JP2002254686A - Device and method for image processing - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To obtain printing results with stable reproducibility without being affected by the kind or characteristics of a medium. SOLUTION: When a visible image is formed on a recording paper P by using a cassette 7 housing an ink sheet coated with ink transferred to the recording paper P by heating by a thermal head 6 in which a plurality of heater elements are disposed linearly, a control circuit 18 detects information exhibiting the kind or characteristics of the ink sheet by a cassette detection sensor 201, and applies image processing based on the detected information to image information to make the visible image formed.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an image processing apparatus and method, and more particularly, to an image processing apparatus and method for forming an image based on captured image information and the like.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A plurality of heating elements arranged in a main scanning direction of a thermal head are selectively driven by using a heat-sensitive recording paper as a printing recording paper, and the recording paper is transported in a sub-scanning direction. By doing so, there is a line thermal transfer type printer that performs line printing. 2. Description of the Related Art A thermal transfer printer has been receiving attention with the development of input devices that handle images, such as digital cameras, digital video cameras, and scanners as input devices.

[0003] A thermal transfer type printer can easily control the heat applied to each pixel. Therefore, it is possible to increase the number of gradations per pixel, and it is possible to easily obtain an image with high gradation and smooth gradation. Also,
Since the performance of the material of the thermal head and the material of the medium (recording paper or ink sheet) has also been improved, it is possible to obtain a print having a finished quality not inferior to a silver halide photograph. For this reason, attention has been paid to photographic image printers in keeping with the progress of digital cameras and the like in recent years.

[0004]

The reproduction of colors and gradations in a thermal transfer type printer is realized by fine drive control of a thermal head. This affects the reproduction of the gradation, and print results with different reproduction characteristics can be obtained. In particular, for an ink sheet, a reference is determined, and a dye (or pigment) is manufactured and applied to the sheet so as to obtain the same characteristics. Furthermore, it is not always easy to prepare ink sheets having the same characteristics due to limitations in the amount of production.
For this reason, even if the same type of ink sheet is used, a print with the same reproducibility may not be obtained.

An object of the present invention is to solve the above-mentioned problems, and it is an object of the present invention to obtain a print result with stable reproducibility without being affected by the type or characteristics of a medium.

[0006]

The present invention has the following configuration as one means for achieving the above object.

An image processing apparatus according to the present invention stores a heating means in which a plurality of heating elements are arranged in a line, and a transfer medium coated with ink which is transferred to a recording medium by heating by the heating means. An image processing apparatus that forms a visible image on a recording medium using the cassette, and a detecting unit that detects information indicating the type or characteristic of the transfer medium, and performs image processing according to the detected information. Processing means for applying image information to form a visible image.

Further, recording is performed using a heating means in which a plurality of heating elements are arranged in a line, and a cassette in which a transfer medium coated with ink to be transferred to the recording medium by heating by the heating means is stored. An image processing apparatus for forming a visible image on a medium, a communication unit communicating with an image input device, detecting information indicating a type or characteristic of the transfer medium, and notifying the detected information to a vice by the image input. And a detecting means for performing the detection.

An image processing method according to the present invention uses a cassette in which a transfer medium coated with ink to be transferred to a recording medium by heating by a heating means having a plurality of heating elements arranged in a line is stored. An image processing method for forming a visible image on a recording medium, comprising detecting information indicating the type or characteristics of the transfer medium and performing image processing in accordance with the detected information to form a visible image. It is characterized by being applied to.

Further, a visible image is formed on a recording medium by using a cassette in which a transfer medium coated with ink which is transferred to the recording medium by heating by a heating means having a plurality of heating elements arranged in a line is stored. An image processing method for forming, wherein information indicating the type or characteristic of the transfer medium is detected, and the detected information is notified to a vice by image input.

[0011]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, an image processing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. The print system according to the embodiment employs a sublimation type thermal transfer recording method in its printer unit, and prints an arbitrary number of images represented by electronic image information.

[Structure of Printer Unit] FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an overview of the printer unit of the embodiment.

The control circuit 18 of the main body 1 of the printer unit includes a CPU,
It is composed of a RAM, a ROM, and the like, and controls each component of the main body 1 described later to execute processing and operations described later.

The recording paper P loaded on the paper cassette 2 is fed by a push-up plate 20 urged by a spring 19 to a paper feed roller.
3, are separated one by one by the paper feed roller 3, and are supplied to a recording unit via a guide 15. A grip roller 41 and a pinch roller 42, which are a pair of rollers disposed in the recording unit, pinch and transport the supplied recording paper P, and enable the recording paper P to reciprocate in the recording unit.

In the recording section, a platen roller 5 and a thermal head 6 are arranged to face each other so as to sandwich a recording paper transport path. An ink sheet 8 is stored in the cassette 7. The ink sheet 8 has an ink layer to which a heat-fusible or heat-sublimable ink is applied, and an overcoat layer overcoated on the printing screen to protect the printing screen. The ink sheet 8 is pressed against the recording paper P by the thermal head 6 to selectively generate heat in the heating element of the thermal head 6, whereby the ink is transferred to the recording paper P, and the image is transferred and recorded. The transferred image is overcoated with a protective layer.

The width of the ink sheet 8 is substantially equal to the printing area of the recording paper P (the area in the direction perpendicular to the conveyance direction), and the width of the ink sheet 8 is substantially equal to the printing area (the area in the conveyance direction) in the longitudinal direction. Yellow (Y), magenta (M), and cyan (C) ink layers, and overcoat (OP) layers are sequentially and alternately arranged. Accordingly, the recording paper P is returned to the recording start position by performing the thermal transfer one by one, and the next layer is thermally transferred, whereby the four layers are sequentially transferred (superimposed) on the recording paper P. In other words, the recording paper P is a pair of rollers 41 and 42.
As a result, the transfer position is reciprocated by the number of ink colors and the number of overcoat layers.

The recording paper P after printing is reversed in its transport direction by a guide 15 in front of the main body 1 (left side in FIG. 1) and a paper transport guide 25 provided in front of and below the paper cassette 2. You will be led back to 1. Since the recording paper P after printing is inverted in front of the main body 1, the recording paper P in the middle of printing does not go out of the main body 1, and the space for installing the apparatus can be saved by wasting space. This prevents the problem of intentionally touching the recording paper P unintentionally. In addition, the thickness of the main body 1 can be reduced by a structure in which the lower portion of the paper cassette 2 is directly used as a part of the guide. Further, by passing the recording paper P through the space sandwiched between the cassette 7 and the paper cassette 2, the height of the main body 1 can be kept to a minimum, and the apparatus can be downsized.

After the printing is completed, the recording paper P conveyed to the rear of the main body 1 is guided by the discharge roller pair 9-1 and the discharge roller 9-2 to be discharged from the rear of the main body 1 to the front. Paper tray 2
Discharged to 6. The discharge roller pair 9-1 is configured to be in pressure contact only during the discharge operation of the recording paper P, and is configured not to apply stress to the recording paper P during printing. The upper surface of the paper cassette 2 also serves as a tray for recording paper P discharged after printing, which also contributes to downsizing of the apparatus.

The transport path switching sheet 16 switches the transport path so that the recording paper P is guided to the discharge path after the recording paper P is supplied to the recording section.

The thermal head 6 is integrated with the head arm 22, and when replacing the cassette 7, the cassette 7
Evacuate to a position where it will not interfere with the attachment / detachment. The cassette 7 can be replaced by pulling out the paper cassette 2. In other words, the head arm 22 is pressed down by the cam portion of the paper cassette 2, but in conjunction with the retraction of the cam portion by pulling out the paper cassette 2, the head arm 22 retreats upward and the cassette 7 can be replaced. become.

Since the printer of the thermal transfer recording system records the three colors of YMC in a plane-sequential manner, it is essential to control the recording start positions of the respective colors to be accurately matched. Therefore, the roller pairs 41 and 42
Therefore, it is necessary to securely hold the recording paper P and transport the recording paper P, and a margin in which the recording paper P cannot be recorded is required at an end in the transport direction of the recording paper P. In consideration of this point, in order to easily obtain a print without an edge (margin) after printing, a perforation 12 is provided on the recording paper P as shown in an example in FIG. In other words, the non-recordable margin 16 sandwiched between the roller pairs 41 and 42 at the time of printing can be easily cut off at the perforations 12 after printing, and a print of only the printing area 17 having no margin can be obtained.

In this embodiment, the thermal transfer recording is performed on the recording paper P having the perforations 12, but the perforations 12 provided on the recording paper P are also overcoated. Further, as shown in FIG. 2, the perforations 12 are provided not at the boundary between the printing area 17 and the margin 16 but at a position slightly inside the printing area 17. Further, the overcoat is applied to the print area 17 and slightly outside thereof.

[Details of Printer Unit] The details of the printer unit will be described.

The grip roller 41 of the roller pair including the pinch roller 42 and the grip roller 41 is connected to a rotation shaft of a stepping motor (not shown) via a speed reduction mechanism (not shown). Accordingly, by controlling the rotation of the stepping motor, the grip roller 41 is driven to rotate freely forward and backward. Since the recording paper P is nipped and reciprocated by the pair of rollers 41 and 42, the position of the recording paper P can be accurately controlled by controlling the rotation of the stepping motor.

For example, if the recording pitch of one line by the thermal head 6 is 85 μm and the number of steps of the stepping motor for conveying the recording paper P by one line is 4, the stepping motor can be driven in 4 steps. Thus, the recording paper P can be transported for one line, that is, 85 μm. If the printing area 17 of the recording paper P is 144 mm in the transport direction, this corresponds to 1694 lines. To transport the recording paper P by that amount, the stepping motor may be driven by 6776 steps.

As shown in FIG. 1, a leading edge detecting sensor 10 for detecting the leading edge of the recording paper P is disposed near the roller pair 41 and 42. After the recording paper P is detected by the leading edge detection sensor 10, the stepping motor is driven and stopped for a predetermined number of lines until the recording paper P reaches a position where the pair of rollers 41 and 42 can pinch the recording paper P. The position of the recording paper P at this time is the above-described position at the start of recording.

When the recording paper P is arranged at the recording start position, first, the thermal head 6 is driven by the recording information of the yellow component to transfer the yellow ink to the recording paper P being conveyed. Next, apply magenta and cyan ink to the recording paper
Transfer to P, and then transfer the overcoat layer. During this transfer, the recording paper P is transported in the reverse direction each time the transfer of one color is completed, and after the leading edge of the recording paper P is detected by the leading edge detection sensor 10, the stepping motor is operated for a predetermined number of lines in the same manner as described above. The operation of driving and arranging the recording paper P at the recording start position is repeated.

The distance between the tip detection sensor 10 and the opposing positions of the platen roller 5 and the thermal head 6 is set to, for example, 20 mm in consideration of the arrangement of components in the apparatus, but is not limited to this.

A cassette detection sensor 201 for detecting the presence or absence of the cassette 7 is arranged near the storage location of the cassette 7. The operation of the printer unit is controlled according to the status of the cassette 7, and the user is notified of the presence or absence of the cassette 7. Note that the cassette detection sensor 201 includes three optical sensors. Cassette detection sensor 20
As shown in FIG. 3, an ink cassette detection unit is provided on the surface of the cassette 7 corresponding to 1. The ink cassette detector is divided into three parts corresponding to the three optical sensors. By providing / not providing a reflecting member in each of the three divided parts, a 3-bit signal can be obtained from the cassette detection sensor 201, and information indicating the type of the cassette 7 can be obtained from the 3-bit signal. . That is, the printer unit can obtain not only the presence or absence of the cassette 7 but also 3-bit information indicating the type of the cassette from the ink cassette detection unit of the cassette 7.

Of course, the cassette detection sensor 201 is not limited to an optical sensor, but may be a mechanical sensor such as a microswitch. In that case, the presence or absence and the type of the cassette 7 are detected based on the shape (for example, unevenness) of the cassette 7. The information indicating the type of the cassette is not limited to 3 bits, and a signal of a necessary number of bits can be obtained by increasing or decreasing the number of sensors constituting the cassette detection sensor 201.

[Printing Sequence] FIG. 4 is a flowchart for explaining the sequence of transfer and overcoating when printing on one sheet of recording paper P, which is executed by the control circuit 18.

When a print instruction is input from a user according to a predetermined procedure and a print instruction is issued, the control circuit 18
The device that issued the print instruction (image input device, etc.)
And start communication. Then, the control circuit 18 confirms various conditions necessary for the printing operation with the device that has issued the print instruction, receives the image information to be printed, and converts the image information into the printing information if necessary. (S
1-S2).

When the preparation for printing is completed, the control circuit 18 drives the motor connected to the paper feed roller 3 to supply the recording paper P (S3). Then, when the leading edge of the recording paper P is detected by the leading edge detection sensor 10, the stepping motor is driven for a predetermined step as described above, the recording paper P is sent to the printing start position, and printing is started (S4). The print start position is
For example, the position is 12.465 mm with respect to the leading end of the recording paper.

Subsequently, the control circuit 18 controls the thermal head 6
Is performed to print one line, and the operation of driving the stepping motor for four steps to feed the recording paper P by one line is repeated (S5). Then, when the stepping motor is driven for 6776 steps (corresponding to 1694 lines), printing of one color component is completed. The printing end position is, for example, a position of 156.455 mm with respect to the leading edge of the recording paper.

Subsequently, the control circuit 18 drives the stepping motor for, for example, 40 steps (corresponding to 10 lines) for deceleration until the conveyance of the recording paper P is stopped.
The stepping motor is stopped (S6). From this state, the control circuit 18 drives the stepping motor in the reverse direction to rotate the recording paper.
P is transported in the opposite direction to the printing. Specifically, the stepping motor is driven in reverse rotation for 6776 steps (corresponding to 1694 lines), and further driven in reverse for 40 steps (corresponding to 10 lines) for deceleration, and the stepping motor is stopped (S7).

By repeating the steps S4 to S7 until the printing of the three colors of YMC is completed by the determination in the step S8, the image corresponding to the received image information is transferred and recorded on the recording paper P.

Thereafter, the control circuit 18 transfers an overcoat layer for protecting the printing screen onto the recording paper P (S9). Then, the stepping motor is driven to guide the recording paper P to the discharge roller 9-1 via the paper transport guide 25, and the discharge rollers 9-1 and 9-2 are driven to drive the recording paper P to the discharge tray 26. (S10), and a series of printing operations is completed.

In the above description, the number of driving steps of the stepping motor and the recording paper P are determined based on the leading edge detection signal of the recording paper P detected by the leading edge detection sensor 10 when the recording paper P is supplied.
The example of controlling the recording position by managing the relationship with the transport position has been described. However, at the time of transfer recording of each color and overcoat layer, the leading edge of the recording paper P is detected, and based on the leading edge detection signal, the relationship between the number of driving steps of the stepping motor and the transport position of the recording paper P is managed. The recording position can also be controlled.

In the above description, the transfer of the overcoat layer is performed by driving the thermal head 6 to generate heat. However, at the start of the transfer of the overcoat layer, control may be added such that the calorific value of the thermal head 6 is gradually increased, and at the end of the transfer of the overcoat layer, the calorific value of the thermal head 6 is gradually reduced. It is possible.

[Operation of Print System] Next, the operation of the print system will be described.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of a print system in which the digital camera 29 and the printer unit (main unit 1) are connected.

In the configuration shown in FIG. 5, the print instruction is issued from the digital camera 29. Below,
The communication based on the print instruction in step S2 will be described in detail.

After photographing, the digital camera 29 has image information stored in its internal memory or removable memory. The memory is conveniently provided in a freely removable form such as a compact flash (registered trademark) card or a smart media.

The user sets the operation mode of the digital camera 29 to the reproduction mode, and reproduces and displays an arbitrary image on the LCD finder or the like of the digital camera 29. The reproduction of the image information held in the memory can be performed at any time by the LCD provided in the digital camera 29. That is, the user can arbitrarily recall a captured image and display it on the LCD.

When the digital camera 29 and the printer unit 1 are connected by a cable 27 (or wireless) and are in a communicable state with each other, when a user inputs a print instruction to the digital camera 29 according to a predetermined procedure, the digital camera 29 Issues a print instruction, and information necessary for a print operation is communicated between the digital camera 29 and the printer unit 1. Then, a print output is obtained from the printer unit 1. The image to be printed out is an image (one or more) stored in the memory selected by the user with the digital camera 29.

A connection between the digital camera 29 and the printer unit 1 includes a serial bus such as IEEE1394 and USB (Universal Serial Bus) and a wireless LA such as IEEE802.11b and Bluetooth.
N, infrared LAN, and other general-purpose interfaces are available.

[Configuration of Print System] FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing a configuration example of the print system.

In FIG. 6, a video signal output from the CCD of the imaging unit 101 of the digital camera 29 is
Is subjected to image processing such as A / D conversion, color conversion, and filtering, and is converted into image data. The image data is stored in the memory 103 by the control unit 104 including a CPU, a ROM, a RAM, and the like.

In the reproduction mode, the control unit 104
, And controls the display control unit 106 to display an image on the LCD of the display unit 105.

When printing is instructed from the instruction input unit 108, the control unit 104 converts the image data stored in the memory 103 into image information for printing, and converts the image information via the data interface 107. Send to printer unit 1. The control unit 104 also includes a printer identification number, a status,
Various information such as ink cassette type information is received from the printer unit 1 via the data interface 107.

A control unit 112 including a CPU, a ROM, a RAM, and the like of the printer unit 1 receives a print operation instruction, image information to be printed, and the like via a data interface 111 that communicates with the digital camera 29 and the like. Then, an image is printed by controlling the printer engine 116.

At the time of printing, the control unit 112 causes the printer image processing unit 113 to execute image processing based on a look-up table, a masking matrix, a direct mapping table, or the like stored in the memory. This is the printer engine 116, ink sheet and recording paper P
This is a process for correcting the image information in accordance with the print characteristics caused by the above. By this correction processing, the printer section
The print characteristics of 1 are kept constant. At that time, the control unit 112
The printer image processor 11 refers to data obtained by various sensors
Select a look-up table, masking matrix or direct mapping table to supply to 3.

More specifically, the memory of the control unit 112 includes a plurality of look-up tables and masking matrices corresponding to ink sheets having different print characteristics (more precisely, the type of the cassette 7 in which the ink sheets are stored). Alternatively, a direct mapping table or the like is stored in advance. The control unit 112 selectively uses the plurality of look-up tables, masking matrix or direct mapping table based on the signals of the sensors arranged in the printer engine 116. That is, a table corresponding to the above-mentioned 3-bit signal indicating the type of the cassette 7 is selected from a plurality of look-up tables, a masking matrix or a direct mapping table.

As described above, according to the type of the cassette 7,
By selecting the corresponding look-up table, masking matrix or direct mapping table and performing image processing using the table, a stable reproducible print result can be obtained regardless of the print characteristics of the ink sheet stored in the cassette 7. Obtainable. Therefore, the user can obtain a stable reproducible print result even if different cassettes 7 are used, without being conscious of the difference in the print characteristics of the ink sheet (medium).

According to the above method, a print result with stable reproducibility can be obtained using ink sheets (mediums) having different print characteristics without putting a burden on the user. On the other hand, information indicating the type of cassette obtained by the cassette detection sensor 201 arranged in the printer engine 116 can be sent to the digital camera 29 and the information can be displayed on the display unit 105. In this case, the user uses the instruction input unit 108 to select a lookup table, a masking matrix, or a direct mapping table used for printing. According to this method, a burden is imposed on the user, but the user can intentionally change the reproducibility of the print result.

Further, if the memory 103 of the digital camera 29 is used, more data can be stored in the digital camera 29, and it is possible to correspond to various types of ink sheets (mediums). If it is possible to change the information of the ink sheet stored in the memory 103, it is also possible to store new information in the memory 103 and correct the image data based on the new information. It is possible to easily cope with such an ink sheet.

[0057]

[Other Embodiments] Even if the present invention is applied to a system including a plurality of devices (for example, a host computer, an interface device, a reader, a printer, etc.), an apparatus (for example, a copying machine) Machine, facsimile machine, etc.).

Another object of the present invention is to supply a storage medium (or a recording medium) in which a program code of software for realizing the functions of the above-described embodiment is recorded to a system or an apparatus, and to provide a computer (a computer) of the system or the apparatus. It is needless to say that the present invention can also be achieved by a CPU or an MPU) reading and executing the program code stored in the storage medium. In this case, the program code itself read from the storage medium implements the functions of the above-described embodiment, and the storage medium storing the program code constitutes the present invention. Also,
When the computer executes the readout program code, not only the functions of the above-described embodiments are realized, but also the operating system (OS) running on the computer based on the instructions of the program code.
It goes without saying that a case where the functions of the above-described embodiments are implemented by performing some or all of the actual processing, and the processing performs the functions of the above-described embodiments.

Further, after the program code read from the storage medium is written in the memory provided in the function expansion card inserted into the computer or the function expansion unit connected to the computer, the program code is read based on the instruction of the program code. Needless to say, the CPU included in the function expansion card or the function expansion unit performs part or all of the actual processing, and the processing realizes the functions of the above-described embodiments.

When the present invention is applied to the storage medium, the storage medium stores program codes corresponding to the flowcharts described above.

[0061]

As described above, according to the present invention,
A print result with stable reproducibility can be obtained regardless of the type or characteristics of the medium.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an overview of a printer unit according to an embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of a recording sheet;

FIG. 3 illustrates an example of a cassette in which ink sheets are stored.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating a sequence of transfer and overcoat when printing on one sheet of recording paper;

FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of a print system in which a digital camera and a printer unit are connected.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration example of a print system.

Claims (8)

[Claims] 1. A recording method using a heating means in which a plurality of heating elements are arranged in a line, and a cassette in which a transfer medium coated with ink transferred to a recording medium by heating by the heating means is stored. An image processing apparatus for forming a visible image on a medium, comprising: a detecting unit for detecting information indicating the type or characteristics of the transfer medium; and an image processing unit for forming a visible image by performing image processing according to the detected information. An image processing apparatus comprising: processing means for applying image information. 2. The image processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the detection unit detects information indicating a type or a characteristic of the transfer medium based on information recorded on a surface of the cassette. . 3. The method of claim 2, further comprising: a plurality of lookup tables;
A memory in which a masking matrix and / or a direct mapping table is stored, wherein the processing means responds to the detected information according to the look-up table, the masking matrix and / or
3. The image processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a direct mapping table is selectively used. 4. Recording is performed using a heating unit in which a plurality of heating elements are arranged in a line, and a cassette in which a transfer medium coated with ink transferred to a recording medium by heating by the heating unit is stored. An image processing apparatus that forms a visible image on a medium, a communication unit that communicates with an image input device, detects information indicating the type or characteristic of the transfer medium, and notifies the detected information to a vice by the image input. An image processing apparatus comprising: 5. A visible image is formed on a recording medium by using a cassette in which a transfer medium coated with ink to be transferred to the recording medium by heating by a heating means in which a plurality of heating elements are arranged in a line is stored. An image processing method for forming, wherein information indicating a type or characteristic of the transfer medium is detected, and image processing according to the detected information is performed on image information to form a visible image. Image processing method. 6. A visible image is recorded on a recording medium using a cassette in which a transfer medium coated with ink which is transferred to the recording medium by heating by a heating means having a plurality of heating elements arranged in a line is stored. An image processing method for forming, wherein information indicating a type or characteristic of the transfer medium is detected, and the detected information is notified to a vice by image input. 7. A program for controlling an image processing device to execute the image processing according to claim 5 or 6. 8. A recording medium on which the program according to claim 7 is recorded.