JP2000168151A - Recording apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To highly accurately detect a position of a recording part irrespective of an environmental condition by reading shape change data of an optical linear encoder in accordance with the surrounding environmental condition of the optical linear encoder and correcting a recording operation timing based on the shape change data. SOLUTION: In a main control part 10 for controlling a recording operation, a temperature and humidity-detecting part 19 detects a temperature and a humidity of an optical linear encoder which detects a position of a recording part in a main scanning direction. Printing information is set to a head controller 17. A carriage is started to drive a first half of the reciprocation. When a printing position-detecting part 11 reads a position of the linear encoder to start the recording operation at this time, shape change correction data for the linear encoder stored in a table memory is read out on the basis of the detected temperature and humidity information, and an ink discharge timing correction value is calculated on the basis of the data and detected position information and set to the head controller 17.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a recording apparatus for performing a recording operation on a recording medium in accordance with recording data input from a host computer or the like. The present invention relates to a color ink jet recording apparatus that performs recording by discharging ink of a plurality of colors, and more particularly, a correction function for correcting ink discharge timing by an output signal from a linear encoder for determining ink discharge timing of the recording head. The present invention relates to a recording device provided.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art FIG. 8 shows a mechanism for controlling a printing operation of a color ink jet printing apparatus.

In the printing apparatus shown here, a platen 106
When recording on the upper recording paper, first, the motor 103 is driven, and the carriage 102 is moved to the position of the home position sensor 108 by the drive belt 109.
The carriage 132 is moved in the forward direction in the direction of the arrow X1, and black K ·
Predetermined image recording is performed by discharging cyan C, magenta M, and yellow Y inks from the recording heads 120, 121, 122, and 123, respectively.

When the image recording for a predetermined length is completed, the carriage 102 stops moving.
The backward scanning is started in the reverse direction (the direction of the arrow X2), and the carriage 102 is returned to the home position detected by the home position sensor 108. During the backward scanning, the paper feed roller is rotated by the paper feed motor 107 to feed the paper P by a length corresponding to the width of the recording portion recorded by the recording heads 120 to 123 by moving the paper P orthogonal to the main scanning direction. The color image recording is completed by repeating the above operation in the sub-scanning direction (the direction of arrow Y). In the figure, 100 is a second paper feed roller, 11
Reference numeral 1 denotes a paper detection sensor.

[0005] The timing of ink ejection from each nozzle of the recording heads 120 to 123 is generated based on an output signal from a linear encoder described later. The position of each recording head is detected by a linear encoder, and this linear encoder can detect the position with an accuracy corresponding to a required resolution. Therefore, in a recording apparatus having such a linear encoder, the printing resolution and the printing accuracy are determined by the position detection signal output from the linear encoder.

For this reason, in the above-described recording apparatus, the position information from the linear encoder and each recording head 12
0, 121, 122, 123, the print head 120,
Black (K) discharged from 121, 122, 123,
The multi-color recording is realized by printing the cyan (C), magenta (M), and yellow (Y) inks in a superimposed manner. Extremely significant.

At present, magnetic encoders and optical encoders 130 (see FIG. 8) are generally used as linear encoders used in the above-described ink jet printers. A metal linear scale plate formed by forming a large number of magnetized parts with
And a magnetic sensor unit mounted on the carriage 102 for detecting magnetism at the magnetized portion of the linear scale plate.

As shown in FIG. 8, the optical linear encoder 130 includes a band-shaped scale 131 formed by alternately printing light-reflecting portions and non-reflecting portions on a resin film or the like in units of scales. Sensor unit 1 for irradiating light to 131 and receiving reflected light from scale 131
32. The sensor unit 132 may be, for example, an LE mounted on the carriage 102.
In general, a light emitting and receiving device (light emitting and receiving device) configured by a light emitting portion including D and a laser light source and a light receiving portion including a photodiode and a phototransistor is generally used.

In any of the linear encoders using any of the methods, the home position is used as a reference position,
The reading pulse signal from the sensor unit output in linear scale units by the movement of the main scanning carriage 102 is counted up / down by an encoder counter, and the count value is read to read the carriage 102.
Position information can be obtained.

[0010]

However, in the conventional magnetic and optical linear encoders described above,
There are advantages and disadvantages in terms of cost and detection accuracy,
At present, none of them have achieved sufficient performance and cost.

That is, a magnetic linear encoder is
Compared to the optical linear encoder, the manufacturing process is complicated and the cost is high.Moreover, since it detects magnetism, there is a problem that if the recording resolution is set high, the variation in the recording accuracy becomes large. is there. In addition, the optical type has a relatively simple manufacturing process, so it can be configured at relatively low cost, and the variation in accuracy can be reduced.
Since a scale is formed by printing a pattern on the film base, there is a problem that the shape of the film base changes due to environmental conditions such as temperature and humidity, and the accuracy of the encoder pattern changes significantly.

Normally, the linear encoder must be configured to have a length equal to or longer than the printing width. Therefore, a printer having a larger printing width is greatly affected by the shape change, and the printing accuracy is significantly deteriorated. For this reason, a magnetic linear encoder is currently used in a plotter or the like having a large print width. However, in recent years, the printing resolution is 100
Printers / plotters exceeding 0 dpi have also appeared, and it is expected that the resolution required for recording apparatuses will further increase in the future. For this reason, in the case of a large print width, a type that enables high-precision detection by a magnetic linear encoder has been considered. However, since it is difficult to manufacture and the cost is high, it is enormous to adopt it. It was considered difficult and difficult to realize.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned problems of the prior art, and is capable of detecting the position of a recording section with high accuracy irrespective of environmental conditions such as temperature and humidity. It is an object of the present invention to provide a recording device capable of performing such operations.

[0014]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the invention according to claim 1 of the present application uses a recording section facing a predetermined recording medium, moves the recording section in the main scanning direction, and In a printing apparatus configured to perform a printing operation based on a position in the main scanning direction of the printing unit according to input printing data, an optical linear encoder that detects a position of the printing unit in the main scanning direction, Condition detecting means for detecting environmental conditions around the installation location of the linear encoder, and timing correction data for correcting the recording operation timing by the recording unit are stored in advance in correspondence with a shape change due to environmental conditions of the optical linear encoder. Environmental condition information output by the environmental condition detecting means and positional information output from the optical linear encoder. Is obtained by a correction means for performing a storage unit in which the timing correction data is read out, the correction of the recording position on the recording medium on the basis of the timing correction data read out from said storage means in accordance with.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, the recording section in the first aspect of the present invention discharges ink onto a recording medium in accordance with input recording data.

The invention described in claim 3 of the present application is the above-described claim 1.
Alternatively, in the invention described in Item 2, the storage unit is provided in a main control unit that controls the recording device.

The invention described in claim 4 of the present application is the above-described claim 1.
Alternatively, in the invention described in Item 2, the storage means is constituted by an external memory provided outside the main control unit for controlling the recording apparatus.

The invention described in claim 5 of the present application is the above-described claim 1.
In any one of the inventions described in any one of (4) to (4), the environmental condition detecting means is constituted by a temperature detecting means for detecting a temperature around a place where the linear encoder is installed.

The invention described in claim 6 of the present application is the above-described claim 1.
In any one of the inventions as set forth in any one of (4) to (4), the environmental condition detecting means is constituted by a humidity detecting means for detecting humidity around a place where the linear encoder is installed.

The invention described in claim 7 of the present application is the above-described claim 1.
According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, the recording unit according to any one of the fifth to fifth aspects is configured to include a plurality of recording heads that respectively discharge different colors.

[0021] The invention described in claim 8 of the present application is the above-described claim 1.
In the invention as set forth in any one of the first to seventh aspects, an optical linear encoder is formed by alternately forming, in the sub-scanning direction, two types of portions having different light reflectances arranged in a moving path of a recording unit. And a light emitting and receiving unit that emits light toward the light receiving unit and receives the reflected light from the light receiving unit.

The ninth aspect of the present invention is the second aspect of the present invention.
In any one of the inventions described in any one of Items 8 to 8, a recording section configured to generate bubbles in the ink using thermal energy and eject the ink by the pressure of the bubbles can be applied.

[0023]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

FIGS. 1 to 4 and 7 show the first embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a recording apparatus according to the embodiment.

The recording apparatus shown here has a recording head similar to that shown in the above-mentioned prior art (see FIG. 8) and various mechanisms for moving the recording head, and the like. This is a so-called bubble jet type color ink jet recording apparatus which discharges ink by the pressure of the bubbles. However, in this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 7, a temperature / humidity detecting unit 19 for detecting temperature and humidity is provided in the mechanical unit 13 near a position where the scale 131 of the optical linear encoder 130 is installed.

In this embodiment, a control system circuit as shown in FIG. 1 is provided.

In FIG. 1, reference numeral 10 denotes a main control unit for controlling the entire printing apparatus including a mechanism including a print head and a mechanical unit. The main control unit 10 includes a microprocessor, an operation program, and the like. RO stored
M, a working RAM for writing and reading various data and the like, an optical linear encoder 130 described later
And a table memory (ROM) storing data for correcting the shape change.

Numeral 11 denotes an optical linear encoder 130 provided in the recording head and the head moving mechanism.
And the scale 13 of the optical linear encoder 130
This is a print position detection unit composed of an encoder counter that counts up / down the signal output every one.

The optical linear encoder 130 includes an encoder main body (light-receiving portion) on which the scale 131 is printed,
The light transmitting unit and the light receiving unit (not shown) attached to the carriage 102 (see FIG. 7) of the mechanism unit 13 are configured.
It is attached so that it is shifted by °. Therefore, two signals A and B having a phase shift of 90 ° as shown in FIGS. 2A and 2B are generated in accordance with the movement of the carriage.

That is, in FIG. 2, reference numeral 301 denotes a scale pattern of the optical linear encoder 130;
2A shows a signal generated when the carriage 102 is driven in the forward path, and FIG. 2B shows a signal generated in the return path operation.

As shown in the figure, when the phase of the signal A is ahead of the phase of the signal B by 90 °, forward driving is performed. Therefore, the encoder counter counts up in accordance with the rising and falling edges of each signal. Conversely, the phase is 90
When the vehicle is delayed, the return path drive is performed.
2 can be detected. The signals A and B output from the print position detector 11 are also supplied to the head controller 17 and used as print timing signals.

On the other hand, the mechanism 13 has substantially the same configuration as that shown in FIG. 7 described in the prior art, and the recording heads 120, 121, 122,
Drive unit (carriage 102, motor 10) for moving the motor 123 in the main scanning direction (X1, X2 directions).
3) Outside the paper supply unit (paper supply motor 107, paper feed roller 101, etc.) for supplying the paper, a paper transport unit (not shown), a paper discharge unit, and a recovery unit unit for recovering ink clogging of the recording head. And so on.

Reference numeral 12 denotes an operation panel provided with switches for performing paper feed, paper discharge, paper selection, and the like, and a display system for displaying the status of the ink jet recording apparatus. And a status display.

Reference numeral 14 denotes an interface unit (I / F unit). A host computer (not shown) is connected to the I / F unit 14, and commands and recording data are sent from the host computer. The ink jet recording apparatus is operated to record recording data. As the I / F unit 14, a Centronics and SCSI interface is generally used.

Reference numeral 15 denotes a memory controller.
The memory controller 15 transfers the command input from the I / F unit 14 to the main control unit 10 and sends an address and a write timing signal to write the recording data to the memory unit 16 under the control of the main control unit 10. Generate. The command input from the I / F unit 14 is decoded by the main control unit 10, and the main control unit 10 controls the entire inkjet recording apparatus according to the command.

The memory section 16 includes recording heads 120 and 12
The recording unit 18 having the storage units 1, 122, and 123 is constituted by a memory having a storage capacity capable of storing one band or more of print data required for printing by scanning once in the main scanning direction. I have.

For example, if the number of nozzles in each sub-scanning direction of each recording head is 128 nozzles and the maximum number of dots that can be recorded in one scan in the main scanning direction is 8 k dots, the memory unit 10 stores 128 (nozzles) ) * 8k (dot) * 4 (color) = 4MB
It has a storage capacity of at least it.

Reference numeral 17 denotes a head controller.
A recording pulse and various timing signals for causing the recording unit 18 to eject ink are generated under the control of the main control unit 10.

The recording operation in the recording unit 18 (generation of a heat pulse to the recording unit 18) is basically performed in synchronization with the optical linear encoder 130 signal from the print position detecting unit 11 described above. , And in this embodiment,
When a delay time is set by the main control unit 11, the recording operation is performed at a timing when the signal of the optical linear encoder 130 is delayed by the delay time.

This delay function is normally used for correcting the registration error due to a shift in the mounting position between the heads. In this embodiment, this time delay function is used together with the registration error correction to correct the optical linear encoder 130. The shape change correction is also performed, and this operation is performed under the control of the main control unit 10. This operation will be described later in detail with reference to a flowchart.

Reference numeral 19 denotes a temperature / humidity detecting unit as environmental condition detecting means, which is composed of various sensors such as a temperature sensor and a humidity sensor. Is output.

Next, the operation at the time of recording (at the time of forward path recording) will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

In the ink jet recording apparatus, the main control unit 10 receives a print start command from the host computer via the I / F unit 14, and thereafter, every time recording data for one band is received, the recording operation of the recording data is performed. Do
By repeating this, a recording operation for one page is finally performed.

That is, the main control unit 10 controls the memory controller 15 to store the print data sent from the host computer in the memory unit 16, and when the print data for one band is completely stored in the memory unit 16. The printing operation for one band shown in the flowchart of FIG. 3 is started (step 400).

Here, the main control unit 10 controls the temperature and humidity detection unit 1
9, the temperature and humidity (environmental conditions) of the optical linear encoder 130 are detected (step 401), and thereafter, print information (print start position, print start position,
The print width, registration deviation adjustment value, print pulse width, etc.) are set, and the print operation is enabled (step 40).
2). Then, the carriage is moved to start the forward drive operation from the home position (step 403).

After the carriage is driven, the main controller 10 constantly reads the position of the optical linear encoder 130 from the print position detector 11 (step 404). When the carriage reaches the print start position (step 405), the encoder pulses A, An ink ejection operation is performed from each recording head based on the edge of B, and the recording operation is started. At this time, the main control unit 10 reads out the shape change correction data of the optical linear encoder 130 stored in the table memory based on the environmental conditions set by the temperature and humidity information detected in step 401, and An ink ejection timing correction value is calculated based on the correction data and the position information output from the optical linear encoder 130, and is set in the head controller (step 406).

Here, the shape change correction data is correction data of ink ejection operation timing set to correct a shape change occurring in the optical linear encoder 130 under the environmental conditions. This correction data is stored in advance as shape change information,
For example, it is obtained by measuring a shape change correction value due to temperature and humidity when a product is shipped from a factory, and is stored in a ROM mounted on the main controller 10 or written in a flash memory. Has become.

The head controller 17 discharges the ink by delaying the ink discharge operation timing in accordance with the set ink discharge timing correction value.
FIG. 4 shows this ink ejection operation state.

In FIG. 4, reference numerals 500 and 501 denote output signals from the optical linear encoder 130 obtained by the print position detecting section 11. The head controller 17 normally synchronizes with the rising and falling edges of these signals. Thus, a heat pulse 502 for recording on the recording unit 18 is generated.

However, when the generation delay time of the heat pulse is set by the setting from the main control unit 10, the heat pulse is generated after the elapse of the set time.

In FIG. 4, reference numeral 503 denotes a main control unit 1 at positions P1, P2, and P3 of the recording unit 18 in the main scanning direction.
This is an example of a heat pulse generated when T1, T2, and T3 are set as delay times by 0. In step 406, the main control unit 10 sets the environmental condition information including the temperature and humidity information and the delay time corresponding to the shape change correction amount of the optical linear encoder 130 from the current encoder count value to the head controller 17. As a result, the timing of the heat pulse applied to each head of the recording unit 18 is corrected, whereby the ejection timing of the ink is shifted by a time corresponding to the shape change of the optical linear encoder 130.

Actually, in order to perform color image recording, as shown in FIG. 7, four heads (120, 121, 122, 12) for ejecting C, M, Y, and Bk inks are used.
3) or more heads are used. For example, if the recording head 122 that ejects C ink is used as a reference, it corresponds to the position of each head determined from the encoder counter value and the relative position of each recording head. Correction values of the encoder count value in the optical linear encoder 130 to be set are stored in a table memory for each recording head, and these correction values are stored in an ejection timing correction register of each recording head provided in the head controller 17. Set. The correction value of each correction table provided for each recording head is determined by the shape of the optical linear encoder 130 in order to form one dot by ejecting ink from each head and overlapping each color ink on the paper. One printhead according to the change may be set to the reference “0”, and the other printhead may be set to a value for correcting the relative shift amount from the reference printhead.

Thereafter, until the recording position reaches the printing end position, the main control unit 10 constantly reads the encoder count value from the printing position detection unit 11 (steps 407 and 40).
8) Similarly, the ink ejection operation timing is corrected for each recording head according to the shape change of the optical linear encoder 130 (step 406).

When the carriage reaches the print stop position, the main controller 10 stops the carriage 102, disables the printing operation for the head controller 17 (step 410), and returns the carriage to the home position. (Step 411).

Thereafter, the operations in steps 400 to 411 are repeated until printing for one page is completed.

As described above, in this embodiment, the correction of the shape change of the optical linear encoder 130 at the time of forward recording is described as an example. However, the detection by the optical linear encoder 130 is similarly performed at the backward recording and the reciprocal recording. Correction data (delay time data) of the ink operation timing based on the correction table is obtained from the position, and the ink ejection operation can be performed at an appropriate timing by controlling the head controller 17 according to the correction value.

Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a control system circuit according to the second embodiment. In FIG. 5, the same or corresponding parts as those in the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals. .

As shown, the second embodiment and the first
The difference from this embodiment is that a correction table 20 is newly added.

That is, in the first embodiment,
The main control unit 10 detects the temperature and humidity by the temperature and humidity detection unit 19, and further stores the temperature and humidity in a table memory provided inside the main control unit 10 in accordance with the current position of the carriage 102 obtained by the recording position detection unit 11. Although the correction data corresponding to the stored shape change of the optical linear encoder 130 is set in the head controller 17, in the second embodiment, the optical linear encoder 1
A table memory 20 storing correction data corresponding to a change in the shape of 30 is provided outside the main control unit 10, and the table memory provided in the main control unit in the first embodiment is omitted. The table memory 20 stores the environmental condition information signal, which is temperature and humidity information from the temperature and humidity detector 19, and the carriage position information signal from the position detector 11 as recording operation timing correction data (delay time data). As a result, recording operation timing correction data is directly output from the correction table.

Therefore, in the second embodiment,
The correction data of the shape change of the optical linear encoder 130 corresponding to the temperature, the humidity, and the recording head position is always input to the head controller 17. For this reason, the main control unit 10 performs the recording operation during the recording operation.
There is no need to constantly read the carriage position from the print position detection unit 11 or set a correction value in the head controller 17, so that other processing can be performed intensively, and an improvement in processing speed can be expected.

FIG. 6 shows a main control unit 1 according to the second embodiment.
5 shows a flowchart of a one-band print processing operation performed by 0. In FIG. 7, the same processes as those in the first embodiment shown in FIG. 4 are denoted by the same step numbers.

As shown in the figure, in the second embodiment, after the start of the forward movement of the carriage (step 403), the main controller 10 detects only the print end position (step 40).
5), this detection is transmitted from the print position detection unit 1 to the main control unit 20 as interrupt information, so that the main control unit 20 can perform almost any other processing (head temperature detection, etc.). It should be noted that, as the table memory 20, a ROM that measures a shape change correction value of the optical linear encoder 130 due to temperature and humidity at the time of product shipment or the like and stores the measured value as recording operation correction data may be mounted. ,
Alternatively, it goes without saying that it is sufficient to write the data in the flash memory before shipping.

As described above, in the second embodiment, the table memory 20 is provided outside the main control unit 10 and the temperature / humidity and carriage position information signals are directly connected as address signals, thereby achieving the main operation. The load on the control unit 10 can be reduced, and the shape change of the optical linear encoder 130 due to temperature and humidity can be corrected in real time. Further, when the table memory 20 is constituted by a flash memory or the like, the data can be easily rewritten by an operator or the like as appropriate after shipment, and the table memory 20 can always be used in an appropriate state.

In each of the above embodiments, both the temperature and the humidity are detected as the environmental condition detecting means. However, depending on the application environment of the recording apparatus, only one of the humidity and the temperature is detected. This may be used as an environmental condition for correcting the recording timing.

In the above embodiment, a color ink jet recording apparatus having a plurality of recording heads has been described as an example. However, the present invention is not limited to a color ink jet recording apparatus, but a recording apparatus employing another recording method, for example, a thermal transfer method The present invention is not particularly limited to the above embodiments.

[0067]

As described above, in the recording apparatus according to the present invention, an optical linear encoder which can be configured at a low cost is used as an optical linear encoder for controlling the recording operation timing of each recording section.
An environmental condition around the optical linear encoder is detected, shape change data of the optical linear encoder is read from a table memory according to the detected environmental condition, and a recording operation timing is corrected based on the shape change data. Therefore, even if the optical linear encoder changes its shape, it is possible to obtain high accuracy in the recording position by the recording unit. For this reason, even in color image recording in which a recording unit is provided with a plurality of recording heads and the like, it is possible to always obtain high precision in the formation position of each dot of a recorded image,
High quality images can be obtained.

Further, a table memory for storing correction data is provided outside the main control unit of the recording apparatus, and the environmental condition information detected by the environmental condition detecting means and the print position information detected by the print position detecting means are addressed. If the recording operation timing correction data is directly input from the table memory as data, the burden on the main control unit can be reduced, the processing operation speed in the main control unit can be improved, and the processing operation can be diversified. It is possible to achieve higher performance of the entire recording apparatus.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a control system circuit of a color inkjet recording apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIGS. 2A and 2B are diagrams showing output signals from an optical linear encoder according to the first embodiment of the present invention, wherein FIG. 2A shows an output signal in forward printing and FIG. 2B shows an output signal in backward printing. ing.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating a recording operation for one band according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an output signal from an optical linear encoder and a heat pulse supplied to a recording unit according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a control system circuit of a color inkjet recording apparatus according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating a recording operation for one band according to the second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is an explanatory perspective view illustrating a mechanism of the color inkjet recording apparatus according to each embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a perspective view illustrating a mechanism of a conventional color inkjet recording apparatus.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Main control part 11 Print position detection part (print position detection means) 13 Mechanical part 17 Head controller (correction means) 18 Recording part 19 Temperature / humidity detection part 20 Table memory (storage means) 120, 121, 122, 123 Recording head 130 Optical linear encoder 131 Scale 131 132 Emitter / receiver

Claims (9)

[Claims] 1. A recording section facing a predetermined recording medium, the recording section is moved in a main scanning direction, and recording is performed based on a position of the recording section in the main scanning direction in accordance with input recording data. An optical linear encoder that detects a position of the recording unit in the main scanning direction; an environmental condition detecting unit that detects an environmental condition around an installation location of the optical linear encoder; Timing correction data for correcting a recording operation timing by a recording unit is stored in advance corresponding to a shape change due to environmental conditions of the optical linear encoder, environmental condition information output by the environmental condition detecting means, and the optical linear encoder Storage means for reading the timing correction data in accordance with the position information output from the storage means; Recording apparatus characterized by comprising a correction means for correcting the recording position on the recording medium on the basis of the timing correction data read out from the storage means. 2. The recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the recording unit ejects ink to a recording medium in accordance with input recording data. 3. The recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the storage unit is provided in a main control unit that controls the recording apparatus. 4. The recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the storage unit is configured by an external memory provided outside a main control unit that controls the recording apparatus. 5. The recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said environmental condition detecting means comprises a temperature detecting means for detecting a temperature around a place where the linear encoder is installed. 6. The recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said environmental condition detecting means comprises humidity detecting means for detecting humidity around a place where a linear encoder is installed. 7. The recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the recording section includes a plurality of recording heads for discharging different colors. 8. An optical linear encoder, comprising: a light-projected portion formed by alternately forming two types of portions having different light reflectances arranged in a movement path of a recording portion along a sub-scanning direction; 8. The recording apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a light emitting and receiving unit that emits light toward the light projecting unit and receives light reflected from the light projecting unit. 9. The recording apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the recording unit generates bubbles in the ink by using thermal energy, and discharges the ink by the pressure of the bubbles.