EP0347257B1 - Appareil d'enregistrement d'images - Google Patents

Appareil d'enregistrement d'images Download PDF

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Publication number
EP0347257B1
EP0347257B1 EP89306160A EP89306160A EP0347257B1 EP 0347257 B1 EP0347257 B1 EP 0347257B1 EP 89306160 A EP89306160 A EP 89306160A EP 89306160 A EP89306160 A EP 89306160A EP 0347257 B1 EP0347257 B1 EP 0347257B1
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EP
European Patent Office
Prior art keywords
recording
ink
recording medium
data
image
Prior art date
Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
Expired - Lifetime
Application number
EP89306160A
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German (de)
English (en)
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EP0347257A3 (en
EP0347257A2 (fr
Inventor
Akio Suzuki
Yoshihiro Takada
Masami Izumizaki
Hisashi Fukushima
Toshimitsu Danzuka
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Canon Inc
Original Assignee
Canon Inc
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Publication date
Priority claimed from JP14822988A external-priority patent/JP2620313B2/ja
Priority claimed from JP17534188A external-priority patent/JP2620317B2/ja
Application filed by Canon Inc filed Critical Canon Inc
Publication of EP0347257A2 publication Critical patent/EP0347257A2/fr
Publication of EP0347257A3 publication Critical patent/EP0347257A3/en
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Publication of EP0347257B1 publication Critical patent/EP0347257B1/fr
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Expired - Lifetime legal-status Critical Current

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Classifications

    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B41—PRINTING; LINING MACHINES; TYPEWRITERS; STAMPS
    • B41J—TYPEWRITERS; SELECTIVE PRINTING MECHANISMS, i.e. MECHANISMS PRINTING OTHERWISE THAN FROM A FORME; CORRECTION OF TYPOGRAPHICAL ERRORS
    • B41J2/00—Typewriters or selective printing mechanisms characterised by the printing or marking process for which they are designed
    • B41J2/005—Typewriters or selective printing mechanisms characterised by the printing or marking process for which they are designed characterised by bringing liquid or particles selectively into contact with a printing material
    • B41J2/01—Ink jet
    • B41J2/21—Ink jet for multi-colour printing
    • B41J2/2132—Print quality control characterised by dot disposition, e.g. for reducing white stripes or banding
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B41—PRINTING; LINING MACHINES; TYPEWRITERS; STAMPS
    • B41J—TYPEWRITERS; SELECTIVE PRINTING MECHANISMS, i.e. MECHANISMS PRINTING OTHERWISE THAN FROM A FORME; CORRECTION OF TYPOGRAPHICAL ERRORS
    • B41J2/00—Typewriters or selective printing mechanisms characterised by the printing or marking process for which they are designed
    • B41J2/005—Typewriters or selective printing mechanisms characterised by the printing or marking process for which they are designed characterised by bringing liquid or particles selectively into contact with a printing material
    • B41J2/01—Ink jet
    • B41J2/07—Ink jet characterised by jet control

Definitions

  • the present invention relates to an image recording apparatus.
  • An ink-jet recording apparatus is known as a conventional image recording apparatus to inject an ink on a recording medium to perform image recording.
  • An ink-jet recording apparatus is a non-impact recording apparatus which has advantages of low noise, and easy color image recording using multi-color inks. Therefore, ink-jet recording apparatuses have been very popular in a variety of fields.
  • Fig. 1 is a schematic perspective view of a conventional ink-jet recording apparatus.
  • a recording medium 5 as a roll is clamped between feed rollers 3 through convey rollers 1 and 2 and is fed upon driving of a subscanning motor 15 coupled to the feed rollers 3 in a direction indicated by an arrow f .
  • Parallel guide rails 6 and 7 extend in a direction perpendicular to the recording medium 5.
  • a recording head unit 9 mounted on a carriage 8 is scanned in the right-and-left direction. Yellow, magenta, cyan, and black heads 9Y, 9M, 9C, and 9Bk are mounted on the carriage 8, and four ink tanks are connected thereto, respectively.
  • the recording medium 5 is intermittently fed by a printing width of the recording head unit 9.
  • the recording head unit 9 is scanned in a direction indicated by arrow P to inject ink droplets corresponding to an image signal while the recording medium 5 is kept stopped.
  • properties of the recording medium are very important.
  • a blot characteristic of an ink on the recording medium greatly influences image quality.
  • a recording medium having a large blot ratio tends to have a higher image density, while a recording medium having a small blot ratio tends to have a lower image density.
  • variations in blot ratio of a recording medium must be sufficiently minimized.
  • the multi-nozzle head unit 9 having a plurality of parallel nozzles is scanned in a direction indicated by arrow A to sequentially perform image recording by each width d in an order of (1), (2), and (3), as shown in Figs. 2A and 2B.
  • the amount ⁇ d of the image width in the high-density portion varies depending on the properties of the recording medium. In particular, when the blot ratio is large, the amount ⁇ d is increased. To the contrary, when the blot ratio is small, the amount ⁇ d is small accordingly. These facts were confirmed by experiments of the present inventors. In order to prevent formation of black and white stripes, the blot ratio must be minimum. When the blot ratio, however, is excessively small, the image density is undesirably lowered. Therefore, it is very preferable to define lower and upper limits of the blot ratio and to use a recording medium having a blot ratio falling within the range of the upper and lower limits.
  • U.S. Patent No. 4,272,771 discloses an image recording apparatus for performing image recording by using a recording head 32 having a plurality of parallel recording elements said apparatus comprising means for converting a value of image data recorded by a predetermined recording element which is included in the recording elements and is located at a predetermined position, the value being converted on the basis of a value of image data associated with recording.
  • an image recording apparatus for performing a recording on a recording medium, comprising: a recording head having a plurality of orifices for emitting ink disposed in a predetermined direction; said recording head scanning in a main scanning direction relative to the recording medium so that a predetermined width of a recording area is formed on the recording medium; wherein the main scanning direction is different from the direction of disposing the orifices; said recording head and the recording medium being arranged for relative movement in a subsidiary scanning direction transverse to the main scanning direction and relative to the recording medium; characterised by data conversion means for converting density data of ink emitted from at least an end orifice at an end of said recording head so as to produce converted data representing a reduction of the quantity of ink emitted from at least said end orifice; and drive means for driving said recording head based on the density data converted by said conversion means, whereby when the density of the image in the scanning region is high the quantity of ink emitted from said recording head is reduced.
  • image data of a head end portion is minimized for a high-density area in, e.g., a serial scan ink-jet apparatus, and the black stripes tend not to be formed in a high-density portion.
  • an image recording apparatus for recording on a recording medium, comprising: recording heads for recording images on the recording medium, said recording heads having a plurality of orifices for emitting ink disposed in a predetermined direction, with each said head emitting ink of a different colour; said heads scanning in a main scanning direction relative to the recording medium so that a predetermined width of a recording area is formed on the recording medium; wherein the main scanning direction is different from the direction of disposing the orifices; said recording heads and the recording medium being arranged for relative movement in a subsidiary scanning direction transverse to the main scanning direction and relative to the recording medium; characterised by addition means for adding density data of ink emitted from an end orifice at each end of said plurality of recording heads to produce an adding data which indicates a total quantity of ink emitted from the peripheral edge of said recording head; conversion means for converting the density data corresponding to at least the end orifices at the peripheral edge of said recording head based on the adding data to converted data so as
  • the image signal applied to the end recording element of the head is corrected in accordance with the total sum of the image signals recorded by the end recording elements of the head (i.e., the sum of image signals recorded by the end recording elements of each of the plurality of recording heads arranged to correspond to a plurality of colours), an image free from black stripes in a high-density portion can be obtained.
  • Fig. 3 shows a first embodiment of the present invention.
  • the first embodiment comprises an image processing unit 22, a ROM 23, a binarizing circuit 25, a serial scan ink-jet recording apparatus 26 as shown in Fig. 7, and a switching control unit 27 for switching conversion tables in the ROM 23.
  • An input image signal S1 is input to the image processing unit 22, and a control signal S4 is supplied from the switching control unit 27 to the ROM 23.
  • the input image signal S1 output from an image reader or external equipment is subjected to color correction, gamma conversion, and the like in the image processing unit 22.
  • the processed signal is then input to the ROM 23 and converted into a value in accordance with a table stored in the ROM 23.
  • the ROM 23 has conversion tables respectively corresponding to Figs. 4A and 4B. These tables are selectively used in response to the control signal S4.
  • the switching control unit 27 is constituted by a microcomputer (may be constituted by a main control unit of the apparatus) or appropriate logic circuits. In this embodiment, an image density determined by nozzles associated with recording of a boundary of the adjacent scanning lines, i.e., nozzles near the upper end of the recording head unit 9, is monitored. The signal S4 is then switched to be logic "1" or "0" on the basis of the monitoring result.
  • the control signal S4 is normally set at logic “0" but is set at logic "1" only when an image signal is supplied to an end nozzle of the head unit 9. In the normal state, no conversion is performed, as shown in Fig. 4A. When an image signal supplied to the end nozzle exceeds an input level T, the image signal is clipped to an output level F.
  • An output from the ROM 23 is binarized by the binarizing circuit 25 in accordance with a dither method or the like.
  • the binarized output from the binarizing circuit 25 is input to the recording apparatus 26.
  • An image is then recorded by the recording apparatus 26.
  • the number of dots at an end portion is reduced only when a density of an image recorded by the end nozzle is high, thereby recording a high-density portion without forming black stripes.
  • An operation for determining whether a high-density portion is present is performed for only an image signal supplied to an end nozzle in the first embodiment.
  • dots of the end nozzles are selectively reduced although an increase in image width by blot is small, so that inconvenience occurs.
  • a second embodiment is made to eliminate this inconvenience.
  • Fig. 5 is a view for explaining the second embodiment.
  • the recording head unit 9 shown in Fig. 1 includes nozzles 51. Image data are arranged in a matrix 52. The image data of the ith row is supplied to the end nozzle in the previous scanning cycle, the image data of the jth row is supplied to the end nozzle in the present scanning cycle, and image data of the kth row is applied to the second nozzle spaced apart from the end portion. Pixels of the mth column are pixels of interest subjected to present recording, pixels of the lth column are pixels associated with the previous recording cycle, and pixels of the nth column are pixels associated with the next recording cycle.
  • the second embodiment employs a 3 x 3 pixel matrix having as its center a pixel (j,m) recorded by the end nozzle, and the dots recorded by the end nozzles are extracted by a sum of image data of the pixels within the matrix. More specifically, the image data are weighted in accordance with the positions of the pixels within the matrix. A sum of the image data obtained by multiplying pixel data with the corresponding weighting coefficients is calculated. If the sum is large, the value of the image data supplied to the end nozzle is reduced.
  • Fig. 6 shows an arrangement of a control unit for performing such processing.
  • the control unit includes buffers 60a to 60i for temporarily storing image data, and more particularly image data corresponding to the pixels shown in Fig. 5, multipliers 61a to 61i for multiplying the image data with coefficients ⁇ 1 to ⁇ 9, respectively, an adder 62 for adding outputs from the multipliers 61a to 61i, and a ROM 63 for outputting corrected image data 64 of the pixel (j,m) in accordance with the output from the adder and the image data of the pixel (j,m) recorded by the end nozzle.
  • Corrected data S64 is then binarized by the binarizing circuit 25, as shown in Fig. 3.
  • the binarized signal is supplied to the ink-jet recording apparatus 26.
  • Dot extraction is changed when the properties of the recording media are changed depending on lots according to a third embodiment.
  • Fig. 7 is a block diagram showing the main part of this embodiment.
  • the same reference numerals as in Fig. 6 denote the same parts in Fig. 7.
  • the main part includes a switch (SW) 65 for outputting a two-bit signal S66.
  • a ROM 63 receives an output from an adder 62, the pixel data of a pixel (j,m), and a signal S66 selected by the switch 65.
  • the value ⁇ can be changed by a signal S66.
  • the value ⁇ is increased to increase the correction amount.
  • the value ⁇ is decreased to decrease the correction amount.
  • a fourth embodiment of the present invention exemplifies an arrangement for automatically determining blot properties of paper and to switch the correction amount on the basis of the determination result.
  • Fig. 8 shows the main part of this embodiment.
  • the same reference numerals as in Figs. 6 and 7 denote the same parts in Fig. 8.
  • the arrangement includes a blot detecting means 67.
  • the blot detecting means 67 records a test pattern on, e.g., a recording medium, and causes a CCD sensor or the like to read a recording width of the test pattern or an image density to detect blot of the recording medium.
  • the blot detecting means 67 outputs a two-bit signal S68 on the basis of a blot detection result.
  • a ROM 63 receives an output S from an adder 62 and image data I of a pixel (j,m) and outputs corrected image data.
  • the value ⁇ is switched in accordance with the signal S68.
  • the binary recording printer is used as the ink-jet recording apparatus.
  • the ink-jet recording apparatus may be an apparatus capable of modulating an ink injection amount by a multivalue or analog scheme.
  • the binarizing circuit 25 in Fig. 3 is replaced with a unit for performing multivalue processing of three or more values.
  • the binarizing circuit 25 is omitted, and image data is directly input to the recording apparatus 26, thereby performing ink injection according to the image data.
  • Each of the matrices of the second to fourth embodiments consists of 3 x 3 pixels.
  • the present invention is not limited to this.
  • a printing ink amount of the end portion may be determined in accordance with a sum of image data of a plurality of pixels.
  • Image data conversion is not limited to the one shown in Fig. 4 and exemplified by the second to fourth embodiments.
  • the present invention is not limited to any specific image data conversion if the value of image data can be reduced in a high-density portion.
  • the signal for switching the value ⁇ consists of two bits.
  • the present invention is not limited to this signal.
  • the number of bits of the signal is not limited to two.
  • dot extraction is performed for the nozzles at the upper end portion of the head unit 9.
  • nozzles at the lower end portion and other nozzles may be similarly processed in place of the above operation or together therewith.
  • the ink-jet printer is used.
  • the present invention is applicable to a printer which poses a blot problem, e.g., a thermal transfer printer using a sublimable dye.
  • the present invention is applied to a serial scan recording apparatus for performing recording while scanning the recording medium with the recording head unit.
  • the present invention is also applicable to a line printer type ink-jet recording apparatus having injection ports aligned along the entire width of the recording medium.
  • Fig. 9 is a block diagram showing a control unit according to a fifth embodiment of the present invention.
  • the control unit includes an image processing unit 112 for performing UCR, painting, masking, gamma correction, and the like and outputting cyan, magenta, yellow, and black signals 113C, 113M, 113Y, and 113Bk, and an adder 114 for adding the cyan, magenta, yellow, and black signals 113C, 113M, 113Y, and 113Bk and outputting an addition signal 115.
  • the control unit also includes operation elements 116C, 116M, 116Y, and 116BK for respectively receiving the cyan signal 113C, the magenta signal 113M, the yellow signal 113Y, and the black signal 113Bk in addition to the addition output 115 and a control signal 117, for performing predetermined operations, and for outputting final output signals 118C, 118M, 118Y, and 118Bk.
  • the signals 118C, 118M, 118Y, and 118Bk are respectively binarized by binarizing circuits 119C, 119M, 119Y, and 119Bk using a dither method or an error diffusion method.
  • the binarized signals are input to drive a cyan ink-jet head 109C, a magenta ink-jet head 109M, a yellow ink-jet head 109Y, and a black ink-jet head 109Bk, respectively.
  • Each of the ink-jet heads 109C, 109M, 109Y, and 109Bk has 256 nozzles, and these heads are arranged, as shown in Fig. 1.
  • the heads perform full-color image recording while performing serial scanning.
  • the control signal Z is set to be "1" when the image signals supplied to the end nozzles, i.e., the first and 256th nozzles of the head are processed. Otherwise, the signal Z is set at "0".
  • the sum Y of each color signal which is obtained when the maximum value of each color signal is given as 100 is plotted along the abscissa, and the value of the coefficient a(y) is plotted along the ordinate.
  • the value of the sum Y corresponds to a total ink amount and represents the range in which black stripes tend to be formed, i.e., the range in which the total recording ink amount is large. Therefore, the ink amount of the end nozzles is decreased to eliminate the black stripes.
  • Fig. 11 is a block diagram showing a sixth embodiment of the present invention.
  • the same reference numerals as in Fig. 9 denote the same parts in Fig. 11.
  • Cyan, magenta, yellow, and black signals 113C, 113M, 113Y, and 113Bk output from an image processing unit 112 are added by an adder 114.
  • An addition signal 115 and a control signal 117 are input to gamma correction amount selection ROMs (to be referred to as gamma selection ROMs hereinafter) 122C, 122M, 122Y, and 122Bk.
  • the gamma selection ROMs 122C, 122M, 122Y, and 122Bk output, e.g., 8-bit gamma selection signals 123C, 123M, 123Y, and 123Bk in accordance with the addition signal 115 and the control signal 117.
  • Gamma conversion ROMs 124C, 124M, 124Y, and 124Bk perform gamma conversion of the image signals 113C, 113M, 113Y, and 113Bk.
  • Gamma correction tables from A0 to A255 are stored in each of the gamma conversion ROMs 124C, 124M, 124Y, and 124Bk, as shown in Fig. 12. If an input and an output are respectively defined as X and Y, A0 to A255 are defined as follows:
  • a gamma conversion table to be used is A0 when the gamma selection signal 123 (123C to 123Bk) is set to be “0"; and a table to be used is A1 when the signal 123 is set to be "1".
  • each gamma selection ROM When the control signal 117 is set to be "0", i.e., when a pixel is not an end pixel, each gamma selection ROM always outputs “0". When the control signal 117 is set to be "1", each gamma selection ROM outputs the corresponding gamma selection signal in accordance with the addition signal 115.
  • Fig. 13 shows a relationship between the addition signal and the gamma selection signal.
  • the addition signal is increased, the value of the gamma selection signal is increased, so that a correction ratio of the image signal is increased.
  • Corrected image signals 125C, 125M, 125Y, and 125Bk are binarized by binarizing circuits 119C, 119M, 119Y, and 119Bk.
  • the binarized signals are respectively input to cyan, magenta, yellow, and black heads 109C, 109M, 109Y, and 109Bk. These heads are then driven to perform color image recording. As a result, the amount of ink used by the end nozzles of the head is reduced, and black stripes can be greatly reduced.
  • the correction amount is set to be small when a total ink amount is small, white stripes caused by dot extraction in a low-density portion can also be eliminated.
  • gamma conversion tables stored in gamma conversion ROMS 124C, 124M, 124Y, and 124Bk are nonlinear.
  • the density In ink-jet recording, the density is generally saturated in a high-density portion. Even if the ink amount is slightly reduced, a change in density is small. Even if the signal correction amount is larger than that for a low-density portion, the density in a corrected portion is reduced to form white stripes or the density is changed to emphasize stripes. Therefore, according to this embodiment, the gamma conversion tables are nonlinear to increase the correction amount in a high-density portion. Therefore, the black stripes can be effectively prevented.
  • the number of pixels to be corrected is not limited to one end pixel, but may be two or more. In this case, the end pixels need not be equally corrected.
  • a relationship between the addition signal (second embodiment) and the gamma selection signals as in an eighth embodiment shown in Fig. 15 may be employed. That is, as shown in Fig. 15, a relationship A is employed for the first pixel from the end portion, and a relationship B is employed for the second pixel from the end portion.
  • the black stripes can be effectively prevented.
  • the correction amounts are increased when the head position comes close to its end, thereby performing natural correction.
  • the ink-jet recording apparatus is exemplified.
  • the present invention is applicable to a thermal transfer printer or a sublimable thermal transfer printer.
  • the present invention is effectively and easily applicable to a recording apparatus which poses a boundary problem caused by serial scan.
  • the recording apparatus is not limited to the one requiring binarization.
  • the present invention is also applicable to gradational recording upon modulation of the dot diameter to multivalues.
  • the present invention is not limited to the color image recording apparatus but is effectively applicable to an apparatus for performing gradational recording with a single color.
  • the ink-jet recording apparatus may have a plurality of recording heads having different ink injection amounts.
  • a single recording head is used to perform gradational recording upon differentiating drive conditions (e.g., drive pulses).
  • the present invention may be used in back print mode wherein a reflected image is formed at a back surface of a back print paper (a resin paper having an ink absorbing layer at a back side thereof), and orthoscopic image is visible from a front surface of the resin paper and only in a photographic mode wherein an enhancement of image quality is necessary. Further, the present invention is effective in high density mode wherein high density image on an origin of which density is detected manually or automatically is read in a manner of copier, and the image is recorded by the ink jet, and particularly in a mode wherein, on controlling the information quantity according to an error diffusion method, the process of the present invention is carried out.
  • the above embodiment is most preferable as an example of using not only black color head and also another head. To take measure to a erroneous black stripe printing, the present invention is effectively used in controlling only the black color head.
  • the present invention provides an excellent performance particularly in a recording head and recording apparatus of bubble jet mode among the ink jet recording apparatus.
  • This bubble jet is usable both in on demand type and continuous tye ones.
  • the electro-thermal converter arranged corresponding to a sheet and liquid path containing a liquid (ink) is provided with at least a drive signal for increasing temperature speedly to nucleus boiling corresponding to the recording so that the electro-thermal converter produces the thermal energy to produce a film boiling at a heating surface of the recording head thereby the bubbles corresponding to the drive signals one to one are formed.
  • the expansion and contraction of the bubble causes the liquid (ink) emission via emission orifice to form at least one liquid droplet.
  • the liquid path and electro-thermal converter straight liquid path or right angle liquid path as disclosed in the above documents and also a structure wherein heating unit is arranged in a bending region as disclosed in U.S. Patents 4558333 and 4459600 is within a scope of the present invention.
  • the present invention is effective in a structure as disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-open No. 59-138461 wherein a slit common to plurality of electro-thermal converters is an orifice of the electro-thermal converters and a structure as disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-open No. 59-138461 wherein an opening for absorbing a thermal energy pressure wave corresponds to the orifice.
  • a structure wherein the length thereof is filled with a combination of plurality of recording heads, or a structure of integrally formed can be used desirable in the present invention.
  • An exchangeable recording head having an electrical connection to an apparatus body and ink supply path from the body completed by mounting the head to the body, or a cartridge type recording head formed integrally with the body can be used in the present invention effectively.
  • the recording mode of the recording apparatus includes not only recording mode of major color such as black but also complex color mode comprising different colors or full color mode by mixing colors using integrally formed recording head or a combination of plurality of recording heads.
  • sum of the image data is calculated. Only when the sum is greater than the data value at which the blotting is greater, the data is subtracted by a predetermined correction means of the apparatus body preferably in accordance with subtracting equation like the gamma curve (Figs. 13 and 15) to produce a recording data for actual recording. Accordingly, high quality recording without erroneous black and white stripe can be achieved.
  • the image data applied to the end nozzles of each head are corrected in accordance with the sum of image signals recorded by the head end nozzles, thereby performing image recording free from black stripes in a high-density portion.

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  • Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
  • Quality & Reliability (AREA)
  • Particle Formation And Scattering Control In Inkjet Printers (AREA)
  • Ink Jet (AREA)

Claims (24)

  1. Appareil d'enregistrement d'images pour effectuer un enregistrement sur un support d'enregistrement, comprenant:
       une tête d'enregistrement (9) ayant une pluralité d'orifices pour émettre de l'encre, disposée dans une direction prédéterminée; ladite tête d'enregistrement balayant le long d'une direction de balayage principale par rapport au support d'enregistrement de façon qu'une largeur prédéterminée d'une zone d'enregistrement soit formée sur le support d'enregistrement; la direction de balayage principale étant différente de la direction de disposition des orifices;
       ladite tête d'enregistrement et ledit support d'enregistrement étant disposés pour effectuer un mouvement relatif dans une direction de balayage secondaire transversale à la direction de balayage principale et par rapport au support d'enregistrement; caractérisé par:
       un moyen de conversion de données (23) pour convertir une donnée de densité d'encre émise par au moins un orifice d'extrémité à une extrémité de ladite tête d'enregistrement, de façon à produire une donnée convertie représentant une réduction de la quantité d'encre émise par au moins ledit orifice d'extrémité; et
       un moyen d'entraînement (25) pour entraîner ladite tête d'enregistrement en fonction de la donnée de densité convertie par ledit moyen de conversion (23), de telle sorte que lorsque la densité de l'image dans la zone de balayage est élevée, la quantité d'encre émise par ladite tête d'enregistrement est réduite.
  2. Appareil selon la revendication 1, caractérisé en ce que ledit moyen de conversion (23) est une mémoire morte pour réduire la donnée de densité de l'encre émise par ledit orifice d'extrémité et fournir en sortie cette donnée.
  3. Appareil selon la revendication 1 ou 2, caractérisé en ce que ledit moyen de conversion n'effectue une conversion de donnée de densité que lorsque la donnée de densité est supérieure à une valeur prédéterminée.
  4. Appareil selon la revendication 1, 2 ou 3, caractérisé en ce que ledit moyen d'entraînement (25) présente un moyen de binarisation pour binariser la donnée de densité convertie.
  5. Appareil selon l'une quelconque des revendications 1 à 4, caractérisé en ce que ladite tête d'enregistrement (9) produit une transition d'état de l'encre au moyen d'une énergie thermique de façon à émettre l'encre par l'orifice.
  6. Appareil selon l'une quelconque des revendications 1 à 5, dans lequel ladite tête d'enregistrement émet une encre de plusieurs couleurs.
  7. Appareil selon l'une quelconque des revendications 1 à 6, caractérisé en ce que:
       un moyen de détermination (62) est prévu pour traiter une pluralité de données de densité d'encre émise par une pluralité d'orifices définis sur le bord périphérique de ladite tête d'enregistrement afin de produire une donnée qui représente une quantité totale d'encre émise par le bord périphérique de ladite tête d'enregistrement;
       ledit moyen de conversion (63) effectuant une conversion de la donnée de densité correspondant à au moins un orifice d'extrémité situé sur le bord périphérique de ladite tête d'enregistrement en fonction de la donnée de densité convertie, afin de réduire la quantité d'encre émise par l'orifice d'extrémité.
  8. Appareil selon la revendication 7, caractérisé en ce que ledit moyen de détermination (62) effectue une opération arithmétique pondérée pour déterminer la donnée de densité d'encre émise par une pluralité d'orifices.
  9. Appareil selon la revendication 7, caractérisé en ce que ledit moyen de conversion (63) ajuste la quantité d'encre émise par les orifices en fonction de la donnée de densité convertie par ledit moyen de conversion.
  10. Appareil selon la revendication 9, caractérisé en ce que ledit moyen de conversion (63) comporte un commutateur (65) pour modifier la quantité d'encre émise par les orifices.
  11. Appareil selon la revendication 10 caractérisé en ce que ledit moyen de conversion (63) comporte un moyen de détection (67) pour détecter un coefficient de maculage du support d'enregistrement, et sélectionne par commutation la quantité d'encre émise par les orifices en fonction du coefficient de maculage détecté par ledit moyen de détection.
  12. Appareil selon l'une quelconque des revendications 1 à 11, caractérisé en ce que ladite tête d'enregistrement produit une transition d'état de l'encre au moyen d'une énergie thermique de façon à émettre l'encre par les orifices.
  13. Appareil selon l'une quelconque des revendications 1 à 12, caractérisé en ce que ladite tête d'enregistrement émet une encre de plusieurs couleurs.
  14. Appareil d'enregistrement d'images pour enregistrer sur un support d'enregistrement, comprenant:
       des têtes d'enregistrement (109) pour enregistrer les images sur le support d'enregistrement, lesdites têtes d'enregistrement ayant une pluralité d'orifices pour émettre de l'encre, disposés dans une direction prédéterminée, chacune desdites têtes émettant une encre de couleur différente; lesdites têtes balayant dans une direction de balayage principale par rapport au support d'enregistrement de façon qu'une largeur prédéterminée d'une zone d'enregistrement soit formée sur le support d'enregistrement; la direction de balayage principale étant différente de la direction de disposition des orifices;
       lesdites têtes d'enregistrement et le support d'enregistrement étant disposés pour pouvoir effectuer un mouvement relatif dans une direction de balayage secondaire transversale à la direction de balayage principale et par rapport au support d'enregistrement; caractérisé par:
       un moyen additionneur (114) pour additionner une donnée de densité d'encre émise par un orifice d'extrémité à chaque extrémité de ladite pluralité de têtes d'enregistrement afin de produire une donnée d'addition qui indique une quantité totale d'encre émise par le bord périphérique de ladite tête d'enregistrement;
       un moyen de conversion pour convertir la donnée de densité correspondant au moins aux orifices d'extrémité situés sur le bord périphérique de ladite tête d'enregistrement, en fonction de la donnée d'addition, en donnée convertie de façon à réduire la quantité d'encre émise par les orifices d'extrémité; et
       un moyen d'entraînement pour entraîner lesdites têtes d'enregistrement en fonction de la donnée de densité convertie par ledit moyen de conversion.
  15. Appareil selon la revendication 14, caractérisé en ce que ladite pluralité de têtes d'enregistrement (109) émet une encre de couleur cyan, magenta, jaune et noire.
  16. Appareil selon la revendication 14, caractérisé en ce que ledit moyen de conversion convertit la donnée de densité de l'encre émise par ladite pluralité de têtes d'enregistrement.
  17. Appareil selon la revendication 16, caractérisé en ce que ledit moyen de conversion convertit une donnée de densité pour l'encre émise par l'une de ladite pluralité de têtes d'enregistrement.
  18. Appareil selon la revendication 17, caractérisé en ce que ledit moyen de conversion effectue la conversion de données de densité pour ladite tête d'enregistrement émettant de l'encre noire.
  19. Appareil selon la revendication 18, caractérisé en ce que ladite tête d'enregistrement produit une transition d'état de l'encre au moyen d'une énergie thermique de façon à émettre l'encre par l'orifice.
  20. Appareil selon l'une quelconque des revendications 14 à 19, caractérisé par un moyen de discrimination pour discriminer la densité des images sur le document original lu par un moyen de lecture pour lire le document original;
       un moyen d'addition pour additionner des données de densité de l'encre émise par un orifice d'extrémité à chaque extrémité de ladite pluralité de têtes d'enregistrement et produire une donnée d'addition qui indique une quantité totale d'encre émise par le bord périphérique de ladite tête d'enregistrement;
       un moyen de conversion pour convertir la donnée de densité de l'encre émise par au moins l'orifice d'extrémité situé au bord périphérique desdites têtes d'enregistrement en fonction de la donnée d'addition, en une donnée convertie, de façon à réduire la quantité d'encre émise par les orifices d'extrémité; et
       un moyen d'entraînement pour entraîner lesdites têtes d'enregistrement en fonction de la donnée de densité convertie.
  21. Appareil selon la revendication 20, caractérisé en ce que le support d'enregistrement est un film d'impression noir.
  22. Appareil selon la revendication 20 ou 21, caractérisé en ce que lesdites têtes d'enregistrement produisent une transition d'état de l'encre au moyen d'une énergie thermique de façon à émettre de l'encre par l'orifice.
  23. Procédé de correction et d'enregistrement de données d'images destiné à être utilisé dans un appareil d'enregistrement d'images pour effectuer un enregistrement en faisant adhérer des gouttelettes d'encre à un support d'enregistrement afin de former des points sur celui-ci, le support d'enregistrement ayant un rapport de maculage déterminé par la division du diamètre d'un point sur le support d'enregistrement par le diamètre de la gouttelette ayant formé le point, comprenant les étapes consistant à:
       enregistrer une image sur le support d'enregistrement par un mouvement relatif du support d'enregistrement et du moyen d'enregistrement pour former des gouttelettes devant adhérer au support d'enregistrement, le mouvement relatif provoquant un balayage d'une zone du support d'enregistrement par le moyen d'enregistrement; et
       exécuter une opération arithmétique prédéterminée sur la donnée d'image devant être fournie à une extrémité du moyen d'enregistrement correspondant à une frontière de la zone du support d'enregistrement balayée par le moyen d'enregistrement, ladite opération arithmétique étant effectuée en fonction du rapport de maculage du support d'enregistrement, ladite opération arithmétique réduisant la donnée d'image lorsque la donnée d'image est supérieure à une valeur de référence déterminée en fonction du rapport de maculage, l'image présente à la frontière du support d'enregistrement étant enregistrée par utilisation de la donnée d'image réduite en fonction du résultat de l'opération arithmétique.
  24. Appareil d'enregistrement d'image pour effectuer un enregistrement en faisant adhérer des gouttelettes d'encre sur un support d'enregistrement pour former des points sur celui-ci, le support d'enregistrement (5) ayant un rapport de maculage déterminé par division du diamètre d'un point sur le support d'enregistrement par le diamètre de la gouttelette ayant formé le point, l'appareil comprenant:
       une tête d'enregistrement (9) pour former des gouttelettes devant adhérer au support d'enregistrement en réponse à un signal d'enregistrement;
       ladite tête d'enregistrement et le support d'enregistrement étant agencés pour effectuer un mouvement relatif de façon que ladite tête d'enregistrement balaye une zone du support d'enregistrement;
       caractérisé par un moyen de discrimination pour discriminer des données d'image devant être fournies à une extrémité de ladite tête d'enregistrement correspondant à une frontière de la zone du support d'enregistrement balayée par ladite tête d'enregistrement, ledit moyen de discrimination comparant une valeur de référence déterminée en fonction du rapport de maculage du support d'enregistrement, à la donnée d'image; et
       un moyen d'entraînement pour fournir à ladite tête d'enregistrement un signal d'enregistrement dépendant de la donnée d'image, ledit moyen d'entraînement ayant un circuit de correction pour réduire le signal d'enregistrement à fournir à l'extrémité de ladite tête d'enregistrement lorsque le moyen de discrimination indique que la donnée d'image est supérieure à la valeur de référence.
EP89306160A 1988-06-17 1989-06-16 Appareil d'enregistrement d'images Expired - Lifetime EP0347257B1 (fr)

Applications Claiming Priority (4)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
JP148229/88 1988-06-17
JP14822988A JP2620313B2 (ja) 1988-06-17 1988-06-17 画像記録装置
JP17534188A JP2620317B2 (ja) 1988-07-14 1988-07-14 画像記録装置
JP175341/88 1988-07-14

Publications (3)

Publication Number Publication Date
EP0347257A2 EP0347257A2 (fr) 1989-12-20
EP0347257A3 EP0347257A3 (en) 1990-05-23
EP0347257B1 true EP0347257B1 (fr) 1993-12-15

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ID=26478509

Family Applications (1)

Application Number Title Priority Date Filing Date
EP89306160A Expired - Lifetime EP0347257B1 (fr) 1988-06-17 1989-06-16 Appareil d'enregistrement d'images

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EP (1) EP0347257B1 (fr)
DE (1) DE68911393T2 (fr)

Families Citing this family (4)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US5557304A (en) * 1993-05-10 1996-09-17 Compaq Computer Corporation Spot size modulatable ink jet printhead
US5847721A (en) † 1995-03-06 1998-12-08 Canon Kabushiki Kaisha Recording apparatus and method
US5805178A (en) * 1995-04-12 1998-09-08 Eastman Kodak Company Ink jet halftoning with different ink concentrations
AUPN234595A0 (en) * 1995-04-12 1995-05-04 Eastman Kodak Company Improvements in image halftoning

Family Cites Families (5)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
JPS5843028B2 (ja) * 1978-09-25 1983-09-24 株式会社リコー 荷電偏向型マルチインクジェットプロッタ−
US4528576A (en) * 1982-04-15 1985-07-09 Canon Kabushiki Kaisha Recording apparatus
JPS5968245A (ja) * 1982-10-13 1984-04-18 Ricoh Co Ltd 多色インクジエツト記録方法
JPS6125365A (ja) * 1984-07-13 1986-02-04 Canon Inc 中間調画像形成方法
US4547784A (en) * 1984-12-24 1985-10-15 Polaroid Corporation Thermal recording system and method

Non-Patent Citations (1)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Title
PATENT ABSTRACTS OF JAPAN,(M-628), vol. 11, no. 301, September 30, 1987; JP A 62 092 851 *

Also Published As

Publication number Publication date
EP0347257A3 (en) 1990-05-23
EP0347257A2 (fr) 1989-12-20
DE68911393T2 (de) 1994-07-14
DE68911393D1 (de) 1994-01-27

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