JP2011079214A - Drawing device, drawing method and program of drawing device - Google Patents

Abstract

There is provided a drawing apparatus and the like capable of preventing quality degradation of a printed matter accompanying meandering of a recording medium without requiring complicated arithmetic processing.
A recording medium feeding means for feeding a recording medium A along a recording medium feeding path, a head unit 83 that faces the recording medium A being fed and performs printing on the recording medium A, and the head unit 83 is a recording medium. A servo motor 123 that moves in the width direction of A, a displacement sensor 100 that faces the recording medium feed path and detects the displacement amount of the edge position in the width direction of the recording medium A, and a head based on the detection result of the displacement sensor 100 And an arithmetic unit 200 that controls the servo motor 123 so that the unit 83 faces an appropriate position of the recording medium A in the width direction.
[Selection] Figure 11

Description

  The present invention relates to a drawing apparatus that draws a head on a recording medium to be sent and draws on the recording medium by the head, a drawing method of the drawing apparatus, and a program.

  Conventionally, a recording medium (printing medium) sent in a state of meandering in the width direction is drawn at an accurate position (ink is landed), and the meandering state of the recording medium is detected and the detected meandering is detected. A printing apparatus that corrects drawing data (print data) according to a state is known (for example, Patent Document 1). This printing apparatus detects the meandering state of the endless belt and calculates the meandering amount of the recording medium based on the meandering state. Further, the drawing data is shift-corrected based on the calculated meandering amount, and the print head is driven based on the corrected drawing data. This prevents the quality of the printed matter from being lowered (disturbed print image) due to the meandering of the recording medium.

WO2005 / 097510

  However, as described above, in the case of a printing apparatus that compensates the printing position by correcting the drawing data, there is a problem that the amount of processing calculation for calculating the meandering amount and the shift correction increases, and the control load increases. there were. Further, since the control load increases as the resolution of the printed material increases, a control device having a high processing capacity is required according to the quality of the printed material. As a result, there has been a problem that the initialization cost when introducing the printing apparatus is increased.

  SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In view of the above problems, the present invention provides a drawing apparatus, a drawing method of the drawing apparatus, and a program capable of preventing the quality of printed matter from being deteriorated due to meandering of a recording medium without requiring complicated arithmetic processing. The purpose is to do.

  The drawing apparatus of the present invention includes a recording medium feeding means for feeding a recording medium along a recording medium feeding path, a head that faces the recording medium that is fed, and performs printing on the recording medium, and the head in the width direction of the recording medium. Based on the detection result of the displacement amount detection means, the displacement amount detection means for detecting the displacement amount of the edge position in the width direction of the recording medium facing the recording medium feed path, and the head in the width direction Head position control means for controlling the head moving means so as to face an appropriate position of the recording medium.

  The drawing method of the drawing apparatus of the present invention is a drawing method of a drawing apparatus in which a head faces a recording medium sent in a meandering state in the width direction, and drawing on the recording medium is performed by the head. According to this, drawing is performed while moving the head in the width direction of the recording medium.

  According to these configurations, in accordance with the meandering state of the recording medium (according to the displacement of the edge position in the width direction of the recording medium), drawing is performed while moving the head in the width direction of the recording medium. It is possible to prevent the quality of the printed matter from being lowered due to meandering. In addition, as a specific process, it is possible to perform simple control such as detecting the displacement of the edge position in the width direction of the recording medium and moving the head in the width direction according to the displacement amount. do not need. As a result, it is possible to cope with a control device having a low capability, and it is possible to suppress the initialization cost when the drawing device is introduced.

  In the above-described drawing apparatus, the displacement amount detection means is provided in a carriage on which the head is mounted, and the head position control means controls the head movement means so that the detection result of the displacement amount detection means becomes a fixed value. Is preferred.

  According to this configuration, for example, simple control such as controlling so that the edge position in the width direction of the recording medium matches the reference position of the displacement amount detection means (so that the detection result of the displacement amount detection means becomes 0). By this method, it is possible to prevent a decrease in the quality of the printed matter accompanying the meandering of the recording medium.

  In the above-described drawing apparatus, it is preferable that the displacement amount detection unit faces the recording medium feeding path on the upstream side of the head.

  According to this configuration, since the displacement of the edge position can be pre-read before the head, stable control can be performed even when a displacement sensor with low response performance is used as the displacement amount detection means.

  In the drawing apparatus described above, the time from the detection of the edge position by the displacement amount detection unit to the completion of the movement of the head by the head movement unit matches the time from the detection of the edge position until the edge position reaches directly below the head. It is preferable to dispose the displacement amount detecting means.

  According to this configuration, the displacement amount detection means is disposed in consideration of the response time of the displacement sensor and the command delay time until the head actually moves from the drive command (between the displacement amount detection means and the head). Therefore, even if they require time, the head can be moved to an appropriate position without hindrance. That is, drawing can be performed at an accurate position regardless of the response time of the displacement sensor or the command delay time.

  The drawing apparatus described above further includes detection position variable means for changing the position of the displacement amount detection means in the conveyance direction of the recording medium, and the detection position variable means corresponds to the feeding speed of the recording medium feeding means. It is preferable to change the position of the displacement amount detection means.

  According to this configuration, since the position of the displacement amount detecting unit is varied according to the feeding speed of the recording medium feeding unit, the feeding rate can be arbitrarily set. In other words, drawing can be performed at an accurate position regardless of the feed speed.

  In the drawing apparatus described above, the displacement amount detection means further includes detection data storage means for generating edge position detection data at a predetermined time interval and storing a plurality of detection data, and the head moving means is a recording medium feeding device. Preferably, one detection data is extracted from a plurality of detection data stored in the detection data storage means according to the feed speed of the means, and the head moving means is controlled using the extracted detection data. .

  According to this configuration, appropriate one detection data is extracted from a plurality of detection data in accordance with the feed speed of the recording medium feeding means (that is, the time from detection of the edge position to completion of head movement, Since the detection data is extracted so that the time from the detection of the edge position to the time when the edge position reaches just below the head matches), the feed rate can be arbitrarily set. In other words, drawing can be performed at an accurate position regardless of the feed speed.

  A program according to the present invention causes a computer to function as each unit in the above-described drawing apparatus.

  By using this program, it is possible to realize a drawing apparatus that can prevent the quality of printed matter from being lowered due to meandering of the recording medium without requiring complicated arithmetic processing.

It is a front view of the ink jet device concerning an embodiment. It is a back surface perspective view of an apparatus main body. It is a front view of a carriage unit. It is sectional drawing around a head unit. It is a perspective view of a print head. It is a reverse view of a head unit. It is a perspective view of a pinning unit. It is the side view which showed the maintenance unit at the time of a maintenance (a) and a printing process (b). It is the front view (a) and sectional view (b) which showed the carriage unit and maintenance unit at the time of maintenance. It is a conceptual diagram around the Y-axis movement mechanism which concerns on 1st Embodiment. It is a block diagram of the arithmetic unit incorporated in the Y-axis movement mechanism which concerns on 1st Embodiment. It is a flowchart which shows the flow of the head movement control which concerns on 1st Embodiment. It is a conceptual diagram around the Y-axis movement mechanism which concerns on 2nd Embodiment. It is a block diagram of the arithmetic unit incorporated in the Y-axis movement mechanism which concerns on 2nd Embodiment. It is a figure which shows the conceptual diagram of command delay time, and its calculation formula. It is a flowchart which shows the flow of the head movement control which concerns on 2nd Embodiment. It is a conceptual diagram around the Y-axis movement mechanism which concerns on 3rd Embodiment. It is a flowchart which shows the flow of the sensor movement control and head movement control which concern on 3rd Embodiment. It is a front view of the inkjet apparatus which concerns on 4th Embodiment.

[First Embodiment]
DESCRIPTION OF EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, a drawing apparatus, a drawing method of the drawing apparatus, and an inkjet apparatus to which a program is applied according to an embodiment of the invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. This inkjet apparatus is a center drum type printing apparatus in which a plurality of inkjet heads are arranged in the circumferential direction, and printing is performed using a UV ink (ultraviolet curable ink) on a long recording medium supplied reel-to-reel. carry out. The recording medium is, for example, a sheet-like material such as a label film or paper, and has various widths and thicknesses to be printed. First, the outline of the apparatus will be described with reference to FIGS. In the following description, the direction penetrating the paper surface in FIG. 1 is front and rear, the front side is “front”, and the back side is “rear”. Specifically, the extending direction of the rotating shaft (drum shaft 62) of the rotating drum 61 (described later) is the front and rear, the direction from the drum motor 64 (described later) toward the rotating drum 61 is the front direction (front side), and the rotating drum 61 A direction toward the drum motor 64 is a back direction (back side). In the recording medium conveyance path, the medium supply device 6 side described later is referred to as “upstream side”, and the medium recovery device 7 side described later is referred to as “downstream side”.

  As shown in the overall view of FIG. 1, an inkjet apparatus 1 includes a center drum type apparatus main body 2 that performs printing on a recording medium A by an inkjet method, a recording medium A that is supplied with the recording medium A and printed. A reel-to-reel medium supply / recovery device 3 for collecting A and a control device (not shown) for overall control of these components are provided. The medium supply / collection apparatus 3 includes a medium supply apparatus 6 that supplies the recording medium A to the apparatus main body 2 and a medium recovery apparatus 7 that recovers the recording medium A from the apparatus main body 2. On the other hand, the medium feed path L of the recording medium A configured in the apparatus main body 2 and the medium supply / collection apparatus 3 is close to the supply feed path L1 from the medium supply apparatus 6 to the apparatus main body 2 and the circle configured in the apparatus main body 2. An arc-shaped print feed path L2 (recording medium feed path) and a recovery feed path L3 from the apparatus main body 2 to the medium recovery apparatus 7 are provided.

  The recording medium A supplied from the medium supply device 6 through the supply feed path L1 is fed along the print feed path L2 in the apparatus main body 2, and is used for printing in this portion. In addition, the recording medium A that has been printed is collected by the medium collection device 7 through the collection feeding path L3.

  The medium supply device 6 is disposed on the downstream side of the supply reel 11, a supply reel 11 for supplying the recording medium A wound in a roll shape, a supply motor (not shown) for supplying and rotating the supply reel 11, and a recording medium. A forward tension unit 13 that applies a forward tension to A, and a steering unit 14 that is disposed downstream of the forward tension unit 13 and feeds the recording medium A into the apparatus main body 2 while positioning the recording medium A in the width direction. Further, the supply reel 11 and the supply motor are supported by the paper supply unit frame 15 and constitute an integral paper supply unit 16. Further, the forward tension unit 13 is supported by the forward tension frame 17 and unitized.

  When the feeding motor is driven in synchronization with the apparatus main body 2 by the control device, the recording medium A is fed from the feeding reel 11. The fed recording medium A is fed along the feed feed path L1 while being given a predetermined tension by the forward tension unit 13, and finally the apparatus main body 2 while correcting the position in the width direction by the steering unit 14. Is sent to. Note that the steering unit 14 of the present embodiment is configured to send the recording medium A to the apparatus main body 2 with reference to one (back side) width end of the recording medium A. Accordingly, when the recording medium A having a different width is introduced, the width end on one side (the back side) is also the reference. However, it is also possible to introduce the recording medium A using the center in the width direction as a reference (center reference).

  The medium recovery device 7 includes a winding reel 21 that winds the printed recording medium A in a roll shape, a winding motor (not shown) that winds and rotates the winding reel 21, and an upstream side of the winding reel 21. And a back tension unit 23 that applies back tension to the recording medium A, and a recording medium A that is disposed upstream of the back tension unit 23 and is sent out from the apparatus main body 2 is sent in a U-turn. , And a return unit 25 for changing the route of the collection and feeding route L3. Also in this case, the take-up reel 21 and the take-up motor are supported by the paper discharge unit frame 26 and constitute an integral paper discharge unit 27. The back tension unit 23 is supported by the back tension frame 28 and unitized. Further, a UV irradiation unit 44 and a cooling unit 45 of the apparatus main body 2 to be described later are disposed between the apparatus main body 2 and the folding unit 25 so as to face the recovery feed path L3.

  When the control device drives the take-up motor in synchronization with the apparatus main body 2, the recording medium A is fed out from the apparatus main body 2 while being given a predetermined tension by the back tension unit 23, and along the recovery feed path L 3. Will be sent. The recording medium A sent out from the apparatus main body 2 first passes through the UV irradiation unit 44. In this passing process, the UV ink is cured. Subsequently, the recording medium A that has been U-turned by the folding unit 25 is wound around the take-up reel 21 via the back tension unit 23. Note that the recording medium A taken up on the take-up reel 21 is introduced into a separate process apparatus and cut as a label or half-cut on the label portion.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the apparatus main body 2 has a large-diameter rotating drum 61, and a medium feeding mechanism 41 (recording medium feeding means) that feeds the recording medium A along the print feeding path L2, respectively. Has a plurality of print heads 76 and a plurality of carriage units 42 arranged radially with respect to the rotary drum 61 so as to face the print feed path L2, and a plurality of carriage units 42 corresponding to the plurality of carriage units 42 and arranged on the back side thereof. A plurality of maintenance units 43, a main curing UV irradiation unit 44 that cures the UV ink of the recording medium A facing the above-mentioned recovery feed path L3, and the UV irradiation unit 44 across the recording medium A. And a cooling unit 45 that cools the UV irradiation unit 44 and the recording medium A. The apparatus body 2 is entirely covered with a chamber (not shown). The plurality of carriage units 42 are units for the colors of the UV ink to be supplied, and constitute a printing unit 48 as a whole.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the apparatus frame 46 includes a base frame 51 serving as a machine base, a main frame 52 erected on the rear half of the base frame 51, and a plate-like subframe widely provided on the front surface of the main frame 52. 53, and a chamber frame 54 disposed in the front portion of the main frame 52 via the subframe 53.

  The main frame 52 supports various components via the subframe 53 and also supports the medium feeding mechanism 41 mainly composed of the rotating drum 61. The sub frame 53 supports a plurality of carriage units 42, UV irradiation units 44, cooling units 45, and the like on the front side, and supports a plurality of maintenance units 43 and the like on the back side (rear side). The chamber frame 54 is formed so as to cover the constituent device at the front portion of the main frame 52. Walls (not shown) are respectively attached to the surfaces constituting the main frame 52 and the chamber frame 54, and these constitute a chamber that covers the entire apparatus main body 2. That is, the apparatus main body 2 manages the temperature and cleanliness inside the chamber by this chamber. A predetermined gap is provided between the chamber frame 54 and the base frame 51, and the recording medium A is fed and discharged in this gap.

  The medium feeding mechanism 41 includes a rotating drum 61 that is formed in a sideways crown shape, a bearing 63 that rotatably supports the rotating drum 61 via a drum shaft 62, and a rotating drum 61 that rotates at a low speed in one direction. A drum motor 64, and a power transmission mechanism (not shown) interposed between the drum shaft 62 and the drum motor 64. The drum motor 64 is constituted by a servo motor, for example, and rotates the rotary drum 61 so that the peripheral speed (printing speed) on the outer peripheral surface of the rotary drum 61 is constant.

  The rotary drum 61 includes a cylindrical drum body, the drum body has a width corresponding to the maximum width of the recording medium A, and an outer peripheral surface is baked to prevent slipping. The recording medium A is fed in close contact with the outer peripheral surface of the non-slip processed drum body and draws a circle (arc) by the rotating drum body. That is, the recording medium A sent from the medium supply device 6 is sent along the print feed path L2 by the rotary drum 61. Then, printing is performed on the recording medium A by appropriately driving the printing unit 48 in synchronism with this feeding.

  As described above, the printing unit 48 includes the plurality of carriage units 42 arranged radially with respect to the rotary drum 61 (see FIG. 1). The plurality of carriage units 42 are units for each ink color, and are white (W), cyan (C), magenta (M), yellow (Y), and light cyan from the start side to the end side of the print feed path L2. (Lc), light magenta (Lm), black (Bk), clear 1 (CL1), and clear 2 (CL2) are arranged in this order at substantially equal intervals. Although details will be described later, a plurality of print heads 76 are mounted on each carriage unit 42, and the plurality of print heads 76 constitute a head 77 corresponding to the recording medium A having the maximum width. For this reason, the heads 77 of the respective colors sequentially face the recording medium A that is printed and fed along the printing feed path L2, and desired color printing based on the print data is performed on the recording medium A. The clear 1 (CL1) and clear 2 (CL2) inks are mainly used for coating, and in this case, solid printing is performed.

  As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, each carriage unit 42 includes a carriage base 81 fixed to the subframe 53 and a box slidably supported on the carriage base 81 in the normal direction of the rotary drum 61. A carriage 82 in a mold frame format, a head unit 83 mounted on the carriage 82 and mounted with a plurality of print heads 76, and a Y-axis moving mechanism 90 that moves the head unit 83 in the width direction of the recording medium A via the carriage 82. (See FIG. 10 and the like), a Z-axis moving mechanism 84 that moves the head unit 83 forward and backward through the carriage 82, and a head control board that is mounted on the carriage 82 and applies ejection waveforms to the plurality of print heads 76. A module (not shown). Each carriage unit 42 is mounted on the carriage 82 and supported on the outer surface of the carriage 82 via a pinning unit 86 for temporarily curing the UV ink of the recording medium A and a support fitting. And a sub tank unit (not shown) for supplying ink. The other members are supported in a posture matched to the normal direction of the rotary drum 61, whereas the sub tank unit is supported by the support bracket in an upright posture (the posture where the UV ink discharge port faces downward in the vertical direction). ).

  As will be described in detail later, the Y-axis moving mechanism 90 includes a displacement sensor 100 (displacement amount detection means) that detects the meandering state of the recording medium A. The displacement sensor 100 detects the amount of displacement of the edge position of the recording medium A that is fed while meandering on the print feed path L2, and the Y-axis moving mechanism 90 determines the detection result of the displacement sensor 100. Based on this, the position in the width direction of the carriage 82 (head unit 83) is controlled to compensate the printing position.

  By the way, the UV ink of the embodiment has high temperature dependency (viscosity decreases as the temperature increases). Therefore, although not shown in the drawing, the sub tank unit, the plurality of print heads 76, and the ink flow paths (main tube, manifold, individual tube) from the sub tank unit to the plurality of print heads 76 are covered with a heater. . For example, the UV ink is heated to about 40 ° C. and discharged.

As shown in FIG. 5, each print head 76 is composed of a 2-inch inkjet head, and has two nozzle rows 93 composed of a plurality of discharge nozzles 92 parallel to each other on its nozzle surface 91. Yes. In this case, the two nozzle rows 93 are arranged with a 1/2 nozzle pitch position shift in the nozzle row direction.
On the other hand, as shown in FIGS. 4 and 6, the head unit 83 is detachably attached to the carriage 82 from the front. The head unit 83 is supported by the head plate 94, a pair of sub-plates 95 that are supported by the head plate 94, and are connected in a mountain shape so as to be parallel to the tangent to the rotary drum 61, and the pair of sub-plates 95. And a plurality of print heads 76 (7 + 7 in the embodiment) mounted in half.

  In this case, the plurality of print heads 76 (seven) mounted on each sub-plate 95 are all arranged in a staggered manner in the front-rear direction with the nozzle row 93 facing the front-rear direction. In addition, the plurality of print heads 76 mounted on one sub-plate 95 and the plurality of print heads 76 mounted on the other sub-plate 95 are displaced by 1/4 nozzle pitch position in the front-rear direction (nozzle row direction). Arranged. Accordingly, the head 77 as a line head extending in the front-rear direction (the width direction of the recording medium A) by all the print heads 76 mounted on the head plate 94, that is, the 1/4 nozzle corresponding to the recording medium A having the maximum width. A pitch head 77 is formed. Thereby, high-resolution printing becomes possible.

  As shown in FIG. 7, the pinning unit 86 includes a temporary curing UV lamp 98 for temporarily curing the UV ink of the recording medium A, and a duct-connected mist suction port 99 attached to the temporary curing UV lamp 98. ing. The pre-curing UV lamp (lamp array) 98 and the mist suction port (slit suction port) 99 extend in parallel with each other in the front-rear direction, and have substantially the same length and the same length in the front-rear direction with respect to the head 77 described above. Arranged in position. Further, the plurality of print heads 76 (head 77), the mist suction port 99, and the temporary curing UV lamp 98 are arranged in this order in the feeding direction of the recording medium A, and the UV ink discharged from the print head 76 is disposed. The mist is sucked through the mist suction port 99, and the UV ink landed on the recording medium A is temporarily cured by the temporary curing UV lamp 98. As a result, it is possible to cure the UV ink to such an extent that mist adhesion to the temporary curing UV lamp 98 is prevented and color mixing does not occur. Note that the order of the ink colors in the plurality of carriage units 42 is the order in which the UV inks for each color are hard to be cured. That is, white (W) is hardest to harden and clear 2 (CL2) is hardest to harden.

  As shown in FIG. 2, each maintenance unit 43 is disposed on the extension in the front-rear direction of the corresponding carriage unit 42 with the subframe 53 interposed therebetween. As shown in FIGS. 8 and 9, the maintenance unit 43 includes a maintenance carriage 102 on which a unit main body (not shown) that performs maintenance facing the nozzle surfaces 91 of the plurality of print heads 76 is mounted, and the maintenance carriage 102. And a maintenance moving mechanism 103 that moves the unit main body in the front-rear direction between the home position and the maintenance position. When maintenance such as discard discharge (flushing) or suction of the print head 76 is performed, the unit body moves to the front maintenance position and faces the print head 76 (see FIGS. 8A and 9). On the other hand, when the printing process is being performed on the recording medium A, the unit main body stands by at the rear home position (see FIG. 8B). On the other hand, the head unit 83 (carriage 82) is moved to the drawing position on the inner side in the normal direction by the Z-axis moving mechanism 84 when performing the printing process, and is moved by the Z-axis moving mechanism 84 when performing maintenance. Move to the maintenance position outside the normal direction. That is, during the printing process, the head unit 83 and the unit main body are positioned in series in the front-rear direction, and during the maintenance, the head unit 83 and the unit main body are positioned in parallel in the normal direction of the rotary drum 61.

The unit main body includes, for example, a wiping mechanism for wiping the nozzle surface 91 of the print head 76, and a suction mechanism for sealing the nozzle surface 91, receiving discarded discharge, and nozzle suction. The maintenance moving mechanism 103 for moving the unit main body includes a bracket frame 113 fixed to the subframe 53 in a cantilever state, a pair of guide rails 114 passed between the bracket frame 113 and the carriage unit 42, and a pair of guide rails. 114, and a rotor actuator 117 that moves the maintenance carriage 102 in the front-rear direction.
Note that a maintenance opening 53a for allowing the maintenance carriage 102 to pass therethrough is formed in the subframe 53 (see FIG. 2).

  As shown in FIG. 1, the UV irradiation unit 44 is configured by a UV lamp, and faces the recording medium A on the recovery feeding path L3 from the lower side (printing surface side of the recording medium A), and reaches the recording medium A. The cured UV ink is fully cured. The UV irradiation unit 44 is equipped with a UV lamp and a suction fan for cooling the recording medium A.

  The cooling unit 45 faces the recording medium A on the recovery feeding path L3 from above, and is disposed opposite to the UV irradiation unit 44 with the recording medium A interposed therebetween. The cooling unit 45 includes an air suction port and a suction fan, and cools the UV lamp and the recording medium A.

  Next, head movement control according to the first embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 10 is a conceptual diagram around the Y-axis moving mechanism 90 according to the first embodiment. As described above, the Y-axis moving mechanism 90 is a mechanism that moves the head unit 83 (head 77) in the width direction of the recording medium A following the meandering of the recording medium A that is sent along the print feed path L2. A guide shaft 121 for guiding the movement of the head unit 83, a ball screw 122 formed on the guide shaft 121, a servo motor 123 (head moving means) for moving the head unit 83 in the width direction of the recording medium A, A displacement sensor 100 that detects the amount of displacement of the edge position in the width direction of the recording medium A. Instead of providing the guide shaft 121, the head unit 83 may be moved in the width direction of the recording medium A using a slide guide for sliding the carriage 82 relative to the carriage base 81. The head unit 83 is actually provided with a total of 14 print heads 76 (see FIG. 6).

  The displacement sensor 100 uses an LED as a light source, an effective detection range (CCD operation range) of 5 mm to 15 mm, a distance between light projection and reception of 50 mm to 100 mm, a measurement accuracy of about ± 0.5 μm, and a sampling frequency of about 2400 times / second. Use one. The displacement sensor 100 is provided at the front end of the carriage 82 on which the head unit 83 is mounted, and moves in the width direction as the carriage 82 (head unit 83) moves. Therefore, the displacement sensor 100 detects the displacement amount of the recording medium A immediately below the head unit 83, and the Y-axis moving mechanism 90 always detects that the displacement amount detected by the displacement sensor 100 is “0 (zero)”. The head unit 83 is moved so that Note that the displacement sensor 100 may be provided at the back end (reference position side) of the carriage 82 on which the head unit 83 is mounted so that the recording medium A of various width sizes can be handled. In the following description, the “meandering amount” refers to the amount of deviation from the reference line B of the front side end of the recording medium A. The reference line B may be provided on the reference position side, and the amount of deviation from the back end of the recording medium A may be the “meandering amount”. Further, the “displacement amount” refers to a deviation amount from the center value of the displacement sensor 100.

  FIG. 11 is a block diagram of the arithmetic device 200 (head position control means) incorporated in the Y-axis moving mechanism 90 according to the first embodiment. Here, description will be made assuming that head movement control is performed by speed control of the servo motor 123. In this case, the arithmetic device 200 includes a position control circuit 210 and a speed control circuit 220. Further, a power conversion device 230 is provided between the arithmetic device 200 and the servo motor 123, and an encoder 250 for detecting a position and a rotational speed is externally attached to the servo motor 123. The arithmetic device 200 is connected to the control device (a control device that performs overall control of the inkjet device 1) or functions as a part of the control device.

  FIG. 12 is a flowchart showing the flow of head movement control according to the first embodiment. The Y-axis movement mechanism 90 detects the displacement amount in the width direction of the recording medium A by the displacement sensor 100 (S01). When the arithmetic unit 200 acquires the detection data (displacement amount) of the displacement sensor 100 (S02), the position command value is converted into a speed command value (S03) by the position loop shown in the dotted frame in FIG. The servo motor 123 is driven by the conversion device 230 in accordance with the speed command value (S04). S01 to S04 are repeated at predetermined time intervals while the drawing process is being performed. That is, the arithmetic device 200 controls the drive of the servo motor 123 so that the head unit 83 faces the appropriate position of the recording medium A following the meandering state of the recording medium A.

  As described above, according to the head movement control according to the first embodiment, the drawing is performed while moving the head unit 83 in the width direction of the recording medium A following the meandering state of the recording medium A. It is possible to prevent the quality of the printed matter (label) from being lowered. Further, the specific processing may be simple control such as detecting the displacement of the edge position in the width direction of the recording medium A and moving the head unit 83 in the width direction based on the detection result. No arithmetic processing is required. As a result, it is possible to cope with a control device having a low capability, and it is possible to suppress the initialization cost when the inkjet device 1 is introduced.

  Furthermore, since the Y-axis moving mechanism 90 of the present embodiment is provided with the displacement sensor 100 on the carriage 82 on which the head unit 83 is mounted, the displacement amount that is the detection result of the displacement sensor 100 is always controlled to be zero. The control load on the arithmetic device 200 can be further reduced.

  In the above example, the head movement control is performed by speed control by the servo motor 123, but position control, torque control, or step drive control by a pulse motor may be employed. The moving method of the head unit 83 is not limited to the above-described ball screw mechanism, and any type may be used as long as it is a mechanism capable of converting the motor motion into a horizontal motion, such as a belt drive mechanism or a cam mechanism. Also, the displacement sensor 100 may employ other types of sensors such as a laser type and an ultrasonic type instead of the LED CCD type.

[Second Embodiment]
Next, head movement control according to the second embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 13 to 16. In the first embodiment, the displacement sensor 100 is provided on the carriage 82 on which the head unit 83 is mounted. However, the present embodiment is different in that the displacement sensor 100 is provided independently of the head unit 83. Only differences from the first embodiment will be described below. In the present embodiment, the same components as those in the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals, and detailed description thereof is omitted. Moreover, the modification applied about the component similar to 1st Embodiment is applied similarly about this embodiment.

  FIG. 13 is a conceptual diagram around the Y-axis moving mechanism 90 according to the second embodiment. As shown in the figure, in this embodiment, a displacement sensor 100 for detecting the displacement amount of the recording medium A is fixedly arranged on the upstream side of the head unit 83. Thereby, since the displacement amount of the recording medium A can be prefetched, even when the response performance of the displacement sensor 100 is low (even when it takes time from the detection of the displacement sensor 100 to the actual movement of the head unit 83). Stable head movement control is possible. For convenience of explanation, the distance between the displacement sensor 100 and the head unit 83 (distance in the conveyance direction of the recording medium A) is “the distance Lsh between sensor heads”, and the feeding speed of the recording medium A is “conveyance speed Vm”. And

  It should be noted that the displacement sensor 100 may be configured such that the position of the displacement sensor 100 can be adjusted in the width direction so as to be compatible with recording media A of various width sizes. Further, in this case, the arrangement position of the displacement sensor 100 in the width direction may be variable according to the width size of the recording medium A.

  FIG. 14 is a block diagram of the arithmetic device 200 incorporated in the Y-axis moving mechanism 90 according to the second embodiment. In the present embodiment, the arithmetic device 200 generates detection data of the edge position of the recording medium A at every sampling time (at a predetermined time interval) (displacement amount detection means). The arithmetic device 200 has a storage device 240 (detection data storage means) that stores a plurality of the generated detection data. In the example of the figure, the recording result of the detection data when the displacement amount fluctuates as “1.000 mm”, “1.005 mm”, “1.010 mm”... “1.500 mm”. Yes. These values indicate the distance from the reference position (center position) of the displacement sensor 100.

  By the way, in this embodiment, since the distance Lsh between sensor heads exists, it is necessary to adjust (delay) the command timing of the servomotor 123 with respect to the detection timing of the displacement sensor 100. This timing adjustment will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 5A shows the detection time of the displacement amount by the displacement sensor 100, the output timing of the displacement sensor 100, and the position command timing for the servo motor 123, with the process time (printing time) as the horizontal axis. A square cell indicates the detected displacement amount, and a hatched arrow indicates that the recording medium A is displaced with the process time and the value is updated every sampling time.

  Here, as an output characteristic of the displacement sensor 100, it is assumed that a sampling time when the value is updated is Ts, and a sensor response time required from detection (measurement) to output of the displacement sensor 100 is Tr. Further, as described above, it is assumed that the distance between the sensor heads is Lsh and the conveyance speed of the recording medium A is Vm. In this case, from the moment when a certain displacement passes directly under the displacement sensor 100 from the distance Lsh between the sensor heads and the conveyance speed Vm, the time Tm to reach directly below the reference position (for example, the center position) in the conveyance direction of the head unit 83. Is Tm = Lsh / Vm as shown in equation (1) in FIG. Further, in order to move the head unit 83 so as to cancel the displacement when a certain displacement reaches just below the head, as shown in the equation (2) of FIG. It is necessary to delay by the command delay time To = Tm−Tr. Therefore, in the present embodiment, among a plurality of detection data (see FIG. 14) stored in the storage device 240, the detection data detected before the command delay time To (in the example of FIG. )) To issue a position command.

  However, in actuality, the delay time provided in the arithmetic device 200 is determined by using the command delay time To calculated as described above as a reference value depending on the response of the motor to be used and the input / output response of the arithmetic device 200. Tune.

  FIG. 16 is a flowchart showing the flow of head movement control according to the second embodiment. The Y-axis movement mechanism 90 detects the displacement amount in the width direction of the recording medium A by the displacement sensor 100 (S11). The arithmetic device 200 acquires the detection data (displacement amount) of the displacement sensor 100 and records it in the storage device 240 in time series (S12). On the other hand, the arithmetic device 200 shifts the command delay time To from the detection data stored in the storage device 240 according to the transport speed Vm (according to equations (1) and (2) in FIG. 15B). The detected value is referred to (S13), and the detected detection data is acquired as a position command value (S14). Thereafter, the position command value is converted into a speed command value by the position loop shown in the dotted frame in FIG. 14 (S15), and the servomotor 123 is driven by the power converter 230 according to the speed command value (S16). . S11 to S16 are repeated at predetermined time intervals while the drawing process is being performed.

  As described above, according to the head movement control according to the second embodiment, since the displacement sensor 100 is disposed on the upstream side of the head unit 83, the displacement amount of the recording medium A can be prefetched, and the response performance can be improved. Even when the low displacement sensor 100 is used, stable control can be performed. That is, in the case of the first embodiment, when the responsiveness of the displacement sensor 100 is poor, high-speed positioning cannot be performed, or a large delay occurs in the feedback loop, and oscillation may occur during control. In the second embodiment, these problems can be solved.

  Further, in order to store a plurality of detection data of the displacement sensor 100, extract appropriate detection data according to the conveyance speed Vm of the recording medium A, and move the head unit 83 using the extracted detection data. The conveyance speed Vm can be set arbitrarily. In other words, drawing can be performed at an accurate position regardless of the conveyance speed Vm.

  In the above example, the command delay time To is calculated based on the distance Lsh between the sensor heads, and the value shifted by the command delay time To is referred to from the detection data stored in the storage device 240. When Vm is constant, a configuration without the storage device 240 is also possible. In this case, the sensor head distance Lsh may be set in consideration of the sensor response time Tr and the command delay time To. That is, as shown in the equation (3) in FIG. 15B, the displacement sensor 100 may be arranged at a position where the distance between the sensor heads Lsh = Vm × (To + Tr). According to this configuration, the displacement sensor 100 is disposed in consideration of the sensor response time Tr and the command delay time To (the distance Lsh between the sensor heads is determined). The head unit 83 can be moved to an appropriate position without any trouble. That is, drawing can be performed at an accurate position regardless of the sensor response time Tr and the command delay time To.

[Third Embodiment]
Next, head movement control according to the third embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 17 and 18. In the second embodiment, the displacement sensor 100 is fixedly arranged. However, the present embodiment is different in that the position of the displacement sensor 100 can be changed. Only differences from the second embodiment will be described below. In the present embodiment, the same components as those in the above-described embodiments are denoted by the same reference numerals, and detailed description thereof is omitted. Moreover, the modification applied about the component similar to said each embodiment is applied similarly about this embodiment.

  FIG. 17 is a conceptual diagram around the Y-axis moving mechanism 90 according to the third embodiment. As shown in the figure, the Y-axis moving mechanism 90 of this embodiment includes a displacement sensor moving mechanism 400 (detection position variable means) for moving the displacement sensor 100 in the transport direction (longitudinal direction) of the recording medium A. ing. The displacement sensor moving mechanism 400 includes a sensor position variable control device 410 that controls the displacement sensor moving mechanism 400, a power conversion device 420, a guide shaft 431 that guides the movement of the displacement sensor 100, and a ball configured on the guide shaft 431. A screw 432 and a servo motor 433 for moving the displacement sensor 100 in the conveyance direction of the recording medium A are provided.

  In the present embodiment, the displacement sensor moving mechanism 400 may be controlled in consideration of the sensor response time Tr and the command delay time To. That is, the displacement sensor 100 may be moved to a position where the distance between the sensor heads Lsh = Vm × (To + Tr) as shown in the equation (3) in FIG.

  The movement control of the displacement sensor 100 can employ speed control using a servo motor, position control, torque control, step drive control using a pulse motor, and the like, and detailed description thereof is omitted. The moving mechanism of the displacement sensor 100 is not limited to the above-described ball screw mechanism, and any type may be used as long as it is a mechanism that can convert the motor motion into a horizontal motion, such as a belt drive mechanism or a cam mechanism. Also, a block diagram of the arithmetic device 200 for moving the head unit 83 in the Y-axis direction is substantially the same as FIG. 11 and FIG.

  FIG. 18 is a flowchart showing the flow of sensor movement control and head movement control according to the third embodiment. When the user sets the transport speed Vm using a predetermined operation means (S21), the sensor position variable control device 410 drives the servo motor 433 to determine the position determined by the transport speed Vm (FIG. 15B). The position of the displacement sensor 100 is moved to the position determined by equation (3) (S22).

  After that, when the displacement amount in the width direction of the recording medium A is detected by the displacement sensor 100 (S23), the arithmetic device 200 for moving the head unit 83 in the Y-axis direction detects the detection data (displacement amount) of the displacement sensor 100. Is acquired as a position command value (S24). Further, the position command value is converted into a speed command value by the position loop shown in FIGS. 11 and 14 (S25), and the servomotor 123 is driven by the power converter 230 according to the speed command value (S26). S23 to S26 are repeated at predetermined time intervals while the drawing process is being performed.

  As described above, according to the head movement control according to the third embodiment, the displacement sensor moving mechanism 400 for moving the position of the displacement sensor 100 in the transport direction of the recording medium A is provided. The conveyance speed Vm can be arbitrarily set without requiring the storage device 240 as in the embodiment.

  In the above example, the position of the displacement sensor 100 is moved according to the conveyance speed Vm set by the user, and the position remains fixed during the drawing process. However, for some reason, the conveyance speed Vm May change the position of the displacement sensor 100 in the transport direction in accordance with the change in the transport speed Vm. According to this configuration, even when the conveyance speed Vm varies during the drawing process, the displacement sensor 100 can always be arranged at an appropriate position, and as a result, drawing can be performed at an accurate position.

[Fourth Embodiment]
Next, a fourth embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. In the first embodiment, the inkjet apparatus 1 having the arc-shaped print feed path L2 is exemplified. However, in the present embodiment, the inkjet apparatus 501 having the medium feed path L5 extending horizontally and linearly is exemplified. To do. Only differences from the first embodiment will be described below. In the present embodiment, detailed description of the same components as those in each of the above embodiments is omitted. Moreover, the modification applied about the component similar to said each embodiment is applied similarly about this embodiment.

  The inkjet apparatus 501 according to the present embodiment includes a cell-type apparatus main body 502 that performs printing on the recording medium A by an inkjet method, and a reel-to-two that supplies the recording medium A to the apparatus main body 502 and collects the printed recording medium A. A reel-type medium supply / recovery device 503 and a control device (not shown) for overall control of these components are provided. Similarly to the first embodiment, the medium supply / recovery device 503 includes a medium supply device 505 that supplies the recording medium A to the device main body 502 and a medium recovery device 506 that recovers the recording medium A from the device main body 502. is doing. The medium feeding path L5 of the recording medium A from the medium supply device 505 to the medium recovery device 506 extends horizontally and linearly so as to cut through the apparatus main body 502.

  The apparatus main body 502 is configured by arranging two recording cells 510 each including two recording units 511 in series in the feeding direction of the recording medium A. That is, the recording cell 510 is configured by mounting two recording units 511 having different ink colors on a common machine 520, and the apparatus main body 502 combines one or more of these as a unit of the recording cell 510 ( Expansion) is configured. The UV irradiation unit 540 is also mounted on a dedicated machine base 550 and constitutes a part of the apparatus main body 502 as one cell.

  Each recording unit 511 stores a carriage unit 512 similar to that of the first embodiment, a maintenance unit (not shown) corresponding thereto, a pinning unit 513 for temporarily curing UV ink of the recording medium A, and electrical components. The electric unit 514 and the individual medium feeding mechanism 515 are provided, and these mechanisms are mounted on the machine base 520 in a state of being accommodated in individual chambers 518. Similarly to the first embodiment, the carriage unit 512 is a carriage, a head unit mounted on the carriage and mounted with a plurality of print heads, and the head unit is moved in the width direction of the recording medium A via the carriage. A Y-axis movement mechanism, a Z-axis movement mechanism that moves the head unit up and down via a carriage, a head control board module that applies ejection waveforms to a plurality of print heads, and a sub tank unit that supplies UV ink to the plurality of print heads. (Both are not shown). Also in this case, a head corresponding to the recording medium A having the maximum width is constituted by a plurality of print heads.

  On the other hand, each medium feeding mechanism 515 is of a belt conveyor type, and includes a pair of belt pulleys 521, an endless conveyor belt 522 spanned between the pair of belt pulleys 521, and a motor that rotates one of the belt pulleys 521. (Not shown). A number of suction holes are formed in the conveyor belt 522, and an air chamber 523 communicating with a vacuum suction facility (not shown) is disposed in the inner space of the conveyor belt 522. In other words, the circulating conveyor belt 522 attracts and sends the recording medium A on its upper side.

  As described above, the medium feeding path L5 extends linearly so as to cut through the apparatus main body 502, and the plurality of medium feeding mechanisms 515 provided in the plurality of recording units 511 are connected to the medium feeding path L5. It is lined up in series along. The control device drives the plurality of (four) medium feeding mechanisms 515 in synchronization to feed the recording medium A, and simultaneously drives each print head (head) in the plurality of recording units 511, Perform printing.

  Also in the fourth embodiment, the steering unit or the like is used to feed the recording medium A into the apparatus main body 502 with reference to the width end of one side (the back side). Accordingly, when a recording medium A having a different width is introduced, similarly, one (back side) width end is sent as a reference.

  Also in the fourth embodiment, a displacement sensor (not shown) is provided, and the Y-axis movement mechanism is driven according to the detection result of the displacement sensor. In this case, the first to third embodiments can be applied to the installation position of the displacement sensor. Further, when the second embodiment or the third embodiment is applied (when the displacement sensor is provided on the upstream side of the head unit), the displacement sensor may be provided for each recording cell 510 or for each recording unit 511. It may be provided. That is, in the former case, the position control in the width direction of the two carriage units 512 (head units) is performed according to the detection result of one displacement sensor, and in the latter case, according to the detection result of one displacement sensor. Thus, position control in the width direction of one carriage unit 512 (head unit) is performed.

  As described above, according to the fourth embodiment, the head movement control described in each of the above embodiments is applied to the ink jet apparatus 501 in which the medium feeding path L5 extends horizontally and linearly. Can do. Further, in the case of the medium feeding path L5 having such a shape, it is assumed that the amount of meandering of the recording medium A becomes large. Therefore, by applying the present invention, a higher effect can be obtained.

  In addition, it is possible to provide each component of the inkjet apparatus 1,501 (especially arithmetic apparatus 200) shown above as a program. Further, the program can be provided by being stored in various recording media (CD-ROM, flash memory, etc.). That is, a program for causing a computer to function as each component of the ink jet apparatuses 1 and 501 and a recording medium on which the program is recorded are also included in the scope of rights of the present invention.

  In the above embodiment, the drawing apparatus according to the present invention is applied to the ink jet apparatuses 1 and 501. However, the drawing apparatus may be applied to drawing apparatuses using other printing methods. Other modifications can be made as appropriate without departing from the scope of the present invention.

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1,501 ... Inkjet apparatus 2 ... Apparatus main body 3 ... Medium supply / collection apparatus 6 ... Medium supply apparatus 7 ... Medium recovery apparatus 76 ... Print head 83 ... Head unit 90 ... Y-axis moving mechanism 100 ... Displacement sensor 121 ... Guide shaft 122 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS ... Ball screw 123 ... Servo motor 200 ... Arithmetic unit 230 ... Power converter 250 ... Encoder 400 ... Displacement sensor moving mechanism 410 ... Sensor position control device 420 ... Power converter 431 ... Guide shaft 432 ... Ball screw 433 ... Servo motor A ... recoding media

Claims (8)

Recording medium feeding means for feeding the recording medium along the recording medium feeding path;
A head that faces the recording medium being sent and prints on the recording medium;
Head moving means for moving the head in the width direction of the recording medium;
A displacement amount detecting means for detecting a displacement amount of an edge position in the width direction of the recording medium facing the recording medium feeding path;
And a head position control means for controlling the head moving means so that the head faces an appropriate position of the recording medium in the width direction based on a detection result of the displacement amount detection means. apparatus. The displacement amount detection means is provided on a carriage on which the head is mounted,
The drawing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the head position control unit controls the head moving unit so that a detection result of the displacement amount detection unit becomes a fixed value.   The drawing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the displacement amount detection unit faces the recording medium feeding path on the upstream side of the head.   The time from the detection of the edge position by the displacement amount detection means to the completion of the movement of the head by the head movement means matches the time from the detection of the edge position until the edge position reaches directly below the head. The drawing apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the displacement amount detection unit is provided. Further comprising detection position varying means for varying the position of the displacement amount detecting means in the recording medium conveyance direction;
The drawing apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the detection position varying unit varies the position of the displacement amount detecting unit according to a feeding speed of the recording medium feeding unit. The displacement amount detection means generates detection data of the edge position at a predetermined time interval,
It further comprises detection data storage means for storing a plurality of the detection data,
The head moving means extracts one detection data from the plurality of detection data stored in the detection data storage means in accordance with the feed speed of the recording medium feeding means, and the extracted detection data is The drawing apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the head moving means is used to control the drawing apparatus. A drawing method of a drawing apparatus that makes a head face a recording medium that is sent in a meandering state in the width direction and draws on the recording medium by the head,
A drawing method of a drawing apparatus, wherein the drawing is performed while moving the head in the width direction of the recording medium following the meandering state.   The program for functioning a computer as each means in the drawing apparatus of any one of Claim 1 thru | or 6.

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