Image forming apparatus, belt cleaning method, and program

Abstract

To provide an image forming apparatus, a belt cleaning method, and a program capable of more suitably cleaning a conveying portion for conveying a recording medium.SOLUTION: An inkjet recording apparatus 1, which is an image forming apparatus, includes a transport unit 3 that transports a recording medium P in a transport direction by a transport belt 33, which is an endless belt, an image forming unit 4 that forms an image on the recording medium P transported by the endless belt, a cleaning unit 5 that is provided on a downstream side of the image forming unit 4 in the transport direction and cleans the endless belt, and a control unit 100, where the cleaning unit 5 includes supply units 512 and 522 that supply cleaning liquid to the endless belt, and the control unit 100 controls supply of the cleaning liquid to the endless belt by the supply units 512 and 522 based on information related to image formation by the image forming unit 4.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 9

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus, a belt cleaning method, and a program. [Background technology]

[0002] Inkjet recording devices are known that transport a recording medium using an endless belt and form an image using an image forming unit that ejects ink. In such inkjet recording devices, a belt cleaning device that cleans the endless belt is provided downstream of the image forming unit in the transport direction. The provision of the belt cleaning device can prevent foreign matter, such as ink, adhering to the endless belt from soiling the recording medium or causing image distortion due to floating.

[0003] Belt cleaning devices typically spray a cleaning liquid such as water onto the endless belt and remove foreign matter with a brush, etc. However, this configuration tends to consume a large amount of water, and water conservation is required from the perspective of environmental protection.

[0004] Therefore, for example, Patent Document 1 describes a configuration in which the cleaning liquid is circulated so that it can be used repeatedly, and a configuration in which the amount of cleaning liquid to be replenished is adjusted depending on the contamination concentration of the cleaning liquid. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0005] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Publication No. 2022-171302 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0006] However, Patent Document 1 neither describes nor suggests a method for adjusting the amount of cleaning liquid supplied to the endless belt. Specifically, the amount of cleaning liquid supplied to the endless belt is unchanged regardless of the degree of contamination of the endless belt. Therefore, there is a problem that an excessive amount of cleaning liquid is supplied to the endless belt when the belt is not very dirty, and an insufficient amount of cleaning liquid is supplied to the endless belt when the belt is very dirty.

[0007] The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide an image forming apparatus, a belt cleaning method, and a program that can more suitably clean a conveyance unit that conveys a recording medium. [Means for solving the problem]

[0008] In order to solve the above problems, the invention described in claim 1 is an image forming apparatus, a conveying unit that conveys the recording medium in a conveying direction by an endless belt; an image forming unit that forms an image by ejecting droplets onto a recording medium transported by the endless belt; a cleaning unit that is provided downstream of the image forming unit in the conveyance direction and that cleans the endless belt; an acquisition unit that acquires information related to image formation by the image forming unit; a control unit, the cleaning unit includes a supply unit that supplies a cleaning liquid to the endless belt, The control unit controls the supply of the cleaning liquid to the endless belt by the supply unit based on the information acquired by the acquisition unit.

[0009] The invention described in claim 2 is the image forming apparatus described in claim 1, The control unit changes the amount of cleaning liquid supplied by the supply unit in accordance with the information acquired by the acquisition unit.

[0010] The invention described in claim 3 is the image forming apparatus described in claim 2, The acquisition unit acquires a transport speed of the endless belt.

[0011] The invention described in claim 4 is the image forming apparatus described in claim 2, The acquisition unit acquires information about the recording medium.

[0012] The invention described in claim 5 is the image forming apparatus described in claim 2, The acquisition unit acquires coverage.

[0013] The invention described in claim 6 is the image forming apparatus described in claim 2, The acquisition unit acquires information and coverage of a recording medium.

[0014] The invention described in claim 7 is the image forming apparatus described in claim 2, The control unit changes the amount of cleaning liquid supplied by the supply unit by changing the water pressure of the cleaning liquid.

[0015] The invention described in claim 8 is the image forming apparatus described in claim 2, the supply unit supplies the cleaning liquid to the endless belt from a nozzle; The control unit changes the amount of cleaning liquid supplied by the supply unit by changing the diameter of the nozzle.

[0016] The invention described in claim 9 is the image forming apparatus described in claim 2, The control unit changes the distance between the supply unit and the transport unit depending on the amount of cleaning liquid supplied.

[0017] The invention described in claim 10 is the image forming apparatus described in claim 2, the acquisition unit acquires image data of an image formed by the image forming unit, The control unit specifies a position on the endless belt that corresponds to an image forming position based on the image data, and changes the amount of cleaning liquid supplied by the supply unit.

[0018] The invention described in claim 11 is the image forming apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 10, the image forming unit is capable of scanning in a width direction intersecting the transport direction, An image is formed on the recording medium by alternately repeating the scanning of the image forming unit and the conveyance of the recording medium.

[0019] The invention described in claim 12 is the image forming apparatus described in claim 11, The control unit performs intermittent control to supply the cleaning liquid from the supply unit to the endless belt intermittently during a series of image forming operations by the image forming unit.

[0020] The invention described in claim 13 is the image forming apparatus described in claim 12 which relies on claim 10, The control unit changes the amount of cleaning liquid supplied by the supply unit and the intermittent control based on the position of the endless belt corresponding to the identified image forming position.

[0021] The invention described in claim 14 is the image forming apparatus described in claim 12, The control unit supplies the cleaning liquid from the supply unit to the endless belt in synchronization with the conveying operation of the conveying unit.

[0022] The invention described in claim 15 is the image forming apparatus described in claim 14, The control unit controls the supply unit to supply the cleaning liquid before the transport unit starts a transport operation and / or stop supplying the cleaning liquid before the transport unit finishes a transport operation.

[0023] The invention described in claim 16 is the image forming apparatus described in claim 15, The control unit determines a supply time of the cleaning liquid before the start and / or end of the transport operation by the transport unit, depending on the amount of cleaning liquid supplied by the supply unit.

[0024] The invention described in claim 17 is the image forming apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 10, the image forming unit is fixed and extends in a width direction intersecting with the conveying direction, An image is formed on the recording medium by driving the image forming unit while driving the conveying unit.

[0025] The invention described in claim 18 is a conveying unit that conveys the recording medium in a conveying direction by an endless belt; an image forming unit that forms an image by ejecting droplets onto a recording medium transported by the endless belt; a cleaning unit that is provided downstream of the image forming unit in the conveyance direction and that cleans the endless belt, a supply unit for supplying a cleaning liquid to the endless belt; an acquisition step of acquiring information related to image formation by the image forming unit; and a control step of controlling the supply of cleaning liquid to the endless belt by the supply unit based on the information acquired in the acquisition step.

[0026] The invention described in claim 19 is a program, a conveying unit that conveys the recording medium in a conveying direction by an endless belt; an image forming unit that forms an image by ejecting droplets onto a recording medium transported by the endless belt; a cleaning unit that is provided downstream of the image forming unit in the conveyance direction and that cleans the endless belt, The cleaning unit includes a supply unit that supplies cleaning liquid to the endless belt. an acquisition unit that acquires information related to image formation by the image forming unit; The control unit functions as a control unit that controls the supply of cleaning liquid to the endless belt by the supply unit based on the information acquired by the acquisition unit. [Effects of the Invention]

[0027] According to the present invention, cleaning of the transport unit that transports the recording medium can be more suitably carried out. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0028] [Figure 1] 1 is a schematic side view of an inkjet recording apparatus according to a first embodiment. [Figure 2] FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an inkjet recording apparatus. [Figure 3] FIG. 2 is a schematic front view of an image forming unit of a multi-pass inkjet recording apparatus. [Figure 4] 10 is a flowchart of an image forming process and a belt cleaning process. [Figure 5] 10 is a table showing patterns of changing the amount of cleaning liquid supplied based on the type of recording medium. [Figure 6] 10 is a table showing patterns of changing the amount of cleaning liquid supplied based on the amount of ink in an image. [Figure 7] 10 is a table showing patterns of changing the amount of cleaning liquid supplied based on the conveying speed of the conveyor belt. [Figure 8] 10 is a table showing patterns of changing the amount of cleaning liquid supplied based on the thickness of the recording medium. [Figure 9] 10 is a schematic diagram summarizing the execution timing of an image forming operation, a conveying operation, and a cleaning liquid supplying operation. [Figure 10] FIG. 10 is a schematic side view of an inkjet recording apparatus according to a second embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0029] An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. Note that the following description is merely an example of an embodiment of the present invention and is not intended to limit the present invention.

[0030] [First embodiment] [Overall configuration] First, an example of the configuration of an inkjet recording apparatus 1, which is an embodiment of an image forming apparatus according to the present embodiment, will be disclosed. Fig. 1 is a schematic diagram of the inkjet recording apparatus 1 according to the first embodiment. Fig. 2 is a block diagram showing the functional configuration of the inkjet recording apparatus 1.

[0031] The inkjet recording apparatus 1 includes a feeding section 2, a conveying section 3, an image forming section 4, a cleaning section 5, a winding section 6, and a control section 100. Under the control of the control section 100, the inkjet recording apparatus 1 forms a desired image on a recording medium P that is fed from the feeding section 2 and conveyed by the conveying section 3 in the image forming section 4, and then winds up the recording medium in the winding section 6. In addition, the inkjet recording apparatus 1 cleans the conveying section 3 that has passed through the image forming section 4 in the cleaning section 5.

[0032] In the following description, the X direction, Y direction, and Z direction are the directions shown in Fig. 1. In addition, in the following description, the X direction, Y direction, and Z direction are also referred to as the width direction, conveyance direction, and height direction, respectively.

[0033] [Recording medium] In the following, a case where the recording medium P is fabric will be exemplified, but the present invention is not limited to this. The recording medium P is not particularly limited as long as it can be used for image formation by the image forming unit 4.

[0034] [Feeding section] The desired recording medium P is rotatably installed in the feeding unit 2, for example, wound in a roll around a support shaft. The feeding unit 2 is provided with a feed unit consisting of a single or multiple transport rollers. The recording medium P in the feeding unit 2 is sent to the transport unit 3 by the feed unit.

[0035] [Transportation section] In the conveying section 3, an endless conveying belt 33 of a predetermined width is stretched over a driven roller 31 and a driving roller 32 that are arranged in parallel at a predetermined interval. The upper surface of the conveying belt 33 stretched over the driven roller 31 and the driving roller 32 serves as a loading surface on which the recording medium P is placed in close contact.

[0036] An adhesive layer is formed on the mounting surface of the conveyor belt 33 to adhere the recording medium P during conveyance. The adhesive layer is formed by applying an adhesive called a backing agent. Examples of adhesives that can be used to form the adhesive layer include water-soluble resins, pressure-sensitive resins, and heat-sensitive resins.

[0037] The drive roller 32 is driven by a sub-scanning motor (not shown). The sub-scanning motor is under the control of the control unit 100. When the sub-scanning motor is driven to rotate, the drive roller 32 rotates at a predetermined speed in the transport direction, which is the direction of the arrow in FIG. 1. The rotation of the drive roller 32 causes the transport belt 33, which is stretched between the drive roller 32 and the driven roller 31, to rotate and move. This operation causes the recording medium P placed on the loading surface of the transport belt 33 to be transported in the transport direction.

[0038] 1, a plate-shaped platen that supports the conveyor belt 33 from the underside may be provided in the conveyor unit 3. By providing the platen, deflection of the conveyor belt 33 between the driven roller 31 and the drive roller 32 is suppressed, and image distortion can be suppressed.

[0039] [Image forming section] The image forming unit 4 records an image on the recording medium P conveyed by the conveying device 3. FIG. 3 shows a schematic front view of the image forming unit 4. The image forming unit 4 is mounted with a plurality of inkjet heads 411 aligned in the width direction on one carriage 41. The carriage 41 has, for example, a belt stretched between two pulleys rotated by a motor (not shown). The carriage 41 ejects ink while scanning the plurality of inkjet heads 411 in the width direction by the rotation of the motor based on a drive signal output by the control unit 100, thereby forming an image. The carriage 41 is mounted with four inkjet heads 411, each corresponding to one of four colors of ink: yellow (Y), magenta (M), cyan (C), and black (K).

[0040] The following describes a case where the image forming unit 4 is of such a multi-pass type (serial head type). The number of inkjet heads 411 mounted on the carriage 41 may be three or less, or five or more.

[0041] [Cleaning section] 1, the cleaning unit 5 performs a belt cleaning process described below to remove foreign matter such as ink adhering to the conveyor belt 33 of the conveyor device 3. The cleaning unit 5 includes a first cleaning unit 51 and a second cleaning unit 52 provided downstream of the first cleaning unit 51 in the conveyance direction.

[0042] (First cleaning section) The first cleaning unit 51 includes, for example, a first collection unit 511, a first supply unit 512, a first brush roller 513, a first scraping unit 514, and a first water storage unit 515. Of the cleaning unit 51, the first supply unit 512, the first brush roller 513, and the first scraping unit 514 are cleaning members that perform a belt cleaning process on the conveyor belt 33.

[0043] {1st Recovery Section} The first collection section 511 is a bucket-shaped member that is open on the side of the conveyor belt 33. The first collection section 511 collects the cleaning liquid that drips from the conveyor belt 33, the first supply section 512, the first brush roller 513, the first scraping section 514, etc. In the first collection section 511, for example, the first supply section 512, the first brush roller 513, the first scraping section 514, and the first water storage section 515 are arranged in this order from the upstream side to the downstream side in the conveyance direction.

[0044] {1st supply section} The first supply unit 512 has a nozzle spanning the entire width in the width direction perpendicular to the conveyance direction. The nozzle of the first supply unit 512 is provided at a position facing the mounting surface of the conveyor belt 33. The nozzle of the first supply unit 512 sprays and supplies the cleaning liquid supplied from the first water storage unit 515 onto the mounting surface of the conveyor belt 33. The cleaning liquid is sprayed, for example, into the area between the first brush roller 513 and the conveyor belt 33. Spraying the cleaning liquid by the first supply unit 512 can remove foreign matter adhering to the conveyor belt 33. In addition, spraying the cleaning liquid onto the conveyor belt 33 enhances the cleaning effect of the subsequent first brush roller 513 on the conveyor belt 33. The cleaning liquid sprayed from the first supply unit 512 is collected by the first collection unit 511.

[0045] {1st Brush Roller} The first brush roller 513 is a roller-shaped brush with a brush bundle attached to a rotating shaft that is stretched across the entire width of the conveyor belt 33. The first brush roller 513 is arranged so that the tip of the brush bundle comes into contact with the support surface of the conveyor belt 33. With this arrangement, the first brush roller 513 rotates while always in contact with the support surface of the conveyor belt 33.

[0046] The first brush roller 513 is configured to rotate in the opposite direction to the conveyance direction at a contact position with the conveyor belt 33. The first brush roller 513 is driven to rotate at a predetermined speed, causing the brush bundle to rub against the mounting surface of the conveyor belt 33. By this rubbing, the first brush roller 513 removes foreign matter that has been cleaned by the spraying of cleaning liquid by the first supply unit 512 from the mounting surface of the conveyor belt 33. The foreign matter and cleaning liquid removed by the first brush roller 513 are collected by the first collection unit 511.

[0047] {First scraping section} The first scraping portion 514 is a flat plate-like member made of, for example, an elastic material such as rubber or a PET sheet. The first scraping portion 514 is stretched across the entire width of the conveyor belt 33. The tip of the first scraping portion 514 is disposed so as to contact the loading surface of the conveyor belt 33. This arrangement enables the first scraping portion 514 to scrape off foreign matter and cleaning liquid remaining on the conveyor belt 33. The foreign matter and cleaning liquid scraped off by the first scraping portion 514 are collected by the first collection portion 511.

[0048] {First Water Reservoir} First water storage section 515 is provided on the bottom side of first collection section 511. First water storage section 515 is configured to be able to store the foreign matter and cleaning liquid collected by first collection section 511. First water storage section 515 is provided with a flow path that communicates with first supply section 512, and this flow path is provided with a pump that sprays the cleaning liquid and a filter that removes the foreign matter. With this configuration, the cleaning liquid sprayed from first supply section 512 is collected in first collection section 511 and then sent from first water storage section 515 to first supply section 512, so that first supply section 512 can repeatedly spray the cleaning liquid.

[0049] (Second cleaning section) The second cleaning section 52 includes a second collection section 521 , a second supply section 522 , a second brush roller 523 , a second scraping section 524 , a second water storage section 525 and an auxiliary scraping section 526 .

[0050] {Second Recovery Section} The second collection section 521 is disposed downstream of the first collection section 511 in the conveying direction. In this embodiment, one tub is divided into two areas by a plate-shaped separating section, thereby forming the first collection section 511 and the second collection section 521, which are independent from each other in the conveying direction.

[0051] Similar to the first collection section 511, the second collection section 521 is a tub that is open on the conveyor belt 33 side and that collects cleaning liquid dripping from the conveyor belt 33 and from a second supply section 522, a second brush roller 523, a second scraping section 524, and an auxiliary scraping section 526, which will be described later. Near the opening of the second collection section 521 on the conveyor belt 33 side, the second supply section 522, the second brush roller 523, the second scraping section 524, and the auxiliary scraping section 526 are arranged in this order in the conveyance direction.

[0052] {Second supply unit, second brush roller, second scraping unit, second water storage unit} The configurations of second supply unit 522, second brush roller 523, second scraping unit 524, and second water storage unit 525 of second cleaning unit 52 are similar to the configurations of first supply unit 512, first brush roller 513, first scraping unit 514, and first water storage unit 515, respectively. Therefore, redundant explanations will be omitted.

[0053] In the following description, the first supply unit 512 and the second supply unit 522 will be simply referred to as "supply unit" unless a distinction is made between them.

[0054] {Auxiliary scraping unit} The auxiliary scraping portion 526 is provided downstream in the conveying direction from the second scraping portion 524. The auxiliary scraping portion 526 is configured, for example, by a flat plate-shaped member (so-called scraper) made of an elastic material such as rubber, a PET sheet, or the like. The auxiliary scraping portion 526 spans the entire width in the width direction. The tip of the auxiliary scraping portion 526 is positioned so as to contact the surface of the conveyor belt 33.

[0055] [Winding section] In the winding section 6, the recording medium P on which an image has been formed in the image forming section 3 is rotatably installed, for example, wound in a roll around a support shaft. The winding section 6 is provided with a pick-up section consisting of a single or multiple transport rollers. The recording medium P in the transport section 3 is sent to the winding section 6 by the pick-up section.

[0056] [Control Unit] The control unit 100 includes a central processing unit (CPU), a random access memory (RAM), a read only memory (ROM), a storage unit, and the like.

[0057] (CPU) The CPU reads out various control programs and setting data stored in the ROM, stores them in the RAM, and executes the programs to perform various arithmetic processing. The CPU also comprehensively controls the overall operation of the inkjet recording apparatus 1.

[0058] (RAM) The RAM provides the CPU with working memory space and stores temporary data. The RAM may also include non-volatile memory.

[0059] (ROM) The ROM stores various control programs executed by the CPU, setting data, etc. Note that rewritable non-volatile memory such as an EEPROM (Electrically Erasable Programmable Read Only Memory) or flash memory may be used instead of the ROM.

[0060] (Storage part) The storage unit stores print jobs (image recording commands) input from a predetermined external device via a predetermined input / output interface, and image data related to the print jobs. The storage unit may be, for example, an HDD (Hard Disk Drive), or may also use a DRAM (Dynamic Random Access Memory) or the like.

[0061] [Image formation process and belt cleaning process] The image forming process and belt cleaning process performed by the inkjet recording apparatus 1 described above will be described with reference to the flowchart in Fig. 4. The control unit 100 executes the image forming process and belt cleaning process based on the reception of a print job from an external device. The image forming process is realized by cooperation between the control unit 100 and the image forming unit 4. The belt cleaning process is realized by cooperation between the control unit 100 and the cleaning unit 5.

[0062] The control unit 100 receives a print job from an external device and moves the carriage 41 to an image formation start position (step S101). Based on the received print job, the control unit 100 also determines whether to change the amount of cleaning liquid supplied by the supply unit (step S102).

[0063] 5 to 8 show patterns for changing the amount of cleaning liquid supplied based on a print job. For example, the control unit 100 acquires information about the recording medium P from the print job. If the recording medium P is a type with a lot of nap, the amount of cleaning liquid supplied is increased compared to a type with a little nap. In the case of a recording medium P with a lot of nap, the nap tends to adhere to the conveyor belt 33 due to the adhesive. For this reason, it is necessary to remove the adhering nap by increasing the amount of cleaning liquid supplied.

[0064] Alternatively, the control unit 100 increases the supply amount of cleaning liquid when the thickness of the recording medium P is thin. This is because ink tends to bleed through to the back side when the thickness of the recording medium P is thin.

[0065] Furthermore, when forming an image by the image forming unit 4, if the coverage is high and the ink consumption is high, the control unit 100 increases the supply amount of cleaning liquid compared to when the coverage is low and the ink consumption is low. If the coverage is high and the ink consumption is high, the ink is likely to bleed through from the recording medium P to the conveyor belt 33. This is because it is necessary to remove the adhering ink by increasing the supply amount of cleaning liquid.

[0066] Furthermore, the control unit 100 increases the amount of cleaning liquid supplied when the conveying speed of the conveyor belt 33 is fast compared to when the conveying speed is slow. This is because when the conveying speed of the conveyor belt 33 is fast, the amount of cleaning liquid that the supply unit can supply to a predetermined area per unit time is relatively smaller than when the conveying speed is slow.

[0067] In this way, the control unit 100 functions as an acquisition unit that acquires information related to image formation by the image forming unit 4. Furthermore, the control unit 100 changes the amount of cleaning liquid supplied by the supply unit according to the acquired information. With this configuration, the conveyor belt 33 can be cleaned with just the necessary amount of cleaning liquid, neither too much nor too little.

[0068] When it is determined that the supply amount of the cleaning liquid needs to be changed (step S102; Yes), the control unit 100 changes the supply conditions of the cleaning liquid by the supply unit (step S103).

[0069] Specifically, the control unit 100 changes the supply amount of the cleaning liquid by controlling the supply pressure (water pressure) of the cleaning liquid supplied from the supply unit by changing the driving mode of the supply unit. Alternatively, the control unit 100 changes the supply amount of the cleaning liquid by inserting or removing a slit that changes the diameter of the nozzle of the supply unit.

[0070] If it is determined that the supply amount of the cleaning liquid needs to be changed, the control unit 100 adjusts the position of the supply unit (step S104).

[0071] For example, when the supply amount of cleaning liquid is reduced, the control unit 100 adjusts the position of the supply unit and the conveyor belt 33 so that they are closer to each other. This is because when the supply amount of cleaning liquid is reduced, there is a risk that the cleaning liquid may not reach the conveyor belt 33 from the supply unit.

[0072] On the other hand, when the supply amount of cleaning liquid is increased, the control unit 100 adjusts the distance between the supply unit and the conveyor belt 33. This is because when the supply amount of cleaning liquid is increased, the cleaning liquid may splash on the conveyor belt 33 and jump out of the tubs that constitute the first collection unit 511 and the second collection unit 521.

[0073] As a method for adjusting the position of the supply unit, it is of course possible to adjust the position of the supply unit itself, or to adjust the positions of the tubs constituting the first recovery unit 511 and the second recovery unit 521 in which the supply unit is provided. Alternatively, if the transport unit 3 is drivable, the position of the transport unit 3 may be adjusted.

[0074] Furthermore, although maintainability is reduced, for example, if the buckets constituting the first recovery unit 511 and the second recovery unit 512 are configured to be sealed so that the cleaning liquid does not splash out, there is no risk of the cleaning liquid splashed by the conveyor belt 33 splashing out of the buckets. Therefore, in this configuration, even if the amount of cleaning liquid supplied is increased, the distance between the supply unit and the conveyor belt 33 does not need to be increased.

[0075] If it is determined that there is no need to change the supply amount of the cleaning liquid (step S102; No), the process proceeds to step S105.

[0076] The control unit 100 causes the image forming unit 4 to eject ink while moving the carriage 41 from the first end in the width direction to the second end opposite the first end, thereby forming an image (step S105).

[0077] Then, the control unit 100 instructs the supply unit to supply the cleaning liquid based on the supply conditions changed in step S103 or the default supply conditions (step S106), and then the control unit 100 causes the conveyor belt 33 to move (step S107).

[0078] When the supply unit starts supplying the cleaning liquid, a predetermined lag occurs depending on the supply conditions (water pressure) from when a signal is sent to the supply unit until the supply unit actually supplies the cleaning liquid. Therefore, as described above, by sending a signal to the supply unit to supply the cleaning liquid to the conveyor belt 33 at a predetermined timing depending on the supply amount of cleaning liquid (water pressure) before the conveying operation by the conveyor unit 3 starts, it is possible to prevent the conveyor belt 33 from being insufficiently cleaned.

[0079] The control unit 100 instructs the supply unit to stop supplying the cleaning liquid (step S108), and then the control unit 100 stops driving the conveyor belt 33 (step S109).

[0080] Similarly, when the supply unit stops supplying the cleaning liquid, there is a predetermined lag depending on the supply conditions between when the signal is sent to the supply unit and when the supply unit actually stops operating. Therefore, by sending a signal to the supply unit to stop supplying the cleaning liquid at a predetermined timing depending on the water pressure of the cleaning liquid before the transport operation by the transport unit 3 stops, it is possible to reduce the consumption of excess cleaning liquid.

[0081] In this way, the control unit 100 controls the supply of cleaning liquid to the conveyor belt 33 by the supply unit based on information related to image formation by the image forming unit 4, and performs intermittent control to supply cleaning liquid intermittently to the conveyor belt 33. With this configuration, the supply of cleaning liquid is stopped when the conveyor belt 33 is not being conveyed. This prevents the same location on the conveyor belt 33 from being endlessly cleaned with an excessive amount of cleaning liquid, thereby saving water. Furthermore, because cleaning liquid is supplied when the conveyor belt 33 is being conveyed, the cleanability of the conveyor unit 3 remains the same as before.

[0082] After the supply of cleaning liquid is stopped, the control unit 100 determines whether the image formation process has ended (step S110). If the image formation process has not ended (step S110; No), the process proceeds to step S105, where the image forming unit 4 forms an image. At this time, the control unit 100 ejects ink while moving the carriage 41 from the second end to the first end.

[0083] When the image forming process is completed (Step S110; Yes), the belt cleaning process is also completed.

[0084] [Effects of the embodiment] As described above, the inkjet recording apparatus 1 according to this embodiment includes a conveying unit 3 that conveys the recording medium P in the conveying direction by the conveying belt 33, which is an endless belt. The inkjet recording apparatus 1 also includes an image forming unit 4 that forms an image by ejecting droplets onto the recording medium P conveyed by the endless belt. The inkjet recording apparatus 1 also includes supply units 512 and 522 that are provided downstream in the conveying direction from the image forming unit 4 and supply cleaning liquid from nozzles to the endless belt, and a cleaning unit 5 that cleans the endless belt. The inkjet recording apparatus 1 also includes a control unit 100 that functions as an acquiring unit that acquires information related to image formation by the image forming unit 4 and controls the supply of cleaning liquid to the endless belt by the supply units 512 and 522 based on the acquired information.

[0085] 9, the inkjet recording apparatus 1 according to this embodiment performs intermittent control to supply cleaning liquid intermittently to the conveyor belt 33 during a series of image forming operations by the image forming unit 4. This allows cleaning liquid to be supplied only when it is necessary, making it possible to both clean the conveyor unit that conveys the recording medium and save water when cleaning the conveyor unit.

[0086] Furthermore, the inkjet recording apparatus 1 according to this embodiment changes the amount of cleaning liquid supplied by the supply units 512 and 522 in accordance with the information acquired by the acquisition unit. That is, the difficulty of removing foreign matter is estimated based on the acquired information, and the amount of cleaning liquid supplied is appropriately increased or decreased. This makes it possible to both clean the transport unit that transports the recording medium and save water when cleaning the transport unit.

[0087] [Second embodiment] Next, an inkjet recording apparatus 1 according to a second embodiment will be described. Note that a description of the configuration common to the inkjet recording apparatus 1 according to the first embodiment will be omitted. The inkjet recording apparatus 1 according to the second embodiment differs from the first embodiment in that it is a one-pass system (single-pass system, line head system).

[0088] A one-pass type inkjet recording apparatus 1 will be described with reference to Fig. 10. The image forming section 4 of the inkjet recording apparatus 1 of the second embodiment includes a head unit 41a made up of a plurality of inkjet heads 411 for each ink color.

[0089] In the head unit 41a, the multiple inkjet heads 411 are arranged in a staggered pattern so that the range in which ink can be ejected from the nozzles is continuously connected in the width direction. The head unit 41a is also longer in the width direction than the image forming area of ​​the recording medium P. Therefore, during the image forming process, the inkjet recording apparatus 1 according to this embodiment forms an image by ejecting ink from each head unit 41a, which is fixed in position, onto the recording medium P, which is transported and moved at a constant speed.

[0090] In such an inkjet recording apparatus 1, the conveying operation by the conveying unit 3 does not stop until the image forming process is completed. Therefore, in this embodiment, an appropriate amount of cleaning liquid is supplied by controlling the supply amount of cleaning liquid, rather than by intermittent control.

[0091] [Other configurations] Although one embodiment of the present invention has been described above, the scope of the present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, and includes the scope of the invention described in the claims and its equivalents.

[0092] For example, in the above example, a configuration is described in which the determination of whether to increase or decrease the amount of cleaning liquid supplied is based on any one of the factors of the type of recording medium P (the amount of nap), coverage, conveyance speed, and thickness of the recording medium P is made, but this is not limiting. That is, the determination of whether to increase or decrease the amount of cleaning liquid supplied may be made based on multiple factors. For example, even if the coverage is high, if the recording medium P is thick, there is a low risk of strike-through. Therefore, the control unit 100 does not need to increase the amount of cleaning liquid supplied.

[0093] In the above description, the supply unit supplies cleaning liquid while the conveyor belt 33 is being conveyed during the image formation process, but this is not limited to this. For example, when forming a one-point image, there are times when ink is not ejected from the inkjet head 411 even during the image formation process, such as when forming a white image portion or a margin portion. Even during the image formation process, when ink is not being ejected, there is no need to supply cleaning liquid. Therefore, the position of the conveyor belt corresponding to the image formation position may be obtained from image data, and the amount of cleaning liquid supplied or the intermittent supply may be controlled.

[0094] Furthermore, although the image forming apparatus is an inkjet recording apparatus 1 in the above example, the present invention is not limited to this. That is, the liquid ejected by the image forming apparatus is not limited to ink. The present invention is widely applicable to any image forming apparatus that ejects liquid to form an image.

[0095] Although the above example discloses the use of a ROM as a computer-readable medium for the program according to the present invention, the present invention is not limited to this example. Other computer-readable media include portable recording media such as CD-ROMs. Furthermore, a carrier wave may be used as a medium for providing the program data according to the present invention via a communication line. [Explanation of symbols]

[0096] 1. Inkjet recording device (image forming device) 3. Conveyor 33 Conveyor belt (endless belt) 4 Image forming unit 5 Cleaning section 512 1st supply section (supply section) 522 2nd supply section (supply section) 100 control unit (acquisition unit, detection unit) P Recording medium

Claims

1. a conveying unit that conveys the recording medium in a conveying direction by an endless belt; an image forming unit that forms an image by ejecting droplets onto a recording medium transported by the endless belt; a cleaning unit that is provided downstream of the image forming unit in the conveyance direction and that cleans the endless belt; an acquisition unit that acquires information related to image formation by the image forming unit; a control unit, the cleaning unit includes a supply unit that supplies a cleaning liquid to the endless belt, The control unit controls the supply of cleaning liquid to the endless belt by the supply unit based on the information acquired by the acquisition unit.

2. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the control unit changes the amount of cleaning liquid supplied by the supply unit in accordance with the information acquired by the acquisition unit.

3. The image forming apparatus according to claim 2 , wherein the acquisition unit acquires a transport speed of the endless belt.

4. The image forming apparatus according to claim 2 , wherein the acquisition unit acquires information about the recording medium.

5. The image forming apparatus according to claim 2 , wherein the acquisition unit acquires coverage.

6. The image forming apparatus according to claim 2 , wherein the acquisition unit acquires information and coverage of the recording medium.

7. The image forming apparatus according to claim 2 , wherein the control unit changes the amount of the cleaning liquid supplied by the supply unit by changing the water pressure of the cleaning liquid.

8. the supply unit supplies the cleaning liquid to the endless belt from a nozzle; The image forming apparatus according to claim 2 , wherein the control unit changes the amount of cleaning liquid supplied by the supply unit by changing the diameter of the nozzle.

9. The image forming apparatus according to claim 2 , wherein the control unit changes the distance between the supply unit and the transport unit in accordance with the amount of cleaning liquid supplied.

10. the acquisition unit acquires image data of an image formed by the image forming unit, 3. The image forming apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the control unit specifies a position on the endless belt that corresponds to an image forming position based on the image data, and changes the amount of cleaning liquid supplied by the supply unit.

11. the image forming unit is capable of scanning in a width direction intersecting the transport direction, The image forming apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the image is formed on the recording medium by alternately repeating scanning of the image forming unit and conveyance of the recording medium.

12. 12. The image forming apparatus according to claim 11, wherein the control unit performs intermittent control to supply the cleaning liquid from the supply unit to the endless belt intermittently during a series of image forming operations by the image forming unit.

13. 13. The image forming apparatus according to claim 12, wherein the control unit changes the amount of cleaning liquid supplied by the supply unit and the intermittent control based on the position of the endless belt corresponding to the identified image forming position.

14. The image forming apparatus according to claim 12 , wherein the control unit supplies the cleaning liquid from the supply unit to the endless belt in synchronization with a conveying operation by the conveying unit.

15. The image forming apparatus according to claim 14 , wherein the control unit controls the supply unit to supply cleaning liquid before the start of a transport operation by the transport unit and / or stop supplying cleaning liquid before the end of a transport operation by the transport unit.

16. The image forming apparatus according to claim 15 , wherein the control unit determines a supply time of the cleaning liquid before the start and / or end of a conveying operation by the conveying unit, depending on the amount of cleaning liquid supplied by the supply unit.

17. the image forming unit is fixed and extends in a width direction intersecting with the conveying direction, The image forming apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the image is formed on the recording medium by driving the image forming unit while driving the conveying unit.

18. a conveying unit that conveys the recording medium in a conveying direction by an endless belt; an image forming unit that forms an image by ejecting droplets onto a recording medium transported by the endless belt; a cleaning unit that is provided downstream of the image forming unit in the conveyance direction and that cleans the endless belt, a supply unit for supplying a cleaning liquid to the endless belt; an acquisition step of acquiring information related to image formation by the image forming unit; a control step of controlling the supply of cleaning liquid to the endless belt by the supply unit based on the information acquired in the acquisition step.

19. a conveying unit that conveys the recording medium in a conveying direction by an endless belt; an image forming unit that forms an image by ejecting droplets onto a recording medium transported by the endless belt; a cleaning unit that is provided downstream of the image forming unit in the conveyance direction and that cleans the endless belt, The cleaning unit includes a supply unit that supplies cleaning liquid to the endless belt. an acquisition unit that acquires information related to image formation by the image forming unit; a program that functions as a control unit that controls the supply of cleaning liquid to the endless belt by the supply unit based on the information acquired by the acquisition unit;

Images