JP2001113688A - Scanner printer - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To reduce cost of a scanner printer by eliminating the need of a sensor unit dedicated for detecting automatic registration. SOLUTION: Under a state where a black 1 head among at least five removable print heads for color printing is replaced by a scanner head 51 for image scanning, a predetermined test pattern is printed by means of all print heads 54 but the scanner head 51. The test pattern is scanned and read out by means of at least one sensor in the scanner head 51 and, based on the results thus read out, fixing shift of other head from a reference head caused by replacement of each head 54 is determined using a black 2 head among all print heads 54 but the scanner head 51 as the reference head. Print shift of a head is corrected based on the shift of print head thus determined.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

[0001] 1. Field of the Invention [0002] The present invention relates to a printer device that can use a scanner head.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in a printer apparatus in which a plurality of print heads are mounted on a carriage for color recording, when a print head is replaced, a displacement of a mounting position of another head with respect to a reference head is caused. May occur. Auto-registration adjustment is known as a technique for automatically correcting the shift amount.

FIG. 6 shows the configuration of a unit for detecting the amount of displacement between heads. This unit is mounted on a carriage together with a head, scans in a direction perpendicular to the paper transport direction, and detects a printing pattern (test pattern) for detecting a registration deviation printed on the printing paper 75. . This unit includes a lamp 73 for irradiating the printing paper 75 with light, a lens 74 for collecting reflected light of the light from the lamp 73, and a filter for recognizing a printing pattern from the collected reflected light. 72, and a sensor 71 for detecting light transmitted through the filter 72.

In this configuration, white, which is the ground color of the printing paper 75, and a plaque of a pattern printed on the surface thereof,
It is necessary to distinguish between cyan, magenta, and yellow. The identification method will be described with reference to <Lamp Characteristics> and <Ink Characteristics> in FIGS.

[0005] When light in the infrared region where the emission wavelength of the lamp exceeds the wavelength region of visible light is used for auto-registration adjustment, as can be seen from FIG. 2 (b), all colors of cyan, magenta and yellow are totally reflected. , It cannot be distinguished from white. Further, even in the visible light region, at a wavelength (λ) of 500 nm or more, the reflection of yellow is large, so that the yellow color cannot be distinguished from white. Further, as can be seen from FIG. 2A, since the component of 300 to 500 nm is very small due to the characteristics of the lamp, a lamp having a strong light amount is required for recognition by the sensor. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 6, light from a tungsten lamp having a strong light amount is passed through a blue filter and an infrared cut filter 72, and 500 n
By cutting off light having a wavelength of m or more, yellow that has absorbed the light can be determined by the visible light sensor.

In the case of an auto-registration adjustment sensor, when disturbance light enters the printing paper surface obliquely and disturbance light enters, the fluctuation of the sensor output directly affects the detection accuracy, and as shown in FIG. Is arranged perpendicular to the printing paper 75 so as to detect diffused light.

As a configuration of the head, a type in which the head and the ink tank are arranged separately as shown in FIG. 3A and a type in which the head and the ink tank are integrated as shown in FIG. There are some types. In the type where the head and the ink tank are arranged separately, only the ink tank can be replaced when the ink is consumed,
The tie, with the head and ink tank integrated,
The one-piece type itself will be replaced.

In any case, when the print head is replaced, as shown in FIGS. 4 (a) and 4 (b), there is a shift in the mounting position between the heads in the horizontal direction or the mounting in the vertical direction. A positional shift may occur. If printing is performed as it is in this state, stripes may be generated in the horizontal and vertical directions, resulting in image unevenness.

Next, detection of the presence or absence of printing paper or a document (ie, medium) will be described. Conventionally, as shown in FIG. 13, a paper detection sensor 81 for detecting the presence or absence of a printing paper 75 on a platen 84 includes an infrared light emitting LED 82 and an infrared sensor 83 attached to a carriage. While moving the paper detection sensor 81 in the carriage movement direction, the infrared sensor 83 detects the reflected light of the light emitted from the infrared light emitting LED 82.

Next, the correction between bands will be described. The band means a band-shaped image or a region thereof printed by a plurality of nozzles of the head in one scan of the carriage. Conventionally, band-to-band correction has been required due to variations in paper feed accuracy of the paper transport mechanism. FIG. 11 shows a print pattern for correction between bands. In the first printing scan, a dashed line is printed at a constant interval in the printing direction by the last nozzle of a plurality of nozzles arranged in a direction (paper conveying direction) perpendicular to the printing direction (main scanning direction), and then (1). In the second printing scan after the printing paper is conveyed by (band-1 nozzle), a dashed line is printed so that the ink ejection portion is located at a position where the dashed line printed first by the first nozzle is vacant. Go. If there is no variation in paper feed accuracy, the dashed lines printed in both print scans should be completely coincident on one straight line.

As shown in FIG. 12, in the actual print pattern, a correction value of 0 (reference) is set in the above case, and a print pattern intentionally shifted by ± 8 is also printed. The user inputs a correction value of the shift by viewing the printing result of the printing pattern and manually selecting a pair of broken lines closest to the straight line by manual operation.

[0012]

However, the above-mentioned prior art has the following problems. (A) Since the sensor for detecting the automatic registration and the sensor for detecting the paper need to be separately provided, there is a problem that the installation space increases and the apparatus cost increases accordingly. (B) Since the correction between the bands was manually performed by the user, the operation was very troublesome for the user.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made under such a background, and an object of the present invention is to provide a scanner / printer apparatus which can eliminate the need for a dedicated sensor unit for detecting an automatic registration or the like and reduce the apparatus cost. To provide.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a scanner printer capable of automatically performing inter-band correction.

[0015]

In order to achieve the above object, a scanner printer according to the present invention has a carriage on which at least five detachable print heads for color recording can be mounted. In a scanner printer device in which one of the first and second black heads can be replaced with an image scanning scanner head, one of the first and second black heads is replaced with an image scanning scanner head. A test pattern printing means for printing a predetermined test pattern with all the print heads, and scanning and reading the test pattern with a sensor of the scanner head, and based on the read result, all the print heads other than the scanner head One of the heads is used as the reference head, and it occurs when each print head is replaced Pattern reading means for determining the amount of misalignment of another head with respect to the reference head; and misalignment correcting means for correcting the misalignment during printing by the head based on the amount of misalignment of the print head obtained by the pattern reading means. It is provided.

This eliminates the need for a dedicated sensor unit for detecting the automatic registration and the like, and can reduce the cost of the apparatus.

Further, a medium detecting means for detecting whether or not a printing paper or a document exists on a platen using the scanner head may be provided.

Further, a second test pattern printing means for printing a predetermined second test pattern, and the second test pattern are scanned and read by a sensor of the scanner head, and based on the read result. A second pattern reading means for obtaining an error in the transport amount of the medium, and a transport amount correcting means for correcting the transport amount of the medium based on the error obtained by the second pattern reading means. .

[0019]

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

FIG. 1 is a schematic view showing an embodiment of a scanner printer according to the present invention.

In this embodiment, a black 1 head (not shown), a black 2 head, a cyan head, a magenta head, and a yellow head for printing on the printing paper 75 are mounted on a carriage (not shown). By replacing the black 1 head and the scanner head 51, in addition to reading the original document, the automatic registration adjustment of the present invention, the detection of the presence of the document or printing paper (medium detection),
In addition, correction between bands (conveyance amount correction) can be performed. This eliminates the need to provide separate and dedicated sensors for both functions as in the prior art.

FIG. 14 shows the scanner head 5 shown in FIG.
FIG. 1 is a perspective view illustrating an external configuration of the apparatus. As shown in FIG. 14, a scanner head 51 according to the present embodiment is covered with an outer shell 1 made of a material such as plastic, and mainly includes a light source 2 for irradiating light to a document, and a light source 2 for reflecting light on the document surface. A lens 3 for condensing the reflected light, a filter unit 5 provided with color filters 5A, 5B, 5C used for color reading, and a voltage for detecting the intensity of light input through the lens 3 and the filter unit 5. And a reading sensor unit 4 in which a plurality of sensors for converting the data into a single image are arranged in a line in the document feeding direction. Rotation shafts 6A and 6B are provided at both ends of the filter unit 5, and both shafts
, And the rotation position can be adjusted by the handle 6. This is a mechanism for removing the filter unit 5 from the optical path when scanning a monochrome image. In the present invention, the filter unit 5 may be left inserted in the optical path.

In the filter section 5, filter windows 5A, 5B and 5C are arranged in a line in the document feeding direction, and an R filter, a G filter and a B filter are respectively mounted. The positions of the lens 3, the document surface (not shown), and the reading sensor unit 4 are set such that the detection magnification of the reading sensor unit 4 with respect to the document surface is 1/2.

In FIG. 1, an upper cover open / close detection sensor 52 is attached, and when the upper cover 53 (only a part is shown) is opened and the print head 54 is replaced, the printer automatically operates. Specifically, a pattern composed of two sets of five pattern elements a to e as shown in FIGS. 5A and 5B is printed. Further, the pattern element a as shown in FIG.
To e, the amount of registration adjustment is detected through the following process. Note that the above process may be started according to a user's instruction without detecting whether the upper cover 53 is opened or closed.

For detecting the registration adjustment amount, it is preferable to use at least one sensor of the scanner head 51 for each of the RGB filters.

More specifically, the pattern elements a and b are first scanned to detect a portion where the density of the pattern changes from the output of the sensor 4, and an auto-registration control unit (not shown) controls each pattern element. Find the width of afterwards,
The CPU (not shown) reads the data of the width of each pattern and performs 演算 operation to calculate the center dot position of each pattern element. Next, the same pattern is scanned again, and the width (interval) d1 between the center dots is obtained using the data of the center dot position of each pattern element obtained previously. The above operation is repeated for the ac pattern, the ad pattern, and the ae pattern, and the width between the center dots of each pattern is obtained in the same manner. Calculating the difference d2 from the other data based on the data of the a-b pattern after obtaining the data, thereby calculating how much the other head is attached to the reference head. Becomes possible. Based on the calculated values, the shift amount in the direction and the horizontal direction that occurs when the vertical head is replaced is corrected.

The correction method is as follows. When the total number of nozzles of the head is 128 nozzles, the number of nozzles used for printing is set to 120 nozzles counted from the center. By shifting the nozzle groups used in the remaining eight nozzles (upper four nozzles and lower four nozzles) based on the values of the shift amounts of the respective print heads,
Corrects the print position in the vertical direction. When a shift occurs in the horizontal direction, the shift amount in the horizontal direction is corrected by changing the ink ejection timing in accordance with the value of the shift amount of each print head described above.

Next, an embodiment for detecting the presence or absence of a manuscript or printing paper will be described.

FIG. 10 shows the light amount of light detected by at least one sensor of the scanner head 51. If the light amount is equal to or more than a certain fixed amount, it is determined that there is printing paper. Judge as no. When a plurality of sensors are used, an average value of their outputs is used.
As a result, it is possible to avoid erroneous detection due to noise, partial dust, or the like. The "constant light amount" means the amount of reflected light from the platen 84 (at least about 10% reflectance), which is always located on the lower surface of the printing paper and has a black surface, and the amount of reflected light from translucent paper with low reflectance. And a level intermediate with the light quantity of the reference. In FIG. 10, P1 is, as shown in FIG.
It shows the amount of light received when the scanner head 51 is located at a place on the platen 84 where the printing paper 75 does not exist,
Since the black platen 84 is irradiated with the light of the lamp 2, the light is absorbed and the sensor 4 inside the scanner head 51 is
The detected light amount decreases. Therefore, at this location, it is detected that there is no printing paper. P2 in FIG. 10 indicates the amount of light received when the scanner head 51 is located at a location on the printing paper 75 as shown in FIG. Most of the light is reflected, and the amount of light received by the sensor 4 inside the scanner head 51 increases. Therefore, at this location, it is detected that there is printing paper. P3 in FIG. 10 corresponds to the position P1 as shown in FIG.
Indicates the amount of light received when the scanner head 51 is located in a place where the printing paper 75 does not exist, on the opposite side of FIG.
As in the case of 1, it is detected that there is no printing paper.

In the present embodiment, the scanner head 51 is also used for detecting a band-to-band correction pattern. The pattern is as shown in FIG. 1
The amount of deviation between the second print line and the second print line in the print paper transport direction is relatively detected by scanning with the scanner head in the print paper transport direction based on the first printed line. Based on the detected shift amount, the transport amount per band of the sheet transport mechanism (not shown) is corrected.

Although the preferred embodiment of the present invention has been described above, various modifications and changes are possible. For example,
The configuration of the test pattern is an example, and is not limited to the illustrated pattern.

[0032]

According to the present invention, by effectively utilizing the scanner head, it becomes possible to realize functions such as auto-registration adjustment conventionally performed by a dedicated unit. This eliminates the need for the dedicated unit,
The installation space and the equipment cost can be reduced.

[Brief description of the drawings]

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

FIG. 2 is a graph showing a lamp characteristic (a) and an ink characteristic (b) of a registration shift detecting unit.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing two types (a) and (b) according to a conventional relationship between a head and an ink tank.

FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining a shift (a) of a mounting position in a horizontal direction and a shift (b) of a mounting position in a vertical direction, which occur between a plurality of heads.

FIGS. 5A and 5B are explanatory diagrams showing configuration examples (a) and (b) of a print pattern (test pattern) for detecting a registration shift, and a state (c) of a head shift.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a configuration of a conventional unit for detecting a shift amount between heads.

FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram of the amount of light received at the start of scanning by the scanner head according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram of the amount of light received when a scanner head scans a print sheet according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is an explanatory diagram of the amount of light received at the end of scanning by the scanner head according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 10 is a graph corresponding to FIGS. 7 to 9 and showing light amounts of light detected by the scanner head.

FIG. 11 is a diagram showing a test pattern for correction between bands.

FIG. 12 is a diagram showing a conventional print pattern for band correction for visual observation.

FIG. 13 is an explanatory diagram of a conventional paper detection sensor that detects the presence or absence of print paper on a platen.

FIG. 14 is a perspective view showing an external configuration of the scanner head shown in FIG.

[Explanation of symbols]

 Reference Signs List 50 Linear scale 51 Scanner head 52 Upper cover open / close detection sensor 53 Upper cover 54 Head 56 Belt

Continued on the front page F term (reference) 2C056 EA24 EB13 EB27 EB29 EB46 EC07 EC12 EC28 EC34 EC37 FA10 HA07 HA58 KD06 2C480 CA01 CA36 CA55 EC10 5C051 AA01 AA02 AA03 CA04 DA05 DB01 DB02 DB11 DB28 DC07 DE07 5C072AA04 BA05 AA07 AA10 AA11 BB16 CC25 CC26 DD15 DD24 DD28 EE04 EE08 FF15 GG08 GG19 HH04

Claims (3)

[Claims] A carriage capable of mounting at least five detachable print heads for color recording;
A scanner printer device in which one of the first and second black heads is exchangeable with an image scanning scanner head, wherein the scanner is replaced with one of the first and second black heads with an image scanning scanner head. A test pattern printing means for printing a predetermined test pattern with all print heads other than the head, and scanning and reading the test pattern with a sensor of the scanner head, and based on the read result, all prints other than the scanner head A pattern reading unit for determining an attachment displacement amount of another head with respect to the reference head caused by replacement of each print head, using any one of the heads as a reference head; and a displacement amount of the print head obtained by the pattern reading unit. Based on the deviation during printing by the head. Scanner printer apparatus and a deviation correction means for correcting. 2. A scanner printer according to claim 1, further comprising a medium detecting means for detecting whether there is a printing paper or a document on a platen using said scanner head. 3. A second test pattern printing means for printing a predetermined second test pattern, and scanning and reading the second test pattern by a sensor of the scanner head, and based on the read result, A second pattern reading unit for obtaining an error of the medium conveyance amount; and a conveyance amount correction unit for correcting the medium conveyance amount based on the error obtained by the second pattern reading unit. 3. The scanner printer device according to claim 1, wherein: