JP2001293904A - Method and apparatus for controlling image - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To solve a problem where the image quality is not sustained in an optimal state because variation of characteristics such as aging, environmental variation or variation of print conditions, of an image recorder is not taken into account or the fact that setting of an image controller depends on the characteristics of an image being recorded is not taken into account. SOLUTION: Means for rewriting the binary image pattern of a pattern recognizer and/or the analog exposure pattern of an analog exposing unit or adding a postscript thereto during image recording is provided.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

[0001] 1. Field of the Invention [0002] The present invention relates to an image control method for an image recording apparatus and an image control apparatus using the same.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A conventional apparatus is disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No.
As described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Publication No. H10-209, a bitmap and a predetermined stored template or pattern are matched with each other in small pieces to detect a feature of a bitmap selected in advance and to print a bitmap image. It is described as enhancing quality.

[0003]

If the characteristics of the image recording apparatus such as changes over time, changes in the environment, changes in the printing state, and the like are not taken into consideration, there is a problem that the image quality cannot be maintained in an optimum state. The term "aging" means that the process characteristics of the image recording apparatus change as time elapses and the number of prints increases. For example, even if the image control device is set so that the image quality is optimal when new, it will change over time,
The set value may not be optimal. The environmental change means that the process characteristics of the image recording apparatus change particularly due to a change in temperature and humidity. The printing state change means whether recording is performed continuously or intermittently. Further, it means that the process characteristics of the image recording apparatus change due to a change in a printing state such as whether an image in which a color material is placed on the entire surface of the paper or an image of almost blank paper is recorded.

[0004] Furthermore, unless consideration is given to the fact that the setting of the image control device that optimizes the image quality differs depending on the characteristics of the recorded image, there is a problem that the image quality cannot be maintained in an optimum state depending on the recorded image. Was. The characteristics of a recorded image include, for example, in a character-centered image, in order to stably record an image, a thin line may be printed wider than a defined line width, and an isolated small dot may have a defined size. There are cases where recording is made larger than that. However, in a halftone image formed by halftone dots or lines, continuity of gradation is important, and thin lines and small dots may be recorded thinner or smaller on the contrary. This means that the required image quality characteristics vary depending on the type of image to be recorded.

An object of the present invention is to provide an image quality control method capable of always maintaining an optimum image quality even if the process characteristics of an image recording device change or the characteristics of a recorded image change, and an image control device using the same. It is to provide.

[0006]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION According to the present invention, an input 2
Pattern recognition is performed on the value video signal and a plurality of pre-stored binary image patterns, an image pattern recognition result is output, and a plurality of analog exposure patterns corresponding to the output image pattern recognition results are stored in advance. The analog exposure pattern is selected, and the selected analog exposure pattern is output. The binary image pattern or the analog exposure pattern can be externally rewritten or added.

Further, pattern recognition is performed between an input binary video signal and a plurality of binary image patterns stored in advance, an image pattern recognition result is output, and an analog signal corresponding to the output image pattern recognition result is output. In an image recording apparatus that selects an exposure pattern from a plurality of analog exposure patterns stored in advance and outputs the selected analog exposure pattern to a light source in an exposure process to perform image recording, printing process characteristics, environmental conditions, One or more sensors for detecting the recorded image characteristics are provided, and a means for rewriting or writing a binary image pattern or an analog exposure pattern in accordance with an output result from the sensor is provided.

[0008]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an embodiment of the present invention.
4 will be described with reference to FIG.

FIG. 2 shows an embodiment of a use environment of the image recording apparatus of the present invention. The user uses the computer 201 or the like to create page description data 2 representing the content of the page to be recorded.
02 is created. When recording is started, the page description data 202 is transmitted to a controller 203 of an image recording apparatus such as a laser printer via a network or the like. The controller 203 converts the page description data 202 into image data 204 for each page, and temporarily stores the image data 204 in a built-in bitmap memory 205. In this embodiment, the image data 204 is assumed to be recorded by a monochrome binary laser printer in this embodiment, and one bit per pixel (1 is black, 0 is 0).
Indicates white). Image data 204
When the development of the image recording device is completed, the controller 203 controls the engine 206 including the printing process for recording the image of the image recording device.
Is started, and then the synchronization signal 20 from the engine 206 is started.
7, the image data 204 is converted to the binary video signal 101.
To the engine 206. The engine 206 records an actual image on a recording medium according to the binary video signal 101.

FIG. 3 shows an embodiment of the engine 206 of the image recording apparatus of the present invention. In this embodiment, for the sake of explanation, it is assumed that the engine 206 is a monochrome binary multi-beam laser printer as described above.

The printing process in the engine of the laser printer mainly includes a photosensitive member having a drum or belt shape, a charger for uniformly charging the photosensitive member, and a photosensitive member having a uniform charge on the photosensitive member. An exposure device having a plurality of laser beams for forming an electrostatic latent image, a developing machine for forming a toner image on a photoconductor by attaching toner on the electrostatic latent image, and a variety of toner images And a fixing device for fixing the toner image to the recording medium. In the case of recording a color image, a plurality of developing machines are provided, toner images of different colors are formed on the photosensitive member, and the toner images of the respective colors are transferred to a recording medium via an intermediate transfer member for overlapping. May be. Also, in order to perform high-speed printing regardless of color / monochrome, a plurality of photoconductors may be provided and printed collectively on an intermediate transfer member or a recording medium.

Here, an embodiment of an exposure system including an exposure apparatus according to the present invention will be described.

First, the laser light 3 from the laser light source 300
01 enters the rotary polygon mirror 302. Rotating polygon mirror 30
2 reflects the laser light 301 and, as shown in the figure,
A beam spot 304 is formed on the surface of the photoconductor 303. The beam spot 304 is scanned on the photoconductor 303 in the main scanning direction, which is the horizontal direction in the figure, with the rotation of the rotary polygon mirror 302. FIG. 3 is a diagram when one laser beam is used, but the principle is the same when a plurality of laser beams are provided.

As for the modulation of the light amount, the binary video signal 101 is directly guided to the laser light source 300, and the light amount to the beam spot 304 is measured by an AO modulator or the like when the laser light source is a gas laser, and by a solid laser. It is intermittently modulated by a current modulator or the like. Further, the light amount to the beam spot 304 can be modulated not continuously but in a continuous analog manner.

FIG. 1 shows an embodiment of the image control apparatus of the present invention. The image control device of the present invention is inserted between the bitmap memory 205 in FIG. 2 and the laser light source 300 (see FIG. 3) in the exposure device in the engine 206.

First, 2 from the bitmap memory 205
The value video signal 101 is directed to a pattern recognition device 102. The pattern recognition device 102 has a number of predetermined binary image patterns 106 therein, and performs a comparison between the binary video signal 101 and all the binary image patterns 106 for each pixel. Whether or not to do so, so-called pattern recognition is performed, and an image pattern recognition result 103 is output based on the result. The output image pattern recognition result 103 is guided to the analog exposure device 104. The analog exposure apparatus 104 has several analog exposure patterns 107 in advance, selects an analog exposure pattern 107 corresponding to the image pattern recognition result 103 for each pixel, and outputs the analog exposure pattern 107 to the analog video signal 10.
5 and output to the laser light source 300. In this configuration, the binary image pattern 106 and the analog exposure pattern 107
It is one of the features of the present invention that the means 108 for rewriting or writing is added. The rewriting or rewriting unit 108 can be performed between pages or between jobs during image recording, can follow a change in the process characteristics of the image recording apparatus, and can operate at different temperatures or different temperatures of the image recording apparatus. Even if environmental conditions such as humidity or the characteristics of the recorded image change, the control method can be updated to an optimal control method at any time.

In a configuration in which the binary image pattern 106 and the analog exposure pattern 107 are structurally determined in advance, the binary image pattern 106 and the analog exposure pattern 1
07 could not be rewritten or added online (while recording an image). Hereinafter, the pattern recognition apparatus 102, the analog exposure apparatus 104, and the rewriting / writing means 108 of the present invention will be described in detail.

FIG. 4 shows an embodiment using a large capacity memory. In this example, the binary image pattern 106 has a maximum of 7
An example of × 7 pixels is shown. First, the binary video signal 101
The line memory 401 for the lines becomes the binary video signal 101 for seven lines including the line being received.
Further, the matrix register 402 including seven stages of latches (flip-flops) in the line direction provides a 7 × 7 matrix.
The binary video signal 101 of pixels (49 pixels in total) can be obtained collectively. In the present embodiment, the binary video signal 101 for 49 pixels is input as address data 403 to a normal readable / writable memory (RAM) 404. Memory (RAM) 404 outputs data 405 corresponding to this. In this embodiment, the signal is an 8-bit signal. The data 405 is guided to a digital-to-analog converter (DA converter) 406, and an analog video signal 105 is obtained as an output.

Next, rewriting or adding means 10
8 will be described. In the present embodiment, since the binary image pattern 106 and the analog exposure pattern 107 have the contents of the memory 404, the contents of the memory 404 are externally rewritten. Hereinafter, the operation at the time of rewriting will be briefly described.

The rewriting or writing means 108 comprises a rewriting data buffer 407 and a write address generator 408. At the time of rewriting, the control signal 40
9 is inverted, the output of the matrix register 402 switches from the output mode to high impedance, the memory 404 switches from read to write mode, and the outputs of the rewrite data buffer 407 and the write address generator 408 switch from high impedance to output mode. Then, the contents of the memory 404 are entirely or partially replaced with the contents of the rewrite data buffer 407 by the write address generator 408.

According to the present embodiment, the memory (RAM) 4
04, the circuit becomes simpler, and the binary image pattern 106 and the analog exposure pattern 10 are used.
7 is the contents of the memory 404, so that there is no restriction on the control method and flexible control is possible. However, since there is no memory 404 having as many as 49 addresses at present, the binary image pattern 106 is restricted, and about 21 pixels are selected from 49 pixels and put to practical use.

Next, another embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.

FIG. 5 shows an embodiment in which a logic circuit is used for the pattern recognition device 102.

The binary video signal 403 for 49 pixels from the matrix register 402 is input to the logic circuit 501. The logic circuit 501 is constituted by a decoding circuit for decoding the binary image pattern 106 using a logic circuit. FIG.
Shows an example of the logic circuit 501. (1) shows an example of the binary image pattern 106. This is a binary image pattern 106 for detecting whether the center pixel at the position 3c is a pixel constituting a vertical thin line having a line width of 1 pixel. (2) shows the position of the binary video signal 101. Here, the position (m
+2, n + 2). (3) shows a logic circuit 501 for recognizing the image pattern. Pixels (m, n), (m, n + 1), (m, n +
2) When (m, n + 3) and (m, n + 4) are “1” and all other data are “0”, the image pattern detection result (1) 502 becomes “1”.

Returning to FIG. 5, each of the binary image patterns 106 as shown in FIG.
There are many logic circuits corresponding to. Examples of the binary image pattern 106 include edge smoothing, solid portion correction, image detail correction, and the like. Of these, about 100 binary image patterns 106 that are effective for the correction of the engine 105 are usually prepared, but here it is assumed that 255 patterns are prepared. Then, the logic circuit 501 outputs 25
Five image pattern detection results (1) 502 are output. These are usually not more than one "1" at the same time,
Even so, it is designed so that the higher priority is given priority, so that only one binary image pattern 106 is detected for one pixel. So the image pattern detection result
(1) 502 is led to the encoding circuit 503 and converted into the image pattern detection result 103 which is an 8-bit binary signal. The encoding circuit 503 is a known encoding circuit that converts the data into binary data.

The image pattern detection result 103 is guided to an address terminal of the small capacity memory 504. Small capacity memory 5
04 is data 4 that can generate an analog video signal 105 corresponding to the image pattern detection result 103.
05 has been entered. Here, the data 405 is
It is assumed to be 8-bit binary data. Therefore, the capacity in this case is 256 bytes, and it can be easily constituted by a logical device or the like. The data 405 is guided to the DA converter 406, and thereafter, is the same as the previous embodiment. The method of rewriting the contents of the small-capacity memory 504 is the same as in the previous embodiment, and a description thereof will be omitted.

According to the present embodiment, by using the logic circuit 501, there is no limit on the size of the binary image pattern 106. In addition, by using the small capacity memory 504, the memory can be easily configured and the amount of data to be rewritten is reduced, so that the content can be updated in a short time.

If the logic circuit 501 cannot be rewritten, as many binary image patterns 206 as possible are prepared first, and these are selected and used by updating the contents of the small-capacity memory 504. . However, recently, a logic device that can be rewritten between pages during image recording, such as a memory, has become widespread, so that the logic circuit 501 itself can be rewritten by using it.

Next, another embodiment of the analog exposure apparatus 104 will be described with reference to FIG. The analog exposure apparatus 104 shown in FIGS. 4 and 5 is realized by a digital-to-analog converter (DA converter) 406. In this case, a constant analog signal 105 corresponding to 8-bit data 405 given to one pixel is output. However, the inside of one pixel is further subdivided into a minute area (for example, 1/4 pixel) in the scanning direction, and finer modulation is possible than in a method in which different analog values are given to each pixel, so that higher image quality can be achieved.

FIG. 12 shows a configuration of the high-speed analog exposure apparatus 104 of the present embodiment. Image pattern detection result 103
Is input as an address, 8-bit data 1201a and 1201b are output to pulse width modulation (PWM) circuits 1202a and 1202b, respectively. The PWM circuits 1202a and 1202b generate binary pulses 1203a and 1203b having different positions in the pixel and different time widths according to the input data, and send them to the binary semiconductor laser drivers 1204a and 1204b. 2
Value semiconductor laser drivers 1204a and 1204b are:
Generally, a digital-to-analog converter (DA converter) 40
It operates faster than 6. The drive current value of the laser driver 1204a is set to the large current Ib,
4b is set to the small current Is, the semiconductor laser 1205
Are driven as 0, Ib, Is, Ib + I
s can take four different current values.

According to the present embodiment, an analog exposure apparatus capable of independently modulating the time width and magnitude of a pulse generated for each pixel by the analog exposure pattern 107 written to the memory 504 can be configured. it can. As a result, fine adjustment of analog exposure becomes possible, and a high-quality image can be obtained. In this example, two laser drivers 1204 are used. However, it is possible to increase the number of the laser drivers 1204, and further increase the number of laser drivers. In the present embodiment, the small-capacity memory 5 is used.
Since there is room in the memory to use the 04, a circuit configuration suitable for such fine modulation is provided.

Next, an embodiment for always maintaining an optimum image quality even if the process characteristics of the image recording apparatus changes will be described with reference to FIGS.

FIG. 7 shows a control system configuration for a change in process characteristics. It is known that the engine 206 of the image recording apparatus has the following fluctuation factors. Various sensors 701 have been devised for them. 1) Machine difference: due to variations in the characteristics of the photoconductor and the developing machine, etc.
Process characteristics vary from new. Each part has characteristic data, and the data is input at the time of replacement or the like. 2) Temporal: The process characteristics of the image recording apparatus change as time elapses and the number of printed sheets increases. The number of recordings can be detected by a counter, and the time can be detected by a clock. 3) Environment: In particular, the process characteristics of the image recording apparatus change due to changes in temperature and humidity. It can be detected by a thermo-hygrometer or a calendar. 4) Printing status: whether to record continuously or intermittently. Further, the process characteristics of the image recording apparatus change due to a change in a printing state such as whether an image in which a color material is placed on the entire surface of the paper or an image of almost blank paper is recorded. It can be detected by a change in a counter, a printing rate of a binary video signal, or the like. 5) Feedback control: A test pattern is actually formed, and the surface potential of the photoconductor 303 after exposure and the amount of adhered toner after development can be directly detected.

The output of the sensor 701 for detecting the above various types is
Conventionally, feedback is provided for each process parameter. However, the conventional feedback adjusts the density of the entire image, not for each image element recognized by the binary image pattern 106. However, in practice, it may be necessary to adjust each image element. For example,
If the overall density is increased when no black thin line appears, the white thin line in solid black will be crushed.

In the present invention, since the analog exposure patterns 107 corresponding to the respective binary image patterns 106 are individually set from the results of the various sensors 701, all the image elements corresponding to the respective binary image patterns 106 are set. It can be adjusted optimally.

FIG. 8 shows an example of a control system procedure for a change in process characteristics. Here, a toner adhesion amount sensor is considered as an example of the sensor 701. A test image such as a solid image or a halftone dot image is formed, and after development, the amount of adhesion on the photoconductor 303 is optically measured, and the result is DA-converted and transmitted to a computer (sensor input). Next, an optimum analog exposure pattern for each binary image pattern 106 corresponding to the sensor input value is searched. This optimum analog exposure pattern is obtained in advance by an experiment and stored in a computer memory. If there is a difference from the current analog exposure pattern 107, it is rewritten. When the analog exposure pattern 107 is rewritten, the analog exposure pattern 107 in the computer is transmitted to the analog exposure apparatus 104 by means of rewriting or writing at a break of a page or a job to be recorded.

According to the present embodiment, the binary image pattern 1
Since the feedback control can be configured for each image element 06, all the image elements can be optimized, and high image quality can be realized. In the previous embodiment, a toner adhesion amount sensor is considered as the sensor 701, but a similar control system can be configured by replacing the sensor 701 with another sensor capable of detecting the toner.

Next, an embodiment for always maintaining the optimum image quality even when the characteristics of the recorded image changes will be described with reference to FIG. Here, the characteristics of the recorded image are, for example, in a character-centered image, in order to stably record the image,
A thin line may be printed larger than the defined line width, and an isolated small dot may be printed larger than the defined size. However, in a halftone image formed by halftone dots or lines, continuity of gradation is important, and thin lines and small dots may be recorded thinner or smaller on the contrary. This means that the required image quality characteristics vary depending on the type of image to be recorded.

FIG. 9 shows an example of a control system configuration for changing the characteristics of a recorded image. In this embodiment, an image area detection device 901 is newly provided inside the pattern recognition device 102. The image area detecting device 901 receives the binary video signal 101,
This is an apparatus that outputs an image area determination result 902. FIG.
0 shows the function of the image area detection device 901. (1) is a pattern for detecting a halftone image, and (2) is a pattern for detecting a line image. In the present invention, both the image area determination result 902 and the image pattern detection result 103 in the previous embodiment are output to the analog exposure device 104. The analog exposure device 104 has both an analog exposure pattern 107a of a halftone image portion and an analog exposure pattern 107b of another image portion, and an analog video signal optimal for each of the halftone image portion and the other image portions. 105 can be generated.

As shown in FIG. 11, the binary image patterns 106, 901 and the analog exposure patterns 107a, 107a,
107b can be externally rewritten or added. In this embodiment, the user or an application used by the user shown in FIG. 2 can change the binary image patterns 106 and 901 and the analog exposure patterns 107a and 107b in the computer 201. These changed data are transmitted to the rewriting or writing means 108 via the printer controller 203 shown in FIG.

According to this embodiment, the binary image patterns 106 and 901 and the analog exposure patterns 107a and 107b can be changed in accordance with the image characteristics to be recorded.
Since the analog video signal 105 is generated according to the image characteristics even within one page, a high-quality recorded image can be obtained. Further, since the binary image patterns 106 and 901 and the analog exposure patterns 107a and 107b can be changed from the outside through the printer controller 203, the user and the application can create the analog video signal 105 optimal for the recorded image. A higher quality recorded image can be obtained as compared with the representation of the video signal 101 alone.

In the embodiment of the present invention, a well-known laser printer was used as an example of the engine 206 of the image recording apparatus.
The present invention can be similarly applied to an ink jet, thermal, or electrostatic printer capable of inputting 101 and recording with the analog video signal 105.

[0043]

According to the present invention, the optimum image quality can be always maintained even if the process characteristics of the image recording apparatus and the characteristics of the recorded image change during printing.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram showing an embodiment of an image control device according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram of an embodiment for explaining a use environment of the image recording apparatus of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an embodiment of an engine of the image recording apparatus of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an embodiment in which a large-capacity memory is used in the image control device of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an embodiment in which a logic circuit is used in the image control device of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating a logic circuit of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an embodiment of a control system configuration for a change in process characteristics according to the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing an embodiment of a control system procedure for a change in process characteristics according to the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a diagram showing an embodiment of a control system configuration for a change in characteristics of a recorded image according to the present invention.

FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of a function of an image area detection device according to the present invention.

FIG. 11 is a diagram showing another embodiment of a control system configuration for a change in characteristics of a recorded image according to the present invention.

FIG. 12 is a view showing one embodiment of a high-speed analog exposure apparatus of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

101: binary video signal, 102: pattern recognition device,
103: image pattern recognition result, 104: analog exposure apparatus, 105: analog video signal, 106: binary image pattern, 107: analog exposure pattern, 108: means for rewriting or writing.

Continued on the front page (72) Inventor Kunio Sato 7-1-1, Omika-cho, Hitachi City, Ibaraki Prefecture Inside the Hitachi Research Laboratory, Hitachi, Ltd. (72) Inventor Masaki Masuchi 2-1-1, Konan, Minato-ku, Tokyo Hitachi Koki Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Tadashi Kitai 2-1-1, Konan, Minato-ku, Tokyo F-term in Hitachi Koki Co., Ltd. 2C362 CA04 CA09 CA10 CB62 CB74 CB75 CB77 EA25 5C074 AA09 BB03 DD08 EE11 FF01 HH02 5C077 LL08 MP04 NN17 PP02 PP03 PP55 PP68 PP74 PQ08 PQ22 RR01 TT03 5L096 AA07 BA07 DA02 EA43 GA08 HA09 LA05

Claims (10)

[Claims] 1. An image processing method comprising: performing pattern recognition on an input binary video signal and a plurality of binary image patterns stored in advance; outputting an image pattern recognition result; and outputting an analog pattern corresponding to the output image pattern recognition result. An exposure pattern is selected from a plurality of pre-stored analog exposure patterns, and the selected analog exposure pattern is output, wherein the binary image pattern or the analog exposure pattern is externally rewritten or added. Image control method that can be. 2. The image control method according to claim 1, wherein the pattern recognition is performed for each pixel with respect to the binary video signal, and the analog exposure pattern corresponding to the image pattern recognition result is also selected. An image control method performed for each pixel. 3. The image control method according to claim 1, wherein the rewriting or addition of the binary image pattern or the analog exposure pattern is performed at a predetermined time in accordance with a surrounding environmental condition. . 4. A pattern having a plurality of binary image patterns in advance, performing pattern recognition on a binary video signal input for each pixel and all the binary image patterns, and outputting an image pattern recognition result. A recognition device, an analog exposure device having a plurality of analog exposure patterns in advance, selecting the analog exposure pattern corresponding to the image pattern recognition result for each pixel, and outputting the selected analog exposure signal as an analog video signal And an externally rewriting or writing means for externally rewriting or writing the binary image pattern stored in the pattern recognition device and / or the analog exposure pattern stored in the analog exposure device. 5. The image control device according to claim 4, wherein the pattern recognition device and the analog exposure device are one integrated readable and writable memory. 6. The image control device according to claim 4, further comprising an encoding circuit that encodes the image pattern recognition result output from the pattern recognition device. 7. The image control device according to claim 4, wherein the analog exposure device has a pulse width modulation circuit, and can independently modulate a time width and a magnitude of a pulse generated for each pixel. Image control device. 8. An input binary video signal and a plurality of binary image patterns stored in advance are subjected to pattern recognition, an image pattern recognition result is output, and an analog signal corresponding to the output image pattern recognition result is output. An image recording apparatus for selecting an exposure pattern from a plurality of analog exposure patterns stored in advance and outputting the selected analog exposure pattern to a light source in an exposure process to record an image. An image recording apparatus comprising one or a plurality of sensors for detecting a recorded image characteristic, and further comprising means for rewriting or writing the binary image pattern or the analog exposure pattern according to an output result from the sensor. 9. An image recording apparatus according to claim 8, further comprising means for creating said binary image pattern to be rewritten or rewritten or said analog exposure pattern. 10. An image recording apparatus according to claim 8, wherein said rewriting or rewriting means rewrites said binary image pattern or said analog exposure pattern between pages of a recording medium to be recorded or between jobs during image recording. Or an image recording device that can be added.