Print head with camera and continuous inkjet printer equipped with same

Abstract

The present invention relates to a camera-equipped print head that has a camera for photographing the inside of the print head of a continuous inkjet printer, and in particular provides a camera-equipped print head that is characterized in that the camera can photograph a deflection region that includes at least a part of the region between deflection electrodes. [Solution] A camera-equipped print head equipped with a camera that photographs the inside of the print head of a continuous inkjet printer, the print head comprising: a nozzle that ejects ink liquid; a charging electrode that charges ink droplets that are separated from the ejected ink liquid; a deflection electrode that deflects the charged ink droplets using an electric field; and a gutter that collects ink droplets that are not used for printing, characterized in that the camera is capable of photographing a deflection area that includes at least a portion of the area between the deflection electrodes.

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a print head equipped with a camera for photographing the interior of a print head of a continuous ink jet printer, and in particular to a print head equipped with a camera capable of photographing satellites generated when some of the ink droplets separate. [Background technology]

[0002] Inkjet printers (hereafter abbreviated as "IJP") are broadly divided into continuous and on-demand types. Of these, continuous IJPs use a pump to eject ink liquid that has been vibrated by an ultrasonic vibrator from a nozzle, and then charge the ink droplets with a charging electrode at the point where the ejected ink liquid separates into ink droplets due to the vibration. Furthermore, a deflection electrode bends the trajectory of the ink droplets, causing them to collide with a predetermined position on the printing surface, forming a print dot.

[0003] When ink liquid separates into ink droplets, satellites may be generated in addition to the ink droplets used for printing, and it is known that these satellites cause contamination inside the print head.

[0004] The applicant has filed an unpublished patent application for a printhead equipped with a dirt detection device that uses a camera to photograph the inside of the printhead and analyzes the captured image data to detect dirt inside the printhead (application number 2024-096416). The applicant discovered that the camera can be used to find satellites that cause dirt. In filing this application, a patent document search was conducted, and the prior publications found during the search are listed below.

[0005] Patent Document 1 discloses a technique for detecting the position where ink liquid separates into ink droplets (hereinafter referred to as break-off point) using a camera in a continuous inkjet printer.

[0006] Patent Document 2 discloses a technology for an on-demand inkjet printer that analyzes image data captured by a camera to detect ink droplets and satellite droplets.

[0007] Patent document 3 is not a printer but a droplet sorting device for microorganisms, etc., but it discloses a technology for detecting satellites by analyzing images taken with a laser at the breakoff point where droplets separate from the ejected liquid. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0008] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Publication No. 2024-009725 [Patent Document 2] Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2019-181831 [Patent Document 3] Patent No. 6657625 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0009] However, in Patent Documents 1 to 3, the ink droplets are photographed near the break-off point when they are flying in a straight line, which creates the problem that whether or not they are satellites can only be determined by the size of the droplets.

[0010] The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned problems, and has as its object to provide a print head with a camera for a continuous IJP that can detect satellites using indicators other than particle size. [Means for solving the problem]

[0011] The invention made to solve the above problems is a camera-equipped print head equipped with a camera that photographs the inside of the print head of a continuous inkjet printer, the print head comprising: a nozzle that ejects ink liquid; a charging electrode that charges ink droplets that are separated from the ejected ink liquid and produced; a deflection electrode that deflects the charged ink droplets using an electric field; and a gutter that collects ink droplets that are not used for printing, and the camera is capable of photographing a deflection area that includes at least a portion of the area between the deflection electrodes.

[0012] In this way, the print head with a camera according to the present invention photographs the ink droplet D in the deflection area, and can identify the satellite not by its size but by whether it has deviated from the normal flight path of the ink droplet.

[0013] In the print head with a camera according to the present invention, the camera preferably photographs the satellites in a charged region that includes at least a portion of the region where the ink droplets D are charged.

[0014] In this way, by photographing ink droplets not only in the deflection area but also in the charging area, more ink droplets can be photographed, making it easier to find satellites.

[0015] It is preferable to provide an ultrasonic vibrator that vibrates the ink liquid and a strobe that illuminates the charged area or the deflection area, and the strobe emits light in synchronization with the ultrasonic vibrator, so that the camera can clearly capture at least normal ink droplets. At intervals of the vibration frequency applied to the ink liquid L, the ink droplets D separated from the ink liquid L fly at approximately the same speed. The strobe light 4 emits light in synchronization with the ultrasonic vibrator 12, so that even if the ink droplets are different, ink droplets that land at approximately the same height in the vertical direction of the printing substrate fly in approximately the same position at the timing of light emission. 9(a), (b), and (c) schematically show the flight states of ink droplets D at light emission times L1, L2, and L3, respectively. Although ink droplets D11, D21, and D31 are different ink droplets, they land at approximately the same height in the vertical direction of the printing substrate, and therefore fly at approximately the same position at light emission times L1, L2, and L3. Similarly, ink droplets D12, D22, and D32 also fly at approximately the same position. As shown in Figure 9(d), if the strobe 4 fires three times during the shutter speed of the camera 5, ink droplets D11, D21, and D31 will overlap and be photographed as having the shape of D1, and similarly ink droplets D12, D22, and D32 will overlap and be photographed as having the shape of D2. A normal ink droplet D will be a clear image formed by multiple (in this example, three) images overlapping each other. Furthermore, if the conditions, such as the pressure applied to the ink liquid L by the pump 7 and the voltage or frequency applied to the ultrasonic vibrator 12, are the same, the satellites often occur at the same positions in the charged area (satellite S11, satellite S21, satellite S31). Therefore, the satellite S also appears in a clear image. However, since the satellites have different charge amounts, surface areas, diameters, and shapes, they fly randomly in the deflection area (satellite S12, satellite S22), and images at the same position do not overlap, resulting in unclear satellite images.

[0016] It is preferable to use a strobe light on the opposite side of the ink droplet from the camera, so that the camera can clearly capture the outlines of the ink droplets and satellites.

[0017] The present invention includes a continuous inkjet printer that includes the above-described print head with camera and an information processing unit that processes image data captured by the camera. In the continuous inkjet printer of the present invention, it is preferable that the information processing unit includes a memory unit that stores a flight area, which is the area in which ink droplets fly, a detection unit that detects the ink droplet position, which is the position of the ink droplet, and a judgment unit that judges that a satellite has occurred if the ink droplet position is not included in the flight area.

[0018] The continuous inkjet printer according to the present invention preferably includes a dirt detection unit that compares two sets of image data taken at different times, creates differential image data of the different parts of the two sets of image data, and uses the differential image data to detect dirt inside the print head. Finding satellites requires taking a huge number of images, but this allows image data in which no satellites are found to be wasted and can be used to detect dirt on the print head. [Effects of the Invention]

[0019] As described above, the print head with a camera according to the present invention photographs satellites in the deflection area, so that satellites can be found without measuring their size. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0020] [Figure 1] 1 is a diagram schematically illustrating a configuration of a continuous inkjet printer according to one embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 2] 2A and 2B are a front view and a side view, respectively, schematically illustrating the configuration of the print head with a camera shown in FIG. 1. [Figure 3] FIG. 1 is a schematic front view showing the flight area. [Figure 4] FIG. 2 is a schematic front view showing the charging area and the deflection area. [Figure 5] FIG. 2 is a functional block diagram of an information processing unit in FIG. [Figure 6] FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an image database stored in a storage unit of FIG. 5. [Figure 7]FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a satellite occurrence database stored in the storage unit of FIG. 5. [Figure 8] FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a flight area stored in a storage unit of FIG. 5. [Figure 9] FIG. 10 is a schematic front view showing ink droplets being photographed overlapping each other as a result of a strobe emitting light in synchronization with an ultrasonic vibrator. [Figure 10] FIG. 2 is a schematic front view showing the flight path of ink droplets. [Figure 11] FIG. 10 is a schematic front view showing the velocity of ink droplets. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0021] Hereinafter, one embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. However, the present invention is not limited to the following embodiment, and appropriate modifications can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention.

[0022] (Continuous inkjet printer) 1 shows a continuous ink jet printer (hereinafter referred to as "CIJP") 100 according to one embodiment of the present invention. The CIJP 100 mainly comprises a print head 20 with a camera and an information processing unit 6.

[0023] As shown in FIG. 2, the print head 20 with a camera includes a print head 1 that ejects ink droplets D for printing, and a camera 5 that photographs satellites S.

[0024] As shown in FIG. 2, the print head 1 includes a gun body 11, an ultrasonic vibrator 12, a nozzle 13, a charging electrode 14, a detection electrode 15, a deflection electrode 16, a gutter 2, a temperature sensor 3, and a strobe 4.

[0025] The gun body 11 supplies ink liquid L from a pump (not shown) via a pipe 8 to the nozzle 13. The ultrasonic vibrator 12 vibrates the ink liquid L supplied to the gun body 11. The nozzle 13 ejects the vibrated ink liquid L, and the charging electrode 14 has a pair of positive electrodes facing each other across the flying ink droplets D, and charges the ink droplets D separated from the ink liquid L. The detection electrode 15 detects the charge amount of the ink droplets D. The deflection electrode 16 has a positive electrode 16A and a negative electrode 16B facing each other above and below, and deflects the ink droplets D charged by the charging electrode 14 using an electric field (see Figure 2). The ink droplets D deflected by the deflection electrode 16 collide with a predetermined position on the printing substrate (hereinafter referred to as the printing position). Meanwhile, the ink droplets D not used for printing are collected in the gutter 2.

[0026] The temperature sensor 3 measures the temperature inside the print head 1 (see FIG. 2).

[0027] The strobe 4 includes strobe 4A and strobe 4B. It is preferable that strobe 4A and strobe 4B each illuminate the charging area AR1 and the deflection area AR2 from the opposite side of the flying ink droplets to the camera 5 (see the hatched areas in FIG. 3), thereby preventing the shadows of the ink droplets from appearing on the camera. Note that the camera 5 takes pictures at a frequency of, for example, about once per second, and the strobe 4 emits light in synchronization with the ultrasonic vibrator 12.

[0028] The camera 5 is not particularly limited as long as it has the ability to photograph satellites in the charged area AR1 and the deflection area AR2 (the area shown by hatching in Figure 4) from a direction approximately perpendicular to the direction in which the ink liquid L is ejected from the nozzle 13 and approximately perpendicular to the direction in which the deflection electrodes 16 face each other, and any known digital camera such as a CCD camera or CMOS camera can be used as appropriate. If the length from the end face of the charging electrode 14 in the direction of flight of the ink droplets D toward the end face of the deflection electrode 16 in the direction of flight is L12, then it is preferable to place the camera 5 at approximately the center of the length L12 so that the entire area indicated by L12 is included in the angle of view (see FIG. 4). This allows more ink droplets D to be photographed simultaneously, thereby increasing the probability of discovering satellites.

[0029] It is preferable that the charging electrode 14 and the deflection electrode 16 face each other in the same direction (see FIG. 2), so that a single camera 5 can photograph the ink droplets D in the charging area AR1 and the deflection area AR2.

[0030] The information processing unit 6 is configured to receive image data captured by the camera 5 and to be able to find satellites inside the print head 1. The information processing unit 6 is configured to be able to control the print head 1 (ultrasonic vibrator 12) and the pump so that satellites do not occur when satellites are found inside the print head 1 (see FIG. 1).

[0031] The information processing unit 6 includes a storage unit 61, a processing unit 62, a communication unit 63, and an output unit 64 (see FIG. 5). The memory unit 61 stores an image database 611, a satellite occurrence database 612, a flight area 613, and temperature data received by the communication unit 63 from the temperature sensor 3. Here, the processing unit 62 will be explained first, and then the memory unit 61 will be explained in detail. The processing unit 62 includes a detection unit 621, a stain detection unit 622, a determination unit 623, and a control unit 624 (see FIG. 5).

[0032] The detection unit 621 analyzes the image data and detects the ink droplet positions of the ink droplets D within the charging area AR1 and the deflection area AR2. If there are multiple ink droplets D within the charging area AR1 and the deflection area AR2, the detection unit 621 detects the ink droplet position for each ink droplet D. The determination unit 623 uses the ink droplet positions detected by the detection unit 621 to determine whether or not satellites have occurred (details will be described later).

[0033] The dirt detection unit 622 compares two sets of image data captured by the camera 5 with different capture dates and times, creates differential image data that identifies the different parts of the two sets of image data, and uses the differential image data to detect dirt inside the print head.

[0034] The two image data that the dirt detection unit 622 compares are not particularly limited as long as they are taken at different dates and times, but are preferably image data of a cleaned state and image data of a dirty state. Specifically, the dirt detection unit 622 compares the image data of the cleaned state with the image data of the dirty state, and creates data (difference image data) for displaying parts that are included in both in black and parts that are included in the latter but not the former in white. The cleaned state refers to the state after the head dirt has been cleaned. The stain detection unit 622 stores the image data captured by the camera 5, the differential image data, and the date and time of capture by the camera 5 in the storage unit 61 as an image database 611.

[0035] The dirt detection unit 622 extracts the head dirt area (hereinafter referred to as the dirty area 108) from the differential image data (see the differential image data in FIG. 6). It is preferable that the dirt detection unit 622 only identifies the area displayed in white that is larger than a predetermined area as the dirty area 108. This is to prevent noise on the image from being mistakenly recognized as the dirty area 108. The stain detection unit 622 creates a frame 108 a that surrounds the outer shape of the stained portion 108 and is a rectangle, a polygon, a circle, or the like. The stain detection unit 622 writes the stained portion 108 and the frame 108a into the differential image data.

[0036] If the ink droplet position detected by the detection unit 621 is not included in the flight area 613, the determination unit 623 determines that the ink droplet D is a satellite. The flight area 613 will now be described. A number of flight routes 614 along which the ink droplets D fly are provided across the printing range, each of which is different for each printing position (four in the example of FIG. 3(a)), and the area including these many flight routes 614 is called the flight area 613. FIG. 3(a) shows the flight area 613 including all of the flight routes 614. The determination unit 623 determines that the ink droplets D that are not included in the flight area 613 are satellites (see satellites S1 and S2 in FIG. 3(a)).

[0037] If there are multiple ink droplets D in the image data, and the ink droplet position of at least one ink droplet D is not included in the flight region 613, the determination unit 623 determines that a satellite has occurred.

[0038] When the determining unit 623 determines that satellites are occurring, the control unit 624 adjusts the pressure of the pump on the ink liquid L or the voltage or frequency applied to the ultrasonic vibrator 12. The strobe emits light in synchronization with the ultrasonic vibrator. When the judgment unit 623 determines that a satellite has occurred, the control unit 624 stores the satellite occurrence data in the memory unit 61 as a satellite occurrence database 612, executes the dirt detection unit 622 described above, and the detection unit 622 stores the image database 611 in the memory unit 61.

[0039] As described above, the storage unit 61 stores the image database 611, the satellite occurrence database 612, the flight area 613, and the temperature data received by the communication unit 63 from the temperature sensor 3.

[0040] 6, the image database 611 is composed of image data, differential image data, and photographing date and time. For example, the storage unit 61 stores image data for each of a cleaned state, a slightly soiled state, a moderately soiled state, and a very soiled state. As described above, the stained area 108 and the frame 108a are written into the differential image data by the stain detection unit 622.

[0041] As shown in Fig. 7, the satellite occurrence database 612 is composed of satellite occurrence positions (X coordinates, Y coordinates) and satellite occurrence dates and times. The X axis is the direction in which the ink droplet D flies, and the Y axis is the direction perpendicular to the X axis (see Fig. 3(a)). On the paper surface of Fig. 3(a), the X axis is to the right and the Y axis is to the top.

[0042] As shown in Figure 8, flight area 613 consists of an area enclosed by lines connecting a series of points (X11, Y11), ... (X1L, Y1L) from the start point (X10, Y10) to the end point (X10, Y10). Points have X and Y coordinates, and points are connected by straight or curved lines. When the start and end points are the same, the series of points forms a closed flight area 613, and judgment unit 623 judges whether ink droplet D is included in flight area 613. Note that the fact that flight area 613 can be defined for each character size of ink droplet D and each printing position of ink droplet D will be explained in (Variant Example).

[0043] The communication unit 63 receives image data from the camera 5 and temperature data from the temperature sensor 3. The communication unit 63 communicates with the pump and the ultrasonic vibrator 12 so that the control unit 624 can control the pressure applied to the ink liquid by the pump and the voltage or frequency applied to the ultrasonic vibrator 12.

[0044] The output unit 64 outputs the image data as an image and the differential image data as a differential image to a display.

[0045] (Action and effect) CIJP100 has the following effects: The camera 5 photographs the charged area AR1 and the deflection area AR2 from a direction that is approximately perpendicular to the direction in which the ink liquid L is ejected from the nozzle 13 and from a direction that is approximately perpendicular to the direction in which the deflection electrodes 16 face each other, so that satellites within the charged area AR1 and the deflection area AR2 can be properly found compared to when photographing only one of the charged area AR1 or the deflection area AR2.

[0046] If the ink droplet position is not included in the flight area 613, the determination unit 623 determines that the ink droplet D is a satellite, and therefore, it can be identified not by its size but by whether it has deviated from the normal flight route of the ink droplet.

[0047] When the judgment unit 623 judges that satellites are occurring, the control unit 624 can quickly control the occurrence of satellites by adjusting the pressure of the pump on the ink liquid L or the voltage or frequency applied to the ultrasonic vibrator 12, so that the satellites do not occur.

[0048] If the judgment unit 623 judges that a satellite has occurred, it stores the satellite occurrence database 612 in the memory unit 61, executes the stain detection unit 622 to store the image database 611 in the memory unit 61, and the output unit 64 outputs the image database 611 and the satellite occurrence database 612, so that the worker can check whether stains have occurred when a satellite has occurred.

[0049] (Variation) Next, a modification of the CIJP 100 according to one embodiment will be described.

[0050] The camera 5 photographed the charged region AR1 and the deflection region AR2 from a direction that is approximately perpendicular to the direction in which the ink liquid L is ejected from the nozzle 13 and is also approximately perpendicular to the direction in which the deflection electrode 16 faces, but the direction from which the camera 5 photographs is not limited to this. For example, the camera 5 may photograph from a direction that is approximately 45 degrees from the direction in which the ink liquid L is ejected from the nozzle 13 and is also approximately 45 degrees from the direction in which the deflection electrode 16 faces. It is sufficient that the camera 5 is able to photograph the charged region AR1 and the deflection region AR2.

[0051] In the CIJP100, the flight area 613 is defined as an area including all flight routes 614. However, it may also be defined as a collection of small areas 613a (hereinafter referred to as normal small areas 613a) including only one normal flight route 614. FIG. 3 shows a case where a printed material has three vertical printing positions, three flight routes 614, and three normal small areas 613a. The storage unit 61 stores, for example, a collection of dot sequences surrounding three normal small areas 613a (flight area 613b in FIG. 8). This allows the determination unit 623 to determine that an ink droplet D flying between adjacent small areas 613a is a satellite S3 (see satellite S3 in FIG. 3(b)). However, an ink droplet D flying between normal small areas 613a may not be a satellite but a normal ink droplet D. Therefore, the detection unit 621 may detect the surface area and diameter of the ink droplet D when the ink droplet position is included in the flight region 613b. The determination unit 623 may use not only the ink droplet position but also the ink droplet surface area and ink droplet diameter to determine whether the ink droplet D is a satellite. This reduces the chance of an ink droplet D flying between the normal small regions 613a being erroneously determined to be a satellite.

[0052] Since the flight route differs depending on the size of the character, symbol, or figure printed by the ink droplets D (hereinafter referred to as character size), the flight area 613, which is the area formed by the multiple flight routes, also differs depending on the character size. The memory unit 61 may store a flight area 613c corresponding to the character size. The determination unit 623 determines whether the ink droplet D is a satellite using the ink droplet position and the flight area 613c corresponding to the character size. This can improve the probability of correctly determining whether the ink droplet D is a satellite.

[0053] In the above example, the storage unit 61 stores the flight area 613, which is the area where normal ink droplets fly, but it may also store an abnormal area (not shown), which is the area where abnormal ink droplets such as satellites fly. The determination unit 623 may determine that a satellite has occurred when the position of the ink droplet is included in the abnormal area.

[0054] As explained in FIG. 9, if the image of the ink droplet D in the deflection area is clear, the ink droplet D is normal, and therefore the judgment unit 623 does not need to judge whether such an ink droplet is a satellite.

[0055] Even if the determination unit 623 determines that a satellite has occurred, the control unit 624 may not perform control if the satellite is on a flight route that will lead to recovery in the gutter 2.

[0056] The detection unit 621 may detect the amount of temperature change per unit time using the temperature data stored in the memory unit 61. The control unit 624 may change the shutter speed of the camera 5 when the amount of temperature change is greater than a predetermined value. For example, the control unit 624 may control the camera 5 and the strobe 4 to normally take a picture once per minute, and when the amount of temperature change is greater than a predetermined value, control the camera 5 and the strobe 4 to take a picture more frequently than usual (for example, once per second). Satellites are more likely to appear when there is a sudden change in temperature, so by doing so, the probability of detecting satellites can be increased.

[0057] When the determination unit 623 determines that satellites have occurred, the control unit 624 adjusts the pressure of the nozzle 13 or the voltage or frequency applied to the ultrasonic vibrator 12. This prevents satellites from occurring, but undetected satellites may still cause stains. Therefore, it is preferable to periodically execute the stain detection unit 622, compare the stained area 108 in a slightly soiled state with the stained area 108 in a moderately soiled state, and generate data (stain difference image data) for displaying the areas included in both in black and the areas included in the latter but not the former in white. Here, the stain difference image data represents stains that occurred over a certain period (for example, the period from a slightly soiled state to a moderately soiled state). The stain detection unit 622 calculates the growth direction and growth rate of the stain based on the stain differential image data. The stain detection unit 622 may predict the date and time when the ink stain will reach the flight area 613 based on the distance in the growth direction from the end of the stain area 108 to the flight area 613 and the growth rate. The output unit 64 may output the date and time when the ink stain will reach the flight area 613. This allows the operator to consider the timing of maintenance.

[0058] A detection unit 621 detects a flight route 614 of the ink droplet D, a determination unit 623 determines whether the flight route of the ink droplet D is normal or abnormal, and if the flight route 614 of the ink droplet D is abnormal, a control unit 624 may adjust the orientation of the axis of the nozzle 13 so that the flight route 614 of the ink droplet D becomes normal. FIG. 10 is a schematic front view showing the flight route of the ink droplet D. FIG. 10(a) shows a normal flight route 614R1 of the ink droplet, and it is considered optimal for the flight route 614R1 to pass through a position 3:7 from the top end of the gutter 2. 10(b) shows abnormal ink flight paths 614R2 and 614R3. When ink droplets D fly along flight path 614R2, they are not collected in gutter 2, which would normally result in the ink droplets D being contaminated inside the inkjet printer. When ink droplets D fly along flight path 614R3, they collide with the edge of gutter 2, causing contamination. Therefore, the control unit 624 adjusts the axis of nozzle 13 so that flight path 614 of ink droplets D becomes normal. Although it would take a huge amount of images to find a satellite, this method allows the image data in which no satellite is found to be wasted and can be used to check whether the ink droplets D not used for printing are correctly facing the flight route 614R1.

[0059] The detection unit 621 calculates the velocity of the ink droplets D and calculates the viscosity from the velocity, the judgment unit 623 judges whether the viscosity of the ink droplets D is normal, low, or high, and the control unit 624 may adjust the viscosity of the ink droplets D to normal if the viscosity of the ink droplets D is low or high. The detection unit 621 analyzes the image data and measures the number M of ink droplets D contained in a certain width L (for example, the width of the charging electrode) (see FIG. 11(a)), and calculates the velocity of the ink droplets D. Meanwhile, there is a relationship between the velocity of the ink droplets D and the viscosity of the ink droplets D such that the viscosity of the ink droplets D is low when the velocity of the ink droplets D is fast and the viscosity of the ink droplets D is high when the velocity of the ink droplets D is slow. Therefore, the viscosity of the ink droplets D can be calculated from the velocity of the ink droplets D. Figure 11(b) shows the case where the number M of ink droplets D is normal (normal viscosity), Figure 11(c) shows the case where the number M of ink droplets D is small (low viscosity), and Figure 11(d) shows the case where the number M of ink droplets D is large (high viscosity). The control unit 624 can normalize the viscosity by adding solvent to the ink tank if the viscosity is high, or by adding ink to the ink tank if the viscosity is low. In this way, image data in which no satellites are found can be used to calculate and adjust the viscosity of ink droplets without being wasted. [Explanation of symbols]

[0060] CIJP100 Printhead 1 Gun body 11 Ultrasonic transducer 12 Nozzle 13 Charged electrode 14 Detecting electrode 15 Deflection electrode 16 Positive electrode 16A Negative electrode 16B Gutter 2 Temperature Sensor 3 Strobe 4 Camera 5 Information Processing Section 6 Pump 7 Printhead with camera 20 Storage section 61 Flight area 613 Processing unit 62 Detection unit 621 Dirt detection unit 622 Judgment section 623 Control unit 624 Communications Department 63 Output section 64 Charged area AR1 Deflection area AR2 Satellite S

Claims

1. A camera-equipped print head is provided with a camera for photographing the inside of a print head of a continuous inkjet printer, A print head including a nozzle for ejecting ink liquid, a charging electrode for charging ink droplets separated from the ejected ink liquid, a deflection electrode for deflecting the charged ink droplets by an electric field, and a gutter for collecting ink droplets not used for printing. Equipped with a print head with a camera, wherein the camera is capable of photographing a deflection region including at least a part of the region between the deflection electrodes; an information processing unit that processes image data captured by the camera; Equipped with The information processing unit a storage unit that stores a flight area that is an area including a flight route of a normal ink droplet; a detection unit for detecting an ink droplet position, the position of the ink droplet; a determination unit that determines that a satellite has occurred when the ink droplet position is not included in the flight area; A continuous inkjet printer comprising:

2. the camera captures an image of a charged region including at least a portion of a region where ink droplets are charged; 2. The continuous ink jet printer according to claim 1.

3. an ultrasonic vibrator that applies vibrations to the ink liquid; a strobe that illuminates the charging area or the deflection area; Equipped with The strobe emits light in synchronization with the ultrasonic vibrator.

3. The continuous ink jet printer according to claim 2.

4. The strobe illuminates the ink droplet from the opposite side to the camera.

4. The continuous ink jet printer according to claim 3.

5. The information processing unit compares two image data pieces that are taken at different times and dates, and The difference image data is used to create differential image data for the different parts of the data. A dirt detection unit that detects dirt inside the door is provided.

2. The continuous ink jet printer according to claim 1.

Images