Discharge device, discharge method, and program

Abstract

To restart a discharge operation without deteriorating printing quality and productivity even when the discharge operation is stopped in the middle of a forward path or a backward path of main scanning.SOLUTION: A liquid discharge apparatus includes a discharge unit that discharges a discharge target from a nozzle to a discharge target medium, a movement unit that moves a position of the discharge unit in a predetermined scanning direction at a predetermined scanning speed, a measurement unit that measures the position of the discharge unit, an interruption information storage unit that stores an interruption coordinate indicating a position where the discharge unit interrupts a discharge operation and an interruption direction indicating a movement direction of the discharge unit immediately before the discharge operation is interrupted, and a restart coordinate calculation unit that calculates a restart coordinate indicating a position where the discharge unit restarts the discharge operation.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 4

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a discharge device, a discharge method, and a program. [Background technology]

[0002] Conventionally, when the ejection operation of an inkjet printer is interrupted due to an error or the like during the ejection operation, the ejection receiving medium is replaced and printing is started again, or the ejection operation is restarted without replacing the ejection receiving medium and printing is continued by overwriting the already printed portion.

[0003] Patent Document 1 discloses that when a standby factor is detected, the carriage drive control unit moves the carriage to a standby position, and the status management unit stores movement information of the carriage immediately before it moved to the standby position in a predetermined storage unit. It also discloses that when the standby factor is resolved, the status management unit instructs the carriage drive control unit to resume carriage movement based on the carriage movement resume position and movement direction corresponding to the movement information stored in the storage unit, and instructs the print head control unit to resume image formation that was being performed. Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] However, with conventional technology, there is a problem that when the ejection receiving medium is replaced, paper is wasted, which reduces productivity, and when the ejection receiving medium is a road surface, it is not possible to replace it. Furthermore, when the ejection receiving medium is overwritten without replacing it, there are problems that the print quality varies and ink is wasted.

[0005] Furthermore, the technology described in Patent Document 1 is a technology in which the carriage stops at a position where it has finished moving forward or backward in the main scan, and then resumes the ejection operation from the stopped position. If the ejection operation is stopped midway through the forward or backward scan and then resumed, there is a problem that print quality and productivity may be reduced.

[0006] The present invention has been made in consideration of the above, and aims to make it possible to resume ejection operations without reducing print quality or productivity, even if the ejection operation stops midway through the forward or backward pass of the main scan. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] In order to solve the above-mentioned problems and achieve the object, the present invention provides an ejection unit that ejects an ejected material from a nozzle onto an ejection medium, a moving unit that moves the position of the ejection unit in a predetermined scanning direction at a predetermined scanning speed, a measuring unit that measures the position of the ejection unit, an interruption information storage unit that stores an interruption coordinate that indicates the position where the ejection unit interrupted the ejection operation and an interruption direction that indicates the movement direction of the ejection unit immediately before the ejection operation was interrupted, and a resume coordinate calculation unit that calculates a resume coordinate that indicates the position where the ejection unit will resume the ejection operation, wherein the resume coordinate calculation unit calculates the resume coordinate based on the interruption coordinate, the interruption direction, and the distance until the ejection unit reaches the predetermined scanning speed. [Effects of the Invention]

[0008] According to the present invention, even if the ejection operation is stopped during the forward or backward pass of the main scan, it is possible to resume the ejection operation without degrading print quality or productivity. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0009] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of a printing apparatus equipped with a discharge device according to the first embodiment. [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of the discharge device according to the first embodiment. [Figure 3] FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of a hardware configuration of the discharge device. [Figure 4] FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of a functional configuration of the discharge device according to the first embodiment. [Figure 5]FIG. 5 is a plan view of the ejection device as seen from above, with the printing area and coordinates used for the ejection operation added. [Figure 6] FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating the relationship between the interruption information and the resumption coordinates. [Figure 7] FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an example of a velocity profile of the ejection part. [Figure 8] FIG. 8 is a diagram for explaining the relationship between the interruption coordinate and the ejection restart coordinate. [Figure 9] FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating the discharge position where the discharge control unit at restart performs discharge control. [Figure 10] FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing an example of the procedure of the ejection operation in the first embodiment. [Figure 11] FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating an example of a functional configuration of a discharge device according to the second embodiment. [Figure 12] FIG. 12 is a flowchart showing an example of the procedure of the ejection operation in the second embodiment. [Figure 13] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of a discharge device according to the third embodiment. [Figure 14] FIG. 14 is a diagram showing an example of the interruption direction and the restart direction in the third embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0010] DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, embodiments of a discharge device, a discharge method, and a program will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0011] (First embodiment) Fig. 1 shows an example of the configuration of a printing device equipped with a discharge device according to this embodiment. Fig. 1(a) is a side view of the printing device 1A, and Fig. 1(b) is a plan view of the printing device 1A viewed from above. As shown in Fig. 1, the printing device 1A includes a discharge device 1 shown in white, a housing 2 and multiple tires 3 shown in diagonal lines.

[0012] The printing device 1A can move the discharge device 1 mounted on the housing 2 over the discharge receiving medium A, such as a road surface, using tires 3. The discharge device 1 is moved to each printing area, which is a large area of ​​the discharge receiving medium A divided into multiple areas, and then prints in each printing area as described below. In this way, the printing device 1A is a device that prints large shapes (patterns, symbols, lines, etc.) over a large area of ​​the discharge receiving medium A by moving the discharge device 1 to each printing area. Note that "printing" refers to, for example, discharging by applying or spraying a discharged material onto a road surface or the like. Note that the discharged material is not limited to liquids such as ink or paint, but may be non-liquid substances such as adhesives or soil and sand.

[0013] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of a discharge device according to this embodiment. FIG. 2(a) is a side view of the discharge device 1, and FIG. 2(b) is a plan view of the discharge device 1 as seen from above. As shown in FIG. 2, the discharge device 1 includes a discharge unit 10 having a nozzle 100, and moving units 20X, 20Y, and 20Z. As will be described later, the discharge unit 10 is configured by a carriage equipped with a discharge head that discharges a discharged material from the nozzle 100. In this embodiment, the distance between the discharged medium A and the nozzle 100 is set to 0.5 mm or more. This is because, when the discharged medium A is a road surface or the like, the surface of the discharged medium A is highly uneven, and a large distance must be maintained between the discharged medium A and the nozzle 100 to prevent the nozzle 100 from contacting or colliding with the discharged medium A. For example, when the discharged medium A is a road surface, the surface of the discharged medium A becomes highly uneven due to the surface shapes of asphalt, manholes, and other foreign objects such as sand and pebbles on the road.

[0014] The moving units 20X, 20Y, and 20Z are devices that move the discharge unit 10 three-dimensionally, and are configured, for example, by a gantry including a driving device such as a motor or a linear slider. The moving unit 20X moves the discharge unit 10 along the X axis, the moving unit 20Y moves the discharge unit 10 along the Y axis, and the moving unit 20Z moves the discharge unit 10 along the Z axis. Here, the X direction is the main scanning direction, the Y direction is the sub-scanning direction, and the Z direction is the direction perpendicular to the XY plane. Note that the moving units 20X, 20Y, and 20Z may be collectively referred to as the moving unit 20. The position P of the discharge unit 10 is located at the center of the discharge unit 10, and its three-dimensional coordinates are expressed as (x P ,y P ,z P ) The origin of the coordinates is set at a predetermined position (for example, the point indicated by O in FIG. 2). In this specification, unless otherwise specified, the coordinates are absolute coordinates based on the origin O.

[0015] 3 is a diagram showing an example of the hardware configuration of the discharge device 1. The discharge device 1 includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 101, a ROM (Read Only Memory) 102, a RAM (Random Access Memory) 103, an NVRAM (Non-Volatile Random Access Memory) 104, an external device connection I / F (Interface) 108, a network I / F 109, and a bus line 190. In addition to the discharge unit 10 and the movement unit 20, the discharge device 1 also includes a main scanning driver 112, a sub-scanning driver 113, a vertical movement driver 114, a measurement unit 130, an HD (Hard Disk) 140, an HDD (Hard Disk Drive) controller 141, a DVD-RW (Digital Versatile Disk Rewritable) drive 151, a media I / F 161, and an operation panel 180.

[0016] Of these, the CPU 101 controls the overall operation of the discharge device 1. The ROM 102 stores programs such as IPL used to drive the CPU 101. The RAM 103 is used as a work area for the CPU 101. The NVRAM 104 stores various data such as programs, and retains the various data even when the power to the discharge device 1 is cut off. The external device connection I / F 108 is connected to a PC (Personal Computer) via a USB (Universal Serial Bus) cable or the like, and communicates control signals and data to be printed with the PC. The network I / F 109 is an interface for data communication using a communication network such as the Internet. The bus line 190 is an address bus, data bus, or the like for electrically connecting each component such as the CPU 101.

[0017] The movement unit 20 moves the position of the discharge unit 10 three-dimensionally above the discharge receiving medium A. The main scanning driver 112 controls the movement of the discharge unit 10 in the main scanning direction. The sub-scanning driver 113 controls the movement of the discharge unit 10 in the sub-scanning direction. Furthermore, the vertical movement driver 114 controls the movement of the discharge unit 10 in the vertical direction. When printing one line, the movement unit 20 moves the position of the discharge unit 10 in the main scanning direction at a predetermined scanning speed (specified speed). Here, the main scanning direction is an example of a predetermined scanning direction. Furthermore, when printing multiple lines, the movement unit 20 intermittently moves the position of the discharge unit 10 in the sub-scanning direction. Note that the main scanning driver 112, the sub-scanning driver 113, and the vertical movement driver 114 may each be functions realized by commands from the CPU 101 according to a program.

[0018] The ejection unit 10 includes an ejection head 121 and an ejection head driver 122. The ejection head 121 has one or more nozzles 100 for ejecting the ejected material. The ejection device 1 is installed so that the ejection surface (nozzle surface) of the ejection head 121 faces the ejection receiving medium A. The ejection unit 10 ejects the ejected material while moving at a specified speed in the main scanning direction to print one line. The ejection unit 10 also moves intermittently in the sub-scanning direction to print multiple lines, thereby depositing the ejected material at a predetermined position on the ejection receiving medium A to form an image (image creation). Note that in this application, the terms image formation, recording, printing, imaging, modeling, etc. are all synonymous.

[0019] The ejection head driver 122 is a driver for controlling the driving of the ejection head 121. The ejection head driver 122 may be configured, for example, not to be mounted on the ejection unit 10 but to be connected to the bus line 190 from outside the ejection unit 10. The ejection head driver 122 may also be a function realized by an instruction from the CPU 101 according to a program.

[0020] The pressure generating means used in the ejection head 121 is not limited to a piezoelectric actuator (it may be one that uses a laminated piezoelectric element). For example, it may be one that uses a thermal actuator that uses an electrothermal conversion element such as a heating resistor, or an electrostatic actuator that consists of a vibration plate and an opposing electrode.

[0021] The measurement unit 130 is a measurement device including, for example, an internal sensor such as an encoder for the motor of the moving unit 20, and an external sensor such as an ultrasonic sensor or an infrared sensor. The measurement unit 130 calculates the three-dimensional coordinates (x P ,y P ,z P ) and the attitude (tilt, etc.) of the discharge part 10.

[0022] The HDD controller 141 controls reading and writing of various data from and to the HD 140 under the control of the CPU 101 .

[0023] The DVD-RW drive 151 controls reading and writing of various data from and to a DVD-RW 150, which is an example of a removable recording medium. Note that the removable recording medium is not limited to a DVD-RW, and may be a DVD-R (Digital Versatile Disk Recordable) or the like. The media I / F 161 controls reading and writing (storing) of data from and to a recording medium 160, which is a recording medium such as a flash memory.

[0024] The operation panel 180 is configured with a touch panel that displays current setting values, selection screens, etc. and accepts input from the user, an alarm lamp, etc. Note that the functions of the HD 140, HDD controller 141, DVD-RW drive 151, media I / F 161, and operation panel 180 may be provided outside the discharge device 1. For example, these functions may be realized by an information processing device such as a PC connected via the external device connection I / F 108 or network I / F 109.

[0025] 4 is a diagram showing an example of the functional configuration of the discharge device 1 according to this embodiment. The discharge device 1 includes a control unit 50, a discharge control unit 51, an interruption information storage unit 52, a restart coordinate calculation unit 53, a discharge restart coordinate calculation unit 54, a restart discharge control unit 55, and a storage unit 60.

[0026] Of these, the functions of the control unit 50, the discharge control unit 51, the interruption information storage unit 52, the restart coordinate calculation unit 53, the discharge restart coordinate calculation unit 54, and the discharge control unit at restart 55 are executed as programs on the CPU 101. The functions of these functional units may be configured to be executed by an information processing device such as a PC, or an arithmetic device such as an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit), a DSP (Digital Signal Processor), or an FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array).

[0027] The storage unit 60 is composed of the HD 140, HDD controller 141, DVD-RW drive 151, media I / F 161, etc., and stores various data. The various data include image information indicating the image to be printed, control information for controlling the operation of the discharge unit 10 and the movement unit 20, current coordinates indicating the current position P of the discharge unit 10, and interruption information acquired by the interruption information storage unit 52. The data also includes information used by the discharge restart coordinate calculation unit 54, information used by the restart discharge control unit 55, etc.

[0028] The control unit 50 controls the operation of the discharge device 1 and writes and reads data to and from the storage unit 60 based on data input from the operation panel 180 and various data stored in the storage unit 60. When the discharge operation is interrupted, the control unit 50 stores information indicating the cause (for example, an error code) in the storage unit 60.

[0029] The discharge control unit 51 performs discharge control, that is, controls the operation of the nozzles 100 of the discharge unit 10 to discharge the discharge target material, based on the coordinates of the discharge unit 10 and image information.

[0030] The discharge operation by the control unit 50 and the discharge control unit 51 will be described with reference to Fig. 5. Fig. 5 is a plan view of the discharge device 1 as seen from above, with the print area and coordinates used for the discharge operation added.

[0031] The outgoing pass start coordinate is the coordinate at which the ejection unit 10 starts the outgoing pass ejection operation while moving in the main scanning direction (X direction) to perform printing, and the returning pass start coordinate is the coordinate at which the ejection unit 10 starts the returning pass ejection operation while moving in the direction opposite to the main scanning direction (-X direction). Note that the ejection operation includes the operation from when the ejection unit 10 starts moving to when the ejection control unit 51 starts ejection control. The outgoing pass ejection start coordinate is the coordinate at which the control unit 50 causes the ejection control unit 51 to start ejection control for the outgoing pass, and the returning pass ejection start coordinate is the coordinate at which the control unit 50 causes the ejection control unit 51 to start ejection control for the returning pass. These coordinates are the same regardless of the position in the sub-scanning direction, so in Figure 5 they are indicated by dashed lines and two-dot dashed lines extending in the sub-scanning direction. Note that ejection control starts when position P of the ejection unit 10 reaches the printing area.

[0032] First, the control unit 50 moves the discharge unit 10 to the discharge operation start coordinates using the movement unit 20. The discharge operation start coordinates are coordinates that are a predetermined distance or more away from the forward pass discharge start coordinates in the direction opposite to the initial printing direction, i.e., in the -X direction, and are included in the forward pass start coordinates. Here, the predetermined distance is the distance until the discharge unit 10 reaches the specified speed.

[0033] The discharge control unit 51 reads out the data for the first scan of the image information from the storage unit 60. The data for one scan expresses the position (discharge position) at which the discharged material is to be discharged in relative coordinates. That is, the image data for one scan describes the relative coordinates of each discharge position when the forward discharge start coordinate on the X axis is set as the origin, and discharge control information for each discharge position (for example, the amount of the discharged material). For example, if the amount of the discharged material at a certain discharge position is described as 0, the discharge control will prevent the discharged material from being discharged at that discharge position. The image information data may be expressed in absolute coordinates based on the origin O, rather than in relative coordinates.

[0034] Next, the control unit 50 causes the discharge unit 10 to perform a forward movement. The forward movement is a movement in which the discharge unit 10 is moved in the X direction by the movement unit 20. More specifically, the forward movement is a movement in which the discharge unit 10 moves in the X direction while accelerating from the forward movement start coordinates, moves while maintaining the specified speed after reaching the specified speed, moves while decelerating from the backward movement discharge start coordinates, and stops at the backward movement start coordinates.

[0035] When the discharge unit 10 reaches the discharge start coordinates for the forward movement, the control unit 50 transmits a discharge start signal to the discharge control unit 51. The discharge control unit 51 starts controlling the discharge for one scan from the point when the discharge start signal is received. That is, the discharge control unit 51 controls the discharge unit 10 to discharge the discharged material from the nozzles 100 in accordance with the data for one scan and the coordinates of the discharge unit 10. After printing the data for one scan, the discharge control unit 51 reads out the data for the next scan from the memory unit 60.

[0036] Next, the control unit 50 causes the movement unit 20 to move the discharge unit 10 in the sub-scanning direction, and then causes the discharge unit 10 to perform a return operation. The return operation is an operation in which the discharge unit 10 moves in the -X direction by the movement unit 20. More specifically, the return operation is an operation in which the discharge unit 10 moves in the -X direction while accelerating from the return operation start coordinates, moves while maintaining the specified speed after reaching the specified speed, moves while decelerating from the forward operation start coordinates, and stops at the forward operation start coordinates.

[0037] When the discharger 10 reaches the coordinates at which discharge starts for the return path operation, the control unit 50 transmits a discharge start signal to the discharge control unit 51. The discharge control unit 51 starts controlling discharge for one scan from the point at which the discharge start signal is received. That is, the discharge control unit 51 controls the discharger 10 to discharge the discharged material from the nozzles 100 in accordance with the data for one scan and the coordinates of the discharger 10. After printing the data for one scan, the discharge control unit 51 reads out the data for the next scan from the memory unit 60.

[0038] Thereafter, the control unit 50 and the ejection control unit 51 repeatedly execute control of the forward and backward operations, control of the movement in the sub-scanning direction between the forward and backward operations, and ejection control until all the image information is printed.

[0039] When the discharge operation is interrupted due to an error or the like, the interruption information storage unit 52 acquires the coordinates (interruption coordinates) indicating the position of the discharge unit 10 at the time of interruption and the direction of movement of the discharge unit 10 immediately before the interruption (interruption direction), and stores these in the storage unit 60 as interruption information.

[0040] The restart coordinate calculation unit 53 calculates the coordinates at which the discharge unit 10 restarts the discharge operation (hereinafter referred to as restart coordinates) when printing is resumed after recovery from interruption. In this embodiment, the restart coordinates are calculated based on data such as interruption information, image information, and specified speed.

[0041] FIG. 6 is a diagram for explaining the relationship between interruption information and restart coordinates. Here, the discharge unit 10 at the interruption coordinates is shown by a thick solid line, and the discharge unit 10 at the restart coordinates is shown by a thick dashed line. Also, interruption information and restart coordinates are shown on the XY plane in FIG. 6(a), and on the XZ plane in FIG. 6(b). If the interruption coordinates are (x in ,y in ,z in ), the interruption direction is k in , the restart coordinate is (x re ,y re ,z re ), and the distance that the discharge part 10 travels from a stationary state until it reaches a specified speed is x a Then, the restart coordinates are calculated using the following equations (1) to (3). in The value of is 1 if the interrupt direction is in the X direction, and -1 if the interrupt direction is in the -X direction.

[0042] x re =x in -k in *(x a +α1) (1) y re =y in ···(2) z re =z in +α2···(3)

[0043] Here, α1 and α2 are buffer distances along the X-axis and Z-axis, respectively, and are values ​​that are preset, for example, at a production factory or the like through experiments. α1 acts as a buffer to provide a section that suppresses overshooting and speed fluctuations of the discharge unit 10. By providing α1, the discharge unit 10 can be moved at a stable speed in the printing area, thereby maintaining print quality. Note that if the discharge unit 10 has multiple nozzles 100, α1 may be set taking into account the arrangement and spacing of each nozzle 100 (nozzle-to-nozzle distance).

[0044] α2 is set according to the surface condition of the ejection receiving medium A, and this prevents a decrease in print quality when printing is resumed. For example, if the surface of the ejection receiving medium A is raised due to the effect of the ejection receiving material discharged before the interruption, adjusting the height of the restart coordinate can prevent a decrease in quality. Furthermore, if the discharge unit 10 was operating in a forward or backward path near the ejection receiving medium A during the printing operation before the interruption, setting α2 so that it does not come into contact with the ejection receiving medium A or the ejection receiving material discharged onto the ejection receiving medium A after the restart can prevent image defects and device damage due to contact. The surface condition of the ejection receiving medium can be measured using an area sensor (not shown) or the like.

[0045] 7 is a diagram showing an example of the speed profile of the discharge unit 10. The speed profile v(t) is a function showing the time change in the scanning speed until the discharge unit 10 reaches the designated speed from a stationary state. The time it takes for the discharge unit 10 to reach the designated speed from a stationary state is defined as t p Then, the distance x that the discharge part 10 takes to reach the specified speed from a stationary state is a is calculated using the following formula (4):

[0046]

number

[0047] In the above, the distance x is calculated using the trajectory when the discharge unit 10 is moved according to the velocity profile v(t) of FIG. a However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the distance x is calculated by using a trajectory in the case where the discharge unit 10 is accelerated at a constant acceleration and the acceleration is stopped when the specified speed is reached. a may be calculated.

[0048] The ejection restart coordinate calculation unit 54 calculates the coordinate (ejection restart coordinate) indicating the position where the ejection control is restarted after the ejection operation is resumed. FIG. 8 is a diagram for explaining the relationship between the interruption coordinate and the ejection restart coordinate. As shown in FIG. 8, the ejection restart coordinate x jre is the interruption coordinate x in The coordinate x is rounded down rdIt is the coordinate that is a predetermined value away from the point in the direction of interruption, and is calculated using the following formula (5). j is the interval at which the discharged material is discharged (discharge interval), γ jre is a buffer distance that is set based on experiments and various factors.

[0049] x jre =x rd +k in *x j +γ jre ···(5)

[0050] Interrupt coordinate x in is the position where the discharge operation was interrupted due to an error, etc., so generally, x in is shifted from the coordinate where the object is discharged during the discharge operation. Therefore, as shown in equation (5), the interruption coordinate x in The coordinate x is calculated by rounding down the deviation (fraction) rd Using the ejection restart coordinate x jre For example, if the interruption coordinate is 35 mm, the discharge interval is 15 mm, and the coordinates at which the discharged material is discharged in the discharge operation are 0 mm, 15 mm, 30 mm, 45 mm, ..., the coordinate obtained by rounding down the interruption coordinate of 35 mm is 30 mm.

[0051] In general, the discharge interval x j The coordinates at which the object is discharged in the discharge operation are 0, x j ,2*x j ,3*x j ,..., the coordinate x rd is calculated using the following formula (6). Note that here, relative coordinates are used, with the outward discharge start coordinate on the X axis as the origin. Also, Int() is a function that rounds down to an integer.

[0052] x rd =Int(x in / x j )*x j ···(6)

[0053] The restart discharge control unit 55 calculates the discharge conditions when the discharge control is restarted, and performs discharge control based on the calculated discharge conditions. The discharge conditions are, for example, the amount (discharge amount) of the discharged material discharged by the nozzle 100 in one discharge.

[0054] 9 is a diagram illustrating a discharge position where discharge control is performed by the restart discharge control unit 55. In this example, the discharge condition is the discharge amount, and the restart discharge control unit 55 controls the C jre After restarting the discharge operation, the discharge amount is changed for the nth discharge (n=0, 1, . . . , C jre -1) Discharge position x jre_n is expressed by the following formula (7). Also, the specified discharge amount in normal discharge operation (discharge amount when the discharge operation is not interrupted) is M j When x jre_n Discharge rate M jre_n is expressed by the following equation (8).

[0055] x jre_n =x jre +k in *n*x j ···(7) M jre_n =M j *β jre_n ···(8)

[0056] Here, β jre_n is the discharge position x jre_n is a coefficient for calculating the discharge amount at β, and is set in advance at a production factory or the like through experiments, etc. jre_n The value of x is, for example, smaller than 1. In this case, the ejection restart coordinate x jre From C jre -1st discharge position (x jre +k in *(C jre -1)*x j ) until the discharge volume M jre_n is the discharge amount M when the discharge operation is not interrupted. j Also, β jre_n The value of is set according to n, so in the above section, the discharge amount after restart Mjre_n changes depending on the position of the discharge part 10.

[0057] Note that the nth discharge position x jre_n Discharge rate M jre_n may be calculated in advance and stored in the storage unit 60. For example, n (n=0, 1, . . . , C jre -1) for each M jre_n The table data created by calculating the value of M in advance can be stored in the storage unit 60. In this case, the restart discharge control unit 55 reads out the discharge amount M jre_n Since discharge control can be performed using the above formula (8), it is not necessary to perform the calculation of the above formula (8) each time, and the amount of processing can be reduced.

[0058] Note that the normal discharge amount described in the image information is the nth discharge position x jre_n In M n If x jre_n Discharge rate M jre_n is calculated using the following formula (9).

[0059] M jre_n =M n *β jre_n ···(9)

[0060] After the control unit 50 restarts the discharge operation from the restart coordinates, when the discharge unit 10 reaches the discharge restart coordinates, it transmits a discharge start signal to the restart discharge control unit 55. From the point at which the restart discharge control unit 55 receives the discharge start signal, it controls the discharge unit 10 to discharge the discharge target material from the nozzle 100 in accordance with the remaining data for one scan and the coordinates of the discharge unit 10.

[0061] After printing the remaining data for one scan is completed, the ejection operation from the next scan onwards is the same as the normal ejection operation. That is, the control unit 50 and the ejection control unit 51 repeatedly execute the control of the forward and backward operations, the control of the movement in the sub-scanning direction between operations, and the ejection control until all the image information is printed.

[0062] 10 is a flowchart showing an example of the procedure of the discharge operation in this embodiment. First, the control unit 50 controls the discharge control unit 51 to execute printing by a normal discharge operation (step S10), and the measurement unit 130 measures the current position of the discharge unit 10 (step S11).

[0063] The control unit 50 monitors whether the discharge operation is interrupted or not, and if it is not interrupted (step S12: No), continues monitoring (step S12). On the other hand, if it is interrupted (step S12: Yes), the interruption information storage unit 52 stores the interruption coordinates and the interruption direction in the storage unit 60 (step S13).

[0064] Next, the restart coordinate calculation unit 53 calculates the restart coordinate based on the interruption coordinate, the interruption direction, and the distance until the scanning speed of the discharge unit 10 reaches the designated speed (step S14). Also, the discharge restart coordinate calculation unit 54 calculates the discharge restart coordinate based on the interruption coordinate, the interruption direction, and the discharge interval (step S15). Then, the restart discharge control unit 55 calculates the discharge conditions when the discharge control is resumed (step S16).

[0065] Next, the control unit 50 monitors whether the interruption factor that interrupted the discharge operation has been resolved, and if it has not been resolved (step S17: No), continues monitoring (step S17). On the other hand, if it has been resolved (step S17: Yes), the control unit 50 resumes the discharge operation (step S18). Note that the user may determine that the interruption factor has been resolved, and may input an instruction to resume the discharge operation from the operation panel 180.

[0066] As described above, according to this embodiment, even if the ejection operation stops during the forward or backward pass of the main scan, by restarting the ejection after setting the scanning speed to the specified speed, it is possible to suppress the occurrence of errors in the ejection control and restart the ejection operation without degrading print quality. Furthermore, because the ejection operation is restarted by moving the ejection unit 10 only a distance required to reach the specified speed, the movement distance of the ejection unit 10 when restarting can be minimized, and the ejection operation can be restarted without degrading productivity.

[0067] It is also possible to consider a method for improving print quality by controlling the ejection timing and ejection speed in accordance with the acceleration state of the ejection unit 10, without using the method of this embodiment. However, in an ejection device targeted by this embodiment, in which the distance between the ejection receiving medium A and the nozzle 100 is 0.5 mm or more, it is very difficult to improve print quality using such a method. This is because the ejection receiving material is significantly affected while moving a distance of 0.5 mm or more (including the effects of acceleration changes, air resistance, external disturbances, etc.), and it is therefore very difficult to prevent a decline in print quality by simply controlling the ejection timing and ejection speed.

[0068] (Second embodiment) In the second embodiment, when the ejection operation is interrupted, the nozzle 100 is cleaned and capped as necessary. In the following description of the second embodiment, the description of the parts that overlap with the first embodiment will be omitted, and only the parts that differ from the first embodiment will be described.

[0069] 11 is a diagram showing an example of the functional configuration of the discharge device 1 according to this embodiment. The difference from the first embodiment is that it includes a determination unit 56. The function of the determination unit 56 is executed as a program on the CPU 101, but may also be configured to be executed by an information processing device such as a PC, or an arithmetic device such as an ASIC, DSP, or FPGA.

[0070] The determination unit 56 determines the control flow after the ejection operation is interrupted in accordance with the conditions stored in the storage unit 60. In this embodiment, the determination unit 56 determines whether or not to perform cleaning and capping of the nozzle 100 in accordance with predetermined conditions. The predetermined condition is, for example, whether or not the elapsed time since the interruption has occurred has reached a specified time.

[0071] If the predetermined condition of the determination unit 56 is that the elapsed time after the interruption is a predetermined time, the determination unit 56 starts a timer when the discharge operation is interrupted and monitors the elapsed time. If the discharge operation is resumed before the predetermined time has elapsed, the determination unit 56 stops and resets the timer. On the other hand, if the discharge operation is not resumed and the predetermined time has elapsed, the control unit 50 moves the discharge unit 10 to a nozzle cleaning position, cleans the nozzle 100 using a cleaning device (not shown), and, after cleaning is complete, moves the discharge unit 10 to a capping position (not shown) and caps the nozzle 100. In this way, if a predetermined time has elapsed between the interruption of the discharge operation by the discharge unit 10 and the resumption of the discharge operation, the determination unit 56 determines that the nozzle 100 should be cleaned and capped.

[0072] The cleaning device has, for example, a nozzle that sprays a cleaning liquid, and sprays the cleaning liquid onto the nozzle 100 of the discharge unit 10 to remove dirt. Capping is, for example, an operation of sealing the nozzle 100 of the discharge unit 10 with a cap (not shown). This prevents the discharged object from drying out near the nozzle 100 when the object is a substance that dries. Capping is performed, for example, by moving the discharge unit 10 and pressing the nozzle 100 against a cap installed in a fixed position. In this case, when the discharge operation is resumed, the discharge unit 10 returns to the restart position, and the cap installed in the fixed position is removed from the nozzle 100.

[0073] Fig. 12 is a flow chart showing an example of the procedure of the discharge operation in this embodiment. The operations in steps S20 to S24 are the same as steps S10 to S14 in Fig. 10, and therefore a description thereof will be omitted.

[0074] The control unit 50 determines whether the cause of the interruption of the discharge operation is related to the moving unit 20 (step S25). If the cause of the interruption is related to the moving unit 20 (step S25: Yes), calculation of the discharge restart coordinates and calculation of the discharge conditions after restart are performed (steps S26, S27), similar to steps S15, S16 of FIG. 10. Then, the control unit 50 monitors whether the interruption cause that interrupted the discharge operation has been resolved, and if it has not been resolved (step S28: No), continues monitoring (step S28). On the other hand, if it has been resolved (step S28: Yes), the control unit 50 proceeds to step S36.

[0075] On the other hand, if the cause of the interruption is not related to the moving unit 20 (step S25: No), the moving unit 20 is controlled to move the ejection unit 10 to the restart coordinates (step S29), and the ejection restart coordinates and the ejection conditions after restart are calculated in the same manner as steps S15 and S16 in Figure 10 (steps S30 and S31).

[0076] Next, the determination unit 56 determines whether or not to clean and cap the nozzles 100, and if it is determined that they should be cleaned and capped (step S32: Yes), the control unit 50 executes the cleaning and capping (step S33). The control unit 50 then monitors whether or not the interruption factor that interrupted the discharge operation has been resolved, and if it has not been resolved (step S34: No), continues monitoring (step S34). On the other hand, if it has been resolved (step S34: Yes), the control unit 50 proceeds to step S36.

[0077] If the determination unit 56 determines that cleaning and capping of the nozzles 100 will not be performed (step S32: No), the control unit 50 monitors whether the cause of the interruption that interrupted the discharge operation has been resolved, and if the cause has not been resolved (step S35: No), the control unit 50 returns the process to step S32. On the other hand, if the cause has been resolved (step S35: Yes), the control unit 50 proceeds to step S36.

[0078] Next, the control unit 50 determines whether the discharge unit 10 is at the restart coordinates, and if it is at the restart coordinates (step S36: Yes), it restarts the discharge operation (step S38). On the other hand, if the discharge unit 10 is not at the restart coordinates (step S36: No), the control unit 50 controls the moving unit 20 to move the discharge unit 10 to the restart coordinates (step S37), and restarts the discharge operation (step S38).

[0079] As described above, according to this embodiment, when the discharge operation is interrupted, the nozzles 100 are cleaned or capped according to the elapsed time on the timer, which prevents the discharged material from drying out near the nozzles 100 and prevents a decrease in print quality when printing is resumed. Also, as in the first embodiment, by restarting discharge after setting the scanning speed to a specified speed, a decrease in print quality is prevented and the movement distance of the discharge unit 10 when restarting is minimized, so that the discharge operation can be resumed without a decrease in productivity.

[0080] (Third embodiment) In the third embodiment, the moving unit 20 is composed of a three-dimensional manipulator and a gantry, and the position and attitude (tilt, etc.) of the discharge unit 10 can be changed in three-dimensional space. In the following explanation of the third embodiment, explanations of parts that overlap with the first and second embodiments will be omitted, and only parts that differ from the first and second embodiments will be explained.

[0081] Fig. 13 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of the discharge device 1 according to this embodiment. Fig. 13 is a side view of the discharge device 1. What differs from the first and second embodiments is that the moving unit 20 is composed of a three-dimensional manipulator and a gantry, and the position and posture of the discharge unit 10 can be changed in three-dimensional space. Another difference from the first and second embodiments is that the discharge-receiving medium A on which the discharge unit 10 can print is not limited to planar objects, but includes three-dimensional and non-planar objects.

[0082] In this embodiment, the control unit 50 instructs the moving unit 20 on the position P of the discharge unit 10 using three-dimensional coordinates and orientation. The moving unit 20 moves the position P of the discharge unit 10 to a predetermined position in three-dimensional space, and the discharge unit 10 performs printing by discharging the discharged material onto the surface of the discharged medium A, which is, for example, a three-dimensional object. The interruption coordinates, interruption direction, restart coordinates, and discharge restart coordinates used when printing is interrupted and restarted are each expressed using three-dimensional coordinates and orientation. The image information also describes the absolute coordinates of each discharge position relative to an origin O, and discharge control information for each discharge position (for example, the amount of discharged material). The image information may also be described using relative coordinates with an arbitrary position on the surface of the discharged medium A as the origin.

[0083] FIG. 14 is a diagram showing examples of the interruption direction and restart direction in this embodiment. The restart direction is the movement direction of the ejection unit 10 when restarting ejection control from the ejection restart coordinates. In this example, the ejection receiving medium A includes ejection receiving surfaces A1 and A2 which have different inclinations. Furthermore, it is assumed that the ejection receiving surfaces A1 and A2 are each approximately flat. FIG. 14(a) shows a case where the ejection operation is interrupted when position P of the ejection unit 10 is on the left side of the ejection receiving surface A1, and FIG. 14(b) shows a case where the ejection operation is interrupted when position P is on the right edge of the ejection receiving surface A1.

[0084] 14(a), the ejection receiving surface A1 continues to the right of the interruption coordinate (the interruption direction side), so the restart direction is the same as the interruption direction. In other words, if the ejection operation is interrupted in the middle of a substantially flat area of ​​the ejection receiving medium A, the restart coordinate is set on an extension of the interruption direction, and the interruption direction and the restart direction are the same.

[0085] 14(b), on the other hand, to the right of the interruption coordinate (the interruption direction side) is the ejection receiving surface A2, which has a different inclination from the ejection receiving surface A1. Therefore, the restart direction is a direction that follows the ejection receiving surface A2, and is not the same as the interruption direction. In other words, if the ejection operation is interrupted just before the inclination of the surface of the ejection receiving medium A changes, the restart coordinate is set at a position that is not on an extension of the interruption direction, and the interruption direction and the restart direction are different directions. Note that although the ejection receiving medium A in the first and second embodiments is approximately flat, if the ejection operation is interrupted between the forward operation and the return operation, the restart direction may be a direction different from (opposite) the interruption direction.

[0086] As described above, according to this embodiment, the position and orientation of the discharge unit 10 can be changed in three-dimensional space, making it possible to print on discharge-receiving media A that are three-dimensional and non-planar. Also, as with the first embodiment, by setting the scanning speed to a specified speed before resuming discharge, it is possible to prevent a decrease in print quality and minimize the movement distance of the discharge unit 10 when resuming, so that the discharge operation can be resumed without reducing productivity. Also, as with the second embodiment, it is possible to prevent the discharged material from drying out near the nozzle 100, and to prevent a decrease in print quality when printing is resumed.

[0087] Although various embodiments of the present invention have been described above, these embodiments are presented as examples and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention. For example, functional units such as the control unit 50 and the discharge control unit 51 may be configured as separate units or integrated into a single unit. These novel embodiments can be embodied in various other forms, and various omissions, substitutions, and modifications can be made without departing from the spirit of the invention. These novel embodiments and their modifications are within the scope and spirit of the invention, as well as the scope of the invention and its equivalents as set forth in the claims. Furthermore, components from different embodiments and modifications may be combined as appropriate.

[0088] The programs executed by the discharge device 1 of each embodiment described above are provided as files in an installable or executable format stored on a computer-readable storage medium such as a CD (Compact Disc)-ROM, a flexible disk (FD), a CD-R (Recordable), or a DVD (Digital Versatile Disk).

[0089] The program executed by the discharge device 1 of each embodiment may be stored on a computer connected to a network such as the Internet and provided by being downloaded via the network. The program executed by the discharge device 1 of each embodiment may be provided or distributed via a network such as the Internet.

[0090] The programs of the embodiments may be provided in a state where they are pre-installed in a ROM or the like.

[0091] The program executed by the discharge device 1 of each embodiment has a modular structure including each of the functional units described above, and in actual hardware, the CPU (processor) reads and executes the program from the storage medium, thereby loading each of the above units onto the main memory device and generating each functional unit on the main memory device.

[0092] Furthermore, each function of each of the above-described embodiments can be realized by one or more processing circuits. Here, the term "processing circuit" in this specification includes a processor programmed to perform each function by software, such as a processor implemented by an electronic circuit, and devices such as ASIC, DSP, FPGA, and conventional circuit modules designed to perform each of the above-described functions.

[0093] In addition, in this application, the "ejection device" may be a device that includes an ejection head or an ejection unit and ejects a discharged material by driving the ejection head. The ejection device includes not only a device that can eject a discharged material onto an object to which the discharged material can adhere, but also a device that ejects a discharged material into air or liquid.

[0094] An "ejection unit" is a collection of components related to the ejection of a target material, in which functional parts and mechanisms are integrated with an ejection head. For example, an "ejection unit" includes a combination of an ejection head and at least one of the following components: a head tank, a carriage, a supply mechanism, a maintenance and recovery mechanism, and a main scanning movement mechanism.

[0095] Here, integration includes, for example, the ejection head, functional parts, and mechanism being fixed to each other by fastening, bonding, engaging, etc., or one being held movably relative to the other. The ejection head, functional parts, and mechanism may also be configured to be detachable from each other.

[0096] For example, some ejection units have an ejection head and a head tank integrated together, while others have an ejection head and a head tank integrated together by being connected to each other by a tube, etc. Here, a unit including a filter can be added between the head tank and the ejection head of these ejection units.

[0097] Furthermore, there is a type of ejection unit in which the ejection head and the carriage are integrated.

[0098] In some discharge units, the discharge head is movably held by a guide member that constitutes part of the scanning movement mechanism, and the discharge head and the scanning movement mechanism are integrated together. In other discharge units, the discharge head, carriage, and main scanning movement mechanism are integrated together.

[0099] Furthermore, there is a type of ejection unit in which a cap member, which is part of the maintenance and recovery mechanism, is fixed to a carriage on which the ejection head is attached, thereby integrating the ejection head, carriage, and maintenance and recovery mechanism.

[0100] In addition, there is a discharge unit in which a tube is connected to a head tank or a discharge head to which a flow path part is attached, and the discharge head and a supply mechanism are integrated. The discharged material is supplied to the discharge head from a discharged material storage source via this tube.

[0101] The main scanning movement mechanism includes the guide member alone, and the supply mechanism includes the tube alone and the loading unit alone.

[0102] The ejection device may also include means for feeding, transporting, and discharging an object onto which the ejection target can be attached, as well as a pre-processing device and a post-processing device.

[0103] For example, ejection devices include image forming devices that eject ink to form an image on paper, and three-dimensional modeling devices (three-dimensional modeling devices) that eject modeling liquid onto a powder layer formed by layering powder in order to create a three-dimensional object (a three-dimensional model).

[0104] Furthermore, the discharge device is not limited to one that visualizes meaningful images such as letters and figures by the discharged material. For example, it also includes one that forms patterns that have no meaning in themselves, and one that forms three-dimensional images.

[0105] The above-mentioned "object to which the discharged material can adhere" means an object to which the discharged material can adhere at least temporarily, an object to which the discharged material adheres and sticks, an object to which the discharged material adheres and penetrates, etc. Specific examples include media to which the discharged material can adhere such as paper, recording paper, film, cloth, road surface, wall surface, electronic circuit board, electronic components such as piezoelectric element, powder layer, organ model, test cell, etc., and unless otherwise specified, all objects to which the discharged material can adhere are included.

[0106] The material of the "object to which the discharged object can adhere" may be any material to which the discharged object can adhere even temporarily, such as paper, thread, fiber, fabric, leather, metal, plastic, glass, wood, or ceramics.

[0107] Furthermore, when the "discharged object" is a liquid, it need only have a viscosity and surface tension that allows it to be discharged from the head, and is not particularly limited. Preferably, the "discharged object" has a viscosity of 30 mPa·s or less at room temperature and normal pressure, or upon heating or cooling. More specifically, the "discharged object" includes solutions, suspensions, emulsions, etc. containing solvents such as water or organic solvents, colorants such as dyes or pigments, polymerizable compounds, resins, surfactants, and other functional materials, biocompatible materials such as DNA, amino acids, proteins, and calcium, and edible materials such as natural dyes. These can be used, for example, as inkjet inks, surface treatment liquids, liquids for forming components of electronic elements or light-emitting elements, and electronic circuit resist patterns, and as material liquids for 3D modeling.

[0108] Furthermore, the discharge device may be a device in which the discharge head and the object onto which the discharged material can be attached move relatively, but is not limited to this. Specific examples include a serial type device in which the discharge head moves, a line type device in which the discharge head does not move, and the like.

[0109] Other examples of ejection devices include a treatment liquid application device that ejects a treatment liquid onto paper to apply the treatment liquid to the surface of the paper for purposes such as modifying the surface of the paper, and an injection granulation device that sprays a composition liquid in which raw materials are dispersed through a nozzle to granulate fine particles of the raw materials.

[0110] For example, aspects of the present invention are as follows. <1> a discharge unit that discharges a discharge target material from a nozzle onto a discharge target medium; a moving unit that moves the position of the ejection unit in a predetermined scanning direction at a predetermined scanning speed; a measuring unit that measures the position of the ejection unit; an interruption information storage unit that stores interruption coordinates indicating a position where the discharge unit interrupted a discharge operation and an interruption direction indicating a moving direction of the discharge unit immediately before the discharge operation was interrupted; a restart coordinate calculation unit that calculates a restart coordinate indicating a position where the discharge unit restarts the discharge operation; Equipped with The ejection device is characterized in that the restart coordinate calculation unit calculates the restart coordinate based on the interruption coordinate, the interruption direction, and a distance until the ejection unit reaches the predetermined scanning speed. <2> an ejection restart coordinate calculation unit that calculates an ejection restart coordinate indicating a position at which ejection control for ejecting the ejection target material starts after the ejection operation is restarted, the ejection unit ejects the ejection target material onto the ejection target medium at predetermined intervals, the ejection restart coordinate calculation unit calculates the ejection restart coordinate based on the interruption coordinate, the interruption direction, and the predetermined interval; <1> 1 is a discharge device according to the first embodiment. <3> the process of calculating the ejection restart coordinate by the ejection restart coordinate calculation unit includes a process of rounding down the fraction of the interruption coordinate based on the predetermined interval; <2> 1 is a discharge device according to the first embodiment. <4> the amount of the material discharged from the nozzle in one discharge is less than the amount of the material to be discharged when the discharge operation is not interrupted from the discharge restart coordinate to a predetermined position; <2> or <3> 1 is a discharge device according to the first embodiment. <5> the amount of the discharged material discharged by the nozzle in one discharge varies depending on the position of the discharge unit from the discharge restart coordinate to a predetermined position; <2> or <3> 1 is a discharge device according to the first embodiment. <6> a determination unit that determines whether or not to perform cleaning and capping of the nozzle; the determining unit determines that the nozzles should be cleaned and capped when a predetermined time has elapsed between the time when the discharge unit stops the discharge operation and the time when the discharge unit resumes the discharge operation; <2> ~ <5> The discharge device according to any one of the above items. <7> the ejection receiving medium is a three-dimensional object, the moving unit moves the position of the discharge unit to a predetermined position in three-dimensional space, the ejection unit ejects the ejection target onto the surface of the three-dimensional object; <2> ~ <6> The discharge device according to any one of the above items. <8> the movement direction of the discharge unit when starting discharge control from the discharge restart coordinates is the same as the interruption direction; <2> ~ <7> The discharge device according to any one of the above items. <9> a moving direction of the discharge unit when the discharge control is started from the discharge restart coordinates is different from the interruption direction; <2> ~ <7> The discharge device according to any one of the above items. <10> A discharge method performed by a discharge device including a discharge unit that discharges a discharge target material from a nozzle onto a discharge target medium, a movement unit that moves a position of the discharge unit in a predetermined scanning direction at a predetermined scanning speed, and a measurement unit that measures the position of the discharge unit, an interruption information storage step of storing interruption coordinates indicating a position where the discharge unit interrupted the discharge operation and an interruption direction indicating a moving direction of the discharge unit immediately before the discharge operation was interrupted; a restart coordinate calculation step of calculating a restart coordinate indicating a position where the discharge unit restarts the discharge operation; and The ejection method is characterized in that the restart coordinate calculation step calculates the restart coordinate based on the interruption coordinate, the interruption direction, and a distance until the ejection unit reaches the predetermined scanning speed. <11> a moving unit that moves the position of the discharge unit in a predetermined scanning direction at a predetermined scanning speed; and a measuring unit that measures the position of the discharge unit, The computer includes an interruption information storage means for storing interruption coordinates indicating a position where the discharge unit interrupted a discharge operation and an interruption direction indicating a moving direction of the discharge unit immediately before the discharge operation was interrupted; a restart coordinate calculation means for calculating a restart coordinate indicating a position at which the discharge unit restarts the discharge operation; It functions as The restart coordinate calculation means is a program that calculates the restart coordinate based on the interruption coordinate, the interruption direction, and the distance until the discharge unit reaches the predetermined scanning speed. [Explanation of symbols]

[0111] 1 Discharge device 10 Discharge part 20 Moving Section 50 control section 51 Discharge control section 52 Interruption information storage unit 53 Resume coordinate calculation unit 54 Discharge restart coordinate calculation unit 55 Restart discharge control section 56 Judgment section 60 Storage section 100 nozzles 130 Measurement Unit [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0112] [Patent Document 1] Patent No. 5087851

Claims

1. a discharge unit that discharges a discharge target material from a nozzle onto a discharge target medium; a moving unit that moves the position of the ejection unit in a predetermined scanning direction at a predetermined scanning speed; a measuring unit that measures the position of the ejection unit; an interruption information storage unit that stores interruption coordinates indicating a position where the discharge unit interrupted a discharge operation and an interruption direction indicating a moving direction of the discharge unit immediately before the discharge operation was interrupted; a restart coordinate calculation unit that calculates a restart coordinate indicating a position where the discharge unit restarts the discharge operation; Equipped with The ejection device, wherein the restart coordinate calculation unit calculates the restart coordinate based on the interruption coordinate, the interruption direction, and a distance until the ejection unit reaches the predetermined scanning speed.

2. an ejection restart coordinate calculation unit that calculates an ejection restart coordinate indicating a position at which ejection control for ejecting the ejection target material starts after the ejection operation is restarted, the ejection unit ejects the ejection target material onto the ejection target medium at predetermined intervals, The ejection device according to claim 1 , wherein the ejection restart coordinate calculation unit calculates the ejection restart coordinate based on the interruption coordinate, the interruption direction, and the predetermined interval.

3. The ejection device according to claim 2 , wherein the process of calculating the ejection restart coordinate by the ejection restart coordinate calculation unit includes a process of rounding down the fraction of the interruption coordinate based on the predetermined interval.

4. The ejection device according to claim 2 , wherein the amount of the material ejected from the nozzle in one ejection is less than the amount of the material when the ejection operation is not interrupted from the ejection restart coordinate to the predetermined position.

5. The ejection device according to claim 2 , wherein the amount of the ejected material ejected from the nozzle in one ejection operation varies depending on the position of the ejection unit from the ejection restart coordinate to a predetermined position.

6. a determination unit that determines whether or not to perform cleaning and capping of the nozzle; The ejection device according to claim 2 , wherein the determining unit determines that the nozzles should be cleaned and capped when a predetermined time has elapsed between the time when the ejection unit stops the ejection operation and the time when the ejection unit resumes the ejection operation.

7. the ejection receiving medium is a three-dimensional object, the moving unit moves the position of the discharge unit to a predetermined position in three-dimensional space, The ejection device according to claim 2 , wherein the ejection unit ejects the ejection target onto a surface of the three-dimensional object.

8. The ejection device according to claim 2 , wherein the movement direction of the ejection unit when ejection control is started from the ejection restart coordinate is the same as the interruption direction.

9. The ejection device according to claim 2 , wherein a movement direction of the ejection unit when ejection control is started from the ejection restart coordinates is different from the interruption direction.

10. A discharge method performed by a discharge device including a discharge unit that discharges a discharge target material from a nozzle onto a discharge target medium, a movement unit that moves a position of the discharge unit in a predetermined scanning direction at a predetermined scanning speed, and a measurement unit that measures the position of the discharge unit, an interruption information storage step of storing interruption coordinates indicating a position where the discharge unit interrupted the discharge operation and an interruption direction indicating a moving direction of the discharge unit immediately before the discharge operation was interrupted; a restart coordinate calculation step of calculating a restart coordinate indicating a position where the discharge unit restarts the discharge operation; and The ejection method, wherein the restart coordinate calculation step calculates the restart coordinate based on the interruption coordinate, the interruption direction, and a distance until the ejection unit reaches the predetermined scanning speed.

11. a moving unit that moves the position of the discharge unit in a predetermined scanning direction at a predetermined scanning speed; and a measuring unit that measures the position of the discharge unit, Computer, an interruption information storage means for storing interruption coordinates indicating a position where the discharge unit interrupted a discharge operation and an interruption direction indicating a moving direction of the discharge unit immediately before the discharge operation was interrupted; a restart coordinate calculation means for calculating a restart coordinate indicating a position at which the discharge unit restarts the discharge operation; It functions as The program, wherein the restart coordinate calculation means calculates the restart coordinate based on the interruption coordinate, the interruption direction, and a distance until the discharge unit reaches the predetermined scanning speed.

Images