit 100. The control configuration will be described in detail below. Note that, as long as the processes described in the embodiment can be executed, the control block configuration is not limited to the illustrated example, and the recording device 1 may have a control unit that executes each process. A configuration in which a control unit that combines the controller unit 100 and the print engine unit 200 controls the entire device may be used, or a configuration in which a CPU or the like is physically provided for each function may be used.

[0025] In the controller unit 100, a main controller 101 constituted by a CPU controls the entire recording device using a RAM 105 as a work area in accordance with programs and various parameters stored in a ROM 106. For example, when a print job is input from a host device 300 via a host I / F 102, an image processing unit 107 performs predetermined image processing on the received image data in accordance with instructions from the main controller 101. The main controller 101 then transmits the image data that has been subjected to the image processing to a print engine unit 200 via a print engine I / F 104.

[0026] Note that recording device 1 may obtain image data from a connected external storage device (such as a USB memory). Operation panel 103 is a mechanism that enables the user to perform input and output to recording device 1. Through operation panel 103, the user can instruct printing and paper feed operations, input print settings, and recognize information about recording device 1. Operation panel 103 is a touch panel, and it is also possible to connect a mouse and keyboard for input.

[0027] In the print engine unit 200, a print controller 202 constituted by a CPU controls various mechanisms of the recording device 1 according to programs and various parameters stored in a ROM 203, using a RAM 204 as a work area. When various commands and image data are received via a controller I / F 201, the print controller 202 temporarily stores them in the RAM 204. The print controller 202 causes an image processing controller 205 to convert the stored image data into recording data so that the recording head 16 can use the data for a recording operation. When the recording data is generated, the print controller 202 causes the recording head 16 to execute a recording operation based on the recording data via a head I / F 206. At this time, the print controller 202 causes the recording head 16 to lower via a head carriage control unit 208 using the recording head lift mechanism described above so that the recording medium S and the nozzle forming surface 223 are adjacent to each other. Furthermore, the print controller 202 starts the heating process in the drying unit 10 and the cooling process in the cooling unit 11 via the drying control unit 211 and the cooling control unit 212, respectively, to prepare for fixing the ink on the recording medium S after the recording operation. Thereafter, the print controller 202 operates the paper feed rollers 7a, the transport rollers 7b, and the paper discharge rollers 7c of the paper feeder 2, the main body 3, and the paper discharge device 4 via the transport control unit 207 to transport the recording medium S. The print controller 202 causes the recording head 16 to execute the recording operation in conjunction with the transport operation, and the recording medium S after the recording operation is transported to the drying unit 10 and the cooling unit 11 to fix the ink, thereby performing the printing process.

[0028] During maintenance and standby, the head carriage control unit 208 raises the recording head 16 using the recording head lifting mechanism described above. The ink supply control unit 209 controls the ink supply unit so that the pressure of the ink supplied to the recording head 16 falls within an appropriate range. When performing maintenance operations on the recording head 16, the maintenance control unit 210 moves the maintenance tray 15 to below the raised recording head 16, and controls maintenance operations for the recording head 16 such as capping and wiping.

[0029] (Cap operation) 5(a) to 5(d) are schematic diagrams showing the operation of capping the recording head 16 during the recording operation. During the recording operation, as shown in FIG. 5(a), the recording head 16 is in a state of being lowered by the recording head lift mechanism described above so that the recording medium S and the nozzle forming surface 223 are adjacent to each other, and the maintenance tray 15 is retracted to the paper feed side of the recording unit 9. When performing the maintenance operation of the recording head 16, the recording head 16 is moved to the upper retracted position shown in FIG. 5(b) by the recording head lift mechanism described above. Then, as shown in FIG. 5(c), the driving mechanism and rails (not shown) of the maintenance tray 15 move the recording head 16 from the retracted position to below the recording head 16. Then, the recording head 16 descends, so that the recording head 16 reaches the maintenance tray 15 as shown in FIG. 5(d), and the nozzle forming surface 223 comes into close contact with the cap unit. In the following description, the position of the recording head 16 and the maintenance tray 15 in FIG. 5(a) is defined as the printing position, and the position in FIG. 5(d) is defined as the cap position.

[0030] In this embodiment, preliminary ejection control and non-ejection detection control will be described as examples of maintenance that can be performed when the recording head 16 is in either the printing position or the capped position.

[0031] Preliminary ejection control is a control for periodically ejecting ink from the print head 16 for the purpose of preventing ink ejection defects from occurring in all or some of the nozzles of the print head due to causes such as nozzle clogging, air bubbles mixed in the nozzles, or changes in wettability of the nozzle surface. The print controller 202 drives the print head 16 via the head I / F 206 to eject ink for preliminary ejection control (preliminary ejection). When preliminary ejection is performed at the cap position, ink collected in the cap unit of the maintenance tray 15 is sucked by a suction pump (not shown). On the other hand, when preliminary ejection is performed at the printing position, ink is ejected onto the recording medium. A pattern formed on the recording medium by the ink ejection required for preliminary ejection is defined as a preliminary ejection pattern.

[0032] The non-discharge detection control is a control for detecting the occurrence of ink discharge defects in all or some of the nozzles of the print head. In this embodiment, the print head 16 is driven and controlled to detect the discharge state based on the presence or absence of a characteristic point of temperature drop that occurs a certain time after ink droplets are discharged. At this time, the print controller 202 drives the print head 16 via the head I / F 206 to discharge ink for non-discharge detection. When performed at the cap position, ink collected in the cap unit is sucked by a suction pump (not shown). When performed at the print position, ink is discharged onto the recording medium. A pattern formed on the recording medium by the ink discharge required for non-discharge detection is defined as a non-discharge detection pattern. When discharging ink, the print head 16 detects the presence or absence of a discharge state due to temperature change for each discharge port, and the print controller 202 receives the detection result of the presence or absence of ink discharge defects in all or some of the nozzles of the print head via the head I / F 206.

[0033] (Inter-page maintenance) Next, the inter-page maintenance performed during a print job will be described. In the case of maintenance performed before a print job, when the executed print job is a large-volume print job of 500 sheets, maintenance is performed before the print job even in cases where up to 490 sheets can be printed, which can result in redundant cases such as wasting ink. Inter-page maintenance is a control that continues printing up to the number of sheets that can ensure print quality even during a print job, and performs maintenance at the required timing. Information on the maintenance performed between pages in this embodiment is shown in Table 1. [Table 1]

[0034] The ink supply control unit 209 and the image processing controller 205 appropriately count up the parameters for the conditions for performing each maintenance while the device is in operation, and store the information in the RAM 204. When a predetermined value is reached, the conditions for performing each maintenance are met. When performing inter-page maintenance, the recording head 16 may be moved to a cap position, so that it is necessary to perform a determination process for each inter-page maintenance before printing the recording medium. The determination process and execution of each inter-page maintenance are performed by the print controller 202. The print controller 202 first confirms, via the conveyance control unit 207, using a recording medium detection sensor (not shown) in the conveyance path that the recording medium currently in the state is not being printed, and that the new recording medium is in a state before printing. After the print controller 202 confirms this, it performs inter-page maintenance using the maintenance control unit 210.

[0035] (Inter-page maintenance judgment process) 6 is a flowchart of an inter-page maintenance determination process performed before printing on a recording medium. The process of each step is executed as information processing in the print controller 202.

[0036] In step S701, the print controller 202 determines whether inter-page maintenance is necessary before printing on a recording medium. At this time, the print controller 202 determines whether an opportunity to perform inter-page maintenance has occurred by determining whether the implementation condition parameters for each maintenance in Table 1 stored in the RAM 204 have reached a predetermined threshold value, and determines whether maintenance is necessary. If none of the maintenance in Table 1 meets the implementation conditions, the process proceeds to step S705, where the print controller 202 determines that inter-page maintenance is unnecessary and determines to continue printing.

[0037] On the other hand, if the print controller 202 determines that at least one inter-page maintenance in Table 1 is necessary, the process proceeds to step S702. In S702, the print controller 202 checks the maintenance position setting of the recording medium stored in the ROM 203 or RAM 204, and determines whether to perform maintenance at the cap position or the print position.

[0038] Tables 2, 3, and 4 are tables showing maintenance position settings according to the type and size of the recording medium. In this example, the recording media shown are plain paper (Table 2), glossy paper 1 (Table 3), and glossy paper 2 (Table 4). If the maintenance position setting for each recording medium is the cap position, the process proceeds to step S703, where the print controller 202 determines to temporarily suspend printing, move the recording head 16 to the cap position, and perform inter-page maintenance processing. If the maintenance position setting for each recording medium is the print position, the process proceeds to step S704, where the print controller 202 determines to continue printing with the recording head 16 in the print position, and perform inter-page maintenance processing on the recording medium.

[0039] Table 2 shows the maintenance position settings for each size of glossy paper 1. Because glossy paper 1 is expensive, it is desirable to minimize loss of recording media as much as possible, but it is also necessary to prevent a decline in productivity. Therefore, in Table 2, maintenance is performed at the printing position for relatively small sizes such as postcard paper and A5 paper, and recording media with ink on it is discarded. On the other hand, for larger sizes of paper, printing is interrupted and maintenance is performed at the cap position, which takes time but helps to reduce cost loss. Table In 2, the prescribed criteria for whether the cost loss is within the acceptable range is between A4 and A5, but is not limited to this. [Table 2]

[0040] Table 3 shows the maintenance position settings for each size of plain paper. Plain paper is inexpensive, so it is possible to prioritize productivity over loss of recording media. Therefore, maintenance is performed at the printing position to ensure that printing is not interrupted. Recording media that has ink on it during maintenance is discarded. [Table 3]

[0041] Table 4 also shows the maintenance position settings for each size of glossy paper 2. Because glossy paper 2 is expensive, it is desirable to minimize loss of recording medium, but it is also necessary to minimize declines in productivity. It is also necessary to reduce the impact of ink adhesion on image quality as much as possible. In the case of Table 4, the impact on image quality is small even if the preliminary ejection pattern lands on the recording medium, and the impact on image quality is large if the non-discharge detection pattern lands on the recording medium. Therefore, in Table 4, in the case of preliminary ejection maintenance, maintenance is performed at the printing position and ink adhesion to the recording medium is tolerated, but in the case of non-discharge detection maintenance, printing is interrupted and maintenance is performed at the cap position. This achieves both minimizing degradation of image quality and maintaining productivity as much as possible. [Table 4]

[0042] [Embodiment 1] In the first embodiment, a case where inter-page maintenance is performed at the cap position will be described.

[0043] In the first embodiment, ten sheets of glossy paper A3 are fed from the first cassette 5a by the first feeding unit. A recording medium S of a size is fed (recording media S1 to S10, starting from the first sheet). Then, during a printing operation, a case will be described in which non-discharge detection control is performed as inter-page maintenance before printing on recording medium S6.

[0044] 7 shows the transport path R within the device, with recording medium S1 having been discharged to the discharge tray 6, recording media S2, S3, and S4 being transported after printing, recording medium S5 being printed, and recording medium S6 before being fed. At this timing, the print controller 202 performs a process for determining whether inter-page maintenance is required between recording media S5 and S6. Note that the determination process only needs to be performed before printing on recording medium S6, and may be performed after feeding of recording medium S6 has begun. In the process for determining whether inter-page maintenance is required, in step S701 of FIG. 6, it is determined whether inter-page maintenance is required before printing on recording medium S6. In this embodiment, in order to perform non-discharge detection control, the process proceeds to 702 and the maintenance position setting for each recording medium is confirmed.

[0045] Table 2 is an example of the maintenance position setting of the recording medium stored in the ROM 203 or RAM 204, and shows the maintenance positions for the preliminary ejection control and the non-discharge detection control for each size of the glossy paper 1. From Table 1, it can be seen that the maintenance position setting for the non-discharge detection corresponding to the glossy paper and A3 size is the cap position. Therefore, the print controller 202 judges to transition to step S703 in FIG. 6. At that time, the print controller 202 completes printing of the recording medium S5 being printed, transports the printed recording media S2, S3, S4, and S5, and discharges them to the paper discharge tray 6. After discharging the remaining recording media in the transport path, the print controller 202 moves the recording head 16 to the cap position via the maintenance control unit 210 and performs the non-discharge detection control. After the non-discharge detection control is completed, the print controller 202 moves the recording head 16 to the printing position, resumes printing, prints on the recording medium S6 and the recording media S7, S8, S9, and S10 (not shown), and completes the paper discharge to the paper discharge tray 6, thereby completing the printing process.

[0046] In the first embodiment, the case where non-discharge detection control is performed as inter-page maintenance has been described as an example, but the same control is possible when preliminary discharge control is performed. That is, in the case of preliminary discharge control, in the determination process for inter-page maintenance, according to Table 2, the maintenance position setting for non-discharge detection corresponding to A3 size glossy paper is the cap position, and the subsequent control is the same as that during the non-discharge detection control described above, and preliminary discharge control is performed at the cap position.

[0047] Thus, according to the first embodiment, when performing maintenance control in the case of using expensive glossy paper 1, if the recording medium size is large, ink is discharged at the cap position, eliminating the need to discard the recording medium and reducing cost losses. On the other hand, if the recording medium size is small, ink is discharged at the print position, eliminating the need to interrupt printing and allowing throughput to be maintained.

[0048] [Embodiment 2] In the second embodiment, a case where maintenance between pages is performed at the print position will be described.

[0049] In the second embodiment, ten sheets of A4 size plain paper recording media S are fed from the first cassette 5a by the first feeding unit (recording media S1 to S10, starting from the first sheet). Then, a case will be described in which non-discharge detection control is performed as inter-page maintenance before printing on recording medium S6 during a printing operation.

[0050] The timing for determining whether inter-page maintenance is necessary is the same as that shown in FIG. 7 described in the first embodiment, and a description thereof will be omitted. In the process of determining whether inter-page maintenance is necessary, in step S701 in FIG. 6, it is determined whether inter-page maintenance is necessary before printing on the recording medium S6. In this embodiment, in order to perform non-discharge detection control, the process proceeds to step S702 and the maintenance position setting for each recording medium is performed. Check the settings.

[0051] Table 3 is an example of the maintenance position setting of the recording medium stored in the ROM 203 or RAM 204, and shows the maintenance positions for each of the preliminary discharge control and the non-discharge detection control for each size of plain paper. From Table 3, it can be seen that the maintenance position setting for the non-discharge detection corresponding to the A4 size plain paper is the print position. Therefore, the print controller 202 judges to transition to step S704 in FIG. 6. At that time, the print controller 202 performs ink discharge associated with the non-discharge detection control for the subsequent recording medium S6 after completing printing of the recording medium S5 being printed. At that time, the print controller 202 does not use the recording data for the 6th page that has already been converted by the image processing controller 205, but controls to use the discharge data for non-discharge detection that has been stored in advance in the ROM 203. The recording media S2, S3, S4, and S5 that have already been printed are transported and discharged to the discharge tray 6. After the recording medium S5 passes the flapper 13, the print controller 202 drives the flapper 13 and discharges the recording medium S6, which is to be discarded and is to be wasted, to the trash can 14. After the recording medium S6 is discharged, the flapper 13 is driven so that the subsequent recording medium is not transported to the trash can but is directed to the paper output tray. In parallel, the print controller 202 controls so that the recording data for the sixth page is printed on the subsequent recording medium S7 (not shown). Then, printing is performed on the recording media S8, S9, S10, and S11 (not shown), and the printing process is completed when the recording media are discharged to the paper output tray 6.

[0052] In the second embodiment, the case where non-discharge detection control is performed as inter-page maintenance has been described as an example, but the same control is possible when preliminary discharge control is performed. That is, in the case of preliminary discharge control, in the determination process for inter-page maintenance, the maintenance position setting for non-discharge detection corresponding to A4 size plain paper from Table 3 becomes the print position, and the subsequent control is the same as in the non-discharge detection control described above, and discharge for preliminary discharge control is performed at the print position onto recording medium S6.

[0053] In the second embodiment, the case where the recording data is not printed on the recording medium S6 and ink ejection associated with the non-discharge detection control is performed has been described as an example, but there are cases where the effect on the image caused by the non-discharge detection control and the preliminary ejection control is within the user's tolerance. For example, there are cases where it is difficult for the user to visually confirm the ejected ink. In such cases, the print controller 202 may print the recording data and the ejection data for maintenance on top of each other on the same recording medium, and eject the paper to the paper ejection tray 6 without ejecting it to the trash can 14.

[0054] Thus, according to embodiment 2, when performing maintenance control when using inexpensive plain paper, ink is ejected at the printing position regardless of the size of the recording medium or the type of maintenance, so there is no need to interrupt printing and throughput can be maintained.

[0055] [Embodiment 3] In the third embodiment, a case will be described in which preliminary ejection is performed at the printing position and non-ejection detection is performed at the capping position.

[0056] In the first embodiment, a case was described in which both preliminary ejection and non-discharge detection are performed at the cap position when the recording medium size is large. In the second embodiment, a case was described in which preliminary ejection and non-discharge detection are performed at the print position regardless of the recording medium size. In this embodiment, preliminary ejection is performed at the print position and non-discharge detection is performed at the cap position regardless of the paper size.

[0057] Table 4 is an example of the maintenance position settings for the recording medium stored in the ROM 203 or RAM 204, and shows the maintenance positions for preliminary ejection control and non-discharge detection control for each size of glossy paper 2. According to Table 4, the settings are such that preliminary ejection for glossy paper 2 is performed at the print position, and non-discharge detection is performed at the cap position. The control contents for performing preliminary ejection at the print position during printing and non-discharge detection at the cap position during printing are the same as those in the first embodiment. The control content is the same as in the second embodiment, so the explanation will be omitted.

[0058] In the third embodiment, it is assumed that the ink ejection pattern in preliminary ejection has a relatively small effect on image quality, and the ink ejection pattern in non-discharge detection has a relatively large effect on image quality. Therefore, by performing the control as described above, maintenance can be performed without interrupting printing during preliminary ejection, and maintenance can be performed without affecting image quality during non-discharge detection.

[0059] [Embodiment 4] In the fourth embodiment, a case will be described in which maintenance is performed at a position designated by a user.

[0060] In the first, second and third embodiments, the position of the inter-page maintenance is determined according to the maintenance position setting of the recording medium stored in the ROM 203 or the RAM 204, but it may be determined according to the maintenance position setting set by the user. In this case, the user sets the maintenance position setting for the preliminary ejection and the non-ejection detection in advance via the operation panel 103 as a user setting input means. The print controller 202 stores the input setting value in the user setting area of ​​the RAM 204. In the determination process of the inter-page maintenance, if the setting value is stored in the user setting area of ​​the RAM 204 in step S702 of FIG. 6, the print controller 202 controls to determine the maintenance position according to the user setting value. On the other hand, if the setting value is not stored in the user setting area, the print controller 202 controls to determine the maintenance position according to the maintenance position setting of the recording medium. The user may be able to set the maintenance position for each type of maintenance, or may be able to set the maintenance position commonly for all maintenance.

[0061] (Effects of the embodiment) In the first embodiment, by performing maintenance at the capping position, time is consumed for moving the recording head 16 to the capping position and then back to the printing position, but maintenance can be performed without wasting recording media. As a result, when printing using expensive recording media, if maintenance is performed between pages, productivity decreases by the time the recording head is moved, but it is possible to reduce the cost loss that would result from wasting recording media.

[0062] In the second embodiment, maintenance can be performed without consuming the time it would take to move the recording head 16 by performing maintenance while remaining in the printing position. As a result, when printing using inexpensive recording media such as plain paper or small-sized glossy paper, even if maintenance is performed between pages, cost losses due to wasted recording media are kept low, and printing operations that do not reduce productivity are possible. Furthermore, when it is difficult for the user to visually confirm the ejection data for maintenance, the recording data and the ejection data for maintenance can be printed on top of each other on the same recording medium, thereby preventing the occurrence of wasted recording media.

[0063] In the third embodiment, preliminary ejection is performed at the printing position, and non-discharge detection is performed at the capping position. This is an embodiment that corresponds to printing on a recording medium where, for example, the ejection data of the preliminary ejection control is difficult to visually recognize, and the ejection data of the non-discharge detection control is easy to visually recognize. As a result, only non-discharge detection, which affects image quality, is performed at the capping position, and preliminary ejection, which has little effect on image quality, is performed at the printing position, making it possible to perform printing without reducing productivity as much as possible.

[0064] In the fourth embodiment, the position of inter-page maintenance is determined according to the maintenance position setting set by the user. This allows the user to set the maintenance position at will, for example, in the following cases (i) to (iii): (i) A case where it is difficult to separate recording media that will be wasted due to the device configuration, and so it is desired to complete all maintenance at the cap position even if it takes some time; (ii) A case where it is desired to reduce the cost of recording media that will be temporarily wasted during busy periods, etc. A case where you want to prioritize productivity and want to complete all maintenance at the printing position.(iii) A case where you want to perform non-discharge detection at the printing position because you want to print the results on paper in order to check them together with the print data results in the post-process.

[0065] In addition, although the present embodiment has been described mainly with a print job of 10 sheets, the present invention is more effective when a large number of sheets are printed. For example, consider a case where a total of 5,000 sheets are printed in a recording apparatus that performs inter-page maintenance at a uniform cap position, and inter-page maintenance occurs once for every 100 printed sheets, for a total of 50 times. In this embodiment, one maintenance The control of moving the recording head 16 from the printing position to the capping position and back from the capping position to the printing position involves raising and lowering the recording head 16 and moving the maintenance tray 15. This operation takes about 20 seconds, but allows maintenance without wasting the recording medium. When using expensive recording media such as large glossy paper that costs several hundred yen per sheet, there is the advantage that printing can be performed without wasting the recording medium. On the other hand, when using inexpensive recording media that cost about 1 to 2 yen per sheet, no recording media is wasted, but maintenance is performed at the expense of 1000 seconds, or about 17 minutes, due to the 50 movements of the recording head 16. In that case, the time consumed is too long compared to the cost of losing the recording media. As a result, there are cases where the total cost of the recording device increases.

[0066] Also, for example, consider a case where a recording device that performs inter-page maintenance at a uniform printing position prints a total of 5,000 sheets, and similarly generates a total of 50 inter-page maintenances. If inexpensive recording media costing about 1 to 2 yen per sheet are used, there is a cost of losing the recording media, but there is the advantage that printing can continue without sacrificing approximately 17 minutes of time. On the other hand, if recording media costing several hundred yen per sheet are used, approximately 17 minutes of time will not be sacrificed, but the cost of losing the recording media due to 50 maintenances will amount to more than 10,000 yen. In this case, compared to the time consumed, The cost of losing recording media is too high, which can result in a rise in the total cost of the recording device. The present invention has been devised to be highly effective in such cases.

[0067] In addition, in this embodiment, the maintenance position other than the recording medium is the cap position, but if there is a position other than the recording medium that can absorb the ink discharged from the recording head, it does not have to be the cap position. Even in that case, all or part of the effects of the present invention can be obtained.

[0068] In addition, in this embodiment, the types of recording media have been described as plain paper, glossy paper 1, and glossy paper 2, but it is possible to obtain all or part of the effects of the present invention when using not only paper used in general recording devices, but also a wide range of materials that can accept ink, such as cloth, plastic film, metal plates, glass, ceramics, wood, leather, etc., as recording media.

[0069] As described above, in each embodiment of the present application, the position where maintenance involving ink ejection from the print head is performed is changed between a position on the print medium and a position other than the print medium depending on the type (cost) and size of the print medium and the contents of the maintenance. If the maintenance position is fixed, various problems will occur, such as the occurrence of disposal of the print medium or the effect on image quality due to ink landing on the expensive print medium, and the decrease in throughput due to maintenance being performed outside the print medium. Therefore, in the present application, maintenance is performed at a position that is preset depending on the type and size of the print medium and the contents of the maintenance, so that the user can realize the conditions desired by the user regarding disposal of the print medium, the effect on image quality, throughput, etc. As a result, it is possible to provide an inkjet printing apparatus that can achieve both high image quality printing and productivity.

[0070] In order to realize one or more functions of the recording device 1 or the host device 300 of this embodiment, The program for performing the above-mentioned functions may be supplied to the system or device via a network or various storage media. A computer (CPU, MPU, etc.) of the system or device may read the program and execute the functions, or have various mechanisms execute the programs. The program may be executed by one computer or by multiple computers working together. In addition, it is not necessary to realize all of the above-mentioned processes by software, and some or all of the processes may be realized by hardware such as ASIC. Furthermore, the present invention is not limited to a form in which all processes are performed by one CPU, but may be a form in which multiple CPUs work together as appropriate to perform the processes, or a form in which one CPU performs some of the processes and multiple CPUs work together to perform the other processes.

[0071] [Configuration 1] A conveying means for conveying a recording medium; a recording head that ejects ink onto the recording medium to form an image; A control unit; A recording device comprising: the recording head is capable of taking a first position that is taken when forming the image on the recording medium, and a second position that is different from the first position and at which the ejected ink does not adhere to the recording medium; The control unit determines whether maintenance involving the ejection of ink from the recording head will be performed at the first position or the second position based on the type of recording medium. [Configuration 2] the maintenance includes a plurality of types of maintenance in which the contents of the ink ejection are different, The control unit determines whether the maintenance is to be performed at the first position or the second position based on the type of the maintenance. 2. The recording device according to configuration 1. [Configuration 3] The multiple types of maintenance include preliminary ejection and non-ejection detection. 3. The recording device according to configuration 2. [Configuration 4] The control unit performs, at the first position, a maintenance operation in which the content of the ink ejection is within an allowable range, among the plurality of types of maintenance operations. 4. The recording device according to configuration 2 or 3. [Configuration 5] The control unit determines that the content of the ejected ink is within an acceptable range when the ejected ink is not visible to a user. 5. The recording device according to configuration 4. [Configuration 6] During maintenance in which the content of the ink ejection is within an allowable range, both the ink ejection for forming the image and the ink ejection for the maintenance are performed on the recording medium. 6. The recording device according to configuration 4 or 5. [Configuration 7] The control unit determines whether the maintenance should be performed at the first position or the second position based on the size of the recording medium. 7. The recording device according to any one of configurations 1 to 6. [Configuration 8] When the size of the recording medium is smaller than a predetermined standard, the control unit performs the maintenance at the first position. 8. The recording device according to configuration 7. [Configuration 9] When the size of the recording medium is smaller than a predetermined standard, the control unit does not form the image on the recording medium on which the ink has adhered due to the maintenance being performed at the first position. 9. The recording device according to configuration 8. [Configuration 10] The control unit determines whether the maintenance is necessary before forming an image on the recording medium, and if it is determined that the maintenance is necessary, determines whether the maintenance is to be performed at the first position or the second position. 10. The recording device according to any one of configurations 1 to 9. [Configuration 11] When forming images on a plurality of the recording media, the control unit performs the maintenance before the succeeding recording medium reaches the recording head. 11. The recording device according to configuration 10. [Configuration 12] The control unit determines that the maintenance is necessary when the number of the recording media on which images have been formed reaches a predetermined value. 12. The recording device according to configuration 10 or 11. [Configuration 13] a setting input unit for receiving an input from a user regarding whether the maintenance is to be performed at the first position or the second position; When it is determined that the maintenance is necessary, if there is an input from a user received by the setting input means, the control unit performs the maintenance based on the content of the input. 13. The recording device according to any one of configurations 1 to 12. [Explanation of symbols]

[0072] 1: recording device, 2: paper feeder, 9: recording section, 15: maintenance tray, 16: recording head, 100: controller unit, 200: print engine unit

Claims

1. A conveying means for conveying a recording medium; a recording head that ejects ink onto the recording medium to form an image; A control unit; A recording device comprising: the recording head is capable of taking a first position which is taken when forming the image on the recording medium, and a second position which is different from the first position and at which the ejected ink does not adhere to the recording medium; The control unit determines whether maintenance involving the ejection of ink from the recording head will be performed at the first position or the second position based on the type of recording medium.

2. The maintenance includes a plurality of types of maintenance that differ in the contents of the ink ejection, The control unit determines whether the maintenance is to be performed at the first position or the second position based on the type of the maintenance.

2. The recording apparatus according to claim 1,

3. The multiple types of maintenance include preliminary ejection and non-ejection detection.

3. The recording apparatus according to claim 2.

4. The control unit performs, at the first position, a maintenance operation in which the content of the ink ejection is within an allowable range, among the plurality of types of maintenance operations.

3. The recording apparatus according to claim 2.

5. The control unit determines that the content of the ejected ink is within an acceptable range when the ejected ink is not visible to a user.

5. The recording apparatus according to claim 4.

6. During maintenance in which the content of the ink ejection is within an allowable range, both the ink ejection for forming the image and the ink ejection for the maintenance are performed on the recording medium.

5. The recording apparatus according to claim 4.

7. The control unit determines whether the maintenance should be performed at the first position or the second position based on the size of the recording medium.

7. The recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the recording medium is a recording medium.

8. When the size of the recording medium is smaller than a predetermined standard, the control unit performs the maintenance at the first position.

8. The recording apparatus according to claim 7.

9. When the size of the recording medium is smaller than a predetermined standard, the control unit does not form the image on the recording medium on which the ink has adhered due to the maintenance being performed at the first position.

9. The recording apparatus according to claim 8.

10. The control unit determines whether the maintenance is necessary before forming an image on the recording medium, and when it is determined that the maintenance is necessary, performs the maintenance at the first position and the second position. Determine which of the two locations to use 7. The recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the recording medium is a recording medium.

11. When forming images on a plurality of the recording media, the control unit performs the maintenance before the succeeding recording medium reaches the recording head.

11. The recording apparatus according to claim 10.

12. The control unit determines that the maintenance is necessary when the number of the recording media on which images have been formed reaches a predetermined value.

11. The recording apparatus according to claim 10.

13. a setting input unit for receiving an input from a user regarding whether the maintenance is to be performed at the first position or the second position, When it is determined that the maintenance is necessary, if there is an input from a user received by the setting input means, the control unit performs the maintenance based on the content of the input.

7. The recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the recording medium is a recording medium.

Images