JPH06246934A - Method for high speed printing in ink jet printer - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To realize polychromatic color printing and monochromatic high speed printing with one printer by forming printing lines at right angles without changing a nozzle angle by a method wherein a carriage transfer speed in a monochromatic printing mode is made a plurality of times the carriage transfer speed as a printing cartridge in color printing is provided. CONSTITUTION:In monochromatic printing wherein a printing cartridge of four colors is changed to four cartridges of the same color, when the carriage is moved (the transfer speed is four times that in polychromatic printing) and i, H, P sensor detects a data, the data is inputted to an image data conversion part 10 via PIXEL DATA, divided into 8 bit data corresponding to each cartridge, and stored in an image memory 11. In order to compensate for a fitting position of each head, a start edge of V, ENB is counted. An image data of each printing head (BK1-4) is read from the counted value, and the image data corresponding to each printing head is sent to a FIFO memory 12 in an 8 bit unit. A control signal and the image data are taken in synchronism with a drive timing signal V-SynC with a printing control part 13.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an ink jet type printer or plotter for forming an image or a character by a plurality of printing nozzles, and more particularly to an ink jet printer for performing both color printing and single color printing by a plurality of printing heads. High speed printing method.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a print head of an ink jet type color printer or the like is constructed as shown in FIG. 1 in which black, cyan, magenta, and yellow ink cartridges are arranged in rows in a carriage movement direction. This example shows a configuration in which an ink tank and a print head provided with a print nozzle N are integrated.

Here, 1 is a printing paper, 2 is a black cartridge, 3 is a cyan cartridge, 4 is a magenta cartridge, and 5 is a yellow cartridge. Each of the cartridges 2, 3, 4, and 5 is composed of an ink tank (not shown) of each color and a print nozzle N. 6 is a carriage for setting each cartridge, 1-
Reference symbol a indicates the feeding direction of the print sheet 1, and reference symbol 1-b indicates the moving direction of the carriage 6.

The drive timing of the print nozzle is shown in FIG.
Shown in (a) and (b). BK-DT <7. ． 0>, C-
DT <7. ． 0>, M-DT <7. ． 0>, Y-DT
<7. ． 0> is print data corresponding to each print nozzle, B
K-SEL <3. ． 0>, C-SEL <3. ． 0>, M
-SEL <3. ． 0>, Y-SEL <3. ． 0> is a selector for selecting a block to be driven for the print nozzle divided into 16 blocks of 8 blocks each. BK-P
ULSE, C-PULSE, M-PULSE, Y-PU
LSE is a pulse signal for driving the nozzle selected by each selector. V-SynC is a timing signal for driving the print nozzles. This signal V-SynC is generated by detecting the linear scale 8 of FIG. 1 by the sensor 9 provided on the carriage 6. According to the drive timing shown in FIG. 3, the number of print nozzles driven at the same time is eight, and the drive current can be reduced. However, since 128 nozzles are not driven simultaneously, when printing is performed while the carriage 6 is moving at a constant speed, the printing position on the printing paper 1 shifts for each block. In order to correct this, the nozzles are attached to the carriage 6 in the direction of movement of the carriage 6 from 90 ° to 3 ° in consideration of the speed and printing timing of the carriage 6 (reference numeral 2 in FIG. 1).
See 5).

A printing pattern at that time is shown in FIG. By doing so, the print line can form a line of approximately 90 ° with respect to the moving direction of the carriage 6. In this example, the nozzle density is 16 pels and 128 nozzles are 8 m.
m can be printed as one line.

In the case of color printing, by printing at the same position for each color, the inks are superposed, and multicolor printing becomes possible.

It is also conceivable to replace all of the four cartridges 2, 3, 4, 5 with a black monochromatic color and perform printing in a monochrome mode. Conventionally, drive timing signal VSnyC
This has been dealt with by sequentially driving the print heads provided in the cartridges 2, 3, 4, and 5 for each of them.

[0008]

However, according to the above method, the printing speed in monochromatic printing cannot be made so high as compared with color printing. The description will be given below.

In the case of monochromatic printing, the print density of one print cartridge is 4 pels. The timing chart is shown in FIG. Generally, the drive frequency of the print head (cycle to drive the same nozzle) is limited by the drive pulse width of the head. With this printing method, when printing is performed by moving the carriage at the same speed as during color printing. , Print head drive frequency is 1/4
Becomes Therefore, it seems that if the print head is driven at the same drive frequency as that for multicolor printing, the moving speed of the carriage can be increased to four times that for multicolor printing. Since the mounting angle is an angle corresponding to the carriage movement speed during multicolor printing, the print line is inclined unless the angle is increased by the amount of increase in the speed of the carriage. Also, generally, this angle requires a very high degree of mechanical precision, and it is very difficult for the user to adjust it every time the printing mode is switched to the multi-color / single-color mode. Therefore, in the conventional printing apparatus having such a print head structure, the carriage speed cannot be increased so much and the printing speed hardly changes in the case of such monochromatic printing as compared with the case of multicolor printing.

[0010]

According to the present invention, in the monochromatic printing mode, even if the carriage moving speed is set to K times that in color printing (the number of print cartridges mounted on the carriage is K), the nozzles Without changing the angle
Provided is a high-speed printing method for an inkjet printer, which is capable of forming a printing line at a right angle to the moving direction of a carriage.

According to the present invention, a plurality of print cartridges for printing, a carriage for mounting the plurality of print cartridges in a fixed position, and a paper conveying means for moving and stopping the print paper at a constant distance interval, A means for moving the carriage at a constant speed in a direction perpendicular to the paper conveyance direction, and corresponding to the movement of the carriage,
By driving a plurality of print nozzles provided in the print cartridge, one band is printed, then the paper is moved at a constant interval, and the carriage is moved again to move the next one.
Bands are configured to be printed, and by moving the carriage one band, the plurality of print cartridges are configured to print on the same band, and inks of different colors are put in the plurality of print cartridges. When a cartridge is installed, multi-color printing is performed.When multiple cartridges containing the same color ink are installed, single-color printing is performed and the carriage is moved at a higher speed than when printing multi-color printing. In a printing apparatus configured to increase speed, the printing apparatus has a unit for driving a plurality of printing nozzles N, N units at a constant time interval t, as a unit for driving all the printing nozzles M of one printing cartridge. In order to form a line, in the case of the multicolor printing, each cartridge corresponding to the color to be printed prints the same line. Performed by the, in the case of the monochromatic printing by the K print cartridge containing the same color ink, the cartridge 1 of the total number of nozzles M M /
1 line of printing is constructed by each K cartridge.
A high-speed printing method for an inkjet printer is characterized in that the carriage is moved at a speed that is K times as high as the carriage speed for multicolor printing, and printing is performed.

[0012]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

[First Embodiment] A first embodiment according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. (Note) In both color printing and monochromatic printing, the print nozzle of each cartridge has a physical offset in the moving direction 1-b of the carriage 6. That is, each cartridge 2, 3, 4,
In order for 5 to print the same line, in order to compensate for this physical offset, it is necessary to shift the printing timing from BK1 to BK2 by 6-a time in FIG. Similarly, BK3, BK4 and B for color printing
The same process is required for the K, C, M, and Y cartridges 2, 3, 4, and 5. At this time, the timing charts shown in FIGS. 3 to 5 are simplified and the 6-a time is described as 0.

FIG. 7 is a block diagram of a print control device according to the present invention. In the figure, reference numeral 10 denotes an image data conversion unit, which stores serial image data (see FIGS. 8 and 9) input from the PIXEL DATA line in the image memory 11. Further, the compensation of the print position with respect to the mounting position of the print head is performed by the image data (PI
XD1 <7. ． 0>, PIXD2 <7. ． 0>, PIX
D3 <7. ． 0>, PIXD4 <7. ． 0> is performed by delaying the timing of drawing from the image memory 11. The timing is the image data conversion unit 1
H. 0 indicating the home position of the carriage 6 within the H. 0. From the V.P signal detection, the V. EN
It is generated by counting the B signal (see FIGS. 8 and 9).

The image data (PIXD1 <7..0>), PIXD2 <7 ..
0>, PIXD3 <7. ． 0>, PIXD4 <7. ．
0> is the first-in first-out memory 12 (F
IFO memory). A print control unit 13 is a signal (BK−) for selecting a print nozzle to be driven.
SEL <3. ． 0>, C-SEL <3. ． 0>, MS
EL <3. ． 0> Y-SEL <3. ． 0> and a power pulse (BK-P) given to the heater for driving the print nozzle.
ULSE, C-PULSE, M-PULSE, Y-PU
LSE) and image data corresponding to the print position in the FIFO
Signal RD read from memory <3. ． 0> is a drive timing signal VS corresponding to one printing line (62.5 μm in the case of 16 pel) output from the linear sensor 9.
It is output in synchronization with ynC. (See FIGS. 3 and 5) FIG. 8 shows a data format input to the PIXEL DATA line during multicolor color printing. BK, C,
M and Y are data corresponding to the ink cartridges containing the black, cyan, magenta, and yellow inks, and the subscripts 0, 1, ... 127 correspond to the numbers of the print nozzles.

Similarly, FIG. 9 shows a data format in the monochrome printing mode with four cartridges of the same color. In this case, the data format of 4 lines (K, K + 1, K + 2, K + 3) is one cycle. With this format, the compatibility of the basic logic circuits of the image data conversion unit 10 and the FIFO memory 12 is maintained in the case of multi-color printing and the case of single-color printing, and the print control unit 13 uses the BK1-SE
L <3. ． 0>, BK2-SEL <3. ． 0>, BK3
-SEL <3. ． 0>, BK4-SEL <3. ． 0> signal and BK1-PULSE, BK2-PULSE,
The signals of BK3-PULSE and BK4-PULSE are shown in FIG.
It is sufficient to switch to the sequence as shown in. The switching signal is C / M SEL.

FIG. 10 shows the head drive section in the print cartridge. DT <7. ． 0> is an input line of image data, and BK-DT <7. ． 0> or the like is input. SEL <3. ． 0> is a selector for selecting the groups BLOCK <0> to BLOCK <15> of the print nozzles to be driven, and BK-SEL <3. ． 0>
Etc. signals are input. HEAT-PULSE is SEL
<3. ． 0> drives the group of nozzles selected by
It is an input of an electric power pulse given to a heater corresponding to each print nozzle in order to eject ink in the print nozzle, and BK
-A signal such as PULSE is input.

Next, the control during multicolor printing will be described in detail. The carriage 6 is moved by the carriage control unit 14, and the H.V. When the P sensor 7 detects it, the image data is changed to PIX according to the timing chart of FIG.
Image data conversion unit 10 through the EL DATA line
The input data is input to each color cartridge 2,
It is divided into 8 bit data corresponding to 3, 4 and 5,
It is stored in the image memory 11 (see the image memory map in FIG. 11).

Next, in order to compensate the mounting position of each print head, V. The rising edge of ENB is counted, and the image data of each color is read according to the count value. That is, if the distance between the print nozzles of the BK cartridge 2 and the Cyan cartridge 3 is 10 mm and the print density is 16 pels, then 10 × 16 = 160, and B
K image data PIXD1 <7. ． 0> read timing, Cyan image data PIXD2 <7. ．
It is sufficient to delay the read timing of 0> by 160 counts. In this way, the image data, which is compensated for each color, is sent to the FIFO memory 12 in 8-bit units. Next, in the print control unit 13, the control signal of each head and the image data are synchronized by the drive timing signal V-SynC and sent to the head drive unit shown in FIG. The timing chart is as shown in FIG.

Next, a detailed description will be given of the control of single-color printing in which the four-color print cartridges are replaced with four cartridges of the same color.

The carriage 6 moves in the same manner as in multicolor printing (however, the speed of the carriage 6 is four times that in multicolor printing), and the H. When the P sensor 7 detects it, the image data is PIXE according to the timing chart of FIG.
The data is input to the image data conversion unit 10 through the line of L DATA, and the input data is input to each cartridge 2, 3,
It is divided into 8 bit data corresponding to 4 and 5 and stored in the image memory 11 (see the image memory map in FIG. 12).

Next, in order to compensate the mounting position of each head, the rising edge of VENB is counted, and the image data of each print head (BK1 to BK4) is read out by the count value, and each print head (BK1 to BK1). In accordance with BK4), the compensated image data is FI in 8-bit units.
It is sent to the FO memory 12. Here, the control can be performed in exactly the same manner as in multicolor printing. Next, the print controller 13
1, the control signal of each print head and the image data are synchronized by the drive timing signal V-SynC.
0 is sent to the head drive unit. The timing chart is as shown in FIG. In FIG. 4, since the moving speed of the carriage 6 is four times as high as that in multicolor color printing, the drive timing signal V-SynC interval is only 1/4 of the time in multicolor color printing, but multicolor color printing is performed. At one time, one print cartridge had to perform 16 BLOCK printing between the drive timing signals V-SynC, but in the single-color print mode, each print cartridge has 4 BLOC.
One line of printing can be constructed by printing K. Therefore, the width of HEAT-PULSE can be made exactly the same as in the case of multicolor. FIG. 13 shows a print pattern for monochrome printing. [Embodiment 2] In the previous embodiment, a high-speed printing method using four print cartridges of the same color was described, but the carriage 6 is moved at a speed twice as fast as in the case of multicolor printing using the print cartridges of the same color. The same printing method can be considered.

[0023]

According to the present invention, it is possible to realize multi-color printing and high-speed mono-color printing with a single printer plotter or the like, and to provide a printing method with little cost increase.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram of an embodiment of a printer according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a print pattern when printing is performed by the printing method according to the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a timing chart at the time of multicolor color printing by the print control apparatus shown in FIG. 7, and FIG. 3B is an enlarged view of FIG.

FIG. 4 is a timing chart of conventional single-color printing using a plurality of heads.

5 is a timing chart at the time of single-color high-speed printing by the print control apparatus shown in FIG. 7, and FIG. 5B is an enlarged view of FIG.

FIG. 6 is a timing chart showing compensation of the mounting position of each print head.

FIG. 7 is a print control device provided with the high-speed printing means of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a color image data format input to the print control apparatus shown in FIG.

9 is a monochrome image data format input to the print control apparatus shown in FIG. 7. FIG.

FIG. 10 shows a print head drive unit in a print cartridge.

FIG. 11 is a memory map of the image memory 11 during multicolor printing.

FIG. 12 is a memory map of the image memory 11 during high-speed monochrome printing.

FIG. 13 is a print pattern during high-speed monochrome printing according to the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 2 print cartridge 3 print cartridge 4 print cartridge 5 print cartridge 6 carriage 10 image data conversion unit 11 image memory 13 print control unit 14 carriage control unit 15 transport control unit

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[Procedure amendment]

[Submission date] July 13, 1993

[Procedure Amendment 1]

[Document name to be corrected] Drawing

[Name of item to be corrected] Figure 3

[Correction method] Change

[Correction content]

[Figure 3]

[Procedure Amendment 2]

[Document name to be corrected] Drawing

[Name of item to be corrected] Figure 5

[Correction method] Change

[Correction content]

[Figure 5]

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A plurality of print cartridges for printing, a carriage for mounting the plurality of print cartridges in a fixed position, a sheet conveying unit for moving and stopping a print sheet at a constant distance interval, and the carriage. A means for moving the paper at a constant speed perpendicular to the paper transport direction,
In response to the movement of the carriage, a plurality of print nozzles provided in the print cartridge are driven to perform one band printing, and then the paper is moved at a constant interval and the carriage is moved again. , The next one band is printed, and the carriage is moved by one band so that the plurality of print cartridges can print on the same band. When installing a cartridge containing ink, perform multi-color printing, and when installing multiple cartridges containing ink of the same color, perform single-color printing and move the carriage at a higher speed than during multi-color printing. In a printing device configured to move and increase printing speed, all M printing nozzles of one printing cartridge are driven. In order to form one printing line, each cartridge corresponding to the color to be printed has a means for driving a plurality of N printing nozzles at a constant time interval t as a means. The same line is used for printing, and in the case of the single-color printing by K print cartridges containing the same color ink, one line is printed by each cartridge of M / K number of all nozzles M of one cartridge. A high-speed printing method for an inkjet printer, characterized in that the carriage is moved at a speed K times the carriage speed for multicolor printing.