JP2003118145A - Image recorder, information processor, method for controlling the same, and image recording system - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an image recorder capable of suppressing waste consumption of ink when a recovery processing of a recording head is executed and of recording a high quality image at a high speed. SOLUTION: Received recording data is analyzed to classify as to whether one copy of a single page is to be recorded or a plurality of copies of the single page are to be recorded or as to whether one or more copies of a plurality of pages are to be recorded. In the case where two or more pages or two or more copies are continuously recorded, a recovery operation of a nozzle is executed only when the recovery operation is necessary at an interval between pages. In addition, the execution term of the recovery operation is set to a term when one color in all the recording colors requires the recovery operation, and then the content of the recovery operation is varied by each color. In the case where two or more pages or two or more copies are continuously recorded, the number of recorded dots which are actually ejected in each page is stored in a memory and the execution time of the recovery operation is reset in the way of the recording based on the data of each page stored in the memory. A relationship between a file format of the recorded data or a format of an application and the number of the recording data or the number of recording dots actually ejected in stored and the stored data is used for setting the execution time of the recovery operation, thereby reducing the number of times of the recovery operations to a minimum necessary level.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an image recording apparatus, an information processing apparatus, a control method therefor, a printer driver and a storage medium, and more particularly to an image recording apparatus capable of appropriately performing maintenance of a recording head of an inkjet printer. The present invention relates to an information processing device, a control method thereof, a printer driver and a storage medium.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art For example, as an information output device in a word processor, a personal computer, a facsimile, etc., desired information such as characters and images based on image information is formed from a dot pattern on a sheet-like recording medium such as paper or film. There is an image recording device that records the image.

As the recording system of the image recording apparatus, various systems such as ink jet system, wire dot system, thermal system and laser beam system are known depending on the recording system, but non-contact recording is possible on a recording medium such as paper. In recent years, ink jet printers have been particularly attracting attention because they are easy to colorize and are quiet.

In particular, in recent years, relatively small ink jet printers have rapidly become widespread as image recording apparatuses satisfying requirements such as high speed recording, high resolution, high image quality and low noise. It is configured to record an image on a recording medium such as paper by ejecting ink droplets by using a recording head in which a plurality of ink ejection ports are arranged in an integrated arrangement or a recording head having a plurality of recording heads corresponding to colors. .

By the way, in the ink jet printer,
By ejecting ink regularly, ink ejection failure due to nozzles that do not eject ink during recording is prevented.

For example, in a so-called bubble jet (registered trademark) type ink jet printer, since thermal energy is used as energy used for ejecting ink, bubbles generated from dissolved gas due to residual heat after ejecting ink may be generated depending on operating environment conditions. The ink may be accumulated in the recording head, and if ink ejection is repeated a certain number of times or more, ink ejection may become unstable or ink ejection failure may occur.

[0007] As a method for discharging the defective ink, for example, a method is known in which a suction pump is attached to the recording head to suck and remove the ink from the nozzle. Further, in the recording process, ink is not always ejected from all the nozzles. The frequency of the nozzles used varies depending on the image to be printed, and nozzles that are rarely ejected may appear. In such a case, the nozzle may dry and the ink ejection operation may become defective when a recording signal is supplied.

Therefore, in order to prevent the ejection operation from being defective due to drying of the nozzles, there is a case where a preliminary ejection operation is performed in which ink is ejected into a cap provided at a position unrelated to image recording.

As described above, in the ink jet printer, by performing the recovery processing of the nozzles of the recording head such as suction and preliminary ejection of ink in a timely manner, a predetermined amount of ink can be ejected normally from the recording head. There is.

[0010]

By the way, in the conventional inkjet printer, the recovery processing of the nozzles of the recording head described above is performed by driving the recovery processing unit at a constant time interval set for each inkjet printer. I was doing.

However, in the method of driving the recovery processing section at such a constant time interval, the amount of bubbles in the recording head described above depends on the number of ink droplet ejections, and therefore, for example, during solid recording. If the drive interval of the recovery processing unit is determined by the amount of bubble accumulation, the ink will be discharged more than necessary when performing normal printing with a lot of white background, and the ink consumption will increase, and the recovery processing unit will also be driven. This causes a problem that the recording speed decreases.

In order to solve the two problems described above, for example, in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 8-267783, for example, control is performed so that blank discharge (preliminary discharge) is performed every predetermined page, or waste discharge of blank discharge is performed. It discloses a process of reducing the amount of ink used for other than recording, such as reducing the number of suctions by performing the ink process based on the integrated value of the nozzles that have been idle ejected.

However, in the method disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 8-267783, the blank discharge may be performed even when the blank discharge is unnecessary, and the drive of the recovery processing unit is controlled based on the number of dots of the print data. There is room for improving the increase in ink consumption and the decrease in recording speed due to the drive of the recovery processing unit.

Further, in Japanese Patent No. 2789339, an ink ejecting section for measuring the number of recording dots or the like from recording data transferred from a host computer or the like and performing the above-described recovery operation when the measured value exceeds a set value. A method of driving the is disclosed.

However, in the method of Japanese Patent No. 2789339, for example, when a plurality of copies of the same print are printed, the same measurement must be repeated regardless of the print contents, which reduces the ink consumption. Is effective, but since it takes a long time to measure the number of recording dots, it is difficult to improve the recording speed of the inkjet printer.

Further, in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 11-192689, in order to accurately calculate the time required for recording before recording, the number of times of suction and preliminary ejection is calculated from the total amount of data transferred from the host computer or the like. A method is disclosed.

However, JP-A-11-192689
According to the method of the publication, all the data must be transferred to the inkjet printer before the start of recording, so that the time until the start of recording is longer than before, which is effective in reducing ink consumption, but The problem is that it is difficult to cope with the improvement of the recording speed.
Further, when the recording covers a plurality of pages and a plurality of copies, a large amount of memory is required for the inkjet printer. Therefore, this method is cost-effective to be adopted for the inexpensive inkjet printers currently popular for home use. difficult.

The present invention has been made in order to solve the above-mentioned problems of the prior art, and an object thereof is to suppress wasteful consumption of ink at the time of recovery processing of a recording head and to provide a high quality image. An image recording apparatus capable of recording images at high speed, an information processing apparatus for outputting image data to the image recording apparatus, and a control method thereof.

[0019]

An image recording apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention for achieving the above object has the following configuration. That is, an image recording apparatus having a recording head that ejects ink based on image data to record an image, and a recovery unit that performs a recovery process on the recording head, wherein information about an image included in the recording data and An image information acquisition unit that acquires information regarding the form of the recording data, and a timing of recovery processing of the recording head before recording the image is determined based on the information regarding the image and the information regarding the form of the recording data. It is characterized by having a recovery time determining means and a control means for controlling the recovery means based on the time of the recovery processing.

Here, for example, it is preferable that the information about the image includes at least one of a file attribute, a recording medium type, a size, and a recording quality.

Here, for example, it is preferable that the attribute of the file includes at least one of a file format of the image data and a type of application software that created the image data.

Here, for example, a calculating means for estimating the data amount or the number of print dots included in one page of the print data based on the information on the image and calculating the ink amount necessary for printing the one page. The recovery time determining means may determine the recovery processing time of the recording head based on the result of the calculating means and the ink ejection amount ejected after the previous recovery processing by the recovery means. preferable.

Here, for example, the amount of data or the number of recording dots included in one page of the recording data is estimated based on the information regarding the image and the information of the head portion of the recording data acquired by the image recording apparatus. Further, the recovery timing determining means further includes a calculating means for calculating an ink amount required for recording the one page, and the ink discharge ejected after the previous recovery processing by the recovering means and the calculation result of the calculating means. It is preferable to determine the timing of the recovery process of the recording head based on the amount.

Here, for example, the calculating means operates for each color of the ink, and the recovery timing determining means determines from the result of the calculating means that one color needs the recovery processing and the recovery processing timing. Is preferably set.

Here, for example, it is preferable that the control means changes the content of the recovery processing according to the state of the print head for each color of the ink when the recovery means performs the recovery processing.

Here, for example, it is preferable that the recovery time determining means further has a storage means for storing a data table, and refers to the data table based on the information on the image.

Here, for example, when the information on the form of the recording data includes information for recording a plurality of the same images, the plurality of the same images are recorded based on the information on the form of the recording data. Further includes a calculating means for estimating the amount of data or the number of recording dots included in the plurality of recording dots and calculating the amount of ink required for recording the plurality of sheets, wherein the recovery time determining means records the same image by the calculating means. When it is calculated that the ink amount exceeds the set value during the process, it is preferable to set the timing of the recovery process during the process of recording the plurality of inks.

Here, for example, the information relating to the form of the recording data relates to the number of pages of the image and the number of recording copies of the same image, and the recording head uses either the number of pages of the image or the number of recording copies of the same image. In the case where the number of discharge dots is plural, it is preferable to have a counting unit that counts the number of ejection dots required to record an image for each page and a first storage unit that stores the number of ejection dots.

Here, for example, the recovery timing determining means further includes resetting means for resetting the recovery processing timing during recording based on the number of ejection dots stored in the first storage means. It is preferable.

Here, for example, the information regarding the form of the recording data includes information that two or more copies of the same page of the image are continuously recorded or two or more copies of a plurality of pages are continuously recorded for each page. In this case, it is preferable that the resetting unit resets the recovery operation execution time based on the ejection dot number when the ejection dot number is stored in the first storage unit.

Here, for example, after recording a plurality of pages of the image from the first page to the last page continuously in the information on the form of the recording data, a plurality of sets are recorded from the first page to the last page. When the information is included, the resetting means, when the number of ejection dots actually required for recording up to the last page of the first set is stored in the first storage means individually for each page, It is preferable to reset the recovery operation execution time based on the number of ejected dots.

Here, for example, the first information including at least one of the information relating to the image and the head portion of the recording data acquired by the recording device, and the number of the ejection dots stored in the first storage means. And a second storage unit for storing information on the mutual relationship with the recording data, based on the first information and the information on the mutual relationship.
The recovery timing determining means has a calculating means for estimating the data amount or the number of recording dots included in the page and calculating the ink amount necessary for recording one page, and the recovery timing determining means determines the result of the calculating means and the recovery means. It is preferable to determine the timing of the recovery process of the recording head based on the ink ejection amount ejected after the previous recovery process.

Here, for example, the recovery means includes a cap means for sealing the nozzle of the recording head, and a suction for sucking the ink in the recording head into the cap means or ejecting the ink to an area other than the recording medium. And means. Here, for example, the recovery means is arranged in a conveyance area of a recording medium of the image recording apparatus, and the recovery means includes a first position for sealing at least the cap means of the recovery portion and the nozzle portion and the first position. It is preferable to have a driving unit that drives the recording medium to a second position where it can be conveyed.

Here, for example, a carriage unit that holds the recording head and reciprocates in the main scanning direction of the recording medium for recording the image is provided, and the recovery unit includes a cap unit that seals at least the nozzle of the recording head. And a recovery unit that is disposed below the platen that is disposed in the conveyance area of the recording medium and at a position facing the recording head, and seals the nozzle with at least the cap unit of the recovery unit. It is preferable to have a driving means for driving between the first position and the second position where the recording medium can be conveyed.

Here, for example, when the information regarding the form of the recording data includes the information that two or more pages or two or more copies of the image are continuously recorded, the recovery means uses the cap means. It is preferable to drive to the first position and perform the recovery operation.

Here, for example, the recording head is a recording head which ejects ink by utilizing thermal energy, and preferably includes a thermal energy converter for generating thermal energy applied to the ink. .

An information processing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention for achieving the above object has the following configuration. That is, it is an information processing apparatus that outputs image data to an image recording apparatus, and is capable of acquiring information regarding the image data and information regarding the form of the recording data before the image recording apparatus records an image based on the image data. As described above, the image data adding device includes an image information adding unit that adds information about the image data and information about the form of the print data to the image data.

Here, for example, it is preferable that the information regarding the image includes at least one of a file attribute, a recording medium type, a size, and a recording quality.

Here, for example, it is preferable that the attributes of the file include at least one of the file format of the image data and the type of application software that created the image data.

Here, for example, in the image recording apparatus, a recording head that ejects ink based on the image data to record an image, information regarding an image included in the recording data, and information regarding a form of the recording data. It is preferable to have a recovery means for performing recovery processing on the recording head based on the above.

An image recording apparatus control method according to an embodiment of the present invention for achieving the above object has the following configuration. That is, a method of controlling an image recording apparatus, comprising: a recording head that ejects ink based on image data to record an image; and a recovery step of performing recovery processing on the recording head, the image being included in the recording data. Image information acquisition step of acquiring information about the information and the form of the recording data, and the timing of recovery processing of the recording head before recording the image based on the information about the image and the information about the form of the recording data. And a control step of controlling the recovery means based on the time of the recovery process.

An information processing apparatus control method according to an embodiment of the present invention for achieving the above object has the following configuration. That is, it is a control method of an information processing apparatus for outputting image data to an image recording apparatus, which relates to information about the image data and a form of the recording data before the image recording apparatus records an image based on the image data. It is characterized by including an image information giving step of giving information relating to the image data and information relating to the form of the recording data to the image data so that the information can be acquired.

A printer driver according to an embodiment of the present invention for achieving the above object has the following configuration.
That is, a printer driver that processes image data to be output to an image recording apparatus that records an image based on the image data, wherein the image recording apparatus has information about the image data and the form of the recording data prior to the recording of the image. An image information adding step of adding information about the image data and information about a form of the recording data to the image data so that information about the image data can be acquired.

A computer-readable storage medium according to an embodiment of the present invention for achieving the above object has the following configuration. That is, a computer-readable storage medium that stores a control program for controlling an information processing device that outputs image data to an image recording device, wherein the control program relates to the image data before the image recording device records the image. It is characterized in that it has a program code of an image information giving step of giving information concerning the image data and information concerning the form of the recording data to the image data so that the information can be obtained.

A computer-readable storage medium according to an embodiment of the present invention for achieving the above object has the following configuration. That is, an image recording apparatus having a recording head that ejects ink based on image data to record an image, and a recovery step that performs a recovery process on the recording head so that the ink ejection amount becomes a selected amount. A computer-readable storage medium storing the control program of, wherein the control program acquires an image information acquisition step of acquiring information regarding an image included in the recording data and information regarding a form of the recording data; A recovery timing determining step of determining the timing of the recovery processing of the recording head before recording the image based on the information on the form of the recording data, and a control of controlling the recovery step based on the timing of the recovery processing. And a process.

An image recording system according to an embodiment of the present invention for achieving the above object has the following configuration.
That is, an image recording system including an image recording device and an information processing device, wherein the image recording device is the image recording device according to any one of claims 1 to 19. Is an information processing apparatus according to any one of claims 20 to 23.

An image recording system according to an embodiment of the present invention for achieving the above object has the following configuration.
That is, it is characterized in that it has an information processing device having a transmission means for transmitting a recovery command for performing the recovery operation to the image recording device, and an image recording device that executes the recovery operation based on the recovery command.

[0048]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An image processing system including an information processing apparatus and an image recording apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

In the present embodiment, as an example of the image processing system, a host computer is used as an information processing device,
An image processing system having a configuration using an inkjet printer as an image recording apparatus will be described, but the scope of the present invention is not limited to the described examples.

<First Embodiment> [Structure of Inkjet Printer: FIGS. 1 and 8 to 1]
1] FIG. 1 shows a serial type inkjet printer I.
It is an appearance perspective view showing the outline of the composition of JRA.

FIG. 1 is a side view showing the construction of the essential parts of an ink jet printer according to the first embodiment of the present invention in a power-off or standby state, and FIG. 8 is a front view seen from the direction of arrow A in FIG. FIG. 9 is a schematic perspective view showing the inkjet printer of FIG. 1 in a power-off state or a standby state (a) and a recording state (b).

In FIGS. 1, 8 and 9, reference numeral 6013 is a chassis for maintaining the rigidity of the apparatus main body and holding various components, 6001 is a recording means (recording head) for recording by ejecting ink, and 6022a. , 6022b,
Reference numerals 6022c and 6022d denote ink tanks that store different inks of Bk (black), Y (yellow), M (magenta), and C (cyan), and 6002 denotes the recording head 6.
001 and ink tanks 6022a to 6022d are held (mounted) and move in the main scanning direction (head mounting portion), and 6003 and 6004 are carriages 6002.
Both sides 6023, 6024 of the chassis 6013 are supported by a carriage rail and an auxiliary rail that guide and support the reciprocating movement of the chassis.
(See FIG. 8) is fixed by an E-ring or the like (not shown).

A carriage motor 6005 drives the carriage 6002.
Is fixed to the chassis 6013 via a fixing plate (not shown). Reference numeral 6006 is a drive pulley directly connected to the carriage motor 6006, 6007 is an idler pulley (see FIG. 8) arranged opposite to the drive pulley 6006 of the apparatus main body, and 6008 is for transmitting the power of the carriage motor 6005 to the carriage 6002. Drive pulley 6
006 and a carriage belt wound around an idler pulley 6007.

In FIG. 1, reference numeral 6009 denotes a carry motor (paper feed motor) which is a drive source for carrying (paper feed) a recording medium (recording paper) 6010 (FIG. 9). The carry motor 6009 is a side surface of the chassis 6013. It is attached to the part 6023 (see FIG. 8). In FIG. 1, reference numeral 6027 denotes a motor gear press-fitted to the output shaft of the paper feed motor 6009, 6012 a transport roller for feeding the recording paper 6010, 6028 a transport roller gear press-fitted to the end of the transport roller 6012, and 6029 a paper transport. It is a relay gear that transmits the output of the motor 6009 from the motor gear 6027 to the conveyance roller gear 6028.

Reference numeral 6014 designates a recording paper 6010 for carrying rollers 6
The pressing roller 6014 is biased in the 012 direction. The pressing roller 6014 is rotatably supported about a fulcrum 6030 and is rotated by a torsion coil spring (not shown).
Spring biased toward 12. 6031 is a recording paper 6
The discharge roller 6031 is a sheet discharge roller that sends 010 in the discharge direction. The sheet discharge roller 6031 is driven by a drive transmission unit (not shown) from the conveyance roller gear 6028. Reference numeral 6032 denotes a paper discharge roller 603.
1 is a paper ejection spur that is driven and rotated by 1.

A double-headed arrow 6015 in FIG. 8 indicates a carriage 60.
02, the arrow 6016 in FIG. 1 indicates the rotation direction of the transport roller 6012 during recording. In FIG. 1, reference numeral 6053 denotes a recording paper 6010 fed from the right side of FIG.
The paper guide guided between the two is shown. 6201 is a chassis 60
Reference numeral 13 denotes a paper edge detection flag rotatably supported by the shaft portion 6201a, and reference numeral 6202 denotes a photo interrupter fixed to the chassis 6013.

The paper edge detection flag 6201 is urged by a torsion coil spring (not shown) in the rotating direction with the shaft portion 6201a as a fulcrum. That is, the paper edge detection flag 6201 is set to the value shown in FIG.
As shown in FIG.
b blocks the light emitting portions of the photo interrupter 202, and the other end 6201c of the paper edge detection flag 6201 is positioned below the paper passing surface of the paper guide 6053.
It is biased by the twisted coil panel (not shown). The paper guide 6053 is a continuous surface in the width direction of the recording paper 6010, but a cutout is formed in a region where the other end portion 6201c of the paper end detection flag 6201 rotates.

In FIGS. 1 and 8, reference numeral 6025 denotes a home position sensor formed of a photo interrupter fixed to the chassis 6013, 6026 denotes a sensor flag provided on the carriage 2, and this sensor flag 6026.
Shuts off the light between the light emitting portions of the home position sensor 6025, and thus the carriage 6002 and the recording head 6001
Detects the home position of.

As shown in FIG. 8, the recording area 6050 exists on the side of the carriage roller gear 6028 from the capping position of the carriage 6002, that is, on the outside (upper side in FIG. 8) of the capping position of the apparatus main body. The moving direction reversal position of the carriage 6002 at this time is naturally on the transport roller gear 6028 side of the capping position, that is, on the outside (upper side in FIG. 8) of the capping position of the apparatus main body. In addition, the home position sensor 60
Reference numeral 25 is arranged between the capping position of the carriage 6002 (recording head 6001) and the moving direction reversal position of the carriage 6002.

In FIGS. 1 and 8, a cap (cap means) 6011 is arranged at the capping position. The cap 6011 is for sealing the ink ejection portion of the recording head 6001 at the time of non-recording to prevent the ejection port from drying and protect the ejection port surface, and is made of a rubber-like elastic material such as a rubber material. Has been formed. A wiping member 6033 is provided near the cap 6011.
(FIG. 8) is provided.

The wiping member 6033 is for wiping off foreign matter such as ink adhering to the ejection port surface which hinders proper ink ejection. Reference numeral 6034 denotes a retracting cam that prevents the ejection port surface of the recording head (recording unit) 6001 and the cap 6011 from being inadvertently rubbed. 6035 is a cap base, and a cap 6011, a wiping member 6033, and a retracting cam 6034 are fixed on the cap base 6035. Recording head 6001
The cam follower 6 facing the retracting cam 6034.
036 is formed. The wiping member 6033
Is formed of a plate member made of a rubber-like elastic material such as a rubber plate.

In FIGS. 1 and 8, reference numeral 6037 is a rotation base for rotatably holding the shafts 6038a and 6038b of the cap base 6035, and 6039 is a rotation base 603.
The recording head 6 is held by the cap base 6035.
A coil spring urged in the 001 direction, 6040 is a rotary shaft supported by the side surface portion 6023 of the chassis 6013 and a first platen 6047 described later at both ends, and 6042 is fixed to an input shaft (not shown) and meshes with the relay gear 6029. It is a rotating gear.

Reference numeral 6043 is an electromagnetic clutch. This electromagnetic clutch 6043 uses a rotary shaft 6040 to which a rotary base 6037 is fixed as an output shaft, and connects an input shaft and the rotary shaft 6040 in an ON state to connect an input from a rotary gear 6042 to the rotary shaft 6040. By transmitting the rotation base 60
37 and a cap base 6035 attached thereto
And the cap 6011 and the like are rotated.

Reference numeral 6021 denotes a recovery tube through which ink is passed during a recovery operation. One end of this recovery tube 6021 is connected to the inside of the cap 6011 and the other end is connected to the recovery pump 6.
044. Reference numeral 6045 denotes a waste ink tube, one end of the waste ink tube 6045 is connected to the recovery pump 6044, and the other end is a waste ink absorber 604.
Connected to 6.

In FIGS. 1, 8 and 9, reference numeral 6047 denotes a first platen facing the recording head 6001.
Reference numeral 048 denotes a second platen that faces the recording head 6001 during recording.

The first platen 6047 is fixed to the chassis 6013 by a fixing means (not shown) so as to face the recording head 1 during recording. The second platen 6048 is fixed to the rotating base 6037 by fixing means (not shown) or is integrally formed with the rotating base 6037, and faces the recording head 1 at the time of recording, but at the time of non-recording. It is configured so that it can be retracted below the sheet passing surface by rotating together with the rotating base 6037. Further, the cap base 60 urged by the coil spring 6039.
The upper limit position of 35 in FIG. 1 is the second platen 6048.
It is regulated by a stopper 6049 formed on the back surface of the.

In FIG. 8, reference numeral 6050 denotes the maximum paper passing width of the recording medium (recording paper) 6010 in this recording apparatus,
Reference numeral 6051 denotes the width of the cap base 6035. As shown in FIG. 8, since the cap 6011 and its peripheral (vicinity) portion are arranged within the range of the sheet passing area 6050,
The width of the recording device is set to the width 605 of the cap base 6035.
The size can be reduced by almost the same size as 1, and the recording apparatus can be reduced in size and weight.

In the present embodiment, the recording head 600
No. 1 is supported by the carriage 6002 in such a positional relationship that the ejection ports 6092 are arranged in a direction intersecting the main scanning movement direction (movement direction of the carriage 6002).

[Partially enlarged side view: FIG. 10, FIG. 11] FIG.
Reference numeral 0 is a partially enlarged side view showing a portion of a range 6052 in FIG. 1 in an enlarged manner. Next, referring to FIGS.
The operation of the inkjet printer according to the present invention will be described. Note that FIG. 10 also shows a power-off or standby state similar to FIG. 1, and the recording head 6001 is sealed with a cap 6011.

The position of the cap 6011 at this time is set to the first position.
Position. When print data is sent from a computer or the like to a printing apparatus, the carriage 6002 moves in the scanning direction and stands by at an arbitrary position. When the carriage 6002 starts moving, the output of the home position sensor (HP sensor) 6025 is invalidated by the control unit (not shown) regardless of the position of the sensor flag 6026 for detecting the home position until the end of recording. At this time, the ejection cam 6034 and the follower 6036 regulate the ejection port surface 6091 of the recording head 6001 so as not to rub against the cap 6011.

FIG. 10 is a partial side view showing a state in which the recovery system cap means 6011 is in the first position in which the recovery system cap means 6011 is in close contact with the recording means 1, and FIG. 11 is a recovery system cap means 6011 capable of transporting a recording medium. It is a partial side view which shows the state in a 2nd position. Next, the operation of the recovery system of the first embodiment of the inkjet printer to which the present invention is applied will be described with reference to FIGS.

In FIGS. 10 and 11, reference numerals 6213 and 6213a denote photointerrupters fixed to the chassis 6013 and their light receiving and emitting portions, and 6214 and 613.
Reference numerals 215 are flags provided on the rotation base 6037, and a flag 6214 indicates a state of FIG.
(First position of 011) to shield the light receiving and emitting portion 6213a from light, and the flag 6215 shows the light receiving and emitting portion 621 in the state of FIG. 11 (second position of the cap 6011).
It is in a position to shield 3a from light.

When the driving of the paper feed motor 6009 is started, the electromagnetic clutch 6043 is turned on and the rotary gear 6 is turned on.
042 is connected to the rotating shaft 6040 and the rotating base 6037, and the driving force is transmitted to the rotating shaft 6040 via the relay gear 6029 and the rotating gear 6042, so that the rotating base 6037 and the rotating base 6037 are attached thereto. The cap base 6035, the cap 6011 and the like thus obtained are rotated counterclockwise from the state of FIG. 10 (the same as the state of FIG. 1, FIG. 8 and FIG. 9A).

By this rotation, the flag 6214 exits between the light receiving and emitting portions 6213a, and the second platen 6048 and the cap 6011 can be conveyed as a recording medium (recording paper 10 as shown in FIGS. 11 and 9B). It is in a state where the paper can be passed, the second position). When the sheet can be passed, the flag 6215 blocks the light receiving and emitting unit 6213a, and the electromagnetic clutch 6043 is turned off. A broken line 6212 in FIG. 11 indicates a recording sheet 601 during sheet passing.
The 0 position is shown.

The cap 6 shown in FIG. 9B and FIG.
The position 011 is the second position.

Next, with reference to FIG. 1, the feeding / conveying operation of the recording medium in the first embodiment of the ink jet printer to which the present invention is applied will be described.

In FIG. 1, reference numeral 6216 is the leading end position of the recording paper (recording medium) 6010 at the start of recording, 6217 is the leading end position when the leading end of the recording paper is slipping on the conveyance roller 6012, and 6218 is the photo interrupter 6202. The position of the leading edge of the recording paper when the recording paper 6010 is detected is shown. After detecting that the cap 6011 has reached the second position (position where the recording medium can be conveyed), the recording paper 6
When 010 is detected, the paper feed motor 6009 is driven based on the recording paper detection timing, and the conveyance roller 6
012 is rotated to convey the recording paper 6010 from position 6218 to position 6216.

For some reason, when the recording paper is detected before detecting that the cap 6011 has reached the second position, as described above, the leading end of the recording paper has already slipped on the conveying roller 6012 at the position 6217. Since there is a possibility that the recording sheet is conveyed, there is a possibility that recording will start before the original recording start position if it is conveyed based on the timing of recording sheet detection, and in the worst case, it may be recorded on the platen. .

Therefore, in this case, after the recording sheet is detected, the sheet is always fed until the leading edge of the recording sheet reaches the position 6217, and a state in which it slips on the conveying roller 6012 is created.
Then, the recording paper is controlled to be conveyed from the position 6217 to the position 6216.

That is, the recording paper detecting means is the conveying roller 6
In the case of being arranged before 012, it is controlled so as to change the conveyance mode after the recording paper is detected, depending on the timing when the cap 6011 reaches the second position. When the recording paper 6010 reaches the recording start position, the paper feed motor 6009 is stopped and the recording head 6001 is driven in the main scanning direction to start the recording operation.

The cap 6011 of FIGS. 9B and 11
Of the second platen 6 in the second position (state in which paper can be passed).
The platen surface 6080a of 048 is the first platen 6047.
Since it has the same height as the platen surface 6080b of
The cap 6011 and the recording paper are second during the passage and recording.
Blocked by platen 6048, cap 6011
The ink attached to the recording paper does not contaminate the recording paper.

Further, even when an image having a large amount of ejected ink is recorded, the cockling of the recording paper can be uniformly reduced by the first platen 6047 and the second platen 6048 in the entire widthwise direction of the recording paper. it can. As described above, the second platen 6048 and the rotation base 6037 are configured to rotate integrally with the paper feed motor 6009 as a common drive source and the rotation shaft 6040 as a common drive fulcrum. Since the same number of drive sources as those of the conventional printing apparatus are sufficient, the printing apparatus can be realized at a low cost without increasing the size of the printing apparatus.

The operation of each portion during recording is as described in FIG. 8, the drive pulley 6006 and the idler pulley 6007.
The power of the carriage motor 6005 is transmitted to the carriage 6002 via the carriage belt 6008 wound around the carriage belt 6008. As a result, the carriage 6002 is driven, and the moving direction and position of the carriage are controlled.

At the sheet passing position (position where the recording medium can be conveyed) in FIG. 11, the recording head 6001 held by the carriage 6002 moves onto the recording sheet 6010, and the surface of the recording sheet 6010 is scanned in the main scanning direction. Move over a predetermined distance (in a direction perpendicular to the paper surface), and in FIG.
By reversing the movement direction at the position indicated by 4, the double-headed arrow 60
It reciprocates in 15 directions. During this time, ink is applied to the recording paper 60.
The image is recorded by discharging the ink onto a predetermined position on 10.

In FIG. 11, the power of the paper feed motor 6009 is the motor gear 6027 (FIG. 1) and the relay gear 6029.
(FIG. 1) and by being transmitted to the conveyance roller 6012 via the conveyance roller gear 6028, the recording paper 6010 is fed by a predetermined length in the direction of arrow 6016 each time the scanning of the recording head 1 is completed. Recording is performed by repeating the above operation.

During this recording operation, the electromagnetic clutch 6043
Is off, and the rotation of the rotating gear 6042 is not transmitted to the rotating base 6037, the second platen 6048
And the cap 6011 is maintained at the second position (paper-passable state) in FIGS. 11 and 9B. Also, during recording,
The sensor flag 6026 of the carriage 6002 passes the HP sensor 6025 twice for one scan (one round trip), but since the output of the HP sensor 6025 is invalid.
The carriage 2 does not stop at the capping position during recording.

Next, referring to FIGS.
The operation of the inkjet printer according to the embodiment will be further described.

After the recording of one recording sheet 6010 is completed, the carriage 6002 stands by at an arbitrary position in the main scanning direction, the paper feed motor 6009 is driven in the clockwise direction, and the rear end of the recording sheet 6010 (not shown). Is the paper edge detection flag edge 620
1c, the other end 6201b shields the photo interrupter 6202, and then the conveyance roller 6012 rotates a predetermined amount in the direction of arrow 6016 until the recording paper 6010 passes between the paper discharge roller 6031 and the paper discharge spur 6032. Transport.

When the control unit (not shown) has discharged the recording paper 6010, the paper feed motor 6009 remains driven and the electromagnetic clutch 6043 is turned on to turn the rotary gear 6042, the rotary shaft 6040 and the rotary shaft 6040. Dynamic base 60
37 and 37 are brought into a drive transmittable state (connected state).

Then, the relay gear 6029 and the rotating gear 60
The driving force is transmitted through the rotary shaft 6040 and the rotary shaft 6040, and the rotary base 6037 and the second platen 6048, the cap base 6035, and the cap 6 attached to the rotary base 6037.
011 and the like rotate clockwise from the second position in FIG. 11. The flag 6215 indicates that the light receiving unit / light emitting unit 6213
10, the cap 6011 reaches the first position as shown in FIG.
When the area between 213a is blocked, the electromagnetic clutch 6043 is turned off, and the driving of the paper feed motor 6009 is stopped.

At this time, the output of the HP sensor 6025 is made effective by the control means (not shown). Next, the carriage 6002 that has been waiting starts to move toward the capping position. When the home position sensor 6025 detects the sensor flag 6026 in FIG. 1, the carriage 6002 stops at the capping position of the recording head 6001 and enters the capping state shown in FIGS. 9A and 10.

In the above description, the carriage 2 stands by at an arbitrary position, but the carriage 600 is the same as before recording.
2 before returning to the top of the cap 6011
If it is configured to return to the first position (capping position), the carriage 6002 does not have to be stopped (standby).

Before recording, if it is not detected that the second position has been reached after the electromagnetic clutch 6043 has been turned on for a predetermined time from the state where the cap 6011 is in the first position, or When it does not move from the position, the electromagnetic clutch 6043 is turned off, the paper feed motor 6009 is stopped, and the feeding of the recording paper is stopped. After recording, if it is not detected that the first position has been reached after the electromagnetic clutch 6043 is turned on for a predetermined time from the state where the cap 6011 is in the second position, or from the second position. Even when it does not move, the electromagnetic clutch 6043 is turned off to stop the paper feed motor 6009.

The recovery operation is performed, for example, when the recovery operation is designated after one recording is completed and the recording medium is ejected and before the next recording medium is conveyed, that is, between pages. This is done, but the details will be described later.

The position of the cap at the time of recovery is the first position, and the position at the time of recording is the second position.

The present invention is not limited to the configuration of the printer of the present embodiment, but can be applied to a serial scan type in which the cap is located outside the carrying area, and a line head type having nozzles in the entire width in the main scanning direction. In the case of the line head type, the cap 6011 and the second platen 60
48 are arranged over the entire width in the main scanning direction.

[Recording Control Structure of Image Processing System: FIG. 2] [Host Computer: FIG. 2] Next, referring to FIG. 2, a control structure for executing the recording control of the image processing system using the ink jet printer will be described. The details will be described.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an example of the arrangement of the image processing system of this embodiment.

FIG. 2 shows the flow of image data created on the host computer 1001 and transmitted to the ink jet printer 1003.

The ink jet printer 1003 is a printer driver 10 in the host computer 1001.
02 is used to create image data to be output to the inkjet printer 1003.

[Structure of Image Data: FIG. 3] FIG. 3 shows the printer driver 100 in the host computer 1001.
2 shows an example of the structure of image data created in 2 and output to the inkjet printer 1003.

As shown in FIG. 3, the image data output from the host computer 1001 is recorded at the beginning of the normal data when the print data is transmitted via a parallel port, a serial port, a network, or the like. Type of media to be performed 1004 (plain paper / OHP /
Media such as glossy paper and special media such as transfer film, cardboard, banner paper, etc.), media size 10
05 (A4 / A4 letter / A3 / B4 / B5 or envelope / postcard), recording quality type 1006 (draft / high quality / medium quality / specific color emphasis / monochrome / color type, etc.) Type (ASF, manual feed, bottle 1,
Bin 2), a command 1008 describing the presence / absence of automatic object discrimination, and the like, and the inkjet printer 1003 accepts the command to cause normal font generation ROM 304 and control ROM 3
Recording is performed based on various data stored in 05.

In some cases, in addition to the above commands,
For example, information such as whether or not the treatment liquid is applied may be transmitted as a command.

In accordance with these pieces of information, the ink jet printer 1003 shown in FIG.
Data necessary for recording is read from the OM 304 and the control ROM 305, and recording is performed according to these data. These font generation ROM 304 and control R
The data read from the OM 305 includes the number of multi-pass passes for printing, the mask type used for printing each pass, the driving conditions of the print head (for example, the pulse shape to be applied and the application time), and the droplets. Size, paper feed conditions, carriage speed, etc.

Further, the host computer 1001 sends the print data in addition to the commands described above.
A command 1010 for specifying the attribute of the file and a data form 1009, that is, data of the number of pages to be recorded and the number of recording copies are also added to the recording data and transmitted.

In this embodiment, as the file attribute, the extension is used and the file format is discriminated using this extension. However, it is used to create a command indicating the attribute of the file. The attributes of the file
You can use the extension of the file, the type of application that created the data, the number of objects used, the number of texts, etc., and any attribute that indicates the recording density attribute of the file with a certain degree of accuracy. It can be used. Also, these may be used in combination.

In the ink jet printer 1003, the command 1010 for designating the attribute of the file included in the image data sent from the host computer 1001.
Depending on the font generation ROM 304, control ROM 3
05 Estimated value N of the number of dots in the page specified above
Get x for each color.

[Inkjet Printer: FIG. 2] In FIG. 2, a programmable peripheral interface (hereinafter referred to as PPI) 301 receives an instruction signal (command) and a recording information signal sent from a host computer 1001, and an MPU 302. And the signal from the home position sensor 307 that detects the control of the console 306 and the carriage at the home position is input.

An MPU (micro processing unit) 302 controls each section in the ink jet printer 1003 according to a control program stored in a control ROM 305.

The RAM 303 stores received signals or is used as a work area of the MPU 302 and temporarily stores various data.

The font generating ROM 304 stores pattern information such as characters and recordings corresponding to the code information, and outputs various pattern information corresponding to the input code information. The print buffer memory 330 is the ROM 3
It has a capacity of m rows for storing the data expanded by 04 or the like.

The control ROM 305 stores the processing procedure executed by the MPU 2.

The above-mentioned respective parts are the same as the address bus 317.
And controlled by the MPU 302 via the data bus 318.

The carriage motor 308 is used for the recording head 3
The carriage carrying 12 is moved and reciprocally scanned. The paper feed motor 310 conveys a recording material such as paper in a direction perpendicular to the moving direction of the carriage. The motor driver 315 is for driving the carriage motor 308, and the motor driver 316 is for the paper feed motor 310.
Is for driving.

The console 306 is provided with a keyboard switch and a display lamp. Also,
The home position sensor 307 is provided in the vicinity of the home position of the carriage, and detects that the carriage having the recording head 312 reaches the home position.

The sheet sensor 309 detects whether or not a recording material such as recording paper has been supplied to the recording section.

The recording head 312 is an ink jet recording head of a type that uses thermal energy to cause a state change in the ink due to film boiling and ejects ink droplets. The recording head 312 has m (eg, 64) ejection heads. An outlet (not shown), m discharge heaters (not shown) corresponding to each outlet, and the like are provided.

The driver 311 drives the ejection heater of the recording head 312 in accordance with the recording information signal, and the power source section 324.
Supplies electric power to the above-mentioned respective parts, and has an AC adapter and a battery as a drive power supply device.

In the above configuration, the MPU 302 has the P
It is connected to the host computer 1001 via the PI 301, and the command and recording information signal sent from the host computer 1001 and the control ROM 30.
Processing procedure of program stored in 5 and RAM
The recording operation is controlled based on the recording information stored in 303.

[Overall Outline of Recording Process: FIG. 4] FIG. 4 shows what control is performed according to the data format received by the MPU 302 of the ink jet printer.
~ It will be described using the flowchart of FIG.

In the following description, first, an overall outline of the recording process in this embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. 4, and then individual recording processes will be described.

FIG. 4 shows the MPU 302 in this embodiment.
6 is a flowchart illustrating an overall outline of a recording process performed based on the control of FIG.

First, in step S10, when the ink jet printer receives print data, print control is started.

Next, in step S20, the set dot number N and the safety factor S1 are set. These values are set in advance, but can be changed.

Next, in step S30, the number of recording pages M and the number of copies L are determined from the data format of the received recording data.
Then, in step S40, the file format of the received recording data is determined.

Next, in step S50, the recording pages are classified based on the number of recording pages M and the number of copies L so that each recording process is performed.

That is, the number of recorded pages M = 1, the number of copies L = 1
In this case, the process proceeds to step S700 to perform the recording process for only one page, and then proceeds to step S1400 to end the recording process.

If the number of recorded pages M ≧ 2 and the number of copies L = 1, the process proceeds to step S800 to perform continuous recording process for two or more pages, and then proceeds to step S1400 to end the recording process.

If the number of recorded pages M = 1 and the number of copies L ≧ 2, the process proceeds to step S900 to record a plurality of pages one by one, and then the process proceeds to step S1400.
The recording process ends.

When the number of recorded pages M ≧ 2 and the number of copies L ≧ 2 (when recording a plurality of pages), the process proceeds to step S1000, and a method for recording a plurality of pages based on the data format of the image data. , That is, whether to record a plurality of sheets for each page, or whether to record a plurality of sets after continuously recording one sheet up to the last page, and then proceeds to step S1100.

If a plurality of pages are to be recorded for each page in step S1100, the process proceeds to step S1300, a plurality of pages are recorded for each page, the process is repeated up to the final page, and then the process proceeds to step S1400 to perform the recording process. finish.

On the other hand, in step S1100, when a plurality of pages are not recorded for each page, a plurality of pages are recorded for each page, the process is repeated until the final page, and the process proceeds to step S1400 to end the recording process.

The individual recording process is described below in (1) 1
In the case of recording only pages, (2) when continuously recording two or more pages, (3) when recording a plurality of the same pages, (4) when recording a plurality of multiple pages (a plurality of sheets for each page),
(5) A case of recording a plurality of pages (a plurality of sets after continuous recording up to the last page) will be described in this order.

[(1) Case of Recording Only One Page: FIG. 5] Next, the case of recording only one page will be described with reference to FIG.

When recording of only one page is started in step S700, a cumulative dot count value Nn, n = 0, Nn = N0 for the first time is set in step S701. The cumulative dot count value N0 is a cumulative dot dot count value obtained by counting the number of dots actually ejected since the last recovery operation was performed.

Next, in step S702, the MPU3
02 identifies the file format from the received image data command and its file attribute, and refers to the data table specified in the ROM 304, 305 based on this file format to determine the number of dots in the page required for recording. The estimated value Nx is acquired for each color.

Next, in step S703, R required for determining the timing of executing the recovery operation is calculated from the obtained estimated value Nx of the number of dots in the page by the following equation.

R = (Nn + Nx) × S1 Here, Nn is the cumulative number of dots actually ejected since the recovery operation was last executed. In the case of the first time, Nn =
N0, Nx is an estimated value of the number of dots in the page estimated in step S702, and S1 is a safety factor.

Next, assuming that the number of dots N required for recovery operation is preset in the ink jet printer (hereinafter referred to as the set number of dots), R calculated in step S703 is compared with N, and R ≧ N, That is, R = (Nn + N
x) × S1 ≧ N (S1 is a safety factor) even if only one of all the colors is satisfied, the process proceeds to step S704 to execute the recovery operation. If all the colors are R <N, , The recovery operation is not performed, and the process proceeds to step S707.

Next, in step S704, since the recovery operation by the pump before recording is required, in preparation for the recovery operation, the cap is driven to the first position before the recording medium is conveyed, and then step S705. At step S706, the recovery operation is performed by the pump, and then the process proceeds to step S706.

Next, in step S706, the cumulative number of dots Nn is reset (Nn = 0), and then step S
Proceed to 707.

The calculation method in step S703 described above is executed not for all nozzles of one color but for each nozzle. That is, when even one nozzle satisfies the above expression, the recovery operation is executed. The same applies to the following description. On the other hand, in step S703, the cumulative number of dots Nn actually ejected and the estimated value N
If the relationship between x and the number of set dots N is R <N for all colors,
That is, in the case of R = (N0 + Nx) × S1 <N (S1 is a safety factor), the recovery operation described above is not performed and step S
Go to 6.

Next, in step S707, recording is started for each color, the number K of dots actually ejected is counted, and the counted value is stored in the RAM 303.

Next, in step S708, the number K of dots actually ejected is added to Nn (Nn = Nn + K).

In the embodiment described above, the method of storing the number of dots in the RAM 303 for each scan is adopted. Nn is a value obtained by individually counting the number of ejection dots of all nozzles for each color.

Next, in step S709, it is determined whether or not the recording of one page is completed. If the recording of one page is not completed, the process returns to step S703 to continue the above-described processing, If recording of one page is completed but recording of all pages is not completed in step S709, the process proceeds to step S710, where n = N.
After +1 is set, the process returns to step S703 to continue the above-described processing, and when recording of all pages is completed in step S709, step S711.
Proceed to.

Next, in step S709, it is determined whether or not the recording of one page is completed. If the recording of one page is not completed, the process returns to step S703 to continue the above-described processing, When the recording of one page is completed in step S709, step S7
Proceed to 11.

Next, in step S711, it is determined whether or not there is a next recording job. If there is a next recording job, the process returns to step S10 (FIG. 4) to continue the above-described processing. , And if there is no next recording job,
It proceeds to step S712.

Next, in step S13, the cap member 5022 is driven to the first position to seal the nozzle portion of the recording head to prevent the ink from drying, and then the step S71.
Then, the process proceeds to step 3 to end the series of processes.

When the next print data is received, the above-described R is obtained using Nn including the number of dots ejected this time and the estimated value Nx of the next data, and R and N are compared. Determines the recovery time.

It is also conceivable that, at the start of recording, no recording has been performed for a considerable time since the recovery operation was finally executed.
In order to deal with this case, known techniques may be used together. That is, for example, when the elapsed time since the last recovery operation has exceeded the predetermined time, the recovery operation may be controlled separately from the recovery processing described above.

[(2) In case of continuously recording two or more pages: FIG. 2] Next, referring to the flowchart of FIG. 5, the recording control by the MPU 302 when the ink jet printer receives the recording data for continuously recording two or more pages. Will be described.

[First page] If two or more pages are to be continuously recorded, step S700 described in the case of recording only one page will be described.
Up to step S708 is the same process, and the description thereof is omitted because it is duplicated. Further, in the following description, description of the same processing as in the case of recording only one page will be omitted and only different points will be described.

If recording of all pages is completed in step S709, the flow advances to step S711, but 1
If all pages have been recorded but only pages have been recorded, the process proceeds to step S710 and n = n.
After setting +1 (Nn = N1), the process returns to step S703.

[Second page] In step S703, the cumulative dot count value N1 of each nozzle when the first page is printed is added to the estimated value Nx of the number of dots in the page, and it is necessary to determine the timing for executing the recovery operation. R is calculated by the following formula.

R = (Nn + Nx) × S1 = (N1 + N
x) × S1 (S1 is a safety factor) Here, when the set number of dots is N, even if one of all colors is R = (N1 + Nx) × S1 ≧ N, the recovery operation is executed. , Step S
After performing the processing from 704 to step S706, the process proceeds to step S707, the recording of the second page is started, the actually discharged dot count value K is counted, and step S708 is performed.
, The number K of dots actually ejected is added to Nn (N
n = Nn + K = K). Since the recovery operation is being performed at this time, N1 is reset and the number of dots for the second sheet is added up before proceeding to step S709.

That is, after returning the cap member 5022 to the first position, a recovery operation is performed, then the cap member 5022 is moved to the second position, the cumulative dot count value N1 is reset, and the second page recording The cumulative dot count value is integrated from the beginning.

On the other hand, if all the colors are (N1 + Nx) × S1 <N (N: set number of dots) in step S703, the recovery operation is not executed and the process proceeds to step S707 even if the first page is finished. Start recording the second page. That is, similarly to during recording, the cap member 5022 conveys the second recording sheet at the second position, starts recording the second page, and counts the actually discharged dot count value K, and then the step S708. , The number K of dots actually ejected is added to Nn (Nn = Nn + K = N1 +
K) At this time, since the recovery operation is not performed, N1
Is not reset and the number of dots for the second sheet is added up before the operation proceeds to step S709.

[Third page] In step S709, 2
When the recording of the page is completed and the recording of all the pages is not completed, as described above, n = n + 1, that is, Nn = N2 is set in step S710, and the process returns to step S703.

In step S703, the estimated value Nx of the number of dots in the page and the cumulative dot count value N2 of each nozzle when the second page is printed are added to obtain R required to determine the timing of executing the recovery operation by the following equation. Calculate with.

R = (Nn + Nx) × S1 = (N2 + N
x) × S1 (S1 is a safety factor) Here, when the set number of dots is N, even if one of all colors is R = (N2 + Nx) × S1 ≧ N, the recovery operation is executed. , Step S
After performing the processing from 704 to step S706, the process proceeds to step S707, the recording of the second page is started, the actually discharged dot count value K is counted, and step S708 is performed.
, The number K of dots actually ejected is added to Nn (N
n = Nn + K = K). Since the recovery operation is being performed at this time, N2 is reset and the number of dots for the third sheet is added up before the operation proceeds to step S709.

[4th page onward] The same processing as that described above is repeated on 4th page onward, so that the description thereof is omitted here.

When recording of all pages is completed in step S709, the process proceeds to step S711.

Next, in step S711, it is determined whether or not there is a next recording job. If there is a next recording job, the process returns to step S10 (FIG. 4) and the above-described processing is continued. , And if there is no next recording job,
It proceeds to step S712.

Next, in step S712, the cap member 5022 is driven to the first position to seal the nozzle portion of the recording head to prevent the ink from drying, and then in step S7.
Then, the process proceeds to 13 to end the series of processes.

In cases other than those described above, for example,
Of course, even if the cumulative count value <N, the recovery operation is performed as necessary.

For example, in the case of a recording head which ejects ink from the ejection port by utilizing the film boiling generated in the ink by the thermal energy generated by the electrothermal converter, it is judged that the recovery operation is necessary according to the temperature detection result of the recording head. If it does, the recovery operation is performed regardless of the cumulative number of dots (actual value). At that time, the cumulative number of dots Nn is reset.

As described above, since the recovery operation is performed based on the number of ejected dots, the timing of the recovery operation can be optimized and the number of operations can be reduced.

In the present embodiment, when recording of each page is completed, the process returns from step S709 to step S703 as shown in F1 of FIG. 5, but at this time, it may be combined with the control found in the known art.

In a normal serial scan type ink jet printer, printing is performed when one page of print data reaches the amount of data which can be received by the buffer of the ink jet printer. A technique has been proposed in which the total number of dots in a page is calculated from the results of measuring the number of dots and the density of the data received at the beginning of each page.

The estimated dot number Nx may be calculated by combining the determination results of the file attributes (file extension, type of application that created the data, etc.) described in this embodiment. This further improves the accuracy of Nx.

In this case, the number of dots and the dot density of the received data are almost different for each page, so the estimated dot number Nx is different for each page. Therefore, it is necessary to acquire the estimated dot number Nx of the next page every time recording of each page is completed. The estimated value Nx of the number of dots in the page may be calculated by the MPU 302 from the number of dots in the page specified in the ROMs 304 and 305 and the received head data of each page. In the flow chart of FIG.
After each page, as shown by the dotted line F2, step S7
09 to step S702.

Further, the cumulative dot count value (hereinafter, the number of recovery execution dots) at the time of performing the recovery operation is different each time and for each color. With this configuration, even with one color, the set number of dots is N
Since the recovery operation is performed at the time when it is predicted that the value exceeds, all colors do not necessarily require the recovery operation. Therefore, the content of the recovery operation may be changed according to the size of the cumulative dot number Nn of each color when the recovery is executed.

For example, in the case where the recovery operation can be individually executed for each color (the recording heads of the respective colors are arranged in the main scanning direction and the individual suction is possible), the number of recovery execution dots is extremely smaller than N. Performs a control such that the suction amount is reduced, the recovery operation is not performed for colors that are not used or scarcely ejected, and the suction amount is increased for colors extremely close to N.

By these, the recovery operation is optimized,
The amount of ink used (discarded) can be reduced.

[(3) When printing a plurality of same pages: FIG. 6] Next, using the flowchart of FIG. 6, recording by the MPU 302 when the ink jet printer receives recording data for recording a plurality of the same pages The control will be described.

[First page] When a plurality of identical pages are recorded, step S described in the case of recording only one page
The processing from 700 to step S708 is the same, and the description thereof is omitted because it is duplicated. Further, in the following description, description of the same processing as in the case of recording only one page will be omitted and only different points will be described.

Recording of the first page ends (step S701
Up to step S708), the steps are exactly the same up to step S708 described in (1) recording only one page and (2) continuously recording two or more pages with reference to FIG.

However, in the case of recording a plurality of the same pages of (3), the difference from (1) and (2) described above is that one dot is added to the cumulative dot count value after the last recovery operation. That is, the dot count values of the first sheet are individually stored without accumulating the dot count values of the first sheet. This is because by storing only the value of the first sheet, the time when the recovery operation is performed thereafter is accurately calculated.

The cumulative number of dots actually ejected from the execution of the recovery operation to the start of recording this data is N0, and when the recording of the first sheet is completed and the cumulative dot count value N1 is obtained, N0 = When 0, that is, when the recovery operation is executed before recording the first sheet and N0 is reset, the process proceeds from step S801 to step S802 in FIG.

Next, in step S802, Z1 =
After calculating the maximum value of the natural number Z1 that satisfies N ÷ N1 × S2 (S2 is a safety factor), the process proceeds to step S807, the remaining recording is started, and the recovery operation is performed every time the recording of Z1 sheets is completed in step S808. Find out if it is necessary.

If the recovery operation is unnecessary in step S808, nothing is done and the process proceeds to step S809.
If a recovery operation is required at 808, step S810
After performing the recovery operation in step S809, the process proceeds to step S809.

When recording of all the plurality of sheets is completed in step S809, the flow advances to step S709, and step S709
When the recording of all pages is completed in step S711, the process proceeds to step S711. If there is no next recording job in step S711, the process proceeds to step S712, the cap unit is driven to the first position to seal the nozzle portion of the recording head, and Prevents drying. On the other hand, if N0> 0 in step S801,
Proceeding to step S803, Z2 = (N−N0) ÷ N1 ×
After calculating the maximum value of the natural number Z2 that satisfies S2 (S2 is a safety factor), the process proceeds to step S804.

Recording is started in step S804, and after the recording of Z2 sheets is completed in step S805, the process proceeds to step S806 to perform a recovery operation. After this recovery operation, the process proceeds to step S802, which is a step of resetting N0 and calculating Z1. At the time of finishing the recovery operation after recording Z2 sheets,
Since N0, which is not included in the number of recording dots thereafter, becomes an unnecessary value, the number of recovery operations is optimized by calculating the recovery operation timing excluding it.

Since the flow after step S802 is the same as that in the case of N0 = 0, its explanation is omitted.

Since the cumulative dot count value N1 is an actual value and is an accurate value, the safety factor S2 is smaller than S1 and can be set to a value close to 1. As a result, the recovery operation can be optimized and the amount of used (discarded) ink can be further reduced. [(4) When recording a plurality of pages (a plurality of sheets for each page): FIG. 6] Next, using the flowchart of FIG. 6, the inkjet printer records a plurality of pages (that is, each page). The recording control in the case of receiving the recording data (a plurality of sheets for each) will be described.

A plurality of sheets are recorded for each page, for example,
An example will be described in which the recording apparatus receives the data that the first page is recorded five sheets, the second page is recorded five sheets, the third page is recorded five sheets, and so on.

When the data recording device receives the above-mentioned data, it is sufficient to repeat the above-mentioned (3) when recording a plurality of the same pages for the number of pages. The flowchart at this time is shown in FIG. In the following description, the description of the same processing as the recording described in (3) the case of recording a plurality of same pages will be omitted, and only different points will be described.

In step S709, the answer is NO to "Recording of all pages completed?" And the process proceeds to step S703. Note that N0 at this time is a cumulative dot count value from the last recovery operation performed during recording of the previous page to the end of recording of the previous page. For example, when the total number of copies of one page is 5, and the last recovery operation for the first page is executed after the recording of the fourth page is completed and the procedure proceeds to the recording of the second page,
N0 becomes the dot count value of the fifth sheet of the first page.
The above process may be repeated until the recording of all the pages and all the pages is completed.

In this embodiment, when recording of each page is completed, the process returns to step S703 like F3 in FIG.
(2) As described in the case of continuously recording two or more pages,
It may be combined with the control found in the known art. This is a flow of acquiring the estimated number of dots Nx for each page. In the flowchart, after each page ends, the flow proceeds from step S709 to step S702 as indicated by the dotted line F4. [(5) Multiple pages are recorded on multiple pages (after continuous recording up to the last page,
Multiple sets): FIG. 7] Next, the print control in the case where the inkjet printer receives print data for printing a plurality of pages (that is, continuously printing up to the last page and then similarly printing a plurality of sets) will be described.

A flow chart at this time is shown in FIG.
When one copy is continuously recorded from the first page to the last page and a plurality of sets are recorded, the first set is the sum of the cumulative dot count value Nn and the estimated dot number Nx, as in the case of (2) continuous recording of two or more pages. The recovery operation timing is determined by comparing the set number of dots N.

The flow up to step S708 in FIG. 7 is the same as that up to step S708 in FIG.

However, in FIG. 7, the number of dots of each page is individually stored in the RAM 303 even after the recovery operation is performed in step S901.

In the following description, an example will be described in which all 10 pages are recorded, 5 sheets each. For simplicity of explanation, it is assumed that Bk single color is recorded and the recovery operation is performed immediately before recording. (Cumulative dots N0 = 0) The estimated number of dots is Nx, and the number of dots on each page from 1 to 10 is N1 to N10.

When the recovery operation is performed after recording the first set of 10 pages, for example, 2, 4, 6, 8, and 10 pages, the relationship between the dot number of each page and the set dot number N is as follows. .

Although the calculation is omitted, the number of dots N on each page is N.
The values of n, the estimated dot number Nx, the set dot number N, the safety factors S1 and S2, and the dot number Nn of each page are as described later. In the following example, the estimated dot number Nx has the same value on all pages.

(N1 + N2 + Nx) × S1 ≧ N ... Execution of recovery operation at end of second sheet (N3 + N4 + Nx) × S1 ≧ N ... Execution of recovery operation at end of fourth sheet (N5 + N6 + Nx) × S1 ≧ N ... 6 Recovery operation is executed at the end of the 10th sheet (N7 + N8 + Nx) × S1 ≧ N ... Recovery operation is executed at the end of the 8th sheet (N9 + N10 + Nx) × S1 ≧ N ... Recovery operation is executed at the end of the 10th page At that point, the number of dots of all pages becomes clear, so the safety factor S1 is reduced to S2.

In step S902, step S901
Number of dots N1 to N for each page stored in RAM 303
The points for performing the recovery operation for the second to tenth sets are calculated. It is assumed that the set dot number N, the safety factors S1 and S2, and the dot number Nn of each page are as follows.

Set number of dots, N = 3500, estimated number of dots Nx = 1000, safety factor, S1 = 1.2, S2 = 1.
1, number of dots on each page, N1 = 1100, N2 = 10
50, N3 = 900, N4 = 1200, N5 = 850,
N6 = 1100, N7 = 1100, N8 = 850, N9
= 900, N10 = 1050 From the above conditions, the timing for executing the second set of recovery operation is as follows. (N1 + N2 + N3) × S2 = 3050 × 1.1 <35
00 ... After 3 pages (N4 + N5 + N6) × S2 = 3465 <3500 ...
・ After 6 pages (N7 + N8 + N9) × S2 = 3135 <3500 ...
・ After the 9th page, the actual number of dots was used for the calculation and the safety factor was reduced. As a result, the recovery operation after the second set is performed after recording the third, sixth and ninth sheets. The second set is three times, and the amount of ink consumption can be reduced by the number of recovery operations reduced by two times, and the reduction in throughput can be prevented.

In this case, the execution timing of the recovery operation for the 10th and subsequent pages is set over the third group.

If the cumulative number of dots N0 exists after the last recovery operation is performed until the recording of the 10th page is performed (3) The recovery operation for the second and subsequent groups is performed as in the case of recording a plurality of the same pages. Reset N0 from timing settings.

When a plurality of pages are sorted and recorded in order of pages as described above, the dot number of each page is set to R.
By storing in the AM 303, it is possible to optimize the timing of executing the recovery operation for the second and subsequent sets.

In the present embodiment, when recording of each page of the first set is completed, the process returns to step S703 as in F5 of FIG. 7, but (2) in the case of continuously recording two or more pages, (4) recording a plurality of pages. In the same way as explained in the case of (multiple sheets for each page), in combination with the control found in the known art,
The estimated number of dots Nx may be acquired for each page.

In the flowchart of FIG. 7, after each page, the flow goes from step S902 to step S702 as shown by the dotted line F6.

[0205]

Other Embodiments In the above description of the embodiment, S1,
Although a safety factor such as S2 is adopted, the set dot number N or the estimated dot number Nx may be variable in consideration of the safety factor in advance in accordance with the form of data.

Further, in the case of (4) plural pages plural sheets recording (one copy from the first page to the last page plural times), 1
The number of set dots in the recording of the set may be set larger than that in the second set or after, or may be set in consideration of the safety factor in advance when calculating the estimated number of dots.

Further, in the description of the above embodiment, in order to improve the accuracy of the estimated dot number, the attribute of the file sent in the past and the ink amount consumed at that time may be recorded. In this case, if the memory of the inkjet printer has an area for storing the file attributes used in the past recording, the number of dots, and the recovery operation time, or if the host connected to the inkjet printer has a storage means. Good.

The estimation accuracy is improved by using these past recording results when obtaining the estimated dot number Nx.
Such a configuration can be predicted with extremely high accuracy when there are many standard sentences, the recovery operation can be optimized, the amount of ink used (discarded) can be reduced, and the decrease in throughput is more accurate. Can be well prevented.

It is also possible to insert a recovery command into the transmission data at the time of transmission from the driver side of the host. In such a configuration, the inkjet printer does not need to acquire or calculate the estimated number of dots, and has only a mechanism for receiving and operating a recovery command.

Explaining the flow of the operation, when the host side gives an instruction to perform recording, the driver side of the main body once outputs a fraction of the actual image from the image data currently used when transmitting the recording data. Rasterize at a low resolution, and estimate the amount of data on each page. When the recovery operation time is known from the estimated value of the data amount, a recovery command is inserted during data transfer. The recovery command may be inserted in each page as a header item in the recorded data, or may be transmitted to each page data as a separate command at a break.

A method of accurately discriminating the recovery operation time by rasterizing the data, a method of estimating the recording density at a resolution lower than the resolution of the recording apparatus, and transmitting a command can be used.

In the above embodiments, the liquid droplets ejected from the recording head have been described as ink, and the liquid contained in the ink tank has been described as ink. It is not limited. For example, an ink tank may contain a treatment liquid such as a treatment liquid ejected onto a recording medium in order to improve the fixability and water resistance of a recorded image or to improve the image quality.

In the above-described embodiment, particularly in the ink jet recording system, a means (for example, an electrothermal converter or a laser beam) for generating heat energy as energy used for ejecting ink is provided. High density and high definition recording can be achieved by using a method of causing a change in ink state by energy.

Regarding its typical structure and principle, see, for example, US Pat. Nos. 4,723,129 and 4740.
What is done using the basic principles disclosed in 796 is preferred. This method can be applied to both the so-called on-demand type and continuous type, but especially in the case of the on-demand type, liquid (ink)
By applying at least one drive signal to the electrothermal transducer arranged corresponding to the sheet or liquid path in which is stored, which corresponds to the recorded information and gives a rapid temperature rise exceeding nucleate boiling. Since the electrothermal converter is caused to generate heat energy to cause film boiling on the heat-acting surface of the recording head, as a result, bubbles in the liquid (ink) corresponding to the drive signal in a one-to-one relationship can be formed. It is valid.

Due to the growth and contraction of the bubbles, the liquid (ink) is ejected through the ejection openings to form at least one droplet. It is more preferable to make this drive signal into a pulse shape because bubbles can be immediately and appropriately grown and contracted, so that liquid (ink) ejection with excellent responsiveness can be achieved.

As the pulse-shaped drive signal, those described in US Pat. Nos. 4,463,359 and 4,345,262 are suitable. If the conditions described in US Pat. No. 4,313,124 of the invention relating to the rate of temperature rise on the heat acting surface are adopted, more excellent recording can be performed.

As the constitution of the recording head, in addition to the combination constitution of the discharge port, the liquid passage, and the electrothermal converter (the linear liquid passage or the right-angled liquid passage) as disclosed in the above-mentioned respective specifications, The present invention also includes the configurations described in US Pat. No. 4,558,333 and US Pat. No. 4,459,600, which disclose configurations in which the heat-acting surface is arranged in a bending region. In addition, Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 59-123670 discloses a structure in which a common slot is used as a discharge portion of a plurality of electrothermal converters, and an opening for absorbing a pressure wave of thermal energy is discharged. A configuration based on Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 59-138461, which discloses a configuration corresponding to each section, may be adopted.

Further, a full line type recording head having a length corresponding to the width of the maximum recording medium which can be recorded by the recording apparatus is a combination of a plurality of recording heads as disclosed in the above specification. Either of the structure satisfying the requirement or the structure as one recording head integrally formed may be used.

In addition to the cartridge type recording head in which the ink tank is integrally provided in the recording head itself described in the above embodiment, the recording head is electrically connected to the apparatus main body by being attached to the apparatus main body. A replaceable chip-type recording head that enables various connections and supply of ink from the apparatus main body may be used.

Further, it is preferable to add recovery means for the recording head, preliminary means, etc. to the structure of the recording apparatus described above, because the recording operation can be made more stable. Specific examples thereof include capping means for the recording head, cleaning means, pressurizing or sucking means, electrothermal converters or heating elements other than these, or preheating means by a combination thereof. Further, provision of a preliminary ejection mode for performing ejection different from recording is also effective for stable recording.

Further, the recording mode of the recording apparatus is not limited to the recording mode of only the mainstream color such as black, but the recording head may be integrally formed or a plurality of combinations may be used. Alternatively, the device may be provided with at least one of full-color mixed colors.

Even if the present invention is applied to a system composed of a plurality of devices (eg, host computer, interface device, reader, printer, etc.), a device composed of one device (eg, copier, facsimile) Device).

The object of the present invention is to supply a storage medium (or recording medium) recording a program code of software for realizing the functions of the above-described embodiments to a system or apparatus, and to supply a computer of the system or apparatus ( Alternatively, by the CPU or MPU) reading and executing the program code stored in the storage medium,
It goes without saying that it will be achieved. In this case, the program code itself read from the storage medium realizes the functions of the above-described embodiments, and the storage medium storing the program code constitutes the present invention.
Further, by executing the program code read by the computer, not only the functions of the above-described embodiments are realized, but also based on the instruction of the program code,
An operating system (OS) running on the computer does some or all of the actual processing,
It goes without saying that the processing includes the case where the functions of the above-described embodiments are realized.

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. , The CPU provided in the function expansion card or the function expansion unit performs some or all of the actual processing,
It goes without saying that the processing includes the case where the functions of the above-described embodiments are realized.

When the present invention is applied to the above storage medium, the storage medium stores the program code corresponding to the above-described flowcharts (shown in FIGS. 4 to 7).

As described above, the ink jet printer of this embodiment analyzes the received print data, and the type of the print data received before the start of printing is one copy of a single page or one copy of a plurality of pages. It is possible to recognize whether to print copies, print one copy of a plurality of pages, or print a plurality of pages.

Then, when recording is continuously performed on two or more pages or two or more copies, the recording head is moved to the first position and the nozzle is sealed with a cap to recover only when a recovery operation is required between pages. Perform an action.

The time for executing this recovery operation can be set freely according to the file format of the recording data and the type of application software that created the data. It can also be executed by the data transmitted from the host that transmits the recovery command. The recovery operation is performed at a time when one of all recording colors of the inkjet printer needs the recovery operation. When performing the recovery operation, the recovery operation is performed for each color according to the ejection state of each color. You can change the content of.

Further, when printing two or more pages or two or more copies continuously, the number of print data or print dots actually ejected for each page is stored, and each page stored in the memory during printing is stored. The recovery operation execution time can be reset based on the data.

Furthermore, the relationship between the file format of the recorded data or the format of the application and the number of recording data or the number of recording dots actually ejected is stored, and this stored data is also used when setting the recovery operation execution time. be able to. With the configuration described above, the number of recovery operations can be optimized to the necessary minimum.

As described above, by estimating the data amount based on the file format and recognizing the data form before recording, (1) when recording only one page, (2) when continuously recording two or more pages In the above, since the recovery operation is performed only when necessary, it is possible to prevent a decrease in recording speed and wasteful consumption of ink.

Also, the number of dots actually ejected is stored,
Since the recovery operation time can be set again based on the record performance,
(3) When recording a plurality of same pages, (4) When recording a plurality of pages (a plurality of sheets for each page),
(5) The number of recovery operations can be optimized in any case where a plurality of pages are recorded on a plurality of pages (a plurality of groups after continuous recording up to the last page), and it is possible to prevent a decrease in recording speed and wasteful consumption of ink. it can.

Since the recovery operation timing can be set for each color, the optimum recovery operation can be individually performed according to the recording status of each color, and wasteful consumption of ink can be prevented.

[0234]

As described above, according to the present invention,
An image recording apparatus capable of suppressing wasteful consumption of ink by appropriately performing a recovery process of a recording head and recording a high-quality image at high speed, an information processing apparatus for outputting image data to the image recording apparatus, and them Can be provided.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a side view showing a main configuration of an inkjet printer according to an embodiment of the present invention in a power-off state or a standby state.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a control configuration for executing recording control of the inkjet printer according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of image data according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating an overall flow of recording using the inkjet printer according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating recording of only one page and continuous recording of two or more pages using the inkjet printer according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating a plurality of sheets of the same page and a plurality of sheets of a plurality of sheets (a plurality of sheets for each page) using the inkjet printer according to the embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating a plurality of pages of a plurality of pages recorded (a plurality of sets after continuous recording up to a final page) using the inkjet printer according to the embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 8 is a front view of the inkjet printer according to the embodiment of the present invention as viewed from the direction of arrow A in FIG.

FIG. 9 is a schematic perspective view showing the inkjet printer of FIG. 1 in a power-off state or a standby state (a) and a recording state (b). .

FIG. 10 is a partially enlarged side view showing a portion of a range 6052 in FIG. 1 in an enlarged manner.

FIG. 11 is a partial side view showing a state in which a recovery system cap means 6011 is in a second position where a recording medium can be conveyed.

[Explanation of symbols]

301 Programmable Peripheral Interface (PPI) 302 MPU (Micro Processing Unit) 306 Console 307 Home Position Sensor 305 Control ROM 303 RAM 304 Font Generation ROM 330 Print Buffer Memory 317 Address Bus 318 Data Bus 308 Carriage Motor 312 Recording Head 310 Paper Feed motor 315 Motor driver 316 for driving the carriage motor 339 Motor driver 309 for driving the paper feed motor 309 Sheet sensor 311 Driver 324 for driving the heater for ejection of the recording head Power supply unit

Claims (30)

[Claims] 1. An image recording apparatus comprising: a recording head that ejects ink based on image data to record an image; and a recovery unit that performs a recovery process on the recording head, the image being included in the recording data. Image information acquisition means for acquiring information regarding the information regarding the form of the recording data and information regarding the form of the recording data, and the timing of recovery processing of the recording head before recording the image based on the information regarding the image and the information regarding the form of the recording data. An image recording apparatus comprising: a recovery time determining unit that determines the recovery time; and a control unit that controls the recovery process based on the time of the recovery process. 2. The image recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the information about the image includes at least one of a file attribute, a recording medium type, a size, and a recording quality. 3. The image according to claim 2, wherein the attribute of the file includes at least one of a file format of the image data and a type of application software that created the image data. Recording device. 4. A calculation means for estimating the data amount or the number of recording dots included in one page of the recording data based on the information on the image and calculating the ink amount required for recording the one page. However, the recovery timing determining means determines the timing of the recovery processing of the recording head based on the result of the calculating means and the ink ejection amount ejected after the previous recovery processing by the recovery means. The image recording apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3. 5. The amount of data or the number of recording dots included in one page of the recording data is estimated based on the information about the image and the information of the head portion of the recording data acquired by the image recording apparatus, and the 1 The recovery time determining means further includes a calculating means for calculating an ink amount required for recording a page, and the recovery time determining means is based on the calculation result of the calculating means and the ink discharge amount discharged after the previous recovery processing by the recovery means. 4. The method according to claim 1, further comprising: determining a timing of recovery processing of the recording head.
The image recording device according to item. 6. The calculating means operates for each color of the ink, and the recovery time determining means sets the time of the recovery processing to the time when the recovery processing for one color is required from the result of the calculating means. The image recording device according to claim 4 or 5, wherein 7. The control means, when the recovery means performs the recovery processing, changes the content of the recovery processing according to the state of the print head for each color of the ink. The image recording apparatus according to claim 6. 8. The recovery time determining means further includes a storage means for storing a data table, and refers to the data table based on information about the image. The image recording apparatus according to any one of items. 9. When the information regarding the form of the recording data includes information for recording a plurality of the same images, the information regarding the form of the recording data is included in the plurality of the same images based on the information regarding the form of the recording data. The recovery time determining means further comprises a calculating means for estimating the data amount or the number of recording dots and calculating the ink amount necessary for recording a plurality of sheets, and the recovery time determining means is in the middle of recording a plurality of the same images by the calculating means. The image according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein when the ink amount is calculated to exceed a set value, the timing of the recovery process is set during the recording of the plurality of prints. Recording device. 10. The information regarding the form of the recording data relates to the number of pages of the image and the number of recording copies of the same image, and the recording head has one of the number of pages of the image and the number of recording copies of the same image. 2. When the number is plural, it has a counting means for counting the number of ejection dots required for recording an image for each page, and a first storage means for storing the number of ejection dots. The image recording apparatus according to claim 8. 11. The recovery timing determining means further comprises resetting means for resetting the recovery processing timing during recording based on the number of ejection dots stored in the first storage means. The image recording apparatus according to claim 10. 12. When the information about the form of the recording data includes information that two or more copies of the same page of the image are continuously recorded, or two or more copies of a plurality of pages are continuously recorded for each page. The resetting means,
12. The image recording apparatus according to claim 11, wherein the recovery operation execution time is reset based on the number of ejected dots when the number of ejected dots is stored in the first storage unit. 13. The information on the form of the recording data includes information that after plural pages of the image are continuously recorded from the first page to the last page, plural sets are recorded from the first page to the last page. If the number of ejection dots actually required for printing up to the last page of the first set is stored in the first storage unit individually for each page, the resetting unit may reset the ejection dots. The image recording apparatus according to claim 11, wherein the recovery operation execution timing is reset based on the number. 14. The mutual relationship between the first information including at least one of the head portion of the print data acquired by the printing apparatus and the information about the image, and the number of the ejection dots stored in the first storage means. The second to store the information of the relationship
And a data amount included in one page of the print data or the number of print dots based on the first information and the information on the mutual relation, and the ink necessary for printing the one page. Has a calculation means for calculating the amount,
The recovery time determination means determines the recovery processing time of the recording head based on the result of the calculation means and the ink ejection amount ejected after the previous recovery processing by the recovery means. The image recording device according to any one of claims 1 to 13. 15. The recovery means includes a cap means for sealing a nozzle of the recording head, and a suction means for sucking the ink in the recording head into the cap means or ejecting the ink to a region other than a recording medium. The image recording apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 14, further comprising: 16. The recovery means is arranged in a conveyance area of a recording medium of the image recording apparatus, and the recovery means has a first position for sealing at least the cap means of the recovery part and the nozzle part and the first position. The image recording apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 14, further comprising a driving unit that drives the recording medium to and from a second position where the recording medium can be conveyed. 17. A recovery unit comprising a carriage unit for holding the recording head and reciprocating in a main scanning direction of a recording medium for recording the image, wherein the recovery unit has a cap unit for sealing at least a nozzle of the recording head. And a recovery unit disposed below a platen disposed in a conveyance area of the recording medium and at a position facing the recording head, wherein at least the cap unit of the recovery unit seals the nozzle. 2. A drive unit for driving the recording medium between a position and a second position where the recording medium can be conveyed.
The image recording device according to claim 14. 18. When the information regarding the form of the recording data includes information that two or more pages or two or more copies of the image are continuously recorded, the recovery means uses the cap means as the first means. The image recording apparatus according to claim 16 or 17, wherein the image recording apparatus is driven to a position and a recovery operation is executed. 19. The recording head is a recording head which ejects ink by utilizing thermal energy, and is provided with a thermal energy converter for generating thermal energy applied to the ink. Claim 1 to Claim 1
8. The image recording apparatus according to any one of items 8. 20. An information processing device for outputting image data to an image recording device, wherein the information on the image data and the information on the form of the recorded data before the image recording device records an image based on the image data. An information processing apparatus, comprising: image information adding means for adding information about the image data and information about a form of print data to the image data. 21. The information processing apparatus according to claim 20, wherein the information about the image includes at least one of a file attribute, a recording medium type, a size, and a recording quality. 22. At least one of the file format of the image data and the type of application software that created the image data is set as the attribute of the file.
The information processing apparatus according to claim 21, wherein the information processing apparatus includes one. 23. The image recording apparatus, based on a recording head that ejects ink to record an image based on the image data, information about an image included in the recording data, and information about a form of the recording data. 23. The information processing apparatus according to claim 20, further comprising: a recovery unit that performs a recovery process on the recording head. 24. A control method for an image recording apparatus, comprising: a recording head for ejecting ink based on image data to record an image; and a recovery step for performing a recovery process on the recording head. An image information acquisition step of acquiring information about the image included and information about the form of the recording data; and recovery of the recording head before recording the image based on the information about the image and the information about the form of the recording data. A method of controlling an image recording apparatus, comprising: a recovery timing determining step of determining a processing timing; and a control step of controlling the recovery means based on the recovery processing timing. 25. A control method of an information processing apparatus for outputting image data to an image recording apparatus, comprising: information about the image data and the recording data before the image recording apparatus records an image based on the image data. A method for controlling an information processing apparatus, comprising: an image information adding step of adding information related to the image data and information related to the form of the recording data to the image data so that the information related to the form can be acquired. 26. A printer driver for processing image data to be output to an image recording device for recording an image based on the image data, wherein the image recording device prior to the recording of the image, information on the image data and the recording. A printer driver, comprising: an image information giving step of giving information relating to the image data and information relating to the form of the recording data to the image data so that information regarding the form of data can be acquired. 27. A computer-readable storage medium that stores a control program for controlling an information processing device that outputs image data to an image recording device, wherein the control program is stored before the image recording device records the image. A computer-readable storage medium having a program code of an image information giving step of giving information on the image data and information on the form of the recording data to the image data so that the information on the image data can be acquired. 28. A recording head for recording an image by ejecting ink based on image data, and a recovery step for performing recovery processing on the recording head so that the ink ejection amount becomes a selected amount. A computer-readable storage medium storing a control program for an image recording apparatus, wherein the control program acquires an image information acquisition step for acquiring information regarding an image included in the recording data and information regarding a form of the recording data. A recovery time determining step of determining a recovery processing time of the recording head before recording the image based on the information on the recording data and the information on the form of the recording data, and the recovery step based on the timing of the recovery processing. And a control step of controlling the image recording apparatus. 29. An image recording system including an image recording device and an information processing device, wherein the image recording device is the image recording device according to any one of claims 1 to 19. The information processing device is claimed in claim 20 to claim 23.
An image recording system, which is the information processing apparatus described in any one of 1. 30. An information processing apparatus having a transmission means for transmitting a recovery command for performing a recovery operation to the image recording apparatus,
An image recording system comprising: an image recording device that executes a recovery operation based on the recovery command.