JP2002127399A - Recording device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide technology capable of providing information on a sheet without using a complicated detecting mechanism and capable of controlling printing including at least adjustment of a platen gap. SOLUTION: A recording device, which allows ink to be ejected onto the sheet according to printing data for the purpose of forming an image on the sheet, is provided with a printing mechanism 100 for doing printing, a means (corresponding to a sheet information readout device 168) for obtaining the information on the sheet, which is realized by a printing control part 160, and a means (for controlling the printing) for controlling the formation of the image in the printing mechanism 100. The means for controlling the formation of the image can determine the platen gap according to the information on the sheet, which is obtained by the means for obtaining the information the sheet, and indicate to the platen gap adjusting mechanism 190 of the printing mechanism 100 to perform an adjustment such that the platen gap is taken as the determined gap.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

[0001] 1. Field of the Invention [0002] The present invention relates to a print control technique for a printing apparatus, such as a printer, for forming an image on paper, and more particularly to a technique for performing print control suitable for a paper to be used.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In a recording apparatus of the type in which an image is formed on a sheet by discharging ink, a print head for discharging ink is opposed to a platen, on which a sheet is placed. Be placed. In this type of recording apparatus, the control element includes the distance between the paper surface and the print head. This distance should be as short as possible in order for ink droplets ejected from the print head to accurately reach the target position. This distance is defined as the distance between the print head and the platen as the recording device itself. Therefore, it is called a platen gap.

[0003] By the way, since paper has various thicknesses according to its type, it is necessary to set a platen gap for each paper in order to maintain printing accuracy.

Conventionally, a platen gap is set in advance for each sheet to be used. When a sheet to be used is selected on a host device instructing printing, a certain platen gap is selected in accordance with the selection. In the recording device,
The platen gap is set according to the instruction. Alternatively, a user adjusts a platen gap suitable for a sheet to be used by an adjustment mechanism.

[0005] However, the sheets do not always have the same thickness, even if they belong to the same type. for that reason,
In order to more accurately set the platen gap, a mechanism for detecting the sheet thickness is provided, and the platen gap is mechanically adjusted based on the displacement detected by the detection mechanism. For these technologies, for example,
It is described in JP-A-7-290796, JP-A-6-1014 and the like.

[0006]

In recent years, there has been a demand for manufacturing a recording apparatus at the lowest possible price.
To this end, it is necessary to reduce the number of mechanical parts that impose a large cost burden as much as possible. However, the above-described conventional technique requires a special mechanism for detecting the thickness of the sheet, and has a problem that the mechanism is complicated.

[0007] Further, in the recording apparatus, it is necessary to perform printing control by acquiring information about the paper in addition to the platen gap. However, the mechanism for detecting the paper thickness described above
Cannot be used for that purpose. Therefore, it is necessary to separately provide a function for acquiring other information regarding the paper.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide a recording apparatus capable of acquiring information about a sheet without using a complicated detection mechanism and performing printing control including at least adjustment of a platen gap.

[0009]

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a printing apparatus for performing printing in a recording apparatus which forms an image on a sheet by discharging ink on the sheet based on print data. A mechanism, means for acquiring information about paper, and means for controlling image formation by the printing mechanism based on the read information are provided.

Here, the means for controlling the image formation includes:
Determining a platen gap based on the information on the sheet obtained from the unit for obtaining information on the sheet, and instructing the printing mechanism to adjust the platen gap to be the determined gap. it can.

[0011] The present invention also provides an image recording sheet provided in a packaging material and used for image recording. The image recording paper is provided with a paper information recording unit for recording information about the paper contained in the packing material in the packing material. The paper information recording unit includes information for specifying the paper, information indicating the thickness of the paper, and a waving amount corresponding to a local protrusion height caused by swelling of the paper by the ink. Is characterized in that at least one type of information is recorded in a readable manner.

The information indicating the waving amount recorded in the paper information recording section can be recorded corresponding to the printing density.

[0013]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described.
This will be described with reference to the drawings. In the following embodiments, a case where an image is formed on a sheet using ink will be described as an example.

FIG. 1 shows an example of the configuration of a hardware system used in the first embodiment of the present invention. In the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 1, a computer 2 for realizing various processes by an application program and a process by a printer driver for printing the result, and a printer connected to the computer 2 1 is shown. The computer 2 and the printer 1 can constitute a printing system for forming an image on paper. In this case, the printer 1 functions as a recording device, and the computer 2 functions as a print data generation device. In the computer 2, a system for processing the print mode setting is realized. Further, a system for supporting the print mode setting is realized.

The computer 2 includes a computer main body 20.
0, a display device 220 connected thereto, an input device 230 such as a keyboard and a mouse, and a power supply device (not shown).

The computer main body 200 is connected to a CPU 201 for executing various programs, a ROM 202 for storing various data and various programs, a RAM 203 for temporarily storing data and programs, and a display device 220. Display device 22
0, a keyboard controller 205 connected to the input device 230 to control a keyboard, a floppy disk drive 206 for reading and writing a flexible disk, and a hard disk drive 20 for storing data and programs.
7 and a CD for reading data from a CD-ROM
A ROM drive 208, a printer interface 209 for connecting to the printer 1, and a network interface 210 for connecting to a network. The program for realizing the present invention is a CD-R
The data can be read from the CD-ROM via the OM drive 208 and installed on the hard disk 207. Therefore, the program can be provided in the form of a recording medium on which the program is recorded. Further, the program can be installed via a network.

The printer 1 is a color ink-jet printer that functions as a recording device that forms a color image on paper based on print data sent from a computer 2 that functions as a device that generates print data. The printer 1 includes a printing mechanism 100, a print control unit 160
And a power supply circuit (not shown). Also, the printer 1
Includes an ink cartridge 107 containing ink.
K and 107F (see FIG. 4) are mounted, and the storage elements 400 provided in these ink cartridges 107K and 107F are connected.

The printing mechanism 100 is provided with a platen gap adjusting mechanism 190 in addition to the print head 110, the sheet feeding mechanism 130, and the like, as described later (see FIGS. 4 and 8). As shown in FIG. 8, the platen gap adjusting mechanism 190 includes a carriage shaft 191, a support shaft 192 that supports the carriage shaft 191 in an eccentric state, and a displacement caused by eccentricity due to the rotation of the carriage shaft 191 (not shown). Then, the carriage 101 is moved up and down, and the print head 110 and the platen 112 are relatively displaced as shown by arrows in FIG. The displacement is
For example, the eccentricity accompanying the rotation of the carriage shaft 191 may be received from the carriage shaft 191 itself or from the support shaft 192. Any of them may be used.

The adjustment of the platen gap is not limited to the configuration described above. For example, a configuration can be adopted in which a solenoid is provided and the carriage 101 is displaced by this. Further, the carriage 101 may be displaced by a gear mechanism. On the other hand, the platen 112 may be displaced instead of the print head.

The print control unit 160 includes a CPU 161 for executing various programs, a ROM 162 for storing various data and various programs, a RAM 163 for temporarily storing data and programs, and a computer 2.
164, an EEPROM 165 which is a rewritable nonvolatile memory for storing paper information described later, and a parallel input / output interface 166. The print control unit 160 includes an operation panel 167 and the sheet information reading device 1 as external devices.
68. Parallel input / output interface 166
Through the printing mechanism 100, the storage element 400, the operation panel 167, the sheet information reading device 168, and the print control unit 1.
60 is connected. The printing control unit 160 includes the printing mechanism 1
00, which sends print data and controls the printing operation. Further, information indicating the printing state of the printing mechanism 100 is obtained and sent to the computer 2.

The parallel input / output interface 166
Transmits the printing data and the drive signal developed into the dot pattern data to the printing mechanism 100. In addition, it accepts an operation on the operation panel 167 and sends necessary display signals to the operation panel 167. Further, data is transmitted and received to and from the storage element 400. Further, the information read by the sheet information reading device 168 is received.

The print control unit 160 is configured such that the CPU 161
By executing the program stored in M162, a unit for acquiring information (sheet information) on the sheet loaded in the recording apparatus for image formation, a unit for storing the acquired sheet information, Means for performing print control based on the sheet information. Here, the means for performing printing control performs at least control for adjusting the platen gap, and also independently controls printing head driving conditions, paper feeding speed, paper feeding method, and the like, or a combination thereof. It can be carried out. For example, control such as combining the adjustment of the platen gap and the control of the sheet feeding speed can be performed. These controls are appropriately controlled in combination in relation to the type of paper to be printed and the required print quality.

In the present embodiment, the ROM 162 has the configuration shown in FIG.
As shown schematically, a medium type number 1621, a paper type 1623, a thickness 1
624, a wavy amount 1627 at 50% duty, and a wavy amount 1628 at 100% are stored as print control-related paper information 1620 which is information related to print control.

The medium type number 1621 stores, for example, an identifier for specifying the paper, the model number of the paper, and the like. In FIG. 9, the order numbers are shown, but this is for convenience of explanation. Therefore, the medium type number 1621 is not limited to an ordinal number.

The paper type 1623 stores a code indicating the type of paper. In the example of FIG. 9, it is described in Chinese characters, but for convenience of explanation. Of course, it can be a kanji code. In the present embodiment, an example is shown in which paper information on three types of paper is stored.
Of course, it is not limited to this. Here, the reason why the type 1623 is stored in addition to the medium type number 1621 is as follows.
With the medium type number, even if the paper is not applicable, the same platen gap can be used as long as the paper has the same type and thickness, and other print controls can be controlled similarly. Since it is considered that there are many sheets, it is for such a sheet that printing control suitable for the sheet can be performed.

Here, the waving means a phenomenon in which the paper absorbs ink and swells to locally generate irregularities.
The amount of waving is the height of the protrusion from the surface of the paper.
In the example of FIG. 9, in the case of plain paper, even at 50% duty,
It is assumed that it protrudes by about 0.3 mm. Therefore, the platen gap needs to be at least larger than 0.38 mm. Here, the duty is a ratio of pixels to which ink is actually ejected among pixels constituting an image. That is, the ratio (print density) occupied by the ink ejection pixels per unit area is shown.

In this embodiment, 50% duty and 10%
The waving amount is shown for the case of 0% duty, but is not limited to this. Further, in the present embodiment, the recording device is provided with information necessary for print control as shown in FIG. However, the present invention is not limited to this. It is also possible to preliminarily record information necessary for print control in the sheet information recording section 557 of the sheet, read the information by the sheet information reading device 168 in the printer 1, and perform print control using the information. The method of extracting information necessary for print control from a sheet can be expected to be able to easily cope with the appearance of a new sheet that was not assumed by the printer at the time of design.

It should be noted that the various types of information regarding the paper described above are as follows.
The data may be stored in the EEPROM 165 instead of the ROM 162.

By the way, it cannot be said that all information that can be used for the print control as described above is prepared for the paper actually distributed. Also, it is not appropriate from the viewpoint of cost to prepare a new one. Therefore, by preparing information in advance on the recording apparatus side, it becomes possible to handle even a sheet with a small amount of information provided from the sheet side.

FIG. 10 shows the correspondence in that case. In the example illustrated in FIG. 10, information 1620 to be prepared by the recording device (printer) 1 corresponds to information 5570 provided by the sheet.
Is shown. FIG. 10 also shows possible services. Information 5570 provided by the sheet includes information as shown in FIG. 6 described later.

Now, as shown in FIG. 10, when only the thickness is provided from the paper as the paper information, information on the type of the paper cannot be obtained from the paper side. . Further, even when information for specifying a sheet, including information indicating a sheet thickness, can be read, the recording apparatus may not prepare corresponding print control-related sheet information. In such a case, the printer 1 sets the platen gap based on the sheet thickness acquired from the sheet side, except when the user manually inputs. In this case, since the amount of undulation of the paper is unknown, the platen gap is assumed to have a somewhat large amount of undulation.

Next, when the medium type number is given from the paper side, the control state of the printer changes depending on whether or not the recording device holds the paper information corresponding to the paper type number. If the recording device is as shown in FIG.
Print control-related paper information 1620 corresponding to the medium type number
"Correspondence table of media type number and thickness / undulation amount"
Is prepared, print control such as setting of a platen gap can be performed by using this. In addition,
If the information corresponding to the given medium type number is not stored on the recording device side, the platen gap cannot be automatically adjusted according to the amount of waving. Therefore, it is preferable that a signal to that effect be output to the computer main body 200 and displayed on the display device 220.

Next, even when the medium type number and the thickness are given from the paper side, the control state of the printer changes depending on whether the recording apparatus holds the paper information corresponding to the paper type number. If the recording device, as shown in FIG. 10, the information 1620 corresponding to the medium type number,
When a “correspondence table between the medium type number and the waving amount” is prepared, print control such as setting of a platen gap can be performed using the table. Here, when the information corresponding to the given medium type number is not stored in the recording apparatus, the platen gap is set to a larger value using the thickness information as described above. In addition,
In this case, information indicating that the corresponding sheet information is not prepared is sent to the computer main body 200, and the display device 2
20 is preferably displayed.

Next, when the medium type number, thickness and waving amount are given from the paper side, regardless of whether the recording apparatus holds the paper information corresponding to the paper type number, Printing control such as setting of a platen gap can be performed using the information that can be obtained. Here, when it is desired to give priority to control based on information prepared on the recording device side, such setting may be made in the recording device so that the information on the recording device side can be used.

FIG. 3 shows the appearance of the printer 2. As shown in FIG. 3, the printer 2 has a structure in which the printing mechanism 100 and the printing control unit 160 are housed in a case 140. The paper feed mechanism 150 has a paper feed tray 153, a paper feed mechanism 130 (see FIG. 4), and a paper discharge tray 158. In addition, the paper feed tray 153 has a fixed side plate 155,
A movable side plate 154 that can move in accordance with the size of the sheet is provided. Behind case 140,
Paper feed port 142 for taking in paper from paper feed tray 153
Is provided. On the other hand, in front of the case 140, an outlet 147 for a sheet after printing is provided. Outlet 1
47, a paper discharge tray 158 protrudes.

An operation panel 167 for notifying a user of the status of the printer and receiving an operation is arranged in a part of the case 140. The operation panel 167 has a monitor 167a and an operation unit having operation buttons 167b and 167c. The operation button 167b is an operation unit for instructing the operation of the ink-based maintenance mechanism 116. On the other hand, the operation button 167c is an operation unit for instructing paper supply and discharge. The latter also functions as a button for instructing supply and discharge of the cleaning sheet when cleaning is performed with the cleaning sheet.

Above the paper feed port of the case 140, a paper information reading device 168 is provided. In the example shown in FIG. 3, a barcode reader is arranged. Of course, the present invention is not limited to this. This paper information reading device 168
Is a packing material 55 for storing a bundle of sheets (cut sheets) 501.
The sheet information 5570 recorded in the form of a barcode is read from a sheet information recording unit 557 attached to a part of the opening 0 side.

As the packing material 550, a material having a size to accommodate a fixed number of sheets, for example, 100 sheets is used. FIG. 5 shows an example of the packing material 550. FIG. 5 shows a state where one end is opened.

The packing material 550 is a material having rigidity, for example, for packing a plurality of sheets of paper 501 in a stacked state.
It is formed in a rectangular parallelepiped shape by cardboard, cardboard, hard paper, or the like. The packing material 550 is formed with a separation line 553 that separates the lid side 551 and the main body side 552 in order to take out a plurality of sheets 501 inside. The separation line 553 is formed in a direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the packing material 550. The separation line 553 is formed between the lid side 551 and the main body side 552.
It is formed with perforations so that it can be easily divided into

On one surface 554 of the main body 552, the paper 50
A sheet insertion arrow 556 indicating the direction in which the sheet No. 1 is inserted into the sheet feed tray 153 of the printer, and a sheet information recording unit 557 for recording sheet information 5570 on the sheet 501 to be put in the packing material 550 are printed. . One surface 554 of the main body side 552 is a sheet 501 stored inside.
Is a plane parallel to the surface of. The paper insertion arrow 556 is directed from the main body side 552 to the lid side 551. The sheet information recording unit 557 is printed at the left end position in the direction indicated by the arrow 556 and at a position adjacent to the separation line 553. That is, when the packing material is opened, it is printed in the vicinity of the opening.

Items included in the sheet information 5570 recorded in the sheet information recording section 557 include a medium type number 5571, a size 5572, and a paper type for identifying the paper such as a paper model number, as shown in FIG. 5573, thickness 55
74, number of sheets 5575, unit price 5576, control parameter 5
577, 5578 and the like. As the paper type, paper type information indicating the type of paper such as plain paper, superfine paper, glossy paper, or the like is displayed. Control parameters 5577, 5578
In this embodiment, the waving amount at the 50% duty and the waving amount at the 100% duty are recorded. These are indicated by bar codes, together with characters, symbols, and the like representing the contents. The reason why the characters are written together with the barcode is so that the user can visually recognize the sheet information. In the example of FIG. 6, the paper type is described as “normal”, which indicates that plain paper is stored. Each piece of information is arranged in the direction of the paper insertion arrow, in other words, in the paper insertion direction.

When the packing material 550 is set in the paper feeding tray 153, the paper information recording unit 557 faces the paper information reading device 168 by inserting the packing material 550 into the paper feeding port 142. Read. The read sheet information is stored in the EEPROM of the print control unit 160.
165.

The example shown in FIG. 5 is an example of a packing material having a structure in which one end in the longitudinal direction of a sheet is opened.
The present invention is not limited to this. For example, as shown in FIG. 7, the paper can be used both vertically and horizontally. In this case, the paper insertion arrows 556a and 556b correspond to the vertical and horizontal directions.
And paper information recording units 557a and 557b, and separation lines 553a and 553b. In this case, the paper information recording units 557a and 557b may be added with information indicating the distinction between horizontal and vertical placement.

The paper may be made of any material as long as it can be printed. For example,
Also includes those formed of a material other than paper, such as an OHP sheet.

FIGS. 4 and 8 show an outline of the internal mechanism of the printing mechanism 100. FIG. As shown in FIG.
, A carriage 101, an ink jet recording head 110 supported by the carriage 101, a carriage moving mechanism 120 supporting the carriage 101 and reciprocating in the line direction, and a paper feeding mechanism for feeding the paper P 130, a carriage shaft 191 and a support shaft 192 that constitute the platen gap adjusting mechanism 190 are arranged.

The paper feed mechanism 130 is, as shown in FIG.
Paper feed roller 131 and guide roller 1 opposed thereto
32, a paper discharge roller 133 and a guide roller 134 opposed thereto.

The carriage moving mechanism 120 has a timing belt 121 connected to the carriage 101, and a carriage motor 123 for reciprocating the timing belt 121. The carriage motor 123 reciprocates the carriage 101 in the paper width direction of the recording paper P (medium) while being guided by the guide member 104 via the timing belt 121.

An ink jet recording head 110 is mounted on the carriage 101 on the surface facing the recording paper P, in the example shown in FIG. The recording head 110 is held on the carriage 101. The recording head 110 includes ink cartridges 107K and 107F.
, Ink droplets are ejected on the recording paper P in accordance with the movement of the carriage 101 to form dots, and images and characters are printed on the recording paper P. As shown in FIG. 8, a platen 112
Is arranged.

The ink storage chamber 107K 'of the ink cartridge 107K is filled with black (K) ink. The ink cartridge 107F includes a plurality of ink storage chambers 107C, 107LC, 107M, 107L.
M, 107Y are formed independently of each other, and these ink storage chambers 107C, 107LC, 107M, 107L
M and 107Y include cyan (C) and light cyan (L
C), magenta (M), light magenta (LM), and yellow (Y) inks, respectively. Accordingly, the ink storage chambers 107C, 107LC, 107M, 1
From 07LM and 107Y, ink of each color is supplied to the recording head 110, respectively. These inks are ejected from the recording head 110 as ink droplets of each color to perform color printing.

In the recording head 110, nozzle openings (not shown) corresponding to black (K), cyan (C), light cyan (LC), magenta (M), light magenta (LM), and yellow (Y) are arranged. It is lined up every time.

The storage element 400 is provided with a nonvolatile memory for recording various information related to ink and a circuit for controlling reading and writing of the nonvolatile memory. Storage element 400
Stores various information related to ink, that is, ink specifying information for specifying ink, version data, ink amount information, and the like.

The ink specifying data is data for specifying what component, concentration, etc. the ink has. For example, typically, there is a model number of the ink.
When the model number of the ink is an identifier that is uniquely assigned based on the component, concentration, or the like, this can be used as ink identification information. Of course, other information may be used.
For example, information indicating an ink component, information indicating an ink density, and the like can be recorded. Also, if version data can be used as information for specifying ink, it can be considered that this also constitutes ink specifying information. For example, even if the model numbers are the same, if there is a difference in the setting of the printing conditions due to a different version, this version data is also used as the ink identification information.

When there is a possibility that the print control-related paper information may be changed depending on the ink, for example, when the waving amount differs depending on the ink, it is necessary to correct the waving amount prepared for the paper. Therefore, in order to cope with such a situation, the correction data of the waving amount can be stored in the storage element 400.

The ink information indicates that when the ink cartridges 107K and 107F are mounted on the printer 1,
Or, when the printer 1 is turned on,
The data is read by the print control unit 160 and stored in the EEPROM 165.
Is stored. For paper information, the printer 1
Are read by the paper information reading device 168 when the power is turned on and when the paper is loaded into the printer 1, respectively.
It is stored in the EPROM 165. Therefore, this EEPR
The OM 165 stores data such as ink identification information, ink amount information, and paper information acquired by the paper information reading device 168 of the black ink cartridge 107K and the color ink cartridge 107F. What is stored in the EEPROM 165 as data does not need to be all the sheet information acquired by the sheet information reading device 168. It is sufficient that at least data necessary for print control be stored.

In FIG. 11, sheet information 5571 to 5578 are read from the sheet information recording unit 557, and EE is
An example of data stored in the PROM 165 and used for print control is shown. In the present embodiment, a medium type number 1651 as an identifier for specifying a sheet, a type 1653 as information indicating the type of the sheet, a thickness 1654, a waving amount 1657 at 50% duty, and a waving amount 1658 at 100% are stored. Is done. This is an example, and other information can be further stored.

FIG. 2A shows a functional configuration realized by the computer main body 200.

The computer main body 200 has various applications 240 implemented by application programs, a printer driver 250 implemented by a printer driver program, and a communication control unit 260. These perform various processes using the functions of an operating system (OS) (not shown) under the control of the OS. These processes are realized by the CPU 201.

The printer driver 250 has a print management unit 251 and a spool file storage unit 25 as its functions.
2, a display control unit 253, and a color conversion information management unit 254 that manages information for performing processing such as color conversion.

The print management unit 251 stores and manages mode setting condition information corresponding to the paper type information and the ink identification information. That is, the setting of the print mode indicating the print mode set according to the paper type and the designation of the user and the storage of the setting information are performed. The print management unit 251
Generates, as print data, control data such as printing speed and paper feed. For example, settings such as high-speed printing on plain paper and printing with priority on image quality on dedicated paper are performed, and print data is generated based on the settings and sent to the printer 1.

In the present embodiment, the print management unit 251
It has a function of acquiring paper information and ink identification information from the printer 1. In other words, by requesting the print control unit 160 of the printer 1 for the paper information and the ink identification information, the paper information and the ink identification information can be obtained from the print control unit 160. The print management unit 251 temporarily stores the obtained paper information and ink identification information in the RAM. By making it possible to acquire the paper information and the ink identification information from the printer 1, it is possible to acquire the information without having to set them on the driver side. As a result, the system functions as a system that automatically sets an optimal print mode in relation to paper information, particularly, the relationship between paper type and ink.
It also functions as a system that supports print mode setting. Further, when functioning as a print data generation device, color conversion is performed using color conversion information corresponding to paper type information and ink identification information and resolution set for image data to be printed.

The spool file storage unit 252 has a RAM
203 and / or a hard disk drive 207 for storing the aforementioned spool file.

The display control section 253 displays a guidance screen or the like on the display device 220 to provide information to the user. As a screen to be displayed, for example, as shown in FIG. 12, a screen for various settings for the printer when printing is used. For example, a screen for receiving settings such as paper size, paper type, and resolution is displayed. The screen shown in FIG. 12 is displayed by the print mode setting system, and an input is received. In the present embodiment, an automatic adjustment mode 2241 is provided in the operation mode 2240 as shown in FIG. When this is selected, the paper information is acquired from the paper side, and the optimal print control, especially the control for optimally adjusting the platen gap, is automatically performed accordingly.

When the acquired paper information includes information indicating the paper type, the information is displayed in a user-readable manner as shown in FIG. The type of paper being used can be notified. This allows the user to know the type of paper, which can be used as a reference when setting the mode. That is, it can function as a system that supports mode setting.

The color conversion information management unit 254 includes the print control unit 2
51, at the time of color conversion, color conversion information corresponding to the ink used in the printer 1 is held. Further, in the present embodiment, a process of acquiring color conversion information is also performed. The process of performing color conversion of image data using the color conversion information is one of the print controls. The color conversion information will be described later.

The print mode set by the print management unit 251 is displayed as a window screen on the display device 220 by the display control unit 253, including the information acquired from the printer.

FIG. 12 shows an example of a window displayed by the printer driver. In the window 2200, a plurality of tabs are prepared. In FIG. 12, the tab of the basic setting directly related to the present embodiment is selected. Here, a paper type selection unit 2220 and an ink selection unit 22
30, a mode setting unit 22 for setting a print finishing state
40, an ink remaining amount display unit 2250 indicating the ink remaining amount
And a setting state display unit 2260 that indicates the current setting state.

The paper type selection section 2220 has a paper display section 2221 for indicating the selected paper, and a menu button 2222 for opening a pull-down menu. In this embodiment, as described above, the paper type may be in a state known to the system when paper is set in the printer. Of course, the user can also select a sheet that matches the sheet to be used. The information indicating the type of paper selected here is obtained by the printer driver 250 from the print control unit 160 obtaining the paper information recorded in the EEPROM 165.

Note that, at the time of shipment from the factory, the EEPROM 165
In the case where plain paper is previously set as the paper type, the first display is "plain paper" which is a user-readable display. Thereafter, when new paper is set in the printer or when the printer is turned on, the paper information reading device 168 is turned on.
CPU 161 fetches the paper information read by
Write to the paper information in the EEPROM 165. When the window 2200 is opened, the printer driver 250 captures and displays the information of the paper type from the print control unit 160.

The information other than the paper type information, the remaining amount of paper, the size of the paper, and information such as vertical / horizontal discrimination are also obtained by the print control unit 160 from the paper information reading device 168 and stored in the EEPROM 165. If it is stored, it can be obtained by the printer driver 250 and provided to the user.

In the ink selection section 2230, color is selected by default. It is also possible to specify monochrome printing.

In the mode setting section 2240, the result of the printer driver 250 automatically setting the print mode based on the acquired paper type information and ink identification information is displayed as "recommended setting". Of course, a change by the user can be accepted. In the present embodiment, the print mode is automatically set according to the paper type, but the present invention is not limited to this. Further, the paper type may be configured such that the print mode is set as a manual input.

The ink remaining amount display unit 2250 can display the information by acquiring ink amount information. In addition,
The remaining ink amount is calculated based on the ink capacity and the print data, and the result can be used to display on the remaining ink display unit 2250.

The setting status display section 2260 displays the currently set print modes collectively. This display changes when the setting changes.

The color conversion information managed by the color conversion information management unit 254 includes, for example, an input value group composed of a combination of RGB values for specifying each color expected to appear in image data, And data that associates with output value groups consisting of combinations of CMYK values that specify each color expected to appear as a color reproduced at the time of printing in accordance with the combination of. Specifically, it can be prepared in a look-up table (LUT) format. In order to prepare all the color conversion information, an enormous memory space is required. Therefore, 256 gradations of each color are divided into several parts in advance, and a grid of these division points is virtually assumed. , Each grid point can have an input value and an output value corresponding thereto. In this case, a color existing between grid points is handled by an interpolation operation between grid points.

In the present embodiment, a case will be described as an example in which a color ink obtained by adding light cyan (LC) and light magenta (LM) to CMYK is used for an ink jet printer. That is, the RGB image data is color-converted into print data specified by CMYLCLMK. Of course, the invention is not limited to this. R
Converting the GB image data into, for example, CMYK;
Further, a combination of gradations of different stimulus values can be used.

FIG. 2B shows a functional configuration of the print control unit 160. The print control unit 160 reads out the ink information from the storage element 400, updates the ink information, and prints the paper information read by the paper information reading device 168. Paper / ink information management unit 1 for receiving the information and transmitting the ink information in response to a request from the computer main body 200.
72, a gap adjusting mechanism control unit 173 that adjusts the platen gap according to paper information, ink information, user settings, and the like, and a communication control unit 174 that exchanges data with the computer main body 200. These functions are realized by the CPU 161 executing a program stored in the ROM 162.

The ROM 162 stores the computer main unit 20.
The print mechanism 10 receives print data sent from the
A control program for printing 0 is stored. The programs for this include a program for performing processing for receiving print data, expanding the print data into data that can be printed by the printing mechanism 100, and passing the data to the printing mechanism, a program for performing printing control including platen gap adjustment, and the like.

The platen gap adjustment and the processing related thereto include the following modes. (A) Fix print control mode according to paper type A1. Plain paper: Speed priority A2. Dedicated photographic paper: image quality priority The plain paper of A1 is mainly used for text printing and the like, and business use is usually assumed. Therefore, in this case, the platen gap is set large and high-speed printing is performed. On the other hand, in the case of the special photographic paper of A2, it is preferable that the platen gap be as small as possible in view of giving priority to the image quality. Therefore, the duty is restricted to be small. In these cases, it is preferable to obtain the paper thickness information. According to the present invention, the platen gap can be set based on a preset value or the information of the paper thickness described in the paper information recording unit. In addition, the information of the paper thickness is also acquired together with the acquisition of the paper type. As described above, by acquiring the sheet information from the sheet, it is possible to prevent the user from erroneously selecting the sheet type. (B) Print control according to print mode B1. Speed priority B2. Quality priority In these cases, optimal printing is performed according to the print mode desired by the user, regardless of the type of paper. B
In the case of speed priority of 1, the platen gap is set large. Further, in the case of giving priority to the image quality of B2, it is preferable that the platen gap be as small as possible. Therefore, the duty is restricted to be small. In these cases, it is preferable to acquire the paper thickness information as in the above-described embodiment. According to the present invention, the platen gap can be set based on a preset value or the information of the paper thickness described in the paper information recording unit. (C) Automatically Adjusting Platen Gap In this case, unlike the cases (A) and (B) described above, the setting of the platen gap is not fixed. The platen gap is dynamically changed according to the duty of the print data. This allows you to request printing speed,
In any case where image quality is required, printing can be performed with high accuracy by setting the optimal platen gap. Also, there is no burden on the user for setting the platen gap.

In the present embodiment, the above (A) to (C)
Both cases can be dealt with. Above all,
In the case of (C), the features of the present invention appear, and the print control, in particular, the automatic adjustment of the platen gap can be automatically performed according to the paper without burdening the user. In the present embodiment, when the automatic adjustment mode 2241 shown in FIG. 12 is selected, the above-described processing (C) is executed.

As described above, in the present embodiment, the following modes are possible. Of course, the present invention is not limited to those embodiments.

A typical embodiment of the present invention is a printing apparatus that performs printing in a recording apparatus that forms an image on a sheet by discharging ink on the sheet based on print data, and a printing control unit. Means for acquiring information about the sheet realized by the
8) and means for controlling image formation by the printing mechanism (means for controlling printing) based on the acquired information.

The means for controlling the image formation determines the platen gap based on the information about the paper obtained from the means for obtaining the information about the paper, and sends the information to the platen gap adjusting mechanism 190 of the printing mechanism 100.
Adjustment can be instructed so that the platen gap becomes the determined gap.

The means for controlling the image formation is, if the information obtained by the means for obtaining information about the sheet includes information indicating the thickness of the sheet, based on the information indicating the thickness of the sheet. A configuration for determining the gap can be adopted. Further, when the information acquired by the means for acquiring information on the sheet further includes information indicating the amount of waving, the means for controlling image formation indicates the information indicating the sheet thickness and the amount of waving. It can be configured to determine with reference to the information.

The means for controlling the image formation is such that the information indicating the waving amount recorded in the paper information recording section 557 is:
When the recording is performed corresponding to the print density, the platen gap can be determined by referring to the recorded waving amount according to the print density in the print data. In this case, for the print data to be sequentially printed by the printing mechanism 100, the means for controlling image formation determines the platen gap with reference to the recorded waving amount according to the print density before printing. Prior to printing the print data, it is possible to instruct the platen gap adjusting mechanism 190 of the printing mechanism 100 to adjust the platen gap to the determined platen gap.

In this embodiment, for example, the ROM 1
As shown in 62, a means for storing in advance paper information used for print control can be further provided. As the stored sheet information, information indicating the thickness of the sheet and information indicating the amount of waving can be included in correspondence with the information for specifying the sheet. Means for controlling image formation, wherein, when the means for acquiring information on the paper reads information for specifying the paper, searching means for storing the paper information based on the information for specifying the paper; If information indicating the thickness of the corresponding sheet and information indicating the amount of waving can be obtained, the platen gap can be determined with reference to the information.

The means for storing the sheet information in advance can include the thickness of the sheet as the stored sheet information in correspondence with the information for specifying the sheet. In this case, the means for controlling image formation includes a means for storing the sheet information based on the information for specifying the sheet when the means for acquiring information on the sheet reads the information for specifying the sheet. When the information indicating the thickness of the corresponding sheet can be obtained by searching, the platen gap can be determined with reference to the information indicating the thickness.

Next, the operation of the recording apparatus of this embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS.

When the power of the printer 1 as a recording device is turned on, the paper information reading device 168
The paper information recorded in 7 is read. As shown in FIG. 13, the CPU 161 checks whether it is possible to take in the sheet information from the sheet information reading device 168 (step 10).
10). If the paper information cannot be read, it is determined that the paper information is not prepared on the paper side, and step 105
Proceed to 0 to support setting the standard platen gap. In response to this, the above-described platen adjustment mechanism 190 adjusts the platen gap to be a predetermined standard platen gap. Here, the standard platen gap has a sufficiently large interval to absorb fluctuations in the paper thickness.

On the other hand, if the sheet information can be read, the sheet information is read (step 1020), and the EEPROM is read.
165 and what kind of information is included (step 1030). Then, at least a part of the paper information, for example, paper type information and the like is sent to the computer main body 200 (step 1040).

Thereafter, as in the case described above, an instruction is given to the platen gap adjusting mechanism 190 so that the standard platen gap is obtained (step 1050).

Next, as shown in FIG. 14, the CPU 161 extracts the print control information from the print data sent from the computer main body 200 (step 1110). Then, it is checked which print mode is set for the sent print data (step 1120).
That is, it is determined whether the mode is a mode in which print control is fixedly performed according to the paper type, a mode in which print control is prioritized irrespective of the paper type, and a mode in which the print control is fixedly performed according to the setting or an automatic adjustment mode.

Next, in the case of the automatic adjustment mode, the platen gap is set to a minimum value, for example, (1.
2 mm) (step 1130). on the other hand,
If the automatic adjustment mode is not set, the platen gap is initialized to an optimum value according to the sheet information (step 114).
0). Then, it instructs the platen gap adjusting mechanism 190 to use the initially set gap. The set value is fixed during printing. By the way, depending on the paper information, as described above, only the paper thickness may be obtained. In this case, the platen gap is determined by adding a certain margin value to the paper thickness. On the other hand, when the medium type number can be obtained from the paper side and the medium type number corresponding to the ROM 162 is stored, the paper thickness stored therein, the waving amount, The platen gap is determined to include the margin value of. For example, (paper thickness + wave amount) is the lower limit of the platen gap. The amount of waving varies depending on the duty. However, when the platen gap is fixed and used, a large value is adopted as the initial value to determine the platen gap.

Here, the initial value is not uniform and can be different depending on the print mode. For example, a large value (1.9 mm) is set when the printing speed is prioritized, and a relatively small value (1.5 m) is set when the image quality is prioritized.
m) is set. In this case, in consideration of the small platen gap, printing is performed with a small duty. This makes it possible to reduce the amount of ink absorbed by the paper, reduce the swelling of the paper, and reduce the amount of waving.

When the information on the paper thickness and the amount of waving can be obtained from the paper side, the platen gap can be determined based on the obtained information regardless of whether the data is stored in the ROM 162. it can.

Next, when the print control is automatically adjusted, the CPU 161 controls the platen gap adjusting mechanism 190 so as to perform printing by dynamically changing the platen gap (step 1150). On the other hand, if the automatic adjustment is not performed, printing is performed with the above-described platen gap fixed at the initial setting value (step 116).
0). In the latter case, the printing mechanism is controlled so that printing is performed in accordance with the print mode in which priority is given to speed and image quality is set according to the paper type or print mode.

Next, a case where printing control is performed by automatic adjustment will be described with reference to FIG.

When the print instruction is received, the print data sent from the computer main body 200 is developed into data of a type printable by the printing mechanism 100 and sent to the printing mechanism 100 (step 1151). Then, it is determined whether the duty of the print data exceeds 50% (step 115).
2). If not, this process is repeated until printing is completed.

If the duty exceeds 50%, it is further determined whether the duty exceeds 100% (step 1153). Here, if not exceeded, the platen gap adjusting mechanism 190 is controlled so that the platen gap is set to a value larger than the initial value, here a “medium” value, for example, (1.5 mm) (Step 1).
154). On the other hand, when the duty exceeds 100%, the platen gap adjusting mechanism 190 is controlled so that the platen gap is set to a larger value, here, a “large” value, for example, (1.9 mm) (Step 1).
155). Such control is performed until printing is completed (step 1156).

As described above, in the present embodiment, print control including at least adjustment of the platen gap can be performed based on the sheet information. Thereby, printing can be performed with higher accuracy.

[0100]

According to the present invention, information on paper can be obtained without using a complicated detection mechanism, and printing control including at least adjustment of the platen gap can be performed.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an example of the configuration of a hardware system used in an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2A is a block diagram showing a functional configuration realized by a computer main body in the embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2B is a function realized by a printer in the present embodiment; FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a configuration.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing an example of an external configuration of the printer according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing an internal structure of a printing mechanism of the printer.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing an example of a packing material used in the recording apparatus of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a partial plan view showing an example of a paper information recording unit used in a packing material.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view showing another example of a packing material that can be used in the recording apparatus of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram schematically showing an outline of a print head, a platen, a paper feed mechanism, and the like of the print mechanism.

FIG. 9 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an example of sheet information stored in a ROM of a print control unit;

FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a relationship between information provided by a sheet and information stored by a recording device.

FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating an example in which E is read from a sheet information recording unit and
FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing a state stored in an EPROM.

FIG. 12 is an explanatory view showing an example of a window for setting a paper type on a computer.

FIG. 13 is a flowchart illustrating a procedure of a sheet information capturing process;

FIG. 14 is a flowchart illustrating the procedure of a platen gap setting process;

FIG. 15 is a flowchart illustrating an example of automatic adjustment of a platen gap.

[Description of Signs] 1 Printer 100 Printing mechanism 160 Printing control unit 161 CPU 162 ROM 163 RAM 164, 166 Interface (I / F) 165 Nonvolatile memory (EEPROM) 167 Operation panel 168 Paper information reader 171 printing mechanism control unit 172 paper / ink information management unit 173 gap adjustment mechanism control unit 174 communication control unit 190 gap adjustment mechanism 2 computer 200 computer body 201 CPU 202 ROM 203 RAM 209 printer interface (P / I / F) 220 display device 230 keyboard 260 communication control unit 240 application 250 printer driver 251 print management unit 252 spool file storage unit 253 display control unit 254 Conversion information management section, 310 ... CD-ROM 320 ... floppy disk 400 ... storage device 501 ... sheet 550 ... packaging 557 ... sheet information recording unit

Claims (11)

[Claims] 1. A recording apparatus for ejecting ink onto a sheet based on print data to form an image on the sheet, a printing mechanism for executing printing, a unit for acquiring information about the sheet, and the reading unit. Means for controlling image formation by the printing mechanism based on the information obtained. 2. The recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the means for controlling the image formation determines a platen gap based on information about the paper obtained from a means for obtaining information about the paper. A recording apparatus for instructing the printing mechanism to adjust a platen gap to the determined gap. 3. The recording apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the means for controlling the image formation includes at least one of adjustment of the platen gap, drive conditions of a print head, paper feed speed, and paper feed method. A recording apparatus for controlling a combination with one of them. 4. The recording apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the information acquired by the means for acquiring the information on the sheet includes information indicating the thickness of the sheet. The recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the means for controlling the image formation determines the platen gap based on information indicating a thickness of a sheet. 5. The recording apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the information obtained by the means for obtaining information on the paper includes a waving amount corresponding to a height of a local protrusion generated by swelling of the paper with ink. When the information further includes information indicating the paper thickness, the means for controlling the image formation determines with reference to the information indicating the sheet thickness and the information indicating the waving amount. 6. The recording apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the information indicating the waving amount recorded in the paper information recording unit is recorded in correspondence with a print density, and controls the image formation. A printing apparatus for determining a platen gap by referring to the recorded waving amount in accordance with a print density of print data. 7. The recording apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the means for controlling image formation is configured to print the print data to be sequentially printed by the printing mechanism according to a print density before printing. A printing apparatus for determining a platen gap with reference to the amount of waving, and instructing the printing mechanism to adjust the platen gap to the determined platen gap prior to printing of the print data. . 8. The recording apparatus according to claim 2, further comprising: means for preliminarily storing sheet information used for print control, wherein the stored sheet information corresponds to information for specifying a sheet. The information indicating the thickness and the information indicating the amount of waving corresponding to the height of the local protrusion generated by swelling of the paper by the ink, wherein the means for controlling the image formation obtains information on the paper When the means reads the information for specifying the sheet, the means for storing the sheet information is searched based on the information for specifying the sheet, information indicating the thickness of the sheet, and whether or not the sheet has ink. A recording device for determining a platen gap by referring to information indicating a waving amount corresponding to a height of a local protrusion generated by swelling. 9. The recording apparatus according to claim 2, further comprising: means for preliminarily storing sheet information used for print control, wherein the stored sheet information corresponds to information for specifying a sheet. Including a thickness, the means for controlling the image formation, when the means for obtaining information about the paper has read the information for specifying the paper, stores the paper information based on the information for specifying the paper A recording unit that retrieves means for performing the determination and obtains information indicating the thickness of the corresponding sheet, and determines the platen gap with reference to the information indicating the thickness. 10. An image recording sheet which is provided in a packaging material and can be used for image recording, wherein a paper information recording unit which records information on the paper contained in the packaging material. The paper information recording unit is provided with, for the contained paper, information for specifying the paper, information indicating the thickness of the paper, and the height of a local protrusion generated when the paper swells with ink. An image recording sheet, characterized in that at least one kind of information among the information indicating the amount of waving corresponding to (1) is readablely recorded. 11. The image recording sheet according to claim 10, wherein the information indicating the waving amount recorded in the sheet information recording section is recorded in correspondence with a printing density. .