WO2025135069A1 - Inkjet printer and method for correcting inkjet printer - Google Patents

Abstract

Provided is an inkjet printer having a bidirectional printing function, the inkjet printer being capable of shortening a correction time when automatically correcting a deviation between a landing position of ink in an outgoing path in which a carriage moves to one side in the main scanning direction and a landing position of ink in a return path in which the carriage moves to the other side in the main scanning direction.　In this inkjet printer, when an automatic correction operation is started to automatically carry out a reciprocating landing position correction, which is a correction of a deviation between the landing position of ink in the outgoing path and the landing position of ink in the return path, a cap-out operation is implemented, a first printing operation, a second printing operation, and a pattern detection are carried out, and after startup of the automatic correction operation, a cap-in operation is carried out after calculation of a correction amount necessary for completing the reciprocating landing position correction has been completed. In addition, after startup of the automatic correction operation, the cap-in operation is not carried out until calculation of the correction amount necessary for carrying out the reciprocating landing position correction has been completed.

Description

Inkjet printer and method for correcting inkjet printer

The present invention relates to an inkjet printer equipped with an inkjet head. The present invention also relates to a correction method for such an inkjet printer. The present invention also relates to an inkjet printer equipped with a maintenance unit for preventing clogging of multiple nozzles formed in the inkjet head.

Inkjet printers that print by ejecting ink onto a print medium are known (see, for example, Patent Documents 1 and 2). The inkjet printers described in Patent Documents 1 and 2 include an inkjet head that ejects ink, a carriage on which the inkjet head is mounted, a main-scanning drive unit that moves the carriage back and forth in the main-scanning direction, and a sub-scanning drive unit that transports the print medium in the sub-scanning direction.

The inkjet printer described in Patent Document 1 is an inkjet printer with a so-called bidirectional printing function, in which the inkjet head ejects ink to print on both the forward pass, in which the carriage moves to one side in the main scanning direction, and the return pass, in which the carriage moves to the other side in the main scanning direction. In an inkjet printer that performs bidirectional printing, in order to ensure print quality, it is necessary to correct the deviation between the landing position of the ink ejected from the inkjet head on the forward pass and the landing position of the ink ejected from the inkjet head on the return pass. Therefore, in this inkjet printer, the deviation between the landing position of the ink on the forward pass and the landing position of the ink on the return pass is calculated, and the landing position is corrected based on the calculated deviation.

In the inkjet printer described in Patent Document 2, the control unit that controls the operation of the inkjet printer sets the feed amount (sub-scan movement amount) of the print medium during sub-scan operation according to the printing conditions. In addition, in order to improve the print quality on the print medium, the control unit corrects the feed amount based on parameters stored in the memory unit and parameters input from the input unit.

Also, conventionally, there is known an inkjet printer that includes a recording head and a carriage on which the recording head is mounted (see, for example, Patent Document 3). The inkjet printer described in Patent Document 3 includes a purge unit for performing performance maintenance operations for the recording head. The purge unit includes a cap and a wiper. In this inkjet printer, as performance maintenance operations for the recording head, the purge unit performs a wiping operation, a preliminary ejection operation, and a capping operation, in that order. Also, in this inkjet printer, before the capping operation, an empty suction operation is performed in which the ink received by the cap is collected in the waste ink collection body by the purge pump.

Also, conventionally, there are known inkjet printers that eject ink to print on a medium (see, for example, Patent Document 4). The inkjet printer described in Patent Document 4 includes two inkjet heads that eject ink, a carriage on which the two inkjet heads are mounted, and a carriage drive mechanism that moves the carriage in the main scanning direction. This inkjet printer also includes a maintenance unit (cleaning device) for preventing clogging of the multiple nozzles formed in the inkjet heads. The maintenance unit is located in a standby position for the carriage.

The maintenance unit comprises two capping mechanisms, a slide frame that holds the two capping mechanisms, and a base frame that holds the slide frame. If the direction perpendicular to the up-down direction and the main scanning direction is defined as the front-rear direction, the capping mechanism is slidable in the front-rear direction relative to the slide frame. The slide frame is slidable in the main scanning direction relative to the base frame and can be raised and lowered. The capping mechanism comprises a cap member that covers the ink ejection surface of the inkjet head, a support plate that floatingly supports the cap member via a compression coil spring, and a cap slide member to which the support plate is fixed. The cap slide member is held by the slide frame so that it can slide in the front-rear direction.

In the inkjet printer described in Patent Document 4, the capping mechanism is movable between a retracted position and a cap position. A first tension spring is disposed between the base frame and the slide frame, which urges the slide frame relative to the base frame so that the capping mechanism remains in the retracted position. A second tension spring is disposed between the slide frame and the cap slide member, which urges the cap slide member to one side in the front-to-rear direction relative to the slide frame. A locking portion that locks a part of the carriage is fixed to one end of the slide frame in the main scanning direction. The locking portion has two contact portions that contact a part of the carriage. The two contact portions are disposed with a gap between them in the front-to-rear direction.

In the inkjet printer described in Patent Document 4, when the inkjet head is ejecting ink onto the medium, the capping mechanism is located in a retracted position. When the carriage moves to one side in the main scanning direction toward the standby position where the maintenance unit is located, the carriage comes into contact with the locking portion. When the carriage moves further to one side in the main scanning direction while in contact with the locking portion, the slide frame slides upwards while sliding to one side in the main scanning direction relative to the base frame, and the cap slide member slides to one side in the front-to-rear direction relative to the slide frame, and the capping mechanism moves to the cap position. When the capping mechanism moves to the cap position, the cap member covers the ink ejection surface. At this time, the abutment portion formed on the cap member abuts against the other surface of the inkjet head in the front-to-rear direction.

JP 2021-62491 A JP 2020-26121 A JP 2018-22960 A JP 2012-176563 A

The inventors of this application are developing an inkjet printer with an inkjet head. If the inkjet printer under development is to be given a bidirectional printing function, in order to ensure print quality, it is necessary to correct the deviation between the ink landing position on the forward path, where the carriage moves to one side in the main scanning direction, and the ink landing position on the return path, where the carriage moves to the other side in the main scanning direction, as with the inkjet printer described in Patent Document 1. It is preferable that this correction of the landing position can be performed in a short time.

The first object of the present invention is to provide an inkjet printer having a bidirectional printing function that can shorten the correction time required to automatically correct the misalignment between the ink landing position on the forward pass, where the carriage moves to one side in the main scanning direction, and the ink landing position on the return pass, where the carriage moves to the other side in the main scanning direction. The first object of the present invention is to provide an inkjet printer correction method that can shorten the correction time required to automatically correct the misalignment between the ink landing position on the forward pass and the ink landing position on the return pass, in an inkjet printer having a bidirectional printing function.

Furthermore, in order to improve the print quality on media in the inkjet printer currently under development, the inventors of the present application are considering correcting the amount of transport (feed) of the medium in the sub-scanning direction at a specified timing, such as when the inkjet printer is installed or when the type of medium being printed on is changed. It is preferable that this correction of the amount of transport of the medium in the sub-scanning direction can be performed in a short time.

The second object of the present invention is to provide an inkjet printer that can shorten the correction time when automatically correcting the amount of medium transport in the sub-scanning direction in an inkjet printer that prints on a medium. Also, the second object of the present invention is to provide an inkjet printer correction method that can shorten the correction time when automatically correcting the amount of medium transport in the sub-scanning direction in an inkjet printer that prints on a medium.

The inventors of the present application are also developing a lower-cost inkjet printer that includes a maintenance unit similar to that of the inkjet printer described in Patent Document 4. In order to reduce the cost of the inkjet printer under development, it is preferable for the maintenance unit to be lower cost.

The object of the present invention is to provide an inkjet printer that is equipped with a maintenance unit for preventing clogging of multiple nozzles formed in an inkjet head, and that is capable of reducing the cost of the maintenance unit.

In order to solve the first problem above, the inkjet printer of the present invention is an inkjet printer equipped with an inkjet head that ejects ink, the inkjet printer is equipped with a carriage on which the inkjet head is mounted, a carriage drive mechanism that moves the carriage in a main scanning direction, a maintenance unit for preventing clogging of the multiple nozzles of the inkjet head, and a control unit for controlling the inkjet printer, and in which, if one side of the main scanning direction is defined as a first direction side and the other side of the main scanning direction opposite the first direction side is defined as a second direction side, the landing position of ink ejected from the inkjet head when the carriage moves to the first direction side is determined as follows: the ink jet head includes a detection mechanism that detects a correction pattern printed to correct a deviation between a first landing position, which is a landing position of ink ejected from the inkjet head when the carriage moves in the second direction, and a second landing position, which is a landing position of ink ejected from the inkjet head when the carriage moves in the second direction, and an ink ejection surface on which a plurality of nozzles are arranged is formed on the lower surface of the inkjet head, and an area in a main scanning direction where printing is performed by the inkjet head is defined as a printing area, the maintenance unit includes a cap member that covers the ink ejection surface from below, and is installed in the maintenance area, which is an area outside the printing area in the main scanning direction, and the control unit detects a reciprocating landing position, which is a correction of a deviation between the first landing position and the second landing position. The inkjet printer is caused to perform an automatic correction operation for automatically correcting the position of a bullet, and the automatic correction operation includes a first printing operation in which ink is ejected from the inkjet head while moving the carriage in a first direction to print a correction pattern on a medium, a second printing operation in which ink is ejected from the inkjet head while moving the carriage in a second direction to print a correction pattern on a medium, a pattern detection operation in which a detection mechanism detects the correction pattern printed in the first printing operation and the correction pattern printed in the second printing operation, a cap-in operation in which a cap member is caused to cover the ink ejection surface, and a cap-out operation in which the cap member covering the ink ejection surface is removed from the ink ejection surface. The control unit calculates the amount of correction for correcting the reciprocating landing position based on the detection results of the detection mechanism in the pattern detection operation, and the cap member covers the ink ejection surface before the automatic correction operation is started. When the automatic correction operation is started, the control unit performs the cap-out operation, and then performs the first printing operation, the second printing operation, and the pattern detection operation. After the automatic correction operation is started, the control unit performs the cap-in operation only after the calculation of the amount of correction required to complete the reciprocating landing position correction is completed, and does not perform the cap-in operation until the calculation of the amount of correction required to correct the reciprocating landing position is completed after the automatic correction operation is started.

Furthermore, in order to solve the first problem above, the correction method for an inkjet printer of the present invention is a correction method for an inkjet printer equipped with an inkjet head that ejects ink, the inkjet printer is equipped with a carriage on which the inkjet head is mounted, a carriage drive mechanism that moves the carriage in a main scanning direction, and a maintenance unit for preventing clogging of multiple nozzles of the inkjet head, and ... The inkjet printer includes a detection mechanism that detects a correction pattern printed to correct a deviation between a first landing position and a second landing position, which is a landing position of ink ejected from the inkjet head when the carriage moves in a second direction. An ink ejection surface on which a plurality of nozzles are arranged is formed on the underside of the inkjet head. If an area in a main scanning direction where printing is performed by the inkjet head is defined as a printing area, the maintenance unit includes a cap member that covers the ink ejection surface from below and is installed in a maintenance area that is an area outside the printing area in the main scanning direction. In the correction method for the inkjet printer, The automatic correction operation for automatically performing reciprocating landing position correction, which is a correction for the ink jet head, includes a first printing operation in which ink is ejected from the inkjet head while moving the carriage in a first direction to print a correction pattern on the medium, a second printing operation in which ink is ejected from the inkjet head while moving the carriage in a second direction to print a correction pattern on the medium, a pattern detection operation in which the detection mechanism detects the correction pattern printed in the first printing operation and the correction pattern printed in the second printing operation, a cap-in operation in which the ink ejection surface is covered with a cap member, and a cap-out operation in which the cap member covering the ink ejection surface is removed from the ink ejection surface. The inkjet printer is caused to perform a correction operation, and a correction amount for correcting the reciprocating landing position is calculated based on the detection result of the detection mechanism in the pattern detection operation. Before the automatic correction operation is started, the cap member covers the ink ejection surface, and when the automatic correction operation is started, a cap-out operation is performed, and then a first printing operation, a second printing operation, and a pattern detection operation are performed. After the automatic correction operation starts, a cap-in operation is performed after the calculation of the correction amount required to complete the reciprocating landing position correction is completed, and the cap-in operation is not performed until the calculation of the correction amount required to correct the reciprocating landing position is completed after the automatic correction operation starts.

In the present invention, when an automatic correction operation is started for automatically correcting the reciprocating landing position, which is a correction of the deviation between the first landing position, which is the landing position of the ink ejected from the inkjet head when the carriage moves to one side in the main scanning direction, and the second landing position, which is the landing position of the ink ejected from the inkjet head when the carriage moves to the other side in the main scanning direction, a cap-out operation is performed, and then a first printing operation, a second printing operation, and a pattern detection operation are performed. After the automatic correction operation is started, a cap-in operation is performed only after the calculation of the correction amount required to complete the reciprocating landing position correction is completed, and the cap-in operation is not performed until the calculation of the correction amount required to perform the reciprocating landing position correction is completed after the automatic correction operation is started. Therefore, in the present invention, it is possible to shorten the correction time when automatically correcting the deviation between the first landing position and the second landing position, compared to a case in which a cap-in operation is performed between the start of the automatic correction operation and the completion of the calculation of the correction amount required to perform the reciprocating landing position correction.

In the present invention, for example, the reciprocating landing position correction includes a first accuracy correction that corrects the deviation between the first landing position and the second landing position with a predetermined first accuracy, and a second accuracy correction that corrects the deviation between the first landing position and the second landing position with a second accuracy higher than the first accuracy after the first accuracy correction has been performed, and the automatic correction operation includes a first printing operation, a second printing operation, and a pattern detection operation for automatically performing the first accuracy correction, as well as a first printing operation, a second printing operation, and a pattern detection operation for automatically performing the second accuracy correction, and the control unit controls the automatic correction When the normal use operation is started, a cap-out operation is performed, and a first printing operation, a second printing operation, and a pattern detection operation are performed to automatically perform the first accuracy correction, to calculate a first accuracy correction amount, which is the correction amount for performing the first accuracy correction, and then a first printing operation, a second printing operation, and a pattern detection operation are performed to automatically perform the second accuracy correction, to calculate a second accuracy correction amount, which is the correction amount for performing the second accuracy correction, and then a cap-in operation is performed, and it is preferable not to perform the cap-in operation after the automatic correction operation has started until calculation of the second accuracy correction amount has been completed.

Furthermore, in order to solve the second problem, the inkjet printer of the present invention is an inkjet printer that prints on a medium, and includes an inkjet head that ejects ink, a carriage on which the inkjet head is mounted, a carriage drive mechanism that moves the carriage in a main scanning direction, a medium transport mechanism that transports the medium in a sub-scanning direction perpendicular to the up-down direction and the main scanning direction, a detection mechanism that detects a correction pattern printed in order to correct the amount of transport of the medium in the sub-scanning direction by the medium transport mechanism, a maintenance unit for preventing clogging of multiple nozzles of the inkjet head, and a control unit for controlling the inkjet printer, and an ink ejection surface on which multiple nozzles are arranged is formed on the underside of the inkjet head, and the maintenance unit includes a cap member for covering the ink ejection surface from below, and is installed in the maintenance area, which is an area outside the printing area in the main scanning direction, and the control unit causes the inkjet printer to perform an automatic correction operation for automatically performing a medium transport amount correction, which is a correction of the amount of transport of the medium in the sub-scanning direction by the medium transport mechanism. The automatic correction operation includes a medium transport operation in which the medium transport mechanism transports the medium on which the correction pattern is printed to a predetermined reference position, a printing operation in which ink is ejected from the inkjet head while moving the carriage in the main scanning direction to print the correction pattern on the medium, a pattern detection operation in which the detection mechanism detects the correction pattern printed in the printing operation, a cap-in operation in which the ink ejection surface is covered with a cap member, and a cap-out operation in which the cap member covering the ink ejection surface is removed from the ink ejection surface, and the control unit controls the medium transport operation based on the detection result of the detection mechanism in the pattern detection operation. The correction amount for correcting the amount is calculated, and before the automatic correction operation is started, the cap member covers the ink ejection surface, and when the automatic correction operation is started, the control unit performs a cap-out operation, and then performs a medium transport operation, a printing operation, and a pattern detection operation to calculate the correction amount, and repeats the medium transport operation, the printing operation, the pattern detection operation, and the calculation of the correction amount until the calculated correction amount becomes equal to or less than a predetermined reference value, and performs a cap-in operation when the correction amount becomes equal to or less than the reference value, and does not perform the cap-in operation after the automatic correction operation is started until the correction amount becomes equal to or less than the reference value.

　Furthermore, in order to solve the second problem described above, the inkjet printer adjustment method of the present invention is a correction method for an inkjet printer that prints on a medium, the inkjet printer includes an inkjet head that ejects ink, a carriage on which the inkjet head is mounted, a carriage drive mechanism that moves the carriage in a main scanning direction, a medium transport mechanism that transports the medium in a sub-scanning direction perpendicular to the up-down direction and the main scanning direction, a detection mechanism that detects a correction pattern printed in order to correct the amount of transport of the medium in the sub-scanning direction by the medium transport mechanism, and a maintenance unit for preventing clogging of multiple nozzles of the inkjet head, an ink ejection surface on which multiple nozzles are arranged is formed on the underside of the inkjet head, and if the area in the main scanning direction where printing is performed by the inkjet head is taken as the printing area, the maintenance unit includes a cap member for covering the ink ejection surface from below and is installed in the maintenance area, which is an area outside the printing area in the main scanning direction, and the correction method for the inkjet printer includes an automatic correction operation for automatically performing medium transport amount correction, which is correction of the amount of transport of the medium in the sub-scanning direction by the medium transport mechanism, a correction The inkjet printer is caused to perform automatic correction operations including a medium transport operation for transporting a medium on which a correction pattern is to be printed to a predetermined reference position by a medium transport mechanism, a printing operation for discharging ink from an inkjet head while moving a carriage in a main scanning direction to print a correction pattern on the medium, a pattern detection operation for causing a detection mechanism to detect the correction pattern printed in the printing operation, a cap-in operation for covering the ink ejection surface with a cap member, and a cap-out operation for removing the cap member covering the ink ejection surface from the ink ejection surface, and based on the detection result of the detection mechanism in the pattern detection operation, The correction amount for correcting the medium transport amount is calculated based on the above, and before the automatic correction operation is started, the cap member covers the ink ejection surface, and when the automatic correction operation is started, a cap-out operation is performed, and then a medium transport operation, a printing operation, and a pattern detection operation are performed to calculate the correction amount, and the medium transport operation, the printing operation, the pattern detection operation, and the calculation of the correction amount are repeated until the calculated correction amount becomes equal to or less than a predetermined reference value, and when the correction amount becomes equal to or less than the reference value, a cap-in operation is performed, and the cap-in operation is not performed after the automatic correction operation is started until the correction amount becomes equal to or less than the reference value.

In the present invention, when an automatic correction operation is started for automatically correcting the media transport amount, which is a correction of the amount of media transport by the media transport mechanism in the sub-scanning direction, a cap-out operation is performed, and then a media transport operation, a printing operation, and a pattern detection operation are performed to calculate the amount of correction. The media transport operation, printing operation, pattern detection operation, and calculation of the correction amount are repeated until the calculated correction amount becomes equal to or less than a predetermined reference value, and when the correction amount becomes equal to or less than the reference value, a cap-in operation is performed. After the automatic correction operation is started, the cap-in operation is not performed until the correction amount becomes equal to or less than the reference value. Therefore, in the present invention, it is possible to shorten the correction time when automatically correcting the amount of media transport in the sub-scanning direction, compared to when a cap-in operation is performed between the start of the automatic correction operation and the time when the correction amount becomes equal to or less than the reference value.

In the present invention, it is preferable that the maintenance unit includes a cap suction mechanism for sucking ink in the cap member and discharging it from the cap member, and the control unit performs an idle suction operation in which the cap suction mechanism sucks ink in the cap member that is detached from the ink ejection surface. With this configuration, it is possible to prevent the ink in the cap member from overflowing from the cap member, and it is also possible to prevent the ink from solidifying in the cap member. Furthermore, with this configuration, it is possible to prevent the ink in the cap member from adhering to the ink ejection surface when the ink ejection surface of the inkjet head is covered by the cap member.

In order to solve the above problems, the inkjet printer of the present invention includes an inkjet head that ejects ink, a carriage on which the inkjet head is mounted, a carriage drive mechanism that moves the carriage in a main scanning direction perpendicular to the up-down direction, and a maintenance unit that prevents clogging of multiple nozzles of the inkjet head, and an ink ejection surface on which multiple nozzles are arranged is formed on the underside of the inkjet head. The maintenance unit includes a cap member that covers the ink ejection surface from below, a slide member that holds the cap member so that it can be raised and lowered, a base member that holds the slide member so that it can be moved, and a slide member that slides relative to the base member. The device is provided with a spring member that biases the slide member, and if the main scanning direction is the left-right direction and the direction perpendicular to the up-down and left-right directions is the front-rear direction, the slide member is movable relative to the base member between a cap position where the cap member covers the ink ejection surface and a retracted position where the cap member is separated from the ink ejection surface, and when the slide member that is positioned in the retracted position moves to one side in the left-right direction relative to the base member while rising and moving to one side in the front-rear direction, the slide member is positioned in the cap position, and the spring member biases the slide member to at least the other side in the left-right direction relative to the base member and to one side or the other in the front-rear direction.

In the inkjet printer of the present invention, the maintenance unit includes a slide member that holds the cap member so that it can be raised and lowered, a base member that movably holds the slide member, and a spring member that biases the slide member against the base member. In addition, in the present invention, when the slide member that is located in the retracted position moves to one side in the left-right direction while rising and moving to one side in the front-rear direction, the slide member is located in the cap position. Furthermore, in the present invention, the spring member biases the slide member at least to the other side in the left-right direction relative to the base member and biases it to one side or the other in the front-rear direction. Therefore, in the present invention, it is possible to provide one type of spring member with both the functions of the first tension spring and the second tension spring that the inkjet printer described in Patent Document 4 has. Therefore, in the present invention, it is possible to reduce the number of parts in the maintenance unit and reduce the cost of the maintenance unit.

In the present invention, for example, the maintenance unit includes one spring member, and the spring member is a tension coil spring. In this case, since the maintenance unit includes only one spring member, it is possible to further reduce the cost of the maintenance unit. Also, in this case, for example, one left-right end of the tension coil spring is attached to the slide member, and the other left-right end of the tension coil spring is attached to the base member, and the tension coil spring is inclined in the left-right direction when viewed from the top-down direction, and is also inclined in the left-right direction when viewed from the front-back direction.

In the present invention, for example, an inkjet printer includes one inkjet head and one cap member. In this case, since there is one cap member held by the slide member, even if the slide member arranged in the retracted position moves to one side in the left-right direction relative to the base member while rising and moving to one side in the front-to-rear direction to arrange the slide member in the cap position, by improving the attachment accuracy of one cap member to the slide member, it is possible to improve the relative position accuracy between the cap member and the inkjet head when the slide member is arranged in the cap position. Therefore, even if the slide member arranged in the retracted position moves to one side in the left-right direction relative to the base member while rising and moving to one side in the front-to-rear direction to arrange the slide member in the cap position, it is possible to reliably cover the ink ejection surface of the inkjet head with the cap member.

In order to solve the above problems, the inkjet printer of the present invention includes an inkjet head that ejects ink, a carriage on which the inkjet head is mounted, a carriage drive mechanism that moves the carriage in a main scanning direction perpendicular to the up-down direction, and a maintenance unit that prevents clogging of multiple nozzles in the inkjet head, and an ink ejection surface on which multiple nozzles are arranged is formed on the underside of the inkjet head. The maintenance unit includes a cap member that covers the ink ejection surface from below, a slide member that holds the cap member so that it can be raised and lowered, a base member that holds the slide member so that it can be moved, and a slide member that is movable relative to the base member. and a biasing member that biases the cap member. When the main scanning direction is the left-right direction, the slide member is movable relative to the base member between a cap position where the cap member covers the ink ejection surface and a retracted position where the cap member is separated from the ink ejection surface. When the slide member that is positioned at the retracted position moves upward while moving to at least one side in the left-right direction relative to the base member, the slide member is positioned at the cap position. A single contact portion is formed on the slide member with which the carriage moving to one side in the left-right direction comes into contact, and the slide member moves from the retracted position to the cap position in conjunction with the movement of the carriage moving to one side in the left-right direction while in contact with the contact portion.

In the inkjet printer of the present invention, the slide member is formed with one contact portion with which the carriage that moves to one side in the left-right direction comes into contact, and the slide member is not provided with two contact portions as in the inkjet printer described in Patent Document 4. Therefore, in the present invention, it is possible to simplify the configuration of the slide member and reduce the cost of the slide member. Therefore, in the present invention, it is possible to reduce the cost of the maintenance unit.

Furthermore, according to the inventor's study, for example, if the slide member is formed with two contact portions spaced apart in the front-to-rear direction perpendicular to the up-down and left-to-right directions, if a carriage moving to one side in the left-to-right direction does not contact the two contact portions simultaneously, a twist may occur between the carriage and the slide member, making it impossible to move the slide member smoothly to the cap position. In contrast, in the present invention, the slide member is formed with only one contact portion, which prevents twisting between the carriage and the slide member and makes it possible to move the slide member smoothly to the cap position.

In the present invention, for example, an inkjet printer includes one inkjet head and one cap member, and if the direction perpendicular to the up-down direction and the left-right direction is defined as the front-rear direction, when the slide member, which is located in the retracted position, moves to one side in the left-right direction relative to the base member while rising and also moves to one side in the front-rear direction, the slide member is located in the cap position.

In this case, since there is only one cap member held by the slide member, even if the slide member placed in the retracted position moves to one side in the left-right direction relative to the base member while rising and moving to one side in the front-to-back direction to place the slide member in the cap position, by improving the attachment accuracy of one cap member to the slide member, it is possible to improve the relative positional accuracy between the cap member and the inkjet head when the slide member is placed in the cap position. Therefore, even if the slide member placed in the retracted position moves to one side in the left-right direction relative to the base member while rising and moving to one side in the front-to-back direction to place the slide member in the cap position, it is possible to reliably cover the ink ejection surface of the inkjet head with the cap member.

In the present invention, for example, the slide member is formed with a second contact portion capable of contacting the other side surface of the inkjet head in the front-rear direction, the contact portion being formed at an end portion of one side of the slide member in the front-rear direction, the second contact portion being formed at an end portion of the slide member in the front-rear direction on the other side, and when the slide member is placed in the cap position, the second contact portion is in contact with the other side surface of the inkjet head in the front-rear direction. In this case, since the second contact portion is formed on the slide member and the second contact portion is in contact with the other side surface of the inkjet head in the front-rear direction when the slide member is placed in the cap position, it is possible to improve the relative positional accuracy between the inkjet head and the cap member in the front-rear direction when the slide member is placed in the cap position. Therefore, it is possible to reliably cover the ink ejection surface of the inkjet head with the cap member.

As described above, the present invention makes it possible to shorten the correction time required for an inkjet printer with bidirectional printing capability to automatically correct the misalignment between the ink landing position on the forward path, where the carriage moves to one side in the main scanning direction, and the ink landing position on the return path, where the carriage moves to the other side in the main scanning direction. The present invention also makes it possible to shorten the correction time required for an inkjet printer that prints on a medium to automatically correct the amount of medium transport in the sub-scanning direction.

1 is a perspective view of an inkjet printer according to an embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram for explaining the configuration of the inkjet printer shown in FIG. 1 . FIG. 2 is a block diagram for explaining the configuration of the inkjet printer shown in FIG. 1 . 2 is a schematic diagram for explaining the configuration of the maintenance unit shown in FIG. 1 . 4 is a flowchart for explaining a method of correcting reciprocating landing positions executed in the inkjet printer shown in FIG. 1 . 4 is a flowchart for explaining a method for correcting a medium transport amount executed in the inkjet printer shown in FIG. 1 . 1 is a perspective view of an inkjet printer according to an embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram for explaining the configuration of the inkjet printer shown in FIG. 7 . FIG. 8 is a perspective view of the maintenance unit shown in FIG. 7 . 10 is a plan view of the maintenance unit shown in FIG. 9, illustrating a state in which the slide member is in a retracted position. FIG. 10 is a plan view of the maintenance unit shown in FIG. 9, illustrating a state in which the slide member is in a cap position. FIG. 11 is a schematic cross-sectional view for explaining the configuration of the E-E cross section of FIG. 10. 12 is a schematic cross-sectional view for explaining the configuration of the FF cross section of FIG. 11. 12 is a schematic cross-sectional view for explaining the configuration of the cross section G-G of FIG. 11.

First Embodiment
Hereinafter, a first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

(General configuration of an inkjet printer)
Fig. 1 is a perspective view of an inkjet printer 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention. Fig. 2 is a schematic diagram for explaining the configuration of the inkjet printer 1 shown in Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a block diagram for explaining the configuration of the inkjet printer 1 shown in Fig. 1. Fig. 4 is a schematic diagram for explaining the configuration of a maintenance unit 14 shown in Fig. 1.

The inkjet printer 1 (hereinafter referred to as "printer 1") of this embodiment is a commercial inkjet printer that prints on a medium 2 such as paper, fabric, or resin film. The medium 2 is formed in a long shape (a long, thin strip shape). The printer 1 includes an inkjet head 3 (hereinafter referred to as "head 3") that ejects ink toward the medium 2, a carriage 4 on which the head 3 is mounted, a carriage drive mechanism 5 that moves the carriage 4 in a main scanning direction (Y direction in FIG. 1, etc.) perpendicular to the up-down direction (vertical direction, Z direction in FIG. 1, etc.), a Y bar 6 that movably holds the carriage 4, a medium transport mechanism 7 that transports the medium 2 in a sub-scanning direction (X direction in FIG. 1, etc.) perpendicular to the up-down direction and the main scanning direction, a platen 8 on which the medium 2 is placed, and a control unit 9 for controlling the printer 1.

In the following description, the main scanning direction (Y direction) is referred to as the "left-right direction", and the sub-scanning direction (X direction) is referred to as the "front-rear direction". Furthermore, the Y1 direction side in FIG. 1, etc., which is one side of the left-right direction, is referred to as the "left side", the Y2 direction side in FIG. 1, etc., which is the opposite side of the left side, is referred to as the "right side", the X1 direction side in FIG. 1, etc., which is one side of the front-rear direction, is referred to as the "front" side, and the X2 direction side in FIG. 1, etc., which is the opposite side of the front side, is referred to as the "rear" side. The left-right direction (Y direction) in this embodiment is the width direction of the medium 2. Furthermore, the up-down direction (Z direction) is the thickness direction of the medium 2 placed on the platen 8 during printing, and the front-rear direction (X direction) is the transport direction of the medium 2 moving over the platen 8.

The printer 1 is a printer with bidirectional printing capabilities. In the printer 1, for example, the head 3 ejects ink to print on the medium 2 on both the outward path where the carriage 4 moves to the left and the return path where the carriage 4 moves to the right. In the printer 1, the reciprocating movement of the carriage 4 in the left-right direction by the carriage drive mechanism 5 and the forward transport of the medium 2 by the medium transport mechanism 7 are alternately repeated to print on the medium 2.

For example, one head 3 is mounted on the carriage 4. The head 3 ejects ink downward. An ink ejection surface 3a is formed on the underside of the head 3, on which multiple nozzles that eject ink are arranged. Multiple nozzle rows arranged in the left-right direction (main scanning direction) are formed on the ink ejection surface 3a. The nozzle row is made up of a large number of nozzles arranged in the front-back direction. The head 3 is equipped with a piezoelectric element (piezo element) that ejects ink from the nozzles. Note that multiple heads 3 may be mounted on the carriage 4.

The carriage drive mechanism 5 includes, for example, two pulleys, a belt that is stretched across the two pulleys and is partially fixed to the carriage 4, and a motor that rotates the pulleys. A guide rail 10 for guiding the carriage 4 in the left-right direction is fixed to the front of the Y-bar 6. The medium transport mechanism 7 includes a transport roller for transporting the medium 2, a roller drive mechanism that drives the transport roller, and a number of pinch rollers that are biased toward the transport roller and pinch the medium 2 between the transport roller and the roller. The roller drive mechanism includes a motor as a drive source.

The platen 8 is disposed below the carriage 4. The medium 2 is placed on the platen 8 during printing. In this embodiment, the mounting height of the head 3 relative to the carriage 4 is adjustable. For example, the mounting height of the head 3 relative to the carriage 4 is adjustable in two stages. That is, the vertical gap (head gap) between the ink ejection surface 3a of the head 3 and the upper surface of the platen 8 is adjustable in two stages. The mounting height of the head 3 relative to the carriage 4 is adjusted according to the thickness of the medium 2, etc. The head 3, carriage drive mechanism 5, and medium transport mechanism 7 are electrically connected to the control unit 9. Specifically, the piezoelectric element of the head 3, the motor of the carriage drive mechanism 5, the motor of the medium transport mechanism 7, etc. are electrically connected to the control unit 9.

As described above, the printer 1 has a bidirectional printing function. When the printer 1 is installed, when the mounting height of the head 3 relative to the carriage 4 is adjusted, when the thickness of the medium 2 on which printing is performed is changed, etc., the printer 1 corrects the deviation between the landing position of the ink ejected from the head 3 when the carriage 4 moves to the left (hereinafter, this landing position is referred to as the "first landing position") and the landing position of the ink ejected from the head 3 when the carriage 4 moves to the right (hereinafter, this landing position is referred to as the "second landing position"). In addition, when the printer 1 is installed, when the type of the medium 2 on which printing is performed is changed, etc., the printer 1 corrects the transport amount of the medium 2 in the sub-scanning direction by the medium transport mechanism 7. Specifically, the deviation between the designed transport amount and the actual transport amount of the medium 2 transported forward by the medium transport mechanism 7 is corrected.

The printer 1 is equipped with a detection mechanism 12 that detects a correction pattern for correcting the misalignment between the first and second landing positions, and a correction pattern for correcting the amount of transport of the medium 2 in the sub-scanning direction by the medium transport mechanism 7. The correction pattern is a test pattern that is test printed by the printer 1 on the test medium 2. The detection mechanism 12 is mounted on the carriage 4. The detection mechanism 12 is electrically connected to the control unit 9.

The detection mechanism 12 is a density detection mechanism for detecting the density of the correction pattern. The detection mechanism 12 is a reflective optical sensor equipped with a light-emitting element that emits light toward the medium 2 on which the correction pattern is printed, and a light-receiving element that receives the light emitted from the light-emitting element and reflected by the medium 2. When the density of the correction pattern is high, the light reflectance of the correction pattern decreases, and the output of the detection mechanism 12 (specifically, the output of the light-receiving element) becomes small. On the other hand, when the density of the correction pattern is low, the light reflectance of the correction pattern increases, and the output of the detection mechanism 12 becomes large.

The printer 1 also includes a maintenance unit 14 for preventing clogging of the multiple nozzles of the head 3. The maintenance unit 14 performs cleaning of the head 3 and other operations to prevent clogging of the multiple nozzles of the head 3. For example, the maintenance unit 14 performs purging, which forcibly sucks ink out of the nozzles of the head 3, flushing, which forcibly ejects ink from the nozzles of the head 3, and wiping, which wipes the ink ejection surface 3a with a specified wiper member. The maintenance unit 14 also performs capping, which covers the ink ejection surface 3a.

If the area where printing is performed by the head 3 in the left-right direction (main scanning direction) (i.e. the area where printing is performed on the medium 2) is defined as the printing area PA, the maintenance unit 14 is installed in the maintenance area MA, which is an area outside the printing area PA (see FIG. 2). In this embodiment, the right end of the printer 1 is the maintenance area MA, and the maintenance unit 14 is installed at the right end of the printer 1. The maintenance unit 14 includes a cap member 15 for covering the ink ejection surface 3a of the head 3 from below, and a cap suction mechanism 16 for sucking ink in the cap member 15 and discharging it from the cap member 15. The maintenance unit 14 also includes a slide member (not shown) that holds the cap member 15 and is slidable in the left-right direction, and a spring member (not shown) that biases the slide member toward the left side.

When the head 3 and carriage 4 arranged in the printing area PA move out of the printing area PA and to the right to perform maintenance on the head 3, the carriage 4 comes into contact with the slide member that holds the cap member 15. When the carriage 4 moves further to the right in this state, the cap member 15 rises while moving to the right, and the cap member 15 covers the ink ejection surface 3a from below (see FIG. 4(B)). At this time, the upper end of the cap member 15 is in close contact with the bottom surface of the head 3. Furthermore, when the carriage 4 moves to the left from this state, the cap member 15 moves down while moving to the left, and the cap member 15 comes off the ink ejection surface 3a. (See FIG. 4(A)). In other words, the cap member 15 moves away from the ink ejection surface 3a so as not to come into contact with the ink ejection surface 3a.

In other words, in this embodiment, as the carriage 4 moves, the cap member 15 moves left and right while rising and lowering between a position where it covers the ink ejection surface 3a from below and a position where it is removed from the ink ejection surface 3a. The maintenance unit 14 may also be equipped with a lifting mechanism that raises and lowers the cap member 15 between a position where it covers the ink ejection surface 3a from below and a position where it is removed from the ink ejection surface 3a. In this case, the cap member 15 does not move left and right.

The cap suction mechanism 16 is, for example, a suction pump. The cap suction mechanism 16 is electrically connected to the control unit 9. When the cap suction mechanism 16 is driven with the cap member 15 covering the ink ejection surface 3a from below, the ink in the nozzles of the head 3 is forcibly sucked in. In other words, purging is performed. When the cap suction mechanism 16 is driven with the cap member 15 detached from the ink ejection surface 3a, dry suction is performed in which the ink in the cap member 15 is sucked in and discharged. In other words, the control unit 9 performs a dry suction operation in which the cap suction mechanism 16 sucks in the ink in the cap member 15 that is detached from the ink ejection surface 3a.

As described above, the printer 1 corrects the misalignment between the first and second landing positions (hereinafter, this correction will be referred to as "round-trip landing position correction (round-trip dot position correction)") and corrects the amount of transport of the medium 2 in the sub-scanning direction by the medium transport mechanism 7 (hereinafter, this correction will be referred to as "medium transport amount correction (feed correction)"). Below, we will explain the round-trip landing position correction method, which is a method of round-trip landing position correction, and the medium transport amount correction method, which is a method of medium transport amount correction.

(How to correct round-trip impact position)
FIG. 5 is a flowchart for explaining a method of correcting reciprocating landing positions executed by the printer 1 shown in FIG.

The reciprocating landing position correction is performed automatically. The control unit 9 causes the printer 1 to perform an automatic correction operation for automatically correcting the reciprocating landing position. The automatic correction operation includes a first printing operation in which ink is ejected from the head 3 while moving the carriage 4 to the left to print a correction pattern on the medium 2, and a second printing operation in which ink is ejected from the head 3 while moving the carriage 4 to the right to print a correction pattern on the medium 2. The medium 2 on which the correction pattern is printed is white printing paper, and the correction pattern is printed, for example, with a high-density ink such as black ink.

The automatic correction operation also includes a pattern detection operation in which the detection mechanism 12 detects the correction pattern printed in the first printing operation and the correction pattern printed in the second printing operation. In the pattern detection operation, the carriage 4 is moved left and right, and the correction pattern is detected by the detection mechanism 12 mounted on the carriage 4. In the pattern detection operation, the density of the correction pattern is also detected.

Furthermore, the automatic correction operation includes a cap-in operation in which the cap member 15 covers the ink ejection surface 3a, and a cap-out operation in which the cap member 15 covering the ink ejection surface 3a is removed from the ink ejection surface 3a. In other words, the control unit 9 causes the printer 1 to perform an automatic correction operation including a first printing operation, a second printing operation, a pattern detection operation, a cap-in operation, and a cap-out operation as an automatic correction operation for automatically correcting the reciprocating landing position. The control unit 9 also calculates the correction amount for correcting the reciprocating landing position based on the detection results of the detection mechanism 12 in the pattern detection operation.

The reciprocating landing position correction includes a coarse adjustment as a first accuracy correction that corrects the deviation between the first landing position and the second landing position with a predetermined first accuracy, and a main adjustment (fine adjustment) as a second accuracy correction that corrects the deviation between the first landing position and the second landing position with a second accuracy higher than the first accuracy after the coarse adjustment. In this embodiment, the reciprocating landing position is corrected in two stages: the coarse adjustment and the main adjustment after the coarse adjustment. The automatic correction operation for performing the reciprocating landing position correction includes an operation for automatically performing the coarse adjustment and an operation for automatically performing the main adjustment. In other words, the automatic correction operation includes a first printing operation, a second printing operation, and a pattern detection operation for automatically performing the coarse adjustment, as well as a first printing operation, a second printing operation, and a pattern detection operation for automatically performing the main adjustment.

In reciprocating landing position correction, coarse adjustment and main adjustment are performed in that order. Furthermore, in reciprocating landing position correction, coarse adjustment and main adjustment are performed consecutively. Before the automatic correction operation for performing reciprocating landing position correction is started, the carriage 4 is positioned in the maintenance area MA, and the cap member 15 covers the ink ejection surface 3a of the head 3. When the automatic correction operation for performing reciprocating landing position correction is started, as shown in FIG. 5, first, the control unit 9 moves the carriage 4, which is positioned in the maintenance area MA, to the left and performs a cap-out operation (step S1).

Then, the control unit 9 performs a medium transport operation in which the medium transport mechanism 7 transports the medium 2 on which the correction pattern is printed to a predetermined reference position (step S2). The control unit 9 then performs a first printing operation and a second printing operation (steps S3 and S4), and then performs a pattern detection operation (step S5). The control unit 9 also calculates a correction amount for performing reciprocating impact position correction based on the detection result of the detection mechanism 12 in step S5 (step S6). In steps S3 and S4, a correction pattern for coarse adjustment is printed on the medium 2. In step S6, the control unit 9 calculates a first precision correction amount, which is a correction amount for performing coarse adjustment. Note that the detection mechanism 12 may be calibrated before the pattern detection operation.

When step S6 is finished, the coarse adjustment is complete. In the main adjustment that is performed after the coarse adjustment, the control unit 9 operates the printer 1 based on the first accuracy correction amount. After step S6, the control unit 9 performs a medium transport operation in which the medium transport mechanism 7 transports the medium 2 on which the correction pattern is printed to a predetermined reference position (step S7). Thereafter, the control unit 9 performs a first printing operation and a second printing operation (steps S8, S9), and then performs a pattern detection operation (step S10). In steps S8 and S9, the correction pattern for the main adjustment is printed on the medium 2.

The control unit 9 also calculates the amount of correction for performing reciprocating impact position correction based on the detection result of the detection mechanism 12 in step S10 (step S11). In step S11, the control unit 9 calculates a second precision correction amount, which is the correction amount for performing this adjustment. When step S11 is completed, the calculation of the correction amount required for performing reciprocating impact position correction is complete. Thereafter, the control unit 9 performs a cap-in operation (step S12). When step S12 is completed, the automatic correction operation for automatically performing reciprocating impact position correction is completed.

In this manner, in this embodiment, when the automatic correction operation for correcting the reciprocating landing position is started, the control unit 9 performs a cap-out operation (step S1), performs a first printing operation, a second printing operation, and a pattern detection operation for automatically performing a rough adjustment to calculate a first accuracy correction amount (steps S3 to S6), performs a first printing operation, a second printing operation, and a pattern detection operation for automatically performing a main adjustment to calculate a second accuracy correction amount (steps S8 to S11), and then performs a cap-in operation (step S12). In other words, the control unit 9 does not perform the cap-in operation after starting the automatic correction operation until calculation of the second accuracy correction amount is complete.

In other words, in this embodiment, when the automatic correction operation is started, the control unit 9 performs a cap-out operation, and then performs the first printing operation, the second printing operation, and the pattern detection operation. After the automatic correction operation starts, the control unit 9 performs a cap-in operation only after calculation of the correction amount (i.e., the second precision correction amount) required to complete the reciprocating landing position correction is completed; after the automatic correction operation starts, the control unit 9 does not perform the cap-in operation until calculation of the correction amount required to perform the reciprocating landing position correction is completed.

The round-trip landing position correction is performed for each of the multiple resolutions at which the printer 1 can print. In addition, in this embodiment, the round-trip landing position correction is performed both when printing is performed by moving the carriage 4 at standard speed and when printing is performed by moving the carriage 4 at double speed (twice the standard speed). In other words, in this embodiment, the round-trip landing position correction is performed both when printing is performed at standard speed and when printing is performed at double speed.

For example, round-trip landing position correction is performed in each of the following cases: when printing at double speed with a resolution of 1200 dpi (dots per inch), when printing at standard speed with a resolution of 1200 dpi, when printing at double speed with a resolution of 800 dpi, when printing at standard speed with a resolution of 800 dpi, when printing at double speed with a resolution of 600 dpi, when printing at standard speed with a resolution of 600 dpi, and when printing at standard speed with a resolution of 300 dpi.

Depending on the resolution and printing speed at which the reciprocating landing position correction is performed, at least one of the first and second printing operations may be performed between steps S9 and S10. In this case, the first printing operation may be performed once or multiple times, and the second printing operation may be performed once or multiple times. Furthermore, during the automatic correction operation for performing the reciprocating landing position correction, flushing is performed as necessary to forcibly eject ink from the nozzles of the head 3. During flushing, ink is ejected toward the cap member 15. After a predetermined number of flushes have been performed, the control unit 9 performs an empty suction operation.

(Method of correcting the medium transport amount)
FIG. 6 is a flowchart for explaining a method for correcting the medium transport amount executed by the printer 1 shown in FIG.

As with the reciprocating impact position correction, the medium transport amount correction is performed automatically. The control unit 9 causes the printer 1 to perform an automatic correction operation for automatically correcting the medium transport amount. The automatic correction operation includes a medium transport operation in which the medium transport mechanism 7 transports the medium 2 on which the correction pattern is printed to a predetermined reference position, a printing operation in which ink is ejected from the head 3 while the carriage 4 is moved left and right to print the correction pattern on the medium 2, a pattern detection operation in which the detection mechanism 12 detects the correction pattern printed in the printing operation, a cap-in operation, and a cap-out operation.

In other words, the control unit 9 causes the printer 1 to perform an automatic correction operation including a medium transport operation, a printing operation, a pattern detection operation, a cap-in operation, and a cap-out operation as an automatic correction operation for automatically correcting the medium transport amount. The control unit 9 also calculates the correction amount for correcting the medium transport amount based on the detection results of the detection mechanism 12 in the pattern detection operation. As with the reciprocating impact position correction, the medium 2 on which the correction pattern for correcting the medium transport amount is printed is white printing paper, and the correction pattern is printed with a high-density ink such as black ink.

Before the automatic correction operation for correcting the medium transport amount is started, the carriage 4 is positioned in the maintenance area MA, and the cap member 15 covers the ink ejection surface 3a of the head 3. When the automatic correction operation for correcting the medium transport amount is started, as shown in FIG. 6, the control unit 9 first moves the carriage 4, which is positioned in the maintenance area MA, to the left and performs a cap-out operation (step S21). Then, the control unit 9 performs a medium transport operation (step S22).

Then, the control unit 9 performs a printing operation (step S23), and then performs a pattern detection operation (step S24). The control unit 9 also calculates a correction amount for correcting the medium transport amount based on the detection result of the detection mechanism 12 in step S24 (step S25). In step S23, a correction pattern for correcting the medium transport amount is printed on the medium 2. The control unit 9 then determines whether the correction amount calculated in step S25 is equal to or less than a predetermined reference value (step S26).

If the correction amount exceeds the reference value in step S26, the process returns to step S22, and the control unit 9 again performs the medium transport operation, the printing operation, the pattern detection operation, and the calculation of the correction amount. In step S22 after step S26, the medium 2 is transported to the reference position corrected based on the correction amount calculated in step S25. On the other hand, if the correction amount is equal to or less than the reference value in step S26, the control unit 9 performs a cap-in operation (step S27). When step S27 ends, the automatic correction operation for automatically correcting the medium transport amount is completed.

In this manner, in this embodiment, when the automatic correction operation for correcting the media transport amount is started, the control unit 9 performs a cap-out operation, and then performs a media transport operation, a printing operation, and a pattern detection operation to calculate the correction amount, and repeats the media transport operation, printing operation, pattern detection operation, and calculation of the correction amount until the calculated correction amount becomes equal to or less than a predetermined reference value. In addition, the control unit 9 performs a cap-in operation when the correction amount becomes equal to or less than the predetermined reference value, and does not perform the cap-in operation after the automatic correction operation for correcting the media transport amount is started until the correction amount becomes equal to or less than the predetermined reference value.

Note that performing steps S22 to S25 only once rarely results in the correction amount falling below the reference value, and steps S22 to S25 are performed, for example, three or four times. That is, the medium transport operation, printing operation, pattern detection operation, and calculation of the correction amount are repeated three or four times until the correction amount falls below the reference value. Furthermore, when the medium transport operation, printing operation, pattern detection operation, and calculation of the correction amount are repeated a predetermined number of times or more (for example, about 10 times), the control unit 9 executes a predetermined error process. Furthermore, as with the reciprocating impact position correction, flushing is performed as necessary during the automatic correction operation for correcting the medium transport amount. After the predetermined number of flushes have been performed, the control unit 9 executes an empty suction operation.

(Main effects of this embodiment)
As described above, in this embodiment, when the automatic correction operation for correcting the reciprocating landing position is started, the control unit 9 performs the cap-out operation, performs the first printing operation, the second printing operation, and the pattern detection operation for automatically performing the rough adjustment to calculate the first accuracy correction amount, performs the first printing operation, the second printing operation, and the pattern detection operation for automatically performing the main adjustment to calculate the second accuracy correction amount, and then performs the cap-in operation, and does not perform the cap-in operation until the calculation of the second accuracy correction amount is completed after the start of the automatic correction operation for correcting the reciprocating landing position. Therefore, in this embodiment, it is possible to shorten the correction time when automatically correcting the deviation between the first landing position and the second landing position, compared to the case where the cap-in operation is performed between the start of the automatic correction operation for correcting the reciprocating landing position and the completion of the calculation of the second accuracy correction amount.

In this embodiment, when the automatic correction operation for correcting the medium transport amount is started, the control unit 9 performs a cap-out operation, then performs a medium transport operation, a printing operation, and a pattern detection operation to calculate the correction amount, and repeats the medium transport operation, printing operation, pattern detection operation, and calculation of the correction amount until the calculated correction amount becomes equal to or less than a predetermined reference value, and performs a cap-in operation when the correction amount becomes equal to or less than the predetermined reference value after the automatic correction operation for correcting the medium transport amount is started, and does not perform the cap-in operation until the correction amount becomes equal to or less than the predetermined reference value. Therefore, in this embodiment, it is possible to shorten the correction time when automatically correcting the transport amount of the medium 2 in the sub-scanning direction, compared to the case where the cap-in operation is performed between the start of the automatic correction operation for correcting the medium transport amount and the time until the correction amount becomes equal to or less than the predetermined reference value.

Other Embodiments
The above-described embodiment is one example of a preferred embodiment of the present invention, but the present invention is not limited to this embodiment and various modifications can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention.

In the above-mentioned embodiment, the printer 1 may perform only reciprocating landing position correction, or may perform only medium transport amount correction. Also, in the above-mentioned embodiment, if reciprocating landing position correction can be performed with this adjustment alone, coarse adjustment does not need to be performed. Also, in the above-mentioned embodiment, the medium 2 does not need to be formed in a long shape. In this case, for example, instead of the medium transport mechanism 7, the printer 1 is provided with a table on which the medium 2 is placed, and a movement mechanism that moves the table or the Y bar 6 in the front-rear direction. Also, in the above-mentioned embodiment, the printer 1 may be a 3D printer that forms a three-dimensional object. Even in this case, when reciprocating landing position correction is performed, the first printing operation and the second printing operation are performed on the test medium 2.

Second Embodiment
A second embodiment of the present invention will now be described with reference to the drawings.

(Overall configuration of inkjet printer)
Fig. 7 is a perspective view of an inkjet printer 101 according to an embodiment of the present invention, and Fig. 8 is a schematic diagram for explaining the configuration of the inkjet printer 101 shown in Fig. 7.

The inkjet printer 101 (hereinafter referred to as "printer 101") of this embodiment is a commercial inkjet printer that prints on a medium 102 such as paper, fabric, or resin film. The medium 102 is formed in a long shape (a long, thin strip shape). The printer 101 includes an inkjet head 103 (hereinafter referred to as "head 103") that ejects ink toward the medium 102, a carriage 104 on which the head 103 is mounted, a carriage drive mechanism 105 that moves the carriage 104 in a main scanning direction (Y direction in FIG. 7, etc.) perpendicular to the up-down direction (vertical direction, Z direction in FIG. 7, etc.), a Y bar 106 that movably holds the carriage 104, a medium transport mechanism 107 that transports the medium 102, and a platen 108 on which the medium 102 is placed.

The printer 101 of this embodiment has one head 103, and the carriage 104 has one head 103 mounted thereon. That is, the printer 101 has only one head 103, and the carriage 104 has only one head 103 mounted thereon. The head 103 ejects ink downward. The bottom surface of the head 103 is formed with an ink ejection surface 103a on which multiple nozzles that eject ink are arranged. The ink ejection surface 103a has multiple nozzle rows arranged in the main scanning direction. The nozzle rows are made up of a large number of nozzles arranged in a direction perpendicular to the up-down direction and the main scanning direction. The head 103 has a piezoelectric element that ejects ink from the nozzles.

The carriage drive mechanism 105 includes, for example, two pulleys, a belt that is stretched across the two pulleys and is partially fixed to the carriage 104, and a motor that rotates the pulleys. The medium transport mechanism 107 includes a transport roller for transporting the medium 102, a roller drive mechanism that drives the transport roller, and a number of pinch rollers that are biased toward the transport roller and pinch the medium 102 between the transport roller and the pinch roller. The platen 108 is positioned below the carriage 104. The medium 102 is placed on the platen 108 during printing.

In the following explanation, the main scanning direction (Y direction) is referred to as the "left-right direction", and the X direction in Fig. 7 etc., which is perpendicular to the up-down and left-right directions, is referred to as the "front-to-back direction". In addition, the Y1 direction side in Fig. 7 etc., which is one side of the left-right direction, is referred to as the "right" side, the Y2 direction side in Fig. 7 etc., which is the opposite side of the right side, is referred to as the "left" side, the X1 direction side in Fig. 7 etc., which is one side of the front-to-back direction, is referred to as the "front" side, and the X2 direction side in Fig. 7 etc., which is the opposite side of the front, is referred to as the "rear" side.

In this embodiment, the left-right direction (Y direction) is the width direction of the medium 102. The up-down direction (Z direction) is the thickness direction of the medium 102 placed on the platen 108 during printing, and the front-rear direction (X direction) is the transport direction of the medium 102 moving over the platen 108 and is also the sub-scanning direction. In this embodiment, the right side (Y1 direction side) is one side in the left-right direction, and the left side (Y2 direction side) is the other side in the left-right direction. In addition, the front side (X1 direction side) is one side in the front-rear direction, and the rear side (X2 direction side) is the other side in the front-rear direction.

The printer 101 also includes a maintenance unit 109 for preventing clogging of the nozzles of the head 103. The maintenance unit 109 cleans the head 103 to prevent clogging of the nozzles of the head 103. For example, the maintenance unit 109 performs purging, which forcibly sucks ink from the nozzles of the head 103, flushing, which forcibly ejects ink from the nozzles of the head 103, and wiping, which wipes the ink ejection surface 103a with a specified wiper member. The maintenance unit 109 is disposed in a position outside the printing area in the left-right direction (main scanning direction) where printing is performed on the medium 102. The maintenance unit 109 in this embodiment is disposed at the right end of the printer 101. The specific configuration of the maintenance unit 109 will be described below.

(Maintenance unit configuration)
Fig. 9 is a perspective view of the maintenance unit 109 shown in Fig. 7. Fig. 10 is a plan view of the maintenance unit 109 shown in Fig. 9, showing a state when the slide member 114 is in the retracted position 114A. Fig. 11 is a plan view of the maintenance unit 109 shown in Fig. 9, showing a state when the slide member 114 is in the cap position 114B. Fig. 12 is a schematic cross-sectional view for explaining the configuration of the E-E cross section in Fig. 10. Fig. 7 is a schematic cross-sectional view for explaining the configuration of the F-F cross section in Fig. 11. Fig. 8 is a schematic cross-sectional view for explaining the configuration of the G-G cross section in Fig. 11.

The maintenance unit 109 includes a cap member 113 for covering the ink ejection surface 103a of the head 103 from below. As described above, the carriage 104 of this embodiment is equipped with one head 103, and therefore the maintenance unit 109 of this embodiment includes one cap member 113. The maintenance unit 109 also includes a slide member 114 that holds the cap member 113 so that it can be raised and lowered, a base member 115 that holds the slide member 114 so that it can be moved, and a spring member 116 as a biasing member that biases the slide member 114 against the base member 115. The maintenance unit 109 of this embodiment includes one spring member 116. The spring member 116 of this embodiment is a tension coil spring. Therefore, in the following description, the spring member 116 is referred to as a "tension coil spring 116."

When viewed from above and below, the ink ejection surface 103a has a rectangular shape. When viewed from above and below, two of the four sides of the rectangular ink ejection surface 103a are parallel to the left-right direction, and the remaining two sides are parallel to the front-rear direction. When viewed from above and below, the cap member 113 has a rectangular shape that matches the shape of the ink ejection surface 103a. When viewed from above and below, two of the four sides of the rectangular cap member 113 are parallel to the left-right direction, and the remaining two sides are parallel to the front-rear direction. The cap member 113 is provided with a rubber cap 117 whose outer periphery contacts the bottom surface of the head 103. One end of a tube is attached to the bottom of the cap member 113. A suction mechanism is connected to the other end of the tube for purging, which forcibly sucks out the ink from the nozzles of the head 103.

The slide member 114 is movable relative to the base member 115 between a cap position 114B where the cap member 113 covers the ink ejection surface 103a, and a retracted position 114A where the cap member 113 is separated from the ink ejection surface 103a. In this embodiment, when the slide member 114 arranged at the retracted position 114A moves upward while moving at least to the right relative to the base member 115, the slide member 114 is arranged at the cap position 114B. Specifically, when the slide member 114 arranged at the retracted position 114A moves upward while moving to the right relative to the base member 115 and moves forward, the slide member 114 is arranged at the cap position 114B. The slide member 114 moves from the retracted position 114A to the cap position 114B in accordance with the movement of the carriage 104, which moves to the right while in contact with a contact portion 121a formed on the slide member 114, which will be described later. In addition, the slide member 114 moves from the cap position 114B to the retracted position 114A due to the biasing force of the tension coil spring 116, etc.

When viewed from the top-bottom direction, the external shape of the slide member 114 is rectangular. When viewed from the top-bottom direction, two of the four sides of the rectangular slide member 114 are parallel to the left-right direction, and the remaining two sides are parallel to the front-rear direction. The slide member 114 includes a first slide member 120 that holds the cap member 113 so that it can be raised and lowered, and a second slide member 121 to which the first slide member 120 is fixed. The slide member 114 is composed of, for example, the first slide member 120 and the second slide member 121. The first slide member 120 and the second slide member 121 are formed in the shape of a rectangular parallelepiped box with an open top. Note that the first slide member 120 is not shown in FIG. 8.

When viewed from the top-bottom direction, the first slide member 120 and the second slide member 121 have a rectangular shape. When viewed from the top-bottom direction, two of the four sides of the rectangular first slide member 120 and second slide member 121 are parallel to the left-right direction, and the remaining two sides are parallel to the front-rear direction. The cap member 113 is housed in the first slide member 120. A compression coil spring is disposed between the cap member 113 and the first slide member 120 to bias the cap member 113 upward relative to the first slide member 120. The first slide member 120 is housed in the left portion of the second slide member 121. A liquid absorbing member 122 such as a sponge is housed in the right portion of the second slide member 121. Note that the liquid absorbing member 122 is not shown in Figures 12 to 14.

The first slide member 120 is formed with a contact portion 120a as a second contact portion capable of contacting the rear side of the head 103. The contact portion 120a is formed in a rectangular flat plate shape rising upward. The contact portion 120a is formed at the rear end of the first slide member 120. In other words, the contact portion 120a is formed at the rear end of the slide member 114. The contact portion 120a is formed at two locations with a gap between them in the left-right direction. Specifically, the contact portion 120a is formed at two locations on both ends of the first slide member 120 in the left-right direction. The contact portion 120a is in contact with the rear side of the head 103 when the slide member 114 is positioned at the cap position 114B.

The second slide member 121 is formed with one contact portion 121a that comes into contact with the carriage 104 moving to the right. That is, only one contact portion 121a is formed on the second slide member 121. The contact portion 121a is formed in a columnar shape that rises upward. The contact portion 121a is formed on the right front end portion of the second slide member 121. That is, the contact portion 121a is formed on the right end portion of the slide member 114 and also on the front end portion of the slide member 114. The left side surface of the contact portion 121a is a curved surface that has an arc-shaped shape when viewed from the top-bottom direction. The right end portion of the carriage 104 is formed with a contact surface 104a that comes into contact with the contact portion 121a (see Figures 12 and 13). The contact surface 104a is a plane that is perpendicular to the left-right direction and faces rightward.

The second slide member 121 is also formed with a spring attachment portion 121b to which one end of the tension coil spring 116 is attached, and a guide pin 121c for guiding the slide member 114 between the retracted position 114A and the cap position 114B. The spring attachment portion 121b is formed on the right side surface of the second slide member 121. The guide pin 121c is formed on the front and rear side surfaces of the second slide member 121. The guide pin 121c is a cylindrical pin that protrudes outward in the front-to-rear direction. The guide pins 121c are formed at two locations, the right end and the left end of the second slide member 121, on each of the front and rear sides of the second slide member 121.

The base member 115 is fixed to the main body frame of the printer 101. The base member 115 is formed in the shape of a rectangular parallelepiped box with an open top. The slide member 114 is housed in the base member 115. The base member 115 is formed with a spring mounting portion 115a (see FIG. 14) to which the other end of the tension coil spring 116 is attached, and a guide groove (cam groove) 115b and a guide portion 115c for guiding the slide member 114 between the retracted position 114A and the cap position 114B. The spring mounting portion 115a is disposed on the bottom side of the base member 115. The spring mounting portion 115a is disposed below and in front of the spring mounting portion 121b. The spring mounting portion 115a is also disposed to the left of the spring mounting portion 121b when the slide member 114 is disposed in the retracted position 114A.

The guide grooves 115b are formed on the front and rear side surfaces of the base member 115. The guide grooves 115b are formed in two locations on each of the front and rear side surfaces of the base member 115. A guide pin 121c engages with the guide grooves 115b from the inside in the front-to-rear direction. As shown in Figures 12 and 13, the guide groove 115b is made up of a portion that is parallel to the left and right when viewed from the front-to-rear direction, and a portion that slopes upward as it moves to the right.

The guide portion 115c is formed on the front side surface of the base member 115. The guide portion 115c is formed on the left end portion of the base member 115. The guide portion 115c protrudes toward the rear. The guide portion 115c has an inclined surface 15d that slopes toward the front as it approaches the right side. The second slide member 121 contacts the guide portion 115c from the rear side. The front side surface of the second slide member 121 contacts the guide portion 115c with a predetermined contact pressure due to the biasing force of the tension coil spring 116.

The right end of the tension coil spring 116 is attached to the spring mounting portion 121b of the slide member 114. The left end of the tension coil spring 116 is attached to the spring mounting portion 115a of the base member 115. As described above, the spring mounting portion 115a is positioned lower and forward of the spring mounting portion 121b, and is positioned to the left of the spring mounting portion 121b when the slide member 114 is positioned in the retracted position 114A. Therefore, the tension coil spring 116 is inclined with respect to the left-right direction when viewed from the top-down direction, and is inclined with respect to the left-right direction when viewed from the front-rear direction. Furthermore, the tension coil spring 116 biases the slide member 114 to the left and downward relative to the base member 115, and biases it forward.

When the head 103 and carriage 104 are located in the printing area where printing on the medium 102 is performed, the slide member 114 is located in the retracted position 114A. At this time, the front side of the contact portion 120a is located behind the rear side of the head 103 (see FIG. 10). When the carriage 104 moves to the right out of the printing area to perform maintenance on the head 103, the contact surface 104a of the carriage 104 comes into contact with the contact portion 121a. When the carriage 104 then moves further to the right while still in contact with the contact portion 121a, the cap member 113 and slide member 114 move to the right relative to the base member 115, rising and moving forward. When the slide member 114 reaches the cap position 114B, the carriage 104 stops.

When the slide member 114 is positioned at the cap position 114B, the contact portion 120a contacts the rear side of the head 103 (see FIG. 11). The upper end of the cap member 113 is in close contact with the lower surface of the head 103, and the cap member 113 covers the ink ejection surface 103a from below. In this state, for example, flushing is performed. When the carriage 104 moves to the left from this state, the biasing force of the tension coil spring 116 and the action of the guide groove 115b and guide portion 115c cause the cap member 113 and slide member 114 to move leftward relative to the base member 115, descend, and move rearward, so that the upper end of the cap member 113 separates from the lower surface of the head 103.

(Main effects of this embodiment)
As described above, in this embodiment, the maintenance unit 109 includes the slide member 114 that holds the cap member 113 so that it can be raised and lowered, the base member 115 that movably holds the slide member 114, and the tension coil spring 116 that biases the slide member 114 relative to the base member 115. In this embodiment, when the slide member 114 that is disposed at the retracted position 114A moves to the right, rises, and moves forward, the slide member 114 is disposed at the cap position 114B. In this embodiment, the tension coil spring 116 biases the slide member 114 leftward and downward relative to the base member 115, and biases it forward.

As a result, in this embodiment, it is possible to provide one type of tension coil spring 116 with both the functions of the first tension spring and the second tension spring described in the above-mentioned Patent Document 1. Therefore, in this embodiment, it is possible to reduce the number of parts in the maintenance unit 109 and reduce the cost of the maintenance unit 109. In particular, in this embodiment, since the maintenance unit 109 is provided with only one tension coil spring 116, it is possible to further reduce the cost of the maintenance unit 109.

In this embodiment, one contact portion 121a that comes into contact with the carriage 104 moving to the right is formed on the slide member 114, and unlike the inkjet printer described in the above-mentioned Patent Document 1, two contact portions 121a are not formed on the slide member 114. Therefore, in this embodiment, it is possible to simplify the configuration of the slide member 114 and reduce the cost of the slide member 114. Therefore, in this embodiment, it is possible to reduce the cost of the maintenance unit 109.

Furthermore, according to the study of the present inventors, for example, if two contact portions 121a spaced apart in the front-rear direction are formed on the slide member 114, if the carriage 104 moving to the right does not contact the two contact portions 121a simultaneously, a twist may occur between the carriage 104 and the slide member 114, and the slide member 114 may not be able to move smoothly to the cap position 114B. In particular, in this embodiment, the slide member 114 is biased to the left and downward relative to the base member 115 by one tension coil spring 116, and is also biased to the front, making the slide member 114 prone to tilting. Therefore, if two contact portions 121a spaced apart in the front-rear direction are formed on the slide member 114, the carriage 104 moving to the right is less likely to contact the two contact portions 121a simultaneously. However, in this embodiment, the slide member 114 has only one contact portion 121a, which prevents the occurrence of misalignment between the carriage 104 and the slide member 114, making it possible to move the slide member 114 smoothly to the cap position 114B.

In this embodiment, the maintenance unit 109 is equipped with one cap member 113. Therefore, in this embodiment, even if the slide member 114 arranged in the retracted position 114A moves to the right relative to the base member 115 while rising and moving forward, so that the slide member 114 is arranged in the cap position 114B, by improving the attachment accuracy of one cap member 113 to the slide member 114, it is possible to improve the relative position accuracy between the cap member 114 and the head 103 when the slide member 114 is arranged in the cap position 114B. Therefore, in this embodiment, it is possible to reliably cover the ink ejection surface 103a of the head 103 with the cap member 113.

In this embodiment, when the slide member 114 is disposed at the cap position 114B, the contact portion 120a of the slide member 114 is in contact with the rear side surface of the head 103. Therefore, in this embodiment, it is possible to improve the relative positional accuracy between the head 103 and the cap member 14 in the front-to-rear direction when the slide member 114 is disposed at the cap position 114B. Therefore, in this embodiment, it is possible to reliably cover the ink ejection surface 103a of the head 103 with the cap member 113.

Other Embodiments
The above-described embodiment is one example of a preferred embodiment of the present invention, but the present invention is not limited to this embodiment and various modifications can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention.

In the embodiment described above, the slide member 114 is composed of two members, the first slide member 120 and the second slide member 121, which are formed separately, but the slide member 114 may be composed of a single member. Also, in the embodiment described above, the tension coil spring 116 may bias the slide member 114 to the left and downward relative to the base member 115, and may also bias it to the rear. In this case, instead of the guide portion 115c, a guide portion with which the second slide member 121 contacts from the front side may be formed on the base member 115.

In the embodiment described above, the tension coil spring 116 does not have to bias the slide member 114 downward relative to the base member 115. In this case, the tension coil spring 116 is parallel to the left-right direction when viewed from the front-rear direction. Even in this case, the slide member 114 moving from the cap position 114B to the retracted position 114A moves downward while being guided by the guide groove 115b.

In the above-mentioned embodiment, the maintenance unit 109 may include two or more tension coil springs 116. In this case, for example, two tension coil springs 116 that urge the slide member 114 leftward and downward relative to the base member 115 and urge it forward are arranged parallel to each other. In this case, the maintenance unit 109 may include two or more tension coil springs 116 with different functions, a tension coil spring 116 that urges the slide member 114 leftward and downward relative to the base member 115, and a tension coil spring 116 that urges the slide member 114 forward relative to the base member 115. In the above-mentioned embodiment, the maintenance unit 109 may include a spring member other than the tension coil spring 116.

In the above embodiment, the contact portion 121a may be formed in the center of the second slide member 121 in the front-rear direction, or may be formed in the rear portion of the second slide member 121. In the above embodiment, two or more contact portions 121a may be formed on the slide member 114. For example, two contact portions 121a arranged with a gap between them in the front-rear direction may be formed on the slide member 114. In the above embodiment, the printer 101 may include multiple heads 103. In this case, the maintenance unit 109 includes the same number of first slide members 120 as the heads 103. In this case, for example, multiple first slide members 120 are fixed to one second slide member 121.

Also, if the printer 101 has multiple heads 103 and the same number of first slide members 120 as the heads 103, the multiple first slide members 120 may be held by a single second slide member 121 so that they can move in the front-to-rear direction. In this case, the second slide member 121 moves left and right relative to the base member 115, but does not move in the front-to-rear direction. Also, in this case, the maintenance unit 109 has, for example, a spring member that biases the first slide member 120 forward relative to the second slide member 121, and a spring member that biases the second slide member 121 leftward and downward relative to the base member 115.

In the above-described embodiment, the medium 102 does not have to be formed in a long shape. In this case, the printer 101 includes, for example, a table on which the medium 102 is placed, and a table feed mechanism that moves the table in the forward and backward directions. In addition, the inkjet printer to which the present invention is applied may be a 3D printer.

1. Printer (inkjet printer)
2. Medium 3. Head (inkjet head)
3a Ink ejection surface 4 Carriage 5 Carriage drive mechanism 7 Medium transport mechanism 9 Control unit 12 Detection mechanism 14 Maintenance unit 15 Capping member 16 Cap suction mechanism MA Maintenance area PA Printing area X Sub-scanning direction, front-rear direction X1 One side in the front-rear direction X2 The other side in the front-rear direction Y Main scanning direction, left-right direction Y1 First direction side, one side in the left-right direction Y2 Second direction side, the other side in the left-right direction Z Up-down direction 101 Printer (inkjet printer)
103 Head (inkjet head)
103a Ink ejection surface 104 Carriage 105 Carriage drive mechanism 109 Maintenance unit 113 Cap member 114 Slide member 114A Retracted position 114B Cap position 115 Base member 116 Tension coil spring (spring member, biasing member)
120a contact portion (second contact portion)
121a Contact part

Claims (13)

In an inkjet printer having an inkjet head for ejecting ink,
the inkjet printer includes a carriage on which the inkjet head is mounted, a carriage drive mechanism for moving the carriage in a main scanning direction, a maintenance unit for preventing clogging of a plurality of nozzles of the inkjet head, and a control unit for controlling the inkjet printer, and further includes a detection mechanism for detecting a correction pattern printed in order to correct a deviation between a first landing position, which is a landing position of ink ejected from the inkjet head when the carriage moves toward the first direction side, and a second landing position, which is a landing position of ink ejected from the inkjet head when the carriage moves toward the second direction side, where one side of the main scanning direction is a first direction side and the other side of the main scanning direction opposite to the first direction side is a second direction side,
The inkjet head has an ink ejection surface on a lower surface thereof, on which a plurality of nozzles are arranged.
If the area in the main scanning direction where printing is performed by the inkjet head is defined as a printing area,
the maintenance unit includes a cap member for covering the ink ejection surface from below, and is installed in a maintenance area that is an area outside the printing area in a main scanning direction;
the control unit causes the inkjet printer to perform an automatic correction operation for automatically performing reciprocating landing position correction, which is a correction of a deviation between the first landing position and the second landing position;
the automatic correction operation includes a first printing operation of discharging ink from the inkjet head while moving the carriage in the first direction to print the correction pattern on a medium, a second printing operation of discharging ink from the inkjet head while moving the carriage in the second direction to print the correction pattern on the medium, a pattern detection operation of causing the detection mechanism to detect the correction pattern printed in the first printing operation and the correction pattern printed in the second printing operation, a cap-in operation of causing the cap member to cover the ink ejection surface, and a cap-out operation of removing the cap member covering the ink ejection surface from the ink ejection surface,
the control unit calculates a correction amount for performing the reciprocating impact position correction based on a detection result of the detection mechanism in the pattern detection operation,
before the automatic correction operation is started, the cap member covers the ink ejection surface,
the control unit performs the cap-out operation when the automatic correction operation is started, and then performs the first printing operation, the second printing operation, and the pattern detection operation, and performs the cap-in operation only after calculation of the correction amount necessary to complete the reciprocating landing position correction has been completed after the automatic correction operation is started, and does not perform the cap-in operation until calculation of the correction amount necessary to perform the reciprocating landing position correction has been completed after the automatic correction operation is started. the reciprocating impact position correction includes a first accuracy correction that corrects a deviation between the first impact position and the second impact position with a predetermined first accuracy, and a second accuracy correction that corrects a deviation between the first impact position and the second impact position with a second accuracy higher than the first accuracy after the first accuracy correction is performed,
the automatic correction operation includes the first printing operation, the second printing operation, and the pattern detection operation for automatically performing the first accuracy correction, and also includes the first printing operation, the second printing operation, and the pattern detection operation for automatically performing the second accuracy correction,
2. The inkjet printer according to claim 1, wherein when the automatic correction operation is started, the control unit performs the cap-out operation, performs the first printing operation, the second printing operation, and the pattern detection operation for automatically performing the first accuracy correction to calculate a first accuracy correction amount which is the correction amount for performing the first accuracy correction, then performs the first printing operation, the second printing operation, and the pattern detection operation for automatically performing the second accuracy correction to calculate a second accuracy correction amount which is the correction amount for performing the second accuracy correction, and then performs the cap-in operation, and does not perform the cap-in operation until calculation of the second accuracy correction amount is completed after start of the automatic correction operation. In an inkjet printer that prints on a medium,
the inkjet printer comprises an inkjet head that ejects ink, a carriage on which the inkjet head is mounted, a carriage drive mechanism that moves the carriage in a main scanning direction, a medium transport mechanism that transports the medium in a sub-scanning direction perpendicular to the up-down direction and the main scanning direction, a detection mechanism that detects a correction pattern printed in order to correct the amount of transport of the medium in the sub-scanning direction by the medium transport mechanism, a maintenance unit that prevents clogging of a plurality of nozzles of the inkjet head, and a control unit that controls the inkjet printer;
The inkjet head has an ink ejection surface on a lower surface thereof, on which a plurality of nozzles are arranged.
If the area in the main scanning direction where printing is performed by the inkjet head is defined as a printing area,
the maintenance unit includes a cap member for covering the ink ejection surface from below, and is installed in a maintenance area that is an area outside the printing area in a main scanning direction;
the control unit causes the inkjet printer to perform an automatic correction operation for automatically correcting a medium transport amount, which is a correction of a transport amount of the medium in a sub-scanning direction by the medium transport mechanism;
The automatic correction operation includes a medium transport operation for causing the medium transport mechanism to transport the medium on which the correction pattern is printed to a predetermined reference position, a printing operation for ejecting ink from the inkjet head while moving the carriage in a main scanning direction to print the correction pattern on the medium, a pattern detection operation for causing the detection mechanism to detect the correction pattern printed in the printing operation, a cap-in operation for causing the cap member to cover the ink ejection surface, and a cap-out operation for removing the cap member covering the ink ejection surface from the ink ejection surface,
the control unit calculates a correction amount for correcting the medium transport amount based on a detection result of the detection mechanism in the pattern detection operation;
before the automatic correction operation is started, the cap member covers the ink ejection surface,
The control unit performs the cap-out operation when the automatic correction operation is started, and then performs the medium transport operation, the printing operation, and the pattern detection operation to calculate the correction amount, and repeats the medium transport operation, the printing operation, the pattern detection operation, and calculation of the correction amount until the calculated correction amount becomes equal to or less than a predetermined reference value, and performs the cap-in operation when the correction amount becomes equal to or less than the reference value, and does not perform the cap-in operation after the automatic correction operation is started until the correction amount becomes equal to or less than the reference value. the maintenance unit includes a cap suction mechanism for suctioning ink in the cap member and discharging the ink from the cap member;
4. The ink jet printer according to claim 1, wherein the control unit performs an idle suction operation to cause the cap suction mechanism to suck ink from within the cap member that is detached from the ink ejection surface. A correction method for an inkjet printer having an inkjet head that ejects ink, comprising:
the inkjet printer includes a carriage on which the inkjet head is mounted, a carriage drive mechanism for moving the carriage in a main scanning direction, and a maintenance unit for preventing clogging of a plurality of nozzles of the inkjet head, and further includes a detection mechanism for detecting a correction pattern printed in order to correct a deviation between a first landing position, which is a landing position of ink ejected from the inkjet head when the carriage moves toward the first direction side, and a second landing position, which is a landing position of ink ejected from the inkjet head when the carriage moves toward the second direction side, where one side of the main scanning direction is a first direction side and the other side of the main scanning direction opposite to the first direction side is a second direction side;
The inkjet head has an ink ejection surface on a lower surface thereof, on which a plurality of nozzles are arranged.
If the area in the main scanning direction where printing is performed by the inkjet head is defined as a printing area,
the maintenance unit includes a cap member for covering the ink ejection surface from below, and is installed in a maintenance area that is an area outside the printing area in a main scanning direction;
the correction method for the inkjet printer includes an automatic correction operation for automatically performing reciprocating landing position correction, which is a correction of a deviation between the first landing position and the second landing position, the automatic correction operation including a first printing operation of ejecting ink from the inkjet head while moving the carriage in the first direction to print the correction pattern on a medium, a second printing operation of ejecting ink from the inkjet head while moving the carriage in the second direction to print the correction pattern on the medium, a pattern detection operation of causing the detection mechanism to detect the correction pattern printed in the first printing operation and the correction pattern printed in the second printing operation, a cap-in operation of causing the cap member to cover the ink ejection surface, and a cap-out operation of removing the cap member covering the ink ejection surface from the ink ejection surface, and calculating a correction amount for performing the reciprocating landing position correction based on a detection result of the detection mechanism in the pattern detection operation,
before the automatic correction operation is started, the cap member covers the ink ejection surface,
a cap-out operation being performed when the automatic correction operation is started, followed by the first printing operation, the second printing operation, and the pattern detection operation; and, after the automatic correction operation is started, the cap-in operation being performed only after calculation of the correction amount necessary to complete the reciprocating landing position correction has been completed, and, after the automatic correction operation is started, the cap-in operation is not performed until calculation of the correction amount necessary to perform the reciprocating landing position correction has been completed. A correction method for an inkjet printer that prints on a medium, comprising:
the inkjet printer includes an inkjet head that ejects ink, a carriage on which the inkjet head is mounted, a carriage drive mechanism that moves the carriage in a main scanning direction, a medium transport mechanism that transports the medium in a sub-scanning direction perpendicular to the up-down direction and the main scanning direction, a detection mechanism that detects a correction pattern printed to correct the amount of transport of the medium in the sub-scanning direction by the medium transport mechanism, and a maintenance unit that prevents clogging of a plurality of nozzles of the inkjet head;
The inkjet head has an ink ejection surface on a lower surface thereof, on which a plurality of nozzles are arranged.
If the area in the main scanning direction where printing is performed by the inkjet head is defined as a printing area,
the maintenance unit includes a cap member for covering the ink ejection surface from below, and is installed in a maintenance area that is an area outside the printing area in a main scanning direction;
the inkjet printer correction method includes causing the inkjet printer to perform automatic correction operations for automatically performing a medium transport amount correction, which is a correction of the transport amount of the medium in the sub-scanning direction by the medium transport mechanism, the automatic correction operations including a medium transport operation for causing the medium transport mechanism to transport the medium on which the correction pattern is printed to a predetermined reference position, a printing operation for ejecting ink from the inkjet head while moving the carriage in the main scanning direction to print the correction pattern on the medium, a pattern detection operation for causing the detection mechanism to detect the correction pattern printed in the printing operation, a cap-in operation for causing the cap member to cover the ink ejection surface, and a cap-out operation for removing the cap member covering the ink ejection surface from the ink ejection surface, and calculating a correction amount for performing the medium transport amount correction based on a detection result of the detection mechanism in the pattern detection operation;
before the automatic correction operation is started, the cap member covers the ink ejection surface,
a cap-out operation being performed when the automatic correction operation is started, and then the medium transport operation, the printing operation, and the pattern detection operation being performed to calculate the correction amount; and the medium transport operation, the printing operation, the pattern detection operation, and the calculation of the correction amount being repeated until the calculated correction amount becomes equal to or less than a predetermined reference value, and when the correction amount becomes equal to or less than the reference value, the cap-in operation being performed; and the cap-in operation not being performed after the automatic correction operation is started until the correction amount becomes equal to or less than the reference value. an inkjet head that ejects ink, a carriage on which the inkjet head is mounted, a carriage drive mechanism that moves the carriage in a main scanning direction perpendicular to a vertical direction, and a maintenance unit that prevents clogging of a plurality of nozzles of the inkjet head;
an ink ejection surface on a lower surface of the inkjet head, the ink ejection surface having a plurality of nozzles disposed thereon;
the maintenance unit includes a cap member for covering the ink ejection surface from below, a slide member for holding the cap member so that the cap member can be raised and lowered, a base member for movably holding the slide member, and a spring member for biasing the slide member against the base member;
If the main scanning direction is the left-right direction, and the direction perpendicular to the up-down direction and the left-right direction is the front-rear direction, then
the slide member is movable with respect to the base member between a cap position where the cap member covers the ink ejection surface and a retracted position where the cap member is separated from the ink ejection surface,
When the slide member, which is disposed at the retracted position, moves to one side in the left-right direction relative to the base member while ascending and also moves to one side in the front-rear direction, the slide member is disposed at the cap position,
The inkjet printer according to claim 1, wherein the spring member urges the slide member at least to the other side in the left-right direction relative to the base member and also urges the slide member to one side or the other side in the front-rear direction. The maintenance unit includes one of the spring members,
8. The ink jet printer according to claim 7, wherein the spring member is a tension coil spring. One end of the tension coil spring in the left-right direction is attached to the slide member,
The other end of the tension coil spring in the left-right direction is attached to the base member,
9. The inkjet printer according to claim 8, wherein the tension coil spring is inclined left and right when viewed from above and below, and is also inclined left and right when viewed from the front and rear. An inkjet printer according to any one of claims 7 to 9, characterized in that it comprises one inkjet head and one cap member. an inkjet head that ejects ink, a carriage on which the inkjet head is mounted, a carriage drive mechanism that moves the carriage in a main scanning direction perpendicular to a vertical direction, and a maintenance unit that prevents clogging of a plurality of nozzles of the inkjet head;
an ink ejection surface on a lower surface of the inkjet head, the ink ejection surface having a plurality of nozzles disposed thereon;
the maintenance unit includes a cap member for covering the ink ejection surface from below, a slide member for holding the cap member so that the cap member can be raised and lowered, a base member for movably holding the slide member, and an urging member for urging the slide member against the base member,
If the main scanning direction is the left-right direction,
the slide member is movable with respect to the base member between a cap position where the cap member covers the ink ejection surface and a retracted position where the cap member is separated from the ink ejection surface,
When the slide member, which is disposed at the retracted position, moves upward while moving to at least one side in the left-right direction relative to the base member, the slide member is disposed at the cap position,
The slide member is formed with one contact portion with which the carriage moves to one side in the left-right direction and comes into contact,
The inkjet printer according to claim 1, wherein the sliding member moves from the retracted position to the capping position in association with the movement of the carriage which moves to one side in the left-right direction while in contact with the contact portion. The inkjet head includes one of the inkjet heads and one of the cap members.
If the direction perpendicular to the up-down and left-right directions is the front-back direction,
12. The inkjet printer according to claim 11, wherein when the slide member, which is disposed at the retracted position, moves to one side in the left-right direction relative to the base member while rising and also moves to one side in the front-rear direction, the slide member is disposed at the cap position. a second contact portion is formed on the sliding member, the second contact portion being capable of contacting a side surface of the inkjet head on the other side in the front-rear direction;
The contact portion is formed at one end of the slide member in the front-rear direction,
The second contact portion is formed at an end portion on the other side in the front-rear direction of the slide member,
13. The inkjet printer according to claim 12, wherein the second contact portion is in contact with the other side surface of the inkjet head in the front-rear direction when the sliding member is located at the cap position.

Images