JP2007118513A - Printer - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To avoid the possibility of smearing the back surface of a recording medium with ink deposited on a platen absorber by borderless printing.
SOLUTION: A means for calculating the amount of ink shot in the protruding area of the borderless printing of the platen absorber, comparing it with a threshold value, and determining whether the ink has accumulated above a specified value, and based on the determination, the platen absorber It is comprised by the means to rotate and the means to scrape off the accumulated ink with a blade.
[Selection] Figure 2

Description

  It relates to the deposition of ink on the ink absorber.

  In the case of borderless printing, an ink jet printer is provided with an ink absorber on the platen in order to ensure that borderless printing is carried out and print out to an area slightly outside the paper (FIG. 1) (FIG. 6). 609). Conventionally, the performance of recording paper has been low, and the absolute amount of ink to be applied to the recording paper has been small, so that ink has hardly accumulated on the ink absorber until the end of the printer life. However, with the improvement in recording paper performance and longer device life, the amount of ink discharged has increased dramatically, and ink deposition on the ink absorber, which was not a problem in the past, has become a problem. I have done it.

  To solve the above problem, the ink fixed on the absorber with the cleaning liquid as in Patent Document 1 is dissolved, or the ink fixed by discharging the dye ink to the pigment ink deposited as in Patent Document 2 is dissolved. As in Patent Document 3, a proposal has been made to remove the fixed ink by applying vibration to the absorber with a roller in the absorber.

As another conventional example, Patent Document 4 can be cited.
JP-A-8-25648 Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2004-25557 JP-A-6-328701 JP 9-3004 A

  Prevent contamination of the back side of the recording paper to be printed by the ink deposited on the platen absorber in the protruding area of borderless printing.

  For each specific media size of the platen absorber, the amount of protrusion of the protruding area is counted, and the degree of ink absorber deposition in the protruding area of all specific media sizes is compared with the specified value specific to the device that has been determined in advance. If there is a possibility that one of them may stain the back side of the recording paper due to the accumulation of ink, the platen absorber is rotated by the automatic operation of the printer, and the platen absorber is rotated. Scrub off the ink deposited on the platen absorber by smashing it by rubbing against the blade or by prompting the user to pull the lever on the paper exit to manually scrape the platen absorber .

  In a printer capable of borderless printing, the printer can be used without soiling the back of the media due to ink accumulation.

  Two examples of the present invention will be given. One is a configuration diagram in FIG. 2, FIG. 3 is a control example, the other is a configuration diagram in FIG. 4, and FIG. 5 is a control example. A conventional configuration diagram is shown in FIG. Below, each Example is described along each figure.

  Example 1 is an example in which the printer automatically performs ink removal. The advantage of this example is that the ink can be removed without bothering the user's hand and making him / her conscious. The demerit is that mechanical parts are required and cost is high.

  FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram of a protruding area in borderless printing.

  When performing borderless printing, the printer ejects ink slightly wider than the recording paper in order to avoid leaving a border on the edge of the paper due to ink landing deviation or paper missetting (FIG. 1). . Therefore, it is struck and deposited on the platen absorber (505 in FIG. 1). Since this amount and area is known for each device or for each media size, ink is applied to the print area on a platen absorber (6 in FIG. 2) of a specific size that is supposed to perform frequent borderless printing. The amount can be counted. In the present invention, at the time of borderless printing, the amount of ink applied to the area of the platen absorber (6 in FIG. 2) is counted for each media size, and the nonvolatile memory mounted on the printer is counted. Is retained. This count value is regularly monitored to determine whether ink has been deposited on the platen absorber (6 in FIG. 2) or more than a prescribed value set for each device and accumulated. That is the determination of 301 to 303 in FIG. In this example, specific media are assumed to be L version, A4, and A3.

If there is at least one medium of a specific size that is determined to have accumulated the ink above the specified value on the platen absorber (6 in FIG. 2), the deposited ink on the platen absorber (6 in FIG. 2). Therefore, it is determined that it is necessary to remove, and control of removal is performed. (Processing 304 to 307 in FIG. 3)
In this embodiment, first, the ink head (1 in FIG. 2) is moved to the head maintenance mechanism (2 in FIG. 2) and capped. This is to avoid the possibility that the solid surface of the ink or the fixed ink will contaminate the face surface of the print head and adversely affect the subsequent printing when the accumulated ink is scraped off in the operation of removing the accumulated ink. Because. (304 in FIG. 3)
Next, in order to rotate the platen absorber shaft (11 in FIG. 2), it is connected to a motor drive system (4, 9, 10 in FIG. 2) for paper discharge. This is because, in this example, it is assumed that a dedicated motor for rotating the platen absorber is not provided but driven by a motor for paper discharge. This process is not necessary. This is a content that can be assumed in various ways due to cost and design circumstances. The connection of the drive system is shown in the drawing assuming the connection and disconnection of gears (12 in FIG. 2), but it can be realized by other mechanisms. Here, it is shown that the rotation mechanism is connected only when the platen absorber (6 in FIG. 2) is rotated. (305 in Fig. 3)
Next, the platen absorber (6 in FIG. 2) is rotated, and the ink (18 in FIG. 2) deposited by the blade (21 in FIG. 2) is removed. As shown in the lower cross-sectional view of FIG. 2, in this example, the deposited ink (20 in FIG. 2) that has been scraped off is received by the deposited ink receiver (19 in FIG. 2), which is a platen absorber. (6 in FIG. 2). How much to rotate, how to scrape the blade (21 in FIG. 2) and the material are determined by the convenience of the equipment, but in this example, the removal of the accumulated ink is completed by rotating a predetermined number of rotations. Assumes something. The number of revolutions is made variable according to the amount of dots to be deposited, or the height of the deposited ink (18 in FIG. 2) is read with a sensor and then deposited when the height falls below a specified value. A method may be considered in which the ink removal is regarded as the end. It depends on the circumstances of the equipment. Here, it is shown that the removal of the ink deposited at some reference or rotation speed is finished. (306,307 in Fig. 3)
Next, when the removal of the accumulated ink is completed, the dot count of the ink ejection amount to the platen absorber in the protruding area of all the specific media sizes up to that point is reset. Here, the count value is reset on the assumption that the ink accumulated by the method of the present embodiment is completely removed. However, the reset value can be made variable depending on the total number of printed sheets of the apparatus for the convenience of the device. It is also conceivable to provide a reset value that assumes deterioration of use of the machine. In addition, in order to shorten the time for removing the accumulated ink, the reset value may be set to a variable value instead of the initial value even when the rotation of the platen absorber is stopped without rotating until the accumulated ink can be completely removed. Conceivable. In any case, this indicates that the ink deposit has been removed to some reference value and has returned to its count value. (308 in Fig. 3)
Finally, the platen absorber drive system (11 and 12 in FIG. 2) is disconnected from the paper discharge system drive system. This indicates that the series of accumulated ink removal sequence has been completed, and the state has returned to the state where the normal printing operation can be started. (309 in FIG. 3)

  The second embodiment is an example in which ink is removed with the help of a user. The merit of this example is that the mechanical parts for that purpose become unnecessary and the cost is low. Disadvantages are that bothering the user to remove ink and the extent to which the ink removal has been completed, as determined by the user, vary.

  When performing borderless printing, the printer ejects ink slightly wider than the recording paper in order to avoid leaving a border on the edge of the paper due to ink landing deviation or paper missetting (FIG. 1). . Thus, it is struck and deposited on the platen absorber (105 in FIG. 1). Since this amount and area are known for each device or each media size, the amount of ink that is applied to the print area on the platen absorber of a specific size that is assumed to be frequently printed without borders can be counted. In the present invention, at the time of borderless printing, the amount of ink applied to the platen absorber region is counted for each media size and held in a non-volatile memory mounted on the printer. This count value is regularly monitored, and it is determined whether or not the ink has been deposited on the platen absorber more than the prescribed value set for each device and accumulated. That is the determination of 501 to 503 in FIG. In this example, specific media are assumed to be L version, A4, and A3.

  If there is at least one medium of a specific size that is judged to have accumulated the ink above the specified value on the platen absorber (406 in FIG. 4) by this determination, the ink deposited on the platen absorber (406 in FIG. 4). Therefore, it is determined that it is necessary to remove, and control of removal is performed.

In this embodiment, first, the ink head (401 in FIG. 4) is moved to the head maintenance mechanism (402 in FIG. 4) and capped. This is to avoid the possibility that the solid surface of the ink or the fixed ink will contaminate the face surface of the print head and adversely affect the subsequent printing when the accumulated ink is scraped off in the operation of removing the accumulated ink. Because. (304 in FIG. 3)
Next, the user pulls the bar (413, 416 in FIG. 4) of the paper discharge port to remove the accumulated ink, and when it is done, notifies the printer driver to press the end button (505 in FIG. 5). In this embodiment, the platen absorber (406 in FIG. 4) is not rotated by using the drive system of the printer, but the user pulls the handle (413, 416 in FIG. 4) in the paper discharge port with a finger. Such a method is required to rotate (406 in FIG. 4).

Further, at this time, the end of removal of the accumulated ink is notified by notifying the printer that the user has determined that the user has ended via a printer driver on the printer or personal computer, and such notification is necessary. In this case, if a sensor capable of monitoring ink accumulation is installed, the termination can be automatically performed. (506 in FIG. 5)
If the user next notices that the accumulated ink has been removed, the printer considers that the accumulated ink has been removed, and absorbs the platen in the protruding area of all specific media sizes up to that point. Resets the dot count of the amount of ink that is applied to the body. In this example, the removal result cannot be monitored or the removal process cannot be managed, so the count value is reset on the assumption that the accumulated ink is completely removed. It is also conceivable to make the reset value variable by, for example, providing a reset value that assumes deterioration of use of the machine. In any case, this indicates that the ink deposit has been removed to some reference value and has returned to its count value. (507 in FIG. 5)
In this example, this indicates that the series of accumulated ink removal sequence has been completed, and the state has returned to the state in which the normal printing operation can be started.

About the protruding area in borderless printing Example 1 of the present invention Example of control of Embodiment 1 of the present invention Embodiment 2 of the present invention Example of control of Embodiment 2 of the present invention Conventional typical configuration diagram

Explanation of symbols

101 Media 102 Ink ejection area (print head movement direction only)
103 Media size 104 Ink placement area 105 Projection area (area to be placed on the platen absorber)
1 Carriage unit (equipped with print head and ink tank)
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 2 Head maintenance mechanism 3 Carriage shaft 4 Paper discharge roller 5 Platen 6 Rotating platen absorber 7 Accumulated ink removal blade 8 Accumulated ink receiver 9 Paper discharge roller shaft 10 Paper discharge roller shaft gear 11 Absorber rotation shaft 12 Absorber rotation shaft Gear 13 Rotating non-reference side pre-discharge outlet absorber 14 Discharge direction 15 Rotating platen absorber 16 Absorber rotating shaft 17 Rotating platen absorber 18 Deposit accumulated on platen absorber 19 Deposited ink receiver 20 Removed Accumulated ink 21 Accumulated ink removal blade 301 Judgment whether the ejection amount of the protruding area of the L plate is higher than the specified value 302 Determination of whether the ejection amount of the protruding area of A4 is higher than the specified value 303 A3 ejection amount of the protruding area of A3 Judging whether the value is above the specified value 3 04 Control to move and hold print head to cap position 305 Control to connect discharge motor drive to platen absorber rotation drive 306 Control to rotate platen absorber to remove accumulated ink 307 Removal of accumulated ink 308 Resetting control of the protrusion amount of all media sizes 309 Control for separating the discharge motor drive from the platen absorber rotation drive 401 Carriage unit (installed with print head and ink tank)
402 Head maintenance mechanism 403 Carriage shaft 404 Discharge roller 405 Platen 406 Retractable platen absorber 407 Accumulated ink removal blade 408 Discharge roller shaft 409 Discharge roller shaft gear 410 Absorber rotation shaft gear 411 Absorber rotation shaft gear 412 Hand 413 Platen absorber drawer handle 414 Accumulated ink removal blade 415 Platen 416 Scrape by pulling the handle by hand 503 Judgment whether the amount of protrusion in the protruding area of A4 is higher than the specified value 503 Determination of whether the amount of protrusion of the protruding area of A3 is higher than the specified value 504 Print Control to move the head to the cap position and hold it 505 Pull the discharge port bar to the user to remove the accumulated ink, and when done, control to notify the printer driver to press the end button 506 Accumulated ink from the user Judgment whether or not the end of the removal has been input 507 Reset control of the protruding amount of the protruding area for all media sizes 601 Carriage unit (with print head and ink tank installed)
602 Head maintenance mechanism 603 Carriage shaft 604 Paper discharge roller 605 Platen 606 Paper discharge roller shaft 607 Paper discharge roller shaft gear 608 Non-rotatable pre-discharge absorber 609 Non-rotatable platen absorber

Claims (1)

  A platen absorber characterized by having a rotating function, a means for removing ink deposited from the rotated platen absorber, and a platen absorber serving as a protruding area during borderless printing of any recording paper size The driving amount is calculated, the count value is stored in the nonvolatile memory, the preset threshold value stored in the nonvolatile memory is compared with the stored count value, and the ink deposition exceeds the reference value. And a printer control means having software, characterized in that control is performed for ink removal.

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