JP2003062986A - Printer and computer program - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a printer in which a mixed color print mode can be realized readily even when a print head of zigzag arrangement is used. SOLUTION: In the printer comprising a print head of zigzag arrangement and can select a mixed color print mode where black is represented by superposing color inks other than black ink, the print head is moved in one direction at a constant speed together with a carriage and a color pattern is generated on a sheet through nozzle arrays 21A and 21B of specific color inks. The sheet is then fed by one half pitch t of the nozzle arrays 21A and 21B. Subsequently, the print head is moved in the reverse direction at a constant speed together with the carriage. In this regard, nozzle arrays 21A and 21B of different color inks are operated and ink of different color is superposed on the color pattern generated before thus generating a black pattern.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to, for example, an ink jet type printing apparatus and a computer program for controlling the printing apparatus.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art For example, an ink jet type printing apparatus is provided with a carriage which reciprocates substantially orthogonally to a paper feeding direction of a paper, and moves the paper at a constant speed while alternately feeding the paper and moving the carriage. Printing is performed by ejecting ink onto the paper by a print head mounted on the carriage inside.

Specifically, in the print head, a nozzle array for ejecting cyan, yellow, and magenta color inks in addition to black ink for each color is provided at a constant nozzle pitch straight along the paper feeding direction of the paper. It is formed so that. The nozzle pitch is formed larger than the dot interval required as the printing resolution in the paper feeding direction. Therefore, by repeating the carriage movement and the paper feeding operation shorter than the length of the nozzle row, the gap along the row direction is controlled to be filled with dots. A method of printing while partially filling the gaps in the print lines in this way is called an interlaced printing method.
By the way, in a general print head, the nozzle rows of each color are arranged side by side without being displaced from each other.
There is also a print head in which nozzle rows of colors that are adjacent to each other are staggered by a half pitch.

By the way, it is known that the black ink does not dry well when printing on, for example, glossy paper. Therefore, some inkjet printers employ a mixed color printing mode in which cyan, yellow, and magenta color inks other than black are overprinted to express black.

[0005]

However, in the staggered print head, the adjoining nozzle rows are displaced by a half pitch in the row direction, so that the mixed color printing mode cannot be easily realized. For example, if the nozzle rows are staggered in the order of black, cyan, yellow, and magenta, it is possible to hit cyan and magenta at the same dot position while the carriage moves once, but at the same time for the remaining one color of yellow. Cannot be printed at the same dot position, and some ingenuity was required to realize the mixed color printing mode.

As a device for this, an interlace pattern for each nozzle row of monochrome data is created, and after carriage movement and paper feeding operation shorter than the length of the nozzle row are repeated several times, inks of all colors are printed at the same dot position. However, since the processing is almost the same as the color interlaced printing, the processing of the print data is complicated and the memory occupation rate of the print data is high.

The present invention has been proposed in view of the above points, and a printing apparatus which can easily realize a mixed color printing mode even with a staggered print head, and such a printing apparatus. It is an object of the present invention to provide a computer program for realizing the operation of.

[0008]

In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, a printing apparatus according to a first aspect of the invention is mounted on the carriage by reciprocating the carriage substantially orthogonal to the paper feeding direction of the paper. While performing printing on the paper by the print head, the print head has a nozzle row for ejecting color ink in addition to black ink for each color with a constant nozzle pitch along the paper feeding direction of the paper. However, the nozzle rows are arranged in a staggered arrangement with a half pitch shift, and at least the nozzle rows corresponding to the color inks of these nozzle rows are operated, and the color inks are overlapped to print black. In a printing device having a selectable mode, when the mixed color printing mode is selected, the carriage is moved at a constant speed as a first repeating operation. At the same time, based on the monochrome print data, the nozzle rows located at the same position in the paper feed direction of the paper are operated to generate a first print pattern, and a first print pattern generation means and the first print pattern generation. After the operation by the means, a paper feed means for feeding the paper by a half pitch of the nozzle row, and after the paper feed by the paper feed means, the carriage is moved at a constant speed as a second repetitive operation. At the same time, based on the monochrome print data, the nozzle rows that are offset by a half pitch in the paper feed direction of the paper are operated, and ink of different shades is overlaid on the first print pattern to generate a black pattern. And a print pattern generating means.

According to such a printing apparatus, for example,
When the nozzle rows are staggered in the order of black, cyan, yellow, and magenta, the first print pattern is generated by hitting cyan and magenta at the same dot positions in the first repeated operation. After that, by feeding the paper by a half pitch corresponding to the deviation of the nozzle row, the yellow nozzle row is relatively positioned at the same dot position as the first print pattern. Then, finally, a black pattern is generated by hitting yellow at the same dot position as the first print pattern in the second repeated operation. This allows
Even with a staggered print head, the mixed color print mode can be easily performed based on the black print data without generating the complicated mixed color print data in consideration of the nozzle row to be driven based on the black print data. Can be realized. Moreover,
When the first and second repeated operations are completed, black print data corresponding to the black pattern for one line is no longer necessary.
Therefore, the buffer holding the black print data can be released promptly.

A printer according to a second aspect of the present invention is the printer according to the first aspect, wherein the first print pattern generating means has a staggered arrangement while the carriage is moving in one direction. While the first print pattern is generated by operating a plurality of nozzle rows or a single row of nozzle rows that are not the same, the second print pattern generating means, in contrast to this, causes the carriage to move in the opposite direction. During the movement, the black pattern is generated by operating the nozzle rows other than the one that was previously operated.

According to such a printing apparatus, in addition to the effect of the printing apparatus according to the first aspect, a black pattern for one line is generated each time bidirectional printing is performed, thereby increasing the speed. Moreover, since the color inks are always overlapped in a constant color order, even if the color inks appear to be overlapped black, the color tones can be made uniform in appearance.

Furthermore, the printing device of the invention described in claim 3 is the printing device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein after the first repetitive operation is completed, the second repetitive operation is completed. By the interlace printing method, the paper is fed by a predetermined amount, and thereafter, the first and second repeating operations are performed again.

According to such a printing apparatus, in addition to the effect of the printing apparatus according to the first or second aspect, printing is performed by partially overlapping while filling the gaps of the print lines by the interlaced printing method, so that the whole printing is performed. Can be expressed with a print resolution finer than the nozzle pitch.

A printing apparatus according to a fourth aspect of the present invention is the printing apparatus according to any of the first to third aspects, wherein the monochrome print data is stored as print data for the nozzle row for each color. The second print pattern generation unit erases the printed print data stored in the storage unit after the second print pattern generation unit generates the black pattern.

According to such a printing apparatus, in addition to the effect of the printing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3, the print data which is the source of the black pattern is erased every time a black pattern is generated. The memory that stores print data can be used efficiently.

Further, the computer program according to the fifth aspect of the present invention causes the carriage to reciprocate substantially perpendicular to the paper feed direction of the paper, and prints on the paper by the print head mounted on the carriage. On the other hand, in the print head, nozzle rows for ejecting color ink in addition to black ink for each color have a constant nozzle pitch along the paper feeding direction of the paper, but each nozzle row is offset by a half pitch and staggered. A printing device that is arranged in an array and controls at least the nozzle line corresponding to the color ink among these nozzle lines to select a mixed color printing mode in which the color inks are overlapped and black is printed is controlled. When the mixed color printing mode is selected, the carriage is operated as a first repeating operation. A first print pattern generation program for generating a first print pattern by moving the nozzle rows at the same position in the paper feed direction of the paper based on monochrome print data while moving at a constant speed; After the operation based on the first print pattern generation program, a paper feed program for feeding the paper by a half pitch of the nozzle row, and a second paper feed after the paper feed based on the paper feed program. As a repetitive operation, the carriage is moved at a constant speed, and a nozzle row that is displaced by a half pitch in the paper feed direction of the paper is operated based on the monochrome print data,
And a second print pattern generation program for generating a black pattern by overprinting ink of different shades on the print pattern.

According to such a computer program, the operation of the printing apparatus according to the first aspect can be realized by operating the CPU based on the computer program.

[0018]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is an external perspective view of a facsimile machine equipped with a printing apparatus according to the present invention, and FIG. 2 is an internal sectional view of the facsimile machine. The facsimile apparatus A is provided with a plurality of functions such as an inkjet printing apparatus (hereinafter referred to as “inkjet printer”), an image reading apparatus (hereinafter referred to as “scanner”), and a communication apparatus. . The facsimile apparatus A is also used as a simple ink jet printer or scanner while being connected to a personal computer or the like. Also, by linking the inkjet printer and scanner,
Also used as a copy machine. The inkjet printer relating to the present invention will be described below.

The ink jet printer is roughly divided into a mechanism for conveying a sheet (not shown) and a mechanism for performing printing. The paper transport mechanism includes a paper setting unit 10, a paper feed roller 11, a paper separating piece 12, a paper sensor 13, a main roller 14, a paper ejection roller 15, and a paper ejection unit 16 arranged along the paper conveyance path. , Each roller 1
It is configured by a feed motor or the like (not shown) for driving 1, 14, and 15. The printing mechanism includes a carriage 20 that reciprocates substantially orthogonal to the paper transport direction, a print head 21 provided under the carriage 20, a slide shaft 22 that supports the carriage 20, and a guide frame 23.
In addition to a linear encoder 24 and an encoder slit 25 for detecting the moving position of the carriage 20, a DC motor for moving the carriage 20 back and forth, an ink tank mounted on the carriage 20, and the like, which are not particularly shown, are included.

A large number of sheets are piled up on the sheet setting section 10, and the sheet is put in a waiting state with the leading edge of each sheet abutting the sheet separating piece 12. When the paper feed roller 11 rotates in the clockwise direction, a sheet of paper contacting the paper feed roller 11 is separated from the paper separating piece 12 and fed into the inside, and soon the leading edge of the paper comes into contact with the paper sensor 13 to move the paper position. Is detected. Then, when the paper is fed by a predetermined amount, the leading end of the paper reaches the main roller 14, and when the paper further advances, the paper is sandwiched between the main roller 14 and the paper discharge roller 15, whereby the paper feeding operation ends. . After that, printing is performed on the sheet sandwiched between the main roller 14 and the sheet discharge roller 15 via the print head 21. In the printing operation, the paper is fed by the predetermined width via the main roller 14 and the paper discharge roller 15 every time when the printing of a certain width is finished. When the trailing edge of the sheet reaches a predetermined position, the sheet discharging operation is started, and finally the entire sheet reaches the sheet discharging section 16 via the sheet discharging roller 15, and the sheet discharging operation is finished.

The carriage 20 reciprocates along the direction that penetrates the plane of the paper of FIG. While the carriage 20 reciprocates once, ink is ejected from the print head 21 to perform a printing operation, but bidirectional printing in which printing is performed twice in the forward and backward directions while the carriage 20 reciprocates once. There is unidirectional printing in which printing is performed only in one of the forward and backward directions. In any case, the printing operation is performed while the carriage 20 is moving at a constant speed while the paper is temporarily stopped without being fed. Therefore, the paper feed is basically performed when the carriage 20 changes direction (reverses) during the reciprocating movement. The position of the carriage 20 reciprocating in this way is detected by the linear encoder 24 integrated in the carriage 20 optically reading the encoder slit 25 fixed along the reciprocating path.

Further, FIG. 3 is a left side view of the carriage 20, FIG. 4 is a front view of the carriage 20, FIG. 5 is a top view of the carriage 20, and FIG. 6 shows a print head 21 below the carriage 20. It is a bottom view, and the carriage 20 will be described based on these drawings.

An adjustment lever 26 is provided on the left side surface of the carriage 20, as shown in FIG. The adjusting lever 26 is manually operated in the left-right direction (direction penetrating the paper surface of FIG. 3) so that the print head 21 provided at the lower portion of the carriage 20 is straight along the paper feeding direction of the paper. It is for positioning adjustment. Further, as shown in FIG. 6, the print head 21 in the lower portion of the carriage 20 is provided with two nozzle rows 21A and 21B for ejecting ink from an ink tank onto a sheet by the operation of a piezoelectric element or the like. Has been. Although not particularly shown, the ink tanks are independent for each of the four colors of black, cyan, yellow, and magenta. Of these, black and cyan are ejected through one nozzle row 21A, and yellow and magenta are ejected through the other nozzle row 21B. That is, in the nozzle row 21A, the black nozzles Bk and the cyan nozzles C are arranged in a staggered two-row pair in the paper transport direction.
Similarly, in the nozzle row 21B, two rows of yellow nozzles Y and magenta nozzles M are arranged in a zigzag pattern in the paper transport direction.

FIG. 7 is an explanatory view for explaining the arrangement form of the nozzle rows. As shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, for example, the pitch T of the black nozzles Bk is 1/75.
Black nozzles B, which are about inches and are adjacent to each other
The distance t between the k and the cyan nozzle C in the vertical direction is 1 /
It is about 150 inches. That is, the black nozzles Bk and the cyan nozzles C that are adjacent to each other are arranged in a zigzag pattern by being displaced by half the nozzle pitch T in the column direction. This also applies to the other nozzles. The total number of the nozzles Bk, C, Y and M is set to 75, for example. As a result, the carriage 20
The printing width when moving around is large, which greatly contributes to the increase in printing speed.

Further, FIG. 8 is a schematic view showing an example of the relationship between the print width and the sheet feed amount each time the carriage 20 moves, and as a basic print operation example, a normal print operation is performed as an example with reference to FIG. A procedure for printing an image having a resolution of 300 dpi in the color printing mode of 3 will be described. 1/7
Nozzle rows 21A and 21B having a 5-inch dot pitch
In order to obtain a print result with a dot spacing of 1/300 inch, it is sufficient to print in the same area by four passes as shown in FIG. At this time, in the first pass and the second, third, and fourth passes, the positions of the nozzle rows 21A and 21B used for ejecting ink to the same region are changed. In this way, a method of carrying out printing on the entire paper by conveying a paper at the same paper feed pitch and repeating a series of operations while appropriately changing the nozzles used for printing is called an interlaced printing method. According to such a printing method, even if the nozzle rows 21A and 21B are misaligned with respect to the paper transport direction, it is possible to deal with them by simply changing the data development method.

By the way, in the ink jet printer of the present embodiment, especially when printing on glossy paper, since the black ink does not dry well, in addition to the normal color printing mode, cyan, yellow, and magenta colors other than black are used. A mixed color printing mode is used in which ink is overprinted to express black. However, from the arrangement of the nozzles Bk, C, Y, and M shown in FIGS.
Even if cyan and magenta can be overlaid on the same dot position by only moving 0 once, yellow cannot be overlaid on the same dot position. As shown in FIG. 6 and FIG. 7, the cyan and magenta nozzles C and M are evenly arranged without being displaced in the column direction, but the yellow nozzle Y is cyan and magenta. Nozzles C and M
This is because they are arranged with a shift of a half pitch t (1/150 inch). Therefore, in the present embodiment, when printing is performed in the mixed-color printing mode, the print lines are partially overlapped by the interlaced printing method, but for one print pass, half of the nozzle rows 21A and 21B are printed during bidirectional printing. By feeding the paper by the pitch t, each of the three colors of cyan, yellow, and magenta is overprinted at the same dot position.

FIG. 9 is an explanatory view for schematically explaining the print pattern generated in accordance with the operation of the nozzle rows 21A and 21B. When performing printing in the mixed color printing mode, first, for example, as shown in (A1) of FIG.
While A and 21B are moving in the right direction, by driving only the nozzles C and M that are not in a staggered arrangement with each other, cyan and magenta inks are overlaid on the paper. Therefore, at this point, a color pattern (a pattern shown by a broken line) in which cyan and magenta are mixed is generated.

After that, the paper is fed by the half pitch t of the nozzle rows 21A and 21B, so that the nozzle rows 21A and 21B are displaced by a half pitch t relative to the previous color pattern. . Then, next, as shown in (A2) of FIG. 9, the nozzle rows 21A and 21B are moved leftward. During this movement, the yellow nozzles Y other than those previously operated are driven, and the yellow ink is ejected onto the paper. At this time, the yellow nozzle Y
Are positioned in accordance with a color pattern in which cyan and magenta are mixed. Therefore, the yellow ink is fixed at the same position as the previous color pattern. As a result, a black pattern (pattern shown by a solid line) is generated by mixing three colors of cyan, yellow, and magenta.

As described above, the black pattern is generated by performing the bidirectional printing once, but as shown in (B1) of FIG. 9 in order to further perform the bidirectional printing of the next line. , The paper is fed with a predetermined paper feed amount P. That is, the previously generated black pattern and the nozzle rows 21A, 2
Looking at the relative positional relationship with 1B along the paper feed direction, it is in a state of being displaced by the paper feed amount P. The paper feed amount P is determined by the relationship between the nozzle pitch T and the resolution of the image to be printed. When printing an image with a resolution higher than the nozzle pitch T, at least the paper feed amount P is the nozzle pitch T. It must deviate from the integer multiple of. After that, as shown in (B1) and (B2) of FIG. 9, the printing operation is performed in the same procedure as the first bidirectional printing, the color pattern is generated, the paper is fed by half the pitch t, and then the black pattern is printed. Is generated.

Further, similarly to the above, (C in FIG.
1), (C2), and (D1), (D2) in FIG. 9, the black pattern is generated by bidirectional printing, and the printing is repeated by filling the gap by the interlaced printing method. Specifically, a print result having a print resolution smaller than the density of the nozzle rows 21A and 21B is obtained over the entire sheet. The black pattern portion included in such a print result is obtained by fixing yellow on cyan and magenta in every portion, and since the fixing order of colors is constant, the ink of three colors appears to be black. Even if it is, the color tone can be made uniform in appearance. Although not specifically mentioned in the above description, black that appears to be a mixture of color inks is slightly light black, so in reality, when the yellow ink is ejected, the black ink is also slightly I have set out.

FIG. 10 is a block diagram showing the circuit configuration of the facsimile apparatus A. As shown in this figure, the facsimile machine A includes a CPU 30, an NCU 31, and a RAM 3.
2, modem 33, ROM 34, NVRAM (non-volatile R
AM: Non-Volatile RAM) 35, gate array 36, codec 37, DMAC 38, reading unit 41, printing unit 4
2, the operation unit 43, the display unit 44, and the like are included in the configuration. CPU30, NCU31, RAM3
2, the modem 33, the ROM 34, the NVRAM 35, the gate array 36, the codec 37, and the DMAC 38,
They are connected to each other by a bus line 47. The bus line 47 includes an address bus, a data bus, and a control signal line. The gate array 36 includes a reading unit 41 and a printing unit 4.
2, the operation unit 43, and the display unit 44 are connected.
A public telephone line 48 is connected to the NCU 31.

The CPU 30 controls the operation of the entire facsimile apparatus A. The NCU 31 is connected to the public telephone line 48 and controls the network. The RAM 32 provides a work area for the CPU 30, a buffer area for print data, and the like.
The modem 33 performs modulation and demodulation of facsimile data. The ROM 34 stores programs and the like that the CPU 30 should execute. The NVRAM 35 stores data and various kinds of information. The gate array 36 is the CPU 30.
And functions as an interface with each unit 41 to 44. The codec 37 performs encoding and decoding of facsimile data and the like. The DMAC 38 mainly writes and reads data to and from the RAM 32.

The reading section 41 is composed of a scanner,
An image is read from a document or the like under the control of the CPU 30. The printing unit 42 is configured by an inkjet printer, and performs the various operations described above under the control of the CPU 30. The operation unit 43 includes a numeric keypad and various operation keys, and transmits an input signal from the user to the CPU 30. The display unit 44 includes, for example, a liquid crystal display,
Display various information.

To briefly describe the main points, the CPU 30
When the mixed color printing mode is selected, the carriage 20 is moved at a constant speed as the first repetitive operation, and the nozzle rows 21A and 21B located at the same position in the paper feeding direction of the paper are based on the monochrome print data. A first print pattern generation unit that is operated to generate a first print pattern, and a paper feed unit that feeds the paper by a half pitch t of the nozzle rows 21A and 21B after the operation by the first print pattern generation unit. Then, after the paper is fed by the paper feeding means, the carriage 20 is moved at a constant speed as a second repetitive operation, and the nozzle row displaced by a half pitch t in the paper feeding direction of the paper is operated based on the monochrome print data. , A second print pattern generating means for generating a black pattern by overlapping inks of different shades on the first print pattern. And it represents.

Further, the program stored in the ROM 34 causes the carriage 20 to reciprocate substantially orthogonal to the paper feed direction of the paper, and the print head 2 mounted on the carriage 20.
1 prints on paper while the print head 21
In addition to the black ink, the nozzle rows 21A and 21B for ejecting the color inks for each color have a constant nozzle pitch T along the paper feeding direction of the paper,
21B is arranged in a staggered arrangement with a half pitch t offset,
A computer program for controlling a printing device having at least one of the nozzle rows 21A and 21B that operates a nozzle row corresponding to color ink and is capable of selecting a mixed-color printing mode in which color ink is printed to print black When the mixed color printing mode is selected, the carriage 20 is moved at a constant speed as the first repeated operation, and the nozzle rows 2 located at the same position in the paper feeding direction of the paper based on the monochrome print data.
1A and 21B are operated to generate a first print pattern, and a first print pattern generation program, and after the operation based on the first print pattern generation program, the paper is moved by the half pitch t of the nozzle rows 21A and 21B. A paper feed program for feeding paper, and after the paper is fed based on the paper feed program, the carriage 2 is used as a second repetitive operation.
0 is moved at a constant speed, and the nozzle rows 21A and 21B that are offset by a half pitch t in the paper feed direction of the paper are operated based on the monochrome print data, and inks of different shades are overlaid on the first print pattern. A computer program including a second print pattern generation program for generating a black pattern is realized.

Next, the operation will be described.

FIG. 11 is a flow chart showing the flow of the printing process in the mixed color print mode, and FIG. 12 is a flow chart showing the flow when the print mode is selected. The other monochrome printing mode and the color printing mode are the same as the conventional ones, and the description thereof will be omitted. The printing process described below is monochrome printing for convenience. By the way, even in the case of color printing, when the mixed color printing mode is selected, it is possible to make a black color tone by overprinting color ink on the portion to be expressed in black.

First, referring to FIG. 12, when the data to be printed is monochrome data (S11: YES) and "Glossy" is selected as the paper type when copying or receiving facsimile data. To (S
12: YES), the process proceeds to the process of executing the mixed color print mode (S13), and the print mode selection process ends.

If it is determined in S12 that the paper type is not "Glossy" but another plain paper or the like is selected (S12: NO), the process proceeds to the process of executing the monochrome print mode (S14). To finish.

When the data to be printed is color data in S11 (S11: NO), the process proceeds to the process for executing the color print mode (S15), and the print mode selection process is finished.

By selecting the mixed color printing mode as described above, the printing process in the mixed color printing mode of FIG. 11 is executed.

As shown in FIG. 11, in the printing process in the mixed color printing mode, the CPU 30 reads out the black print data for one pass from the print data stored in the RAM 32 in accordance with the interlace pattern (S1).

Then, the CPU 30 drives the nozzle rows 21A and 21B while moving the carriage 20 in one direction at a constant speed based on the black print data for one pass, thereby generating a color pattern on the paper. (S2). At this time, as described above, for example, only the cyan and magenta nozzles C and M are driven, and the cyan and magenta inks are fixed at the same positions to generate a color pattern.

After that, the CPU 30 feeds the paper by half the nozzle pitch t (S3).

Subsequently, the CPU 30 moves the carriage 20 in the opposite direction at a constant speed this time based on the same black print data for one pass as described above, and the nozzle rows 21A,
A black pattern is generated on the paper by driving 21B (S4). At this time, as described above, for example, the yellow nozzle Y is driven, and the yellow ink is fixed at the same position as the previous color pattern to generate a black pattern. When the yellow nozzle Y is driven, the black nozzle may also be driven and the black ink may be overlaid on the color pattern together with the yellow ink.

When a black pattern for one pass is generated by the bidirectional printing as described above, the CPU 30 erases the black print data for one pass read from the buffer for this purpose (S5). That is, black print data for one pass is erased from the RAM 32 each time bidirectional printing is completed.
The memory area for holding the print data is released immediately.

After that, the CPU 30 feeds the paper by a predetermined amount P in order to continue printing in the next pass (S6). The amount P of paper to be fed at this point is, for example, a distance equal to 1/4 of the total length of the nozzle rows 21A and 21B (an integral multiple of the nozzle pitch T), which is 1 of the nozzle pitch T.
The length will be / 4. In such a case, the previous black pattern and the black pattern generated subsequently thereto are in a state of being shifted in the paper feeding direction by about 1/4 of the nozzle pitch T.

Finally, the CPU 30 determines whether or not there is print data to be printed in the buffer (S7),
When there is no remaining ink (S7: NO), this printing process ends.

On the other hand, when the print data to be printed remains in the buffer (S7: YES), the CPU 30 returns to S1 again and repeats a series of operations. That is, the above S1
By repeating the series of operations from S to S7,
The interlaced printing method is realized. Also,
By performing the series of operations from S1 to S5 once, a black pattern corresponding to one pass in bidirectional printing is generated.

Therefore, according to the facsimile apparatus A equipped with the ink jet printer, the print head 21
Even if the nozzles B, C, Y, and M are arranged in a staggered order in the order of black, cyan, yellow, and magenta, it is possible to generate a color pattern by overprinting cyan and magenta at the same dot position. After that, by feeding the paper by the half pitch t of the nozzle pitch T, it is possible to overprint the yellow ink at the same dot position as the color pattern to generate the black pattern, and the staggered print head 21 is used. Even if there is, a mixed color printing mode can be easily realized.

In addition, immediately after the black pattern for one pass is generated by the bidirectional printing, the black print data used for that is no longer necessary and is erased from the buffer. The buffer that holds the print data can be released quickly, and the input / output processing of the print data via the memory can be efficiently executed. Moreover, since it is not necessary to create interlaced data equivalent to a complicated color, it is possible to shorten the time until printing.

The present invention is not limited to the above embodiment.

The ink jet printer according to the present invention is
Although it is incorporated in the facsimile apparatus A, it may be an inkjet printer as a single unit. Also, the ink colors are not limited to four colors.

The numerical values shown in the above embodiments are merely examples, and appropriate numerical values can be adopted according to the design specifications as long as they do not depart from the features of the present invention.

[0056]

As described above, according to the printing apparatus of the invention described in claim 1, for example, when the nozzle rows are arranged in a staggered order of black, cyan, yellow, and magenta, the first repetition is performed. The first print pattern is generated by hitting cyan and magenta at the same dot position in operation. After that, by feeding the paper by a half pitch corresponding to the deviation of the nozzle row, the yellow nozzle row is relatively positioned at the same dot position as the first print pattern. Then, finally, a black pattern is generated by hitting yellow at the same dot position as the first print pattern in the second repeated operation. As a result, even with a staggered print head, a mixed color print mode can be easily realized without generating complicated mixed color print data in consideration of a nozzle row to be driven based on black print data. it can. Moreover, since the black print data corresponding to the black pattern for one line is no longer necessary after the first and second repeated operations are completed, the buffer holding the black print data is promptly released correspondingly. can do.

According to the printing apparatus of the second aspect of the invention, in addition to the effect of the printing apparatus of the first aspect, a black pattern for one line is generated each time bidirectional printing is performed. By doing so, the speed is increased, and since the color inks are always overlapped in a fixed color order, even if the color inks appear to be overlapped black, the color tone can be made uniform in appearance.

Further, according to the printing apparatus of the third aspect of the invention, in addition to the effect of the printing apparatus of the first or second aspect, an interlaced printing method is used to partially overlap the gaps of the print lines. While it is printed,
The printing result as a whole can be expressed with a printing resolution finer than the nozzle pitch.

According to the printing apparatus of the invention described in claim 4, in addition to the effect of the printing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3, every time a black pattern is generated, the original printing is performed. Since the data is deleted, the memory for storing the print data can be efficiently used.

Further, according to the computer program of the invention described in claim 5, the operation of the printing apparatus according to claim 1 can be realized by operating the CPU based on the computer program.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an external perspective view of a facsimile apparatus including a printing apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an internal cross-sectional view of a facsimile device.

FIG. 3 is a left side view of the carriage.

FIG. 4 is a front view of a carriage.

FIG. 5 is a top view of the carriage.

FIG. 6 is a bottom view showing the print head in the lower part of the carriage.

FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram for explaining an array form of nozzle rows.

FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram showing an example of the relationship between the print width and the paper feed amount each time the carriage moves.

FIG. 9 is an explanatory diagram for schematically explaining a print pattern generated in accordance with the operation of a nozzle row.

FIG. 10 is a block diagram showing a circuit configuration of a facsimile device.

FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing a flow of printing processing in a mixed color printing mode.

FIG. 12 is a flowchart showing a flow when selecting a print mode.

[Explanation of symbols]

10 Paper setting section 11 Paper feed roller 12 Paper separation pieces 13 Paper sensor 14 Main roller 15 Paper ejection roller 16 Paper output section 20 carriage 21 print head 21A, 21B nozzle row 22 Slide axis 23 Guide frame 24 linear encoder 25 encoder slit 26 Adjustment lever 30 CPU 31 NCU 32 RAM 33 modem 34 ROM 35 NVRAM 36 gate array 37 Codec 38 DMAC 41 Reader 42 Printing Department 43 Operation part 44 Display A facsimile machine

   ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continued front page    F-term (reference) 2C056 EA01 EA04 EA11 EC11 EC12                       EC34 EC74 EC78 EC80 EE10                       EE14 FA11 HA22                 2C062 KA03 LA03

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. A carriage is reciprocally moved substantially orthogonal to a paper feeding direction of a paper, and printing is performed on the paper by a print head mounted on the carriage, while black ink is supplied to the print head in addition to black ink. Nozzle rows for ejecting color ink for each color are provided so that each nozzle row is displaced by a half pitch in a staggered arrangement while maintaining a constant nozzle pitch along the paper feed direction of the paper. Of these, a printing device capable of operating at least a nozzle row corresponding to color inks and selecting a mixed color print mode in which color inks are superimposed to print black, wherein the mixed color print mode is selected, As the first repetitive operation, the carriage is moved at a constant speed, and at the same position in the paper feeding direction of the paper based on the monochrome print data. First print pattern generating means for operating a certain nozzle row to generate a first print pattern; and, after the operation by the first print pattern generating means, feeds the paper by half a pitch of the nozzle row. And a paper feed unit for feeding the paper by the paper feed unit, the carriage is moved at a constant speed as a second repetitive operation, and a half pitch in the paper feed direction of the paper based on the monochrome print data. A printing apparatus, comprising: a second print pattern generation unit that operates a nozzle row that has been displaced and strikes inks of different shades on the first print pattern to form a black pattern. 2. The first print pattern generating means operates the first print pattern by operating a plurality of nozzle rows or individual rows of the nozzle rows that do not form a staggered arrangement while the carriage is moving in one direction. On the other hand, on the other hand, the second print pattern generation means, on the contrary, generates the black pattern by operating the nozzle rows other than the one that was previously operated while the carriage is moving in the opposite direction. The printing apparatus according to claim 1. 3. After finishing the second repeating operation after the first repeating operation, the paper is fed by a predetermined amount by an interlaced printing method, and then the first and second repeating operations are performed again. The printing device according to claim 1, wherein the operation is performed. 4. A storage means for storing the monochrome print data as print data for each nozzle row for each color, wherein after the black pattern is generated by the second print pattern generation means, the printed data stored in the storage means is printed. The printing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3, which erases the print data of. 5. A carriage is reciprocally moved substantially orthogonal to a paper feed direction of the paper, and printing is performed on the paper by a print head mounted on the carriage, while black ink is added to the print head. Nozzle rows for ejecting color ink for each color are provided so that each nozzle row is displaced by a half pitch in a staggered arrangement while maintaining a constant nozzle pitch along the paper feed direction of the paper. Among these, it is a computer program for controlling a printing device capable of operating a nozzle row corresponding to at least color ink and selecting a mixed color print mode for printing black by superimposing color ink, wherein the mixed color print mode When is selected, the carriage is moved at a constant speed as the first repeated operation, and based on monochrome print data. A first print pattern generation program for operating the nozzle rows at the same position in the paper feed direction of the paper to generate a first print pattern, and an operation based on the first print pattern generation program, A paper feed program for feeding the paper by a half pitch of the nozzle row, and after the paper is fed based on the paper feed program, the carriage is moved at a constant speed as a second repeating operation, A second row for generating a black pattern by operating the nozzle rows shifted by a half pitch in the paper feed direction of the sheet based on the monochrome print data and overlappingly ejecting inks of different shades on the first print pattern A computer program including a print pattern generation program.