JP2000218870A - Recording apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a recording apparatus which efficiently detects an area where a plurality of resolutions mix and converts to record input printing data respectively to an optimum resolution when the input printing data includes the plurality of resolutions. SOLUTION: An image data judge part 408 judges printing data by every predetermined amount of several scans, When the data of the predetermined amount includes an area where a resolution does not change by a predetermined amount or more between the printing data of a high resolution and the printing data of a low resolution is present, the judge part does not judge that the printing data comprises a plurality of resolutions. On the other hand, when the area is not present, the judge part judges that the printing data comprises a plurality of resolutions. The resolution of the same scan is uniformized in the printing data judged to comprise the plurality of resolutions by a second plot process part 410.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

[0001] The present invention relates to a recording apparatus.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, data recorded by a recording apparatus has been diversified not only in text but also in photographic images. In addition, the layout itself has become more complicated, with text and photo images mixed on a single page.

In a conventional recording apparatus for reading and printing data in page units, when data having a plurality of resolutions is transferred, the resolution is controlled in accordance with each resolution in a page. In many cases, no mechanism was provided and the resolution could be switched only on a page-by-page basis.

For example, on the host computer side, a character (text) has a resolution of 360 dpi and a photographic image has a resolution of 7 dpi.
It is assumed that one page of print data has been created at a resolution of 20 dpi. That is, it is assumed that print data in which two types of resolutions of 360 dpi and 720 dpi are mixed on the same page. When receiving the print data, the conventional recording apparatus increases the resolution of the character portion from 360 dpi to 7 dpi.
20 dpi or the resolution of the photographic image part is changed from 720 dpi to 360 dpi, etc., so that the resolution is unified in page units so that data with different resolutions are not mixed in one page. I was going.

[0005] However, in the case of the above-mentioned conventional recording method in which the resolution is unified in units of one page, in a completed recorded product, the image quality such as a photographic image is partially degraded, or the resolution is unnecessarily high for characters. As a result, the recording speed may decrease.

In order to solve such a problem, for example,
As in the recording device described in Japanese Patent Publication No. Hei 8-25313,
When the resolution of the print data is detected in units of one line per one scan of the recording head, and a plurality of resolutions are mixed in the same line, printing is performed after aligning the other resolutions with high resolution ones. Proposed. In this way, by performing the resolution control in units of one line to adjust the resolution in the same line to a high resolution, it becomes possible to record a mixture of images of a plurality of resolutions in a page, for example, to maintain the recording quality of a photographic image portion. Can also be done easily.

[0007]

However, in the above-mentioned conventional recording apparatus, the resolution must be detected and converted on a line-by-line basis. For example, even if the print data includes an area that does not originally require a conversion operation or a blank area where an image or the like does not exist, all of these areas are detected line by line, which is inefficient.

In view of the above-mentioned conventional problems, an object of the present invention is to provide
It is an object of the present invention to provide a recording apparatus that, when print data having a plurality of resolutions is input, efficiently detects an area in which a plurality of resolutions are mixed, converts the area into an optimum resolution, and performs recording.

[0009]

According to the present invention, there is provided a recording apparatus which causes a recording head to scan a recording medium and further moves the recording medium by a predetermined amount in a direction different from the scanning direction of the recording head. By moving relatively,
In a recording apparatus that performs recording on a recording medium by performing the scanning a plurality of times, a print data determination unit that determines whether print data is composed of data having a plurality of resolutions, and the print data determination unit Resolution conversion means for unifying the resolution of the print data determined to be composed of a plurality of resolutions, wherein the print data determination means determines the print data in a predetermined amount unit consisting of the plurality of scans, In the print data, if there is an area where the resolution does not change by a predetermined amount or more with respect to the scan width of the recording head due to the scanning, between the print data of the first resolution and the print data of the second resolution, the print data Is characterized in that it is not determined that the image has a plurality of resolutions.

According to the above arrangement, the print data is divided in units of a predetermined amount, and it is determined by the print data determining means whether or not the region of the predetermined amount has a plurality of resolutions. If it is, the print data is unified to the higher resolution, while in the area composed of a single resolution, the print data is kept at that resolution, and this is recorded, so that each scan Printing is performed at the optimum resolution for each time.

[0011]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment to which a recording apparatus and a recording method of the present invention are applied will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an ink jet printer (hereinafter, also referred to as a printer) to which the present invention is applied.

The printer 1 scans a carriage 101 on which a recording head 102 and a cartridge guide 103 are mounted along guide shafts 104 and 105, and performs recording by discharging ink from the recording head 102 during the scanning.

The recording medium 106 is fed to a recording position by a paper feed roller 107, and
8. While being pinched by a pinch roller (not shown) and the paper pressing plate 109, the sheet is sent to a position facing the recording head 102, and recording is performed.

When printing is performed by the carriage 101 in the direction of the arrow p and the printing is performed by the width of the print head 102, the printing medium 106 is fed by the paper feed roller 108 by a predetermined amount in the direction of the arrow q. By repeating this recording and paper feeding, recording is performed on the entire recording medium 106.

As shown in FIG. 2, a plurality of ejection ports are arranged in a row on the front surface of the recording head 102, that is, on the surface facing the recording medium. The ejection port array is divided into groups for each color of ink to be ejected. The ejection port group 209 for yellow and the ejection port group 21 for magenta
Each of the 0 and cyan ejection port groups 211 has four ejection ports, and the black ejection port group 212 has 64 ejection ports.
It consists of multiple outlets. Each of the ejection ports is provided with a communicating ink liquid path, and a common liquid chamber for supplying ink to each liquid path is provided behind the ink liquid path.

In the ink liquid passage corresponding to each of the discharge ports, an electrothermal converter for generating thermal energy is provided, and the electrothermal converter is heated to generate a thermal energy. Ink droplets can be ejected from the ejection openings.

The electrothermal transducer and the electrode wiring for supplying electricity thereto are formed on a substrate 201 made of silicon or the like by a film forming technique. Further, the discharge ports, the ink liquid paths, and the common liquid chamber are formed by laminating a partition wall, a top plate, and the like made of a resin or a glass material on the substrate 201. A drive circuit for driving the electrothermal transducer on the basis of a recording signal is provided in the form of a printed board 202 behind the board 201.

The board 201 and the printed board 202 are fixed to an aluminum plate 203. The ink cartridges 110 and 111 are inserted into the cartridge guide 103 substantially along the aluminum plate 203, and the pipes 20 projecting along the aluminum plate 203.
4, 205, 206 and 207 are connected. Pipe 20
4 is for yellow, pipe 205 is for magenta, pipe 2
06 is for cyan, and pipe 207 is for black. These pipes 204 to 207 protrude from a distributor 208 provided in a direction orthogonal to the substrate,
Each of the pipes 204 to 207 communicates with a common liquid chamber of each corresponding discharge port group through a flow path in the distributor 208.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing the control configuration of the printer 1 described above.

The central control unit 304 has the CPU 301 and the RA
M302 and ROM303. CPU
Reference numeral 301 denotes a carriage motor 305, a paper feed motor 306,
Drive control of the recording head 102 and the like is performed. Also, RAM
Reference numeral 302 denotes a work area under control of the CPU 301.

Further, the print data sent from the host computer is processed by the image processing unit 307 based on a processing command from the CPU 301, and sent to the recording head 308. The image processing unit 307 also performs a process related to resolution conversion described later with reference to FIG. The recording head 102 performs recording based on print data from the image processing unit 307.

Next, in the above image processing unit 307,
A configuration mainly related to the resolution conversion according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG.

The print data sent from the host computer is first received by the I / F unit 401. I / F
The unit 401 temporarily stores the received print data in the reception buffer 40.
2 is stored.

The command analysis unit 403 includes the reception buffer 4
02 is read out and the control code,
Analyze character codes, dot patterns, etc. As a result of the analysis, in the case of a character code, the character code is stored in the text buffer 404 in the form of text information. In the case of a dot pattern, the data is sent directly to the first drawing processing unit 406 without processing.

The first drawing processing unit 406 reads the text information stored in the text buffer 404, further reads a character font for converting the character code stored in the CG font unit 405 into a character pattern, and reads the character font. Is expanded into character patterns. Further, drawing is performed on the print buffer 407 from the character pattern and the dot pattern from the command analysis unit 403 as shown in FIGS.

Next, the image data determination unit 408 analyzes the control code drawn by the first drawing processing unit 406 in units of several scans, and as shown in FIGS. It is determined whether control codes of a plurality of resolutions coexist in the area or only control codes of a single resolution. Then, for an area where a plurality of resolutions are mixed (hereinafter, also referred to as a “multiple resolution area”), the resolution determination unit 409 further determines each of the plurality of resolutions, and sends a drawing instruction to the second drawing processing unit 410. In the above description, the data amount analyzed by the image data determination unit 408 at one time is in units of several scans, but is not limited to this unit, and may be, for example, the data amount of one page.

The second drawing processing unit 410 performs a process for making the resolution of one scan uniform for a plurality of resolution areas.

The data stored in the print buffer 407 is read by the print control unit 411 and sent to the print unit 412 having the above-described recording head 102. The printing control unit 411 controls the printing operation of the printing unit 412, and the printing unit 412 prints data according to the control of the printing control unit 411.

The print data transmitted from the host computer or the like as described above is transmitted to the image data determination unit 4.
In step 08, it is determined whether a single-resolution area or a multiple-resolution area is determined for each area of several scans, and the print data is converted in accordance with the determination. The criterion for the process of determining whether a region is a multiple resolution region will be described. Note that the determination processing is shown as the processing of steps 801 and 802 shown in FIG.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of print data developed in the print buffer 407.

FIG. 4A shows a low-resolution print data 50.
Print head 1 between print data 2 and high-resolution print data 504.
This is a data configuration having a blank area (space) 503 having a length of 02 or more.

On the other hand, FIG. 2B shows a data configuration in which a blank area (space) 506 smaller than the length of the recording head 102 is provided between the low-resolution print data 505 and the high-resolution print data 507.

In the example of FIG. 7A, since the blank area 503 has a width equal to or greater than the length of the recording head 102, it does not occur that low-resolution and high-resolution print data are mixed in the same scan. On the other hand, in the example of FIG.
Since 6 is a width equal to or less than the length of the recording head 102, low-resolution and high-resolution print data are mixed in the same scan.

Therefore, the regions 502 and 504 are determined to be single resolution regions. On the other hand, the regions 505 and 507 are determined to be multiple resolution regions. Then, if it is determined that the area is a multi-resolution area, the second drawing processing unit performs processing for adjusting to high resolution. This processing method will be described later with reference to FIG. In this way, the resolution of the print data, including the presence or absence of print data, in the area for several scans is checked by the control data, and a plurality of resolutions within one scan width corresponding to the discharge port array width of the print head 102 are determined. If the print data does not exist, the resolution conversion process can be prevented from being performed. Therefore, as described in the above-mentioned prior art publication, the print pattern is scanned every scan, and data of a plurality of resolutions exists. High-speed processing can be performed as compared with the configuration in which whether or not the determination is made.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing another example of print data. In this example, there is an area (low-resolution area) where the resolution does not change in place of the blank area shown in FIG. Is an example in which the width is equal to or larger than the width of the recording head. In this specification, the “blank region” is also referred to as a “region where the resolution does not change”.

FIG. 7A shows print data in a state where it is printed on the recording medium 601 for the sake of simplicity. The low-resolution area 602 and the high-resolution area 604 are mixed.

FIG. 6B is a diagram schematically showing the printing speed in each area in the unit of scan.

The low-resolution area 602 is stored in the print buffer as low-resolution speed print data in scan units from the top of the array. However, since the area 603 in FIG. 5A is printed by the same scan as the next high-resolution area 604, it is determined to be a multi-resolution area as in the case shown in FIG. 5B.

Therefore, in order to make the resolution of the print data uniform, the data in the low-resolution area 603 is expanded to the high-resolution speed print data (the area where the area 607 in the middle of FIG. 7B is expanded). Therefore, this scan is stored in the print buffer as high-resolution speed print data.

As still another example, a process when print data of different resolutions are arranged in the scanning direction of the recording head will be described.

FIG. 7A shows an example of print data.

When the low-resolution print data 702 and the high-resolution print data 703 are arranged on the print medium 701 along the scan direction of the print head, an area 704 is displayed.
In the portion, high-resolution and low-resolution are mixed in one-scan printing. Therefore, this area 704 is determined to be a multiple resolution area.

If it is determined that the area is a plurality of resolution areas, the second drawing processing section performs processing for adjusting to a high resolution area. This processing method will be described later.

However, print data having different resolutions may be mixed not only in the scan direction of the recording head but also in the paper feed direction. In the case of such an arrangement, depending on the arrangement interval between the low-resolution print data and the high-resolution print data, i.e., the size of the blank area provided between the two data, a single-resolution area or a multi-resolution area is determined. A decision is made.

First, all the print data in the area 704, which is a multiple resolution area, is converted to a high resolution (α portion in FIG. 7B). Further, the print data in the upper half of the scan is originally the print data in the low-resolution area 702, but the print data in the area 704 is printed by the same scan. (The area 707 is an expanded part). The print data of the lower half of the scan is originally the print data of the low-resolution area 702, but the high-resolution data is printed by the same scan. Therefore, the data is extended to the high resolution according to the resolution ( Area 7
08 is an extension part).

Further, as shown in FIG. 5B, even if there is a blank area in between, print data in the same scan is processed to be aligned on the high resolution side.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing the above processing.
become.

The first second receives print data from the processing unit (step 801), and the image data determination unit determines whether resolution conversion is necessary, as described with reference to FIGS. It is determined whether the area is one resolution area or plural resolution areas (step 802).

If it is determined that the area is a single resolution area, it is temporarily stored in the print buffer as single resolution data (step 803).

On the other hand, if it is determined that the area is a plurality of resolution areas, a resolution conversion process is performed (step 804), and after the conversion process, a drawing process is performed (step 805).

The printing speed of the scanning unit is determined for both the single resolution data and the multiple resolution data subjected to the drawing process (step 806), and printing is performed according to the printing speed (step 807).

Until printing for one page is completed, the process returns to step 801 to process the next data (step 8).
08).

In this manner, by setting the print data in which the resolution is adjusted to the high resolution side for each scan, an optimum print can be completed in one scan. further,
Judgment processing is performed for each area, and in addition, if there is a blank area, it is determined based on the size of the blank area, so it is possible to convert the resolution of each area collectively,
The time required for the resolution conversion process can be shortened.

(Others) It should be noted that the present invention includes a means (for example, an electrothermal converter or a laser beam) for generating thermal energy as energy used for performing ink ejection, particularly in an ink jet recording system. An excellent effect is obtained in a recording head and a recording apparatus of a type in which the state of ink is changed by the thermal energy. This is because according to such a method, it is possible to achieve higher density and higher definition of recording.

The typical configuration and principle are described in, for example, US Pat. Nos. 4,723,129 and 4,740.
It is preferable to use the basic principle disclosed in the specification of Japanese Patent No. 796. This method is a so-called on-demand type,
Although it can be applied to any type of continuous type, in particular, in the case of the on-demand type, it can be applied to a sheet holding liquid (ink) or an electrothermal converter arranged corresponding to the liquid path. By applying at least one drive signal corresponding to the recorded information and giving a rapid temperature rise exceeding the nucleate boiling, heat energy is generated in the electrothermal transducer, and film boiling occurs on the heat acting surface of the recording head. Liquid (ink) corresponding to this drive signal on a one-to-one basis.
This is effective because air bubbles inside can be formed. The liquid (ink) is ejected through the ejection opening by the growth and contraction of the bubble to form at least one droplet. When the drive signal is formed into a pulse shape, the growth and shrinkage of the bubble are performed immediately and appropriately, so that the ejection of liquid (ink) having particularly excellent responsiveness can be achieved, which is more preferable. As this pulse-shaped drive signal, those described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,463,359 and 4,345,262 are suitable. Further, if the conditions described in US Pat. No. 4,313,124 relating to the temperature rise rate of the heat acting surface are adopted, more excellent recording can be performed.

As the configuration of the recording head, in addition to the combination (straight liquid flow path or right-angle liquid flow path) of the combination of the discharge port, the liquid path, and the electrothermal converter as disclosed in the above-mentioned respective specifications, U.S. Pat. No. 4,558,333 and U.S. Pat. No. 44,558 which disclose a configuration in which a heat acting portion is arranged in a bending region.
A configuration using the specification of Japanese Patent No. 59600 is also included in the present invention. In addition, Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 59-123670 discloses a configuration in which a common slit is used as a discharge portion of an electrothermal converter for a plurality of electrothermal converters, and an aperture for absorbing a pressure wave of thermal energy is provided. The effect of the present invention is effective even if the configuration is based on JP-A-59-138461, which discloses a configuration corresponding to a discharge unit. That is, according to the present invention, recording can be reliably and efficiently performed regardless of the form of the recording head.

Further, the present invention can be effectively applied to a full-line type recording head having a length corresponding to the maximum width of a recording medium on which a recording apparatus can record. Such a recording head may have a configuration that satisfies the length by a combination of a plurality of recording heads, or a configuration as one integrally formed recording head.

In addition, even in the case of the serial type as described above, a recording head fixed to the apparatus main body or an electric connection with the apparatus main body or ink from the apparatus main body is mounted on the apparatus main body. The present invention is also effective when a replaceable chip-type recording head that can be supplied or a cartridge-type recording head in which an ink tank is provided integrally with the recording head itself is used.

Further, it is preferable to add a recording head ejection recovery unit, a preliminary auxiliary unit, and the like as the configuration of the recording apparatus of the present invention since the effects of the present invention can be further stabilized. If these are specifically mentioned, the recording head is heated using capping means, cleaning means, pressurizing or suction means, an electrothermal transducer, another heating element or a combination thereof. Pre-heating means for performing the pre-heating and pre-discharging means for performing the discharging other than the recording can be used.

The type and number of recording heads to be mounted are not limited to those provided only for one color ink, for example, and for a plurality of inks having different recording colors and densities. A plurality may be provided. That is, for example, the printing mode of the printing apparatus is not limited to a printing mode of only a mainstream color such as black, but may be any of integrally forming a printing head or a combination of a plurality of printing heads. The present invention is also very effective for an apparatus provided with at least one of the recording modes of full color by color mixture.

In addition, in the embodiment of the present invention described above, the ink is described as a liquid. However, an ink which solidifies at room temperature or lower and which softens or liquefies at room temperature may be used. In general, the ink jet method generally controls the temperature of the ink itself within a range of 30 ° C. or more and 70 ° C. or less to control the temperature so that the viscosity of the ink is in a stable ejection range. Sometimes, the ink may be in a liquid state. In addition, in order to positively prevent the temperature rise due to thermal energy by using the energy of the state change from the solid state of the ink to the liquid state, or to prevent the ink from evaporating, the ink is solidified in a standing state and heated. May be used. In any case, the application of heat energy causes the ink to be liquefied by the application of the heat energy according to the recording signal and the liquid ink to be ejected, or to start to solidify when reaching the recording medium. The present invention is also applicable to a case where an ink having a property of liquefying for the first time is used. In such a case, the ink
JP-A-54-56847 or JP-A-60-7
As described in Japanese Patent Publication No. 1260, it is also possible to adopt a form in which the sheet is opposed to the electrothermal converter in a state where it is held as a liquid or solid substance in the concave portion or through hole of the porous sheet. In the present invention, the most effective one for each of the above-mentioned inks is to execute the above-mentioned film boiling method.

In addition, the form of the ink jet recording apparatus of the present invention is not only used as an image output terminal of an information processing apparatus such as a computer, but also for a copying apparatus combined with a reader or the like, and a facsimile apparatus having a transmission / reception function. It may take a form.

[0064]

By using the recording apparatus of the present invention,
The print data is divided in units of a predetermined amount, and the print data determination means determines whether or not the predetermined amount is configured with a plurality of resolutions. If the print data is configured with a plurality of resolutions, the determined predetermined amount is further determined. In scans composed of multiple resolutions, the print data is unified to the higher resolution, while in scans composed of a single resolution, the print data remains at that resolution. By recording print data, when print data with multiple resolutions is input, it is possible to efficiently detect areas where multiple resolutions are mixed and convert them to optimal resolutions for recording. .

Therefore, even when a photographic image and a text are mixed in the same page, recording with an appropriate resolution can be performed in one scan, and deterioration of the recording quality can be prevented.

Further, since it is determined whether the area is a multiple resolution area or a single resolution area in units of a predetermined amount, and the resolution conversion processing is performed in this unit, the time required for these processings can be shortened.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a printer.

FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of a recording head.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating a control configuration of the printer.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing an output form of data.

FIGS. 5A and 5B are diagrams showing other examples of print data.

FIG. 6A is a diagram illustrating an example of print data,
FIG. 3B is a diagram illustrating a memory of the print data of FIG.

FIG. 7A is a diagram illustrating an example of print data;
FIG. 3B is a diagram illustrating a memory of the print data of FIG.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart illustrating print data determination processing.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Printer 102 Recording head 103 Cartridge guide 104, 105 Guide shaft 106 Recording medium 107 Paper feed roller 108 Paper feed roller 109 Paper press plate

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. A print head is scanned with respect to a print medium, and the print medium is relatively moved by a predetermined amount in a direction different from the scan direction of the print head, thereby performing the scan a plurality of times. In a recording apparatus that records on a medium, a print data determining unit that determines whether print data is composed of data having a plurality of resolutions, and print data that is determined to have a plurality of resolutions by the print data determining unit. Resolution conversion means for unifying the resolution of the print data, the print data determination means determines the print data in a predetermined amount unit consisting of a plurality of times of the scan, in this predetermined amount of print data, the first resolution printing An area in which the resolution does not change by a predetermined amount or more with respect to the scan width of the recording head due to the scanning between the data and the print data of the second resolution. Wherein the print data does not include a plurality of resolutions. 2. The recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the area where the resolution does not change is a blank area. 3. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the resolution conversion unit unifies the data to a higher resolution when print data to be printed by the same scan has a plurality of resolutions. Recording device. 4. The print data judging means, when a length of the blank area in a direction different from a scanning direction of the recording head is longer than a length of the blank head in the same direction, the print data is output from a plurality of resolutions. The recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the determination is not made. 5. The recording head comprises a plurality of recording elements, wherein the recording elements generate bubbles in the ink using thermal energy, and discharge the ink by the pressure of the generated bubbles. The recording device according to claim 1.