Applied voltage setting method, program, and ink jet printer

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9855778-B2
Application number	US-201514970645-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Dec 16, 2015
Priority date	Jan 14, 2015
Publication date	Jan 2, 2018
Grant date	Jan 2, 2018

Abstract

A method for setting a voltage applied to a head in an ink jet printer including the head that discharges ink according to an applied voltage includes a step of forming a test pattern on a medium by the ink discharged from the head, a step of measuring a film thickness of the test pattern, and a step of setting a voltage to be applied to the head based on the measured film thickness.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. An applied voltage setting method for setting a voltage applied to a head in an ink jet printer including the head, the applied voltage setting method comprising:
forming a test pattern on a medium by the head;
measuring a film thickness of the test pattern by disposing a film thickness meter on a first surface of the medium that is opposite to a second surface of the medium on which the test pattern was formed; and
setting a voltage to be applied to the head so that weight of UV curing ink discharged from the head is a predetermined target ink weight based on the measured film thickness, wherein
when forming the test pattern, the test pattern is formed in a plurality of layers by repeating a process of printing which includes discharging the UV curing ink and irradiating the UV curing ink with UV a plurality of times on a same area of the medium.

2. The applied voltage setting method according to claim 1 , wherein
the ink jet printer includes a transport mechanism that transports at least either one of the head and the medium, and
the inkjet printer forms the test pattern at a transport speed according to a type of the UV curing ink discharged from the head when forming the test pattern.

3. The applied voltage setting method according to claim 1 , wherein
the ink jet printer includes an ink curing unit that cures the UV curing ink discharged from the head to the medium, and
the inkjet printer cures the UV curing ink at an intensity of the ink curing unit according to a type of the UV curing ink discharged from the head when forming the test pattern.

4. The applied voltage setting method according to claim 1 , wherein
the ink jet printer includes at least a first head unit including a plurality of the heads that discharge a first color ink and a second head unit including a plurality of the heads that discharge a second color ink, and
the target ink weight is determined for each head unit.

5. The applied voltage setting method according to claim 1 , wherein
when measuring the film thickness, the film thickness is measured from a surface opposite to a surface of the medium on which the test pattern is formed.

6. A non-transitory computer readable medium storing a program for causing an ink jet printer to implement the applied voltage setting method according to claim 1 .

7. A non-transitory computer readable medium storing a program for causing an ink jet printer to implement the applied voltage setting method according to claim 2 .

8. A non-transitory computer readable medium storing a program for causing an ink jet printer to implement the applied voltage setting method according to claim 3 .

9. A non-transitory computer readable medium storing a program for causing an ink jet printer to implement the applied voltage setting method according to claim 4 .

10. A non-transitory computer readable medium storing a program for causing an ink jet printer to implement the applied voltage setting method according to claim 5 .

Assignees

• Seiko Epson Corp

Inventors

• Takeuchi Yasuhiro
• Takahashi Toru
• Kasai Tsuneo
• Akazawa Akira

Classifications

• B41J2/04581

  controlling heads based on piezoelectric elements · CPC title

• B41J2/2146

  for line print heads · CPC title

• B41J2/2142

  Detection of malfunctioning nozzles (generating single droplets or particles on demand by pressure, e.g. electromechanical transducers B41J2/045, B41J2/05; jet deflection sensors B41J2/125; for cleaning purposes B41J2/16579) · CPC title

• B41J2029/3935

  by means of printed test patterns · CPC title

• B41J2/0459

  Height of the driving signal being adjusted · CPC title