JP2003341033A - Inkjet recorder having perfecting printing mechanism - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an environment easy to use for users by automating an adjustment of various kinds of printing modes which had to be conventionally manually carried out through a state judgment by users themselves as a means for preventing front and rear ink colors from mixing in an inkjet recorder having a perfecting printing mechanism. <P>SOLUTION: In the inkjet recorder having the perfecting printing mechanism, it is detected whether or not an ink placement duty for front and rear inks is excess to an object printing medium. When the duty is excess, the printing mode most suitable for the state is automatically selected so as to avoid front and rear ink colors from mixing. As a means for the detection, a means which makes identification information on whether it is a text or an image correspond to each sampling coordinate on the medium by separating an image region as a known technique, and judges that the duty is excess when both the front and the rear are images, or the like means is adopted. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2004,JPO

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an inkjet recording apparatus for recording by ejecting ink according to a signal, and more particularly to an inkjet recording apparatus having a double-sided printing function.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A recording device such as a printer or a facsimile drives a dot forming means of a recording head based on a recording signal to form a dot pattern corresponding to the signal (image information) on a recording medium (usually a recording sheet). ) It is configured to be formed on top.

As one type of the recording apparatus, there is a recording apparatus using an ink jet system, which ejects ink droplets from a recording head in response to the signal and causes the ink droplets to be recorded on a recording medium such as a recording sheet or a plastic thin plate. Is attached to form an image.

In an apparatus employing the ink jet system and further equipped with a double-sided printing mechanism, so-called show-through occurs in which an image on the back surface of the recording medium is transparently reflected on the front surface of the recording medium during double-sided recording depending on the type of the recording medium. There is a possibility to get. In that case, there is a problem in that the front and back inks are mixed and the recorded image becomes difficult to read.

In order to solve such a problem, in the ink jet recording apparatus having the double-sided recording function, a determination means for single-sided recording or double-sided recording and a print duty are selected based on the determination means by the determination means. The means for doing so is referred to in "Patent No. 2879872".

[0006]

However, in the determination means of the "Patent No. 2879872", the printing duty is selected only by the determination that the printing is double-sided printing. High Dut
Double-sided printing is possible even when the y portion is located on the print medium at distant coordinates and ink mixing cannot occur, or when show-through cannot occur because there is no high-duty printed portion in the first place. Print Duty only with the assumption that there is
There was a problem that was set low.

Further, since the element to be selected by the selecting means is only the printing duty, for example, the user really wants printing with high printing quality and no color mixture of inks. Even if
There is a problem that double-sided printing with low duty is selected, which complicates the user's operation.

[0008]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, in the present invention, in an ink jet recording apparatus having a double-sided printing mechanism, ink dents Du on the front and back sides are formed.
A configuration is provided, which is provided with means for determining whether or not ty is excessive for a print target medium, and means for automatically selecting a print mode most suitable for a situation from a plurality of print modes. To do.

(Operation) With the above configuration, it is possible to automatically select the optimum print mode for each target print data, and efficiently bring out the performance of the ink jet recording apparatus having the double-sided printing mechanism. It can be convenient.

[0010]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS (Embodiment 1) An ink jet recording apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

First, the overall structure of the ink jet recording apparatus will be briefly described. As a configuration of an inkjet recording apparatus having a double-sided printing mechanism, the recording mechanism has only one side, and a mechanism for reversing the recording medium from front to back is provided to realize the double-sided printing mechanism. There is a device that realizes a double-sided printing mechanism by providing two recording mechanisms themselves, one for the front surface and one for the back surface, without having the reversing mechanism. Since the present proposal is effective regardless of which form is adopted,
The latter will be described with reference to FIGS. 9 to 10, and a common configuration will be described with reference to FIGS.
15 will be described.

FIG. 1 is a sectional view showing the construction of a printer which is an embodiment of the ink jet recording apparatus according to the present invention.

A platen 3 is rotatably supported on the printer body 1 via a platen shaft 2, and a pair of feed rollers 4 and 5 are rotatably arranged below the platen 3. The feed rollers 4, 5 are constantly in pressure contact with the outer peripheral surface of the platen 3, and are driven by the rotation of the platen 3 to convey the recording medium 6 in a predetermined direction.

A first guide plate 7 is arranged on the front side of the platen 3 (on the left side in FIG. 1) at a predetermined distance from the platen 3. The first guide plate 7 is mounted on a carrier 8, and a recording head (not shown) is mounted on the carrier 8.

This apparatus uses an ink jet recording system for recording by ejecting ink from the recording head. That is, this recording head has a fine liquid discharge port (orifice), a liquid passage and an energy acting portion provided in a part of this liquid passage, and energy generation for generating droplet forming energy for acting on the liquid in the acting portion. Equipped with means.

As an energy generating means for generating such energy, a recording method using an electromechanical transducer such as a piezo element, electromagnetic waves such as a laser are radiated to generate heat, and droplets are ejected by the action of the heat generation. There are a recording method using an energy generating means, a recording method using an energy generating means for heating the liquid and discharging the liquid by an electrothermal converter such as a heating element having a heating resistor.

Among them, a recording head used in an ink jet recording method for ejecting a liquid by thermal energy has a high density of liquid ejection ports (orifices) for ejecting recording liquid droplets to form ejection liquid droplets. Since they can be arranged, high resolution recording is possible. Among them, the recording head using the electrothermal converter as the energy generating means can easily be made compact, and has the advantages of the IC technology and the microfabrication technology, which have been remarkably improved in technology and reliability in the recent semiconductor field. This is advantageous because it can be used in two parts, high-density mounting is easy, and the manufacturing cost is low.

A bail roller 9 is disposed on the upper front side of the platen 3 (upper left side in FIG. 1), and the bail roller 9 is pressed against the platen 3 by a drive source (not shown) (solid line position in FIG. 1). Alternatively, it can be separated (position of broken line in FIG. 1). Further, the bail roller 9 is preferably star-shaped in order to prevent contamination by ink or the like. Further, a second guide plate 10 and a third guide plate 11 are arranged above the bail roller 9 so that the recording medium 6 after the second pass passes between the guide plates 10 and 11. Has been done.

On the other hand, on the front side of the third guide plate 11 (on the right side in FIG. 1), in other words, when the bail roller 9 is pressed against the platen 3, the bail roller 9 and the platen 3 are close to each other on a common tangent line. Is the rotary shaft 13 of the first discharge roller 12.
Is provided. The first discharge roller 12 is fixed to the rotary shaft 13, and the rotary shaft 13 is connected to the platen shaft 2 by a gear, a belt, a friction roller or the like (not shown).

Further, as shown in detail in FIG. 2, a plurality of tooth portions 14 are formed on the one end side of the first discharge roller 12 at regular intervals in the circumferential direction. The rear end portion of the recording medium 6 is lifted with the rear end portion fitted therein and rotated by a predetermined angle. Furthermore the first
A driven roller 15 rotatably supported by a shaft 16 is in pressure contact with the outer peripheral surface of the discharge roller 12, and the driven roller 1
Reference numeral 5 is configured to rotate following the rotation of the first discharge roller 12. Although not shown, the driven roller 15 may be a star-shaped spur roller.

A second discharge roller 17 for the second pass is disposed above the second guide plate 10 and the third guide plate 11, and the second discharge roller 17 has a rotating shaft 18a. It is fixed to. The rotary shaft 18 is connected to the platen shaft 2 by a gear, a belt, a friction roller, etc. (not shown).

A plurality of tooth portions 19 are also formed on the one end of the second discharge roller 17 at regular intervals in the circumferential direction in the same manner as the first discharge roller 12. A bearing 18a is fitted on the rotary shaft 18 of the second discharge roller 17, and a paper tray 20 is rotatably mounted on the outer periphery of the bearing 18a. The paper tray 20 is for loading the recording medium 6 after the second pass, and a stopper 21 prevents the paper tray 20 from falling toward the front side. A driven roller 22 rotatably supported by a shaft 23 is pressed against the outer peripheral surface of the second discharge roller 17 in the same manner as the first discharge roller 12, and the driven roller 22 is the second discharge roller. It is configured to rotate following the rotation of 17. Further, a pressing plate 24 is rotatably mounted on the shaft 23, and the pressing plate 24 prevents the recording media 6 stacked on the paper tray 20 from falling. Reference numeral 25 is a plate for preventing the recording medium 6 from collapsing, and is attached to the upper surface of the printer body 1.

Next, the operation of the printer configured as described above will be described with reference to FIGS.

First, as shown in FIG. 1, during the first pass, the recording medium 6 is set so that its surface 6a becomes the recording surface. When the recording medium 6 is inserted and set, the carrier 8 is positioned at the center of the recording medium in the width direction,
It is fed along the first guide plate 7. Further, at this time, the bail roller 9 is kept in a state of being pressed against the platen 3 with a constant pressure (solid line position in FIG. 1). Then, when the platen 3 is rotationally driven, as shown in FIG. 3, the leading end of the recording medium 6 is guided to the joint surface between the platen 3 and the bail roller 9, and an image is recorded by a recording head (not shown).

After recording, the recording medium 6 is ejected in the tangential direction between the platen 3 and the bail roller 9, and is guided to the joining point between the first ejection roller 12 and the driven roller 15. And
The rear end portion of the recording medium 6 is fitted between the tooth portions 14 of the first discharge roller 12 as shown in FIG.
It is lifted by the rotation of 2 and rotated by a certain angle.
As shown in FIG. At this time, the recording medium 6 is set so that its back surface 6b becomes the recording surface.

Next, in the second pass, the bail roller 9 is preliminarily set.
As shown in FIG. 5, the broken line position on the platen 3 is moved to the solid line position. Therefore, since the bail roller 9 is separated from the platen 3 in advance during this second pass, the leading end of the recording medium 6 is located at the platen 3 and the first guide plate 7.
After passing between the second guide plate 1 and the second guide plate 1 as shown in FIG.
0 through the third guide plate 11
The joining point between the second discharging roller 17 for pass and the driven roller 22 is reached. After passing through the joining point, the sheet is pushed into the paper tray 20 while being regulated by the pressing plate 24, and finally the rear end of the recording medium 6 is lifted by the tooth portion 19 of the second discharge roller 17. , Loaded on the paper tray 20. During the second pass, recording is performed on the back surface 6b of the recording medium 6.

Next, the control and operation during double-sided recording in the printer having the above construction will be described with reference to FIGS. 7 and 8.

FIG. 7 is a block diagram showing an electric circuit of the printer. In FIG. 7, a CPU (central processing unit)
701 outputs an address bus, a data bus, and a bus 711 including control signals for controlling them.
The bus 710 includes a ROM 702, a RAM 703, a data receiving unit 704, an ink dent duty determining unit 705, a print mode selecting unit 706, and a print head movement driving unit 70.
7, a recording medium conveyance drive unit 708, a recording head recording drive unit 709, and a sensor unit 710 that detects the home position of the recording head and the presence / absence of a recording medium.

The CPU 701 is controlled by a program stored in the ROM 702. The print information transmitted from the host computer is received by the data receiving unit 704 on the printer side. The data receiving unit 704 sends and receives data according to the state of the printer, and the received data is stored in the RAM 703. The CPU 701 controls the print head movement drive unit 707, the print medium transport drive unit 708, and the print head print drive unit 709 in response to a print command from the host computer.

FIG. 8 is a flow chart showing the control operation of the printer. In FIG. 8, when the printer is powered on (step 801) and print data is received from the host computer (step 802), the printer sucks the print medium (step 803) and stores the print data for one line in the RAM 703. To do. Then, one line is full, or one line is recorded by a recording command from the host computer (step 80).
4). The above operation is repeated, and recording is sequentially performed for each line (step 805).

When recording for one page (front surface recording) is completed in step 805, the process proceeds to step 806, and the recording medium is ejected. If the recording operation is single-sided recording, the process proceeds to step 807, and the recording medium is ejected onto the paper tray. If the recording operation is double-sided recording, the process proceeds to step 808. Mouth side). When the recording medium is set to the suction position for backside recording, the process proceeds to step 803 to inhale the recording medium, and then proceeds to step 804 to receive record data from the host computer in the same manner as the front side recording operation, and to receive one line. Record each time. After the recording of one page is completed, the recording medium is discharged and the front side recording and the back side recording are completed.

FIG. 9 is a sectional view showing the construction of a printer which is an embodiment of the ink jet recording apparatus according to the present invention.

In the figure, reference numeral 901 denotes a casing of the printing apparatus, and 9
Reference numerals 02 and 903 denote inkjet nozzles each having an integrated ink tank, and are provided on both sides of the front side and the back side of the conveyed printing paper. 904, 9
Reference numeral 05 denotes a guide roller for supporting a sheet, 906 a sheet feeding device, 907 a sheet discharging device, and 908 a print target medium. 911 is a computer.

In this embodiment, the ink jet nozzles 90 arranged on both sides of the paper inside the housing 901.
There are 2,903. It is possible to print on both sides of the paper at the same time by the nozzles integrated with the ink tanks arranged above and below.

Further, in the printing apparatus, a computer section 91 having a printer buffer larger than that of an ordinary printing apparatus and a memory for internally editing and processing print data is provided.
Have one.

The computer section 911 has means for taking out print data from the memory and controlling the ink jet nozzles using the print data to perform double-sided printing.

Next, using the control flow shown in FIG.
The operation of this embodiment will be described.

First, in step 1001, print data sent from a computer or the like is read by the computer unit 911 in the printing apparatus to determine whether it is double-sided printing or single-sided printing.

Next, the determination means of step 1002 is executed, and in the case of double-sided printing, the data retrieved from the memory in step 1003 is distributed to the front surface and the back surface of the paper, and the paper conforming to the format is fed to the paper cassette. In step 1005, the operation of taking out the paper from the printer, feeding the paper in step 1004, printing on the front surface with the inkjet nozzle 902, and printing on the back surface with the inkjet nozzle 903 is sequentially performed.

The printed paper is discharged to the outside of the housing by 905 and 907. In the case of single-sided printing, normal printing is performed in step 1007.

11 and 12 are examples in which the problems to be solved by the present invention are illustrated in an easy-to-understand manner.

Here, FIG. 11 shows print data printed on the front surface of the print target medium, and FIG. 12 shows print data printed on the back surface.

Reference numerals 1101 and 1201 denote objects 1102, 1103, and 1202 formed of image data.
Indicates an object composed of text data. Generally, when image data is printed, the duty becomes high, and therefore 1101, 1102, 1103, 120
When printing all 1, 1202 in the same print mode,
Between 1102 and 1103, which are adjacent to each other on the front surface and the back surface, show-through and ink color mixing are likely to occur. on the other hand,
Similarly, in the areas 1103 and 1202 that are adjacent to each other on the front surface and the back surface, since both are text data and have low Duty, show-through and ink color mixing are unlikely to occur.

In the apparatus of this embodiment, 1102 and 1201 are finally set to a low duty by the means described below.
By printing 1102, 1103, and 1202 with high duty, there is no show-through and ink color mixture printing in the image data section, and there is no show-through and ink color mixture in the text data section, and it is clearer with higher duty printing. The goal is to achieve optimal printing and to obtain more appropriate and highest quality output for each part of the entire printed image.

FIG. 13 is a flow chart showing a means for obtaining information for determining whether or not the ink dents Duty on the front and back sides are excessive with respect to the medium to be printed, which is a feature of this embodiment.

In step 1301, 0 is put into a variable Z indicating the front and back of the print target medium for initialization. In the following description, Z = 0 means the front surface of the print target medium, and Z = 1 means the back surface of the print target medium.

In step 1302, when the print medium is divided into arbitrary area units, the area serial number in the X-axis direction is set to X, and the area serial number in the Y-axis direction is set to Y. Are being converted. In this figure, FIG.
As in the examples 1 and 12, the description will proceed assuming that the X-axis direction is divided into 20 and the Y-axis direction is divided into 40.

In step 1303, the area (X, Y,
Z) It is determined whether or not there is an object on it.
If it exists here, the process proceeds to step 1304. If it does not exist, the process proceeds to step 1307.

In step 1304, the area (X, Y,
Z) Record the number of the object existing on it. For example, in FIG. 11, since the object existing in the area (2, 4, 0) is 1101, Data
[2,4,0]. ObjectNO = 1101.

At step 1305, attribute determination of an object on the area is performed by image area separation which is a known technique. Image area separation here means that for each area of an image, the image contained in that area is a character line drawing (hereinafter text data).
Is a technology for determining whether a photo (hereinafter referred to as image data), which has been put into practical use by combining Windows (R) from Microsoft Corporation, which is a typical OS today, and application software and drivers that run on the OS. Is. As a result of the determination, when it is determined that the object is image data, step 1306
If it is determined to be text data, the process proceeds to step 1308.

In step 1306, the area (X, Y,
Z) Array Data indicating the duty of print data on
[X, Y, Z]. An attribute value DEEP indicating that the duty is high is recorded in Attrib. That is, the apparatus of the present embodiment uniquely associates the image data with a high duty.

In step 1309, X is incremented, and in step 1310, the upper limit value 20 of the area counter is increased.
Compared with the above, if the upper limit value has not been reached yet, the process returns to step 1303 to perform the process again, otherwise the process proceeds to step 1311.

In step 1311, X is initialized, Y is incremented, and in step 1312, it is compared with the upper limit value 40 of the counter of the area. If the upper limit value is not reached yet, the process returns to step 1303 and the processing is performed again. Otherwise, proceed to step 1313.

In step 1313, Y is initialized, Z is incremented, and the process is transferred to the back surface of the medium to be printed. In step 1314, the upper limit value 2 of Z is compared, and if it has not reached 2, the process proceeds to step 1302 in order to process the back surface, and if it reaches 2, the processing of the back surface is completed. Step 13 to understand
The process ends at 15.

In step 1303, it is considered that the object does not exist in the area (X, Y, Z), and in step 130
7, the value -1 indicating that there is no print data in the area is set to Data [X, Y, Z]. Object
Substitute in NO and proceed to step 1308.

If it is determined in step 1305 that the object on the area is text data, and if there is no object on the area and step 1307 is executed, step 1308 is executed. Here, in step 1308, in the array Data [X, Y, Z]., Which indicates the duty of the print data on the area (X, Y, Z). Attri
An attribute value LIGHT indicating that the duty is low is recorded in b. That is, in the apparatus of this embodiment, text data is uniquely associated with low duty.

FIG. 14 is a flow chart showing a means for automatically selecting a print mode most suitable for a situation from a plurality of print modes, which is a feature of the apparatus of this embodiment.

In step 1401, X, Y and Z are initialized. Since the contents of X, Y, and Z are the same as the variables of the same name in FIG. 13, the description will be omitted.

In step 1402, the print mode that can be determined for each object is initialized. The array PrintMode [object number] is an array that stores the print mode corresponding to each object, and PrintMode [Data [X,
Y, Z]. ObjectNO] is a region (X, Y, Z)
The print mode of the above print data is shown. Here, MODE2 is put in the print mode for initialization. Various assignments can be made to the actual contents of MODE 2 depending on the embodiment, and the details of the assignment will be described with reference to FIG. 15 and subsequent figures.

Steps 1403, 1404, 1405,
1406, 1407, and 1408 are general loop processes, and by executing these processes, the print modes of all objects on the print target medium can be initialized by MODE2.

In step 1409, X and Y are initialized again.

In step 1410, the area (X, Y,
0), that is, the duty of the print data of the target area on the surface is D
It is determined whether or not it is EEP. If it is DEEP, the procedure proceeds to step 1411; otherwise, it proceeds to 1414.

In step 1411, the area (X, Y,
1), that is, the duty of the print data of the target area on the back side is D
It is determined whether or not it is EEP. If it is DEEP, the procedure proceeds to step 1412, and otherwise, the procedure proceeds to step 1414.

If both the front and back sides have high Duty, the print mode information of the corresponding object is rewritten to MODE1 in steps 1412 and 1413. Various assignments can be made to the actual contents of the MODE 1 depending on the embodiment, and details of the assignment will be described with reference to FIG. 15 and subsequent figures.

Steps 1414, 1415, 1416,
Reference numeral 1417 is a general loop process, and by executing these processes, the optimum print mode can be assigned to all objects on the print target medium.

When all the processing is completed, step 1418
Ends the process.

FIG. 15 is a flowchart outlining the features of the apparatus of this embodiment.

When the printing process is started in step 1501, the printing mode corresponding to each object is assigned in step 1502 by the means described in FIGS. 13 and 14.

In step 1503, "low duty printing means" is adopted for MODE1.

At step 1504, "high duty printing means" is adopted for MODE2.

In step 1505, the mechanical mechanism / operation for double-sided printing referred to in FIGS. 1 to 10 is activated with the setting for printing each object in accordance with the print mode obtained by the above-described processing.

The high-duty printing means and low D described here
As a means for realizing a plurality of classified printing means of the util printing means, the following publicly known technology can be adopted.

For example, by controlling the amount of ink ejected from the recording head, it is possible to adopt a high-duty printing unit when the ejection amount is large and a low-duty printing unit when the ejection amount is small.

Further, each color is configured to have a dark ink (hereinafter, dark ink) and a thin ink (hereinafter, thin ink), and when dark ink is used, a high-duty printing means and when thin ink is used Can be used as a low-duty printing means.

Further, a so-called thinning printing means for printing at intervals of dots is provided, and a high duty printing means is used for printing without thinning, and a low D is used for thinning printing.
It can be adopted as a printing means of the utily.

As described above, when the image objects are adjacent to each other on the front and back sides, the low-duty print mode is selected, and in other cases, the high-duty print mode is selected. The print data part achieves printing without show-through and ink color mixing, and the low-duty print data part realizes clearer print without show-through and ink color mixing, making each part of the entire print image more appropriate and of the highest quality. To get the output of.

(Embodiment 2) Since the basic structure of the device of this embodiment is the same as that of the device 1 of the embodiment, it is omitted, and only the structure peculiar to the device of this embodiment will be explained.

FIG. 16 is a flowchart outlining the features of the apparatus of this embodiment.

When the printing process is started in step 1601, the printing mode corresponding to each object is assigned in step 1602 by the means described in FIGS. 13 and 14.

At step 1603, "printing means using colorless ink" is adopted for MODE1.

At step 1604, "printing means not using colorless ink" is adopted for MODE2.

Here, the colorless ink means a colorless printability improving treatment liquid.

Since a general color ink is a liquid, it penetrates deep into the fibers of the paper after contact with the target print medium, but the colorless printability improving treatment liquid is first ejected onto the paper surface. When the colored ink is ejected from the same to the same pixel on the medium, the colored ink immediately reacts with the treatment liquid and becomes insoluble. Since the insolubilized coloring material does not penetrate deep into the paper,
Many coloring materials remain on the surface, and show-through is reduced. Since the chemical constitution of the treatment liquid is well known, the explanation is omitted here.

At step 1605, the mechanical mechanism / operation for double-sided printing referred to in FIGS. 1 to 10 is activated with the setting for printing each object according to the print mode obtained by the above-described processing.

As described above, when the image objects are adjacent to each other on the front and back sides, the print mode using the colorless ink is selected to reduce the penetration of the colored ink into the medium and to prevent the show-through and the ink. Printing that does not have color mixing in the text data part without using colored ink while achieving print with no show-through and ink mixing, and obtains appropriate and highest quality output for each part of the entire printed image. Is.

(Embodiment 3) Since the basic structure of the device of the present embodiment is the same as that of the device 1 of the embodiment, it is omitted, and only the structure peculiar to the device of the present embodiment will be explained.

FIG. 17 is a flow chart in which the features of the apparatus of this embodiment are described most simply.

When the print processing is started in step 1701, the print mode corresponding to each object is assigned in step 1702 by the means described in FIGS. 13 and 14.

In step 1703, it is determined whether or not all the objects on the front and back sides have the print mode = MODE1. If they exist, the process proceeds to step 1705, and if they do not exist, the process proceeds to step 1704.

At step 1704, double-sided printing is performed.

In step 1705, the front-side print data and the back-side print data are single-sided printed on different print target media without performing double-sided printing.

As described above, when the image objects are adjacent to each other on the front and back sides, single-sided printing is selected to perform printing without show-through and ink color mixing. Printing that does not mix the image and ink is achieved, and an appropriate output that satisfies the requirements of each part of the entire printed image is obtained.

(Embodiment 4) Since the basic structure of the device of the present embodiment is the same as that of the device 1 of the embodiment, the description thereof will be omitted, and only the structure peculiar to the device of the present embodiment will be described.

FIG. 18 is a flow chart showing a means for obtaining information for determining whether or not the ink dent Duty on the front and back sides is excessive with respect to the medium to be printed, which is a feature of the apparatus of this embodiment. is there.

In step 1801, 0 is put into a variable Z indicating the front and back of the print target medium for initialization. In the following description, Z = 0 means the front surface of the print target medium, and Z = 1 means the back surface of the print target medium.

At step 1802, when the print target medium is divided into arbitrary area units, the region serial number in the X-axis direction is set to X, and the region serial number in the Y-axis direction is set to Y. Are being converted. In this figure, FIG.
As in the examples 1 and 12, the description will proceed assuming that the X-axis direction is divided into 20 and the Y-axis direction is divided into 40.

In step 1803, the area (X, Y,
Z) It is determined whether or not there is an object on it.
If it exists here, the process proceeds to step 1804, and if it does not exist, the process proceeds to step 1806.

In step 1804, the area (X, Y,
Z) Record the number of the object existing on it. For example, in FIG. 11, since the object existing in the area (2, 4, 0) is 1101, Data
[2,4,0]. ObjectNO = 1101.

At step 1805, the total number of dots of the print data in the corresponding area is calculated, and the array Data [X, Y, D] indicating the duty of the print data on the area (X, Y, Z) is calculated.
Z]. Substitute for Duty.

In step 1808, X is incremented, and in step 1809, the upper limit value 20 of the area counter is increased.
Compared with the above, if the upper limit value has not been reached yet, the process returns to step 1803 to perform the process again, and if not, the process proceeds to step 1810.

In step 1810, X is initialized, Y is incremented, and in step 1811 it is compared with the upper limit value 40 of the area counter. If the upper limit value is not reached yet, the process returns to step 1803 and the processing is performed again. Otherwise, proceed to step 1812.

In step 1812, Y is initialized, Z is incremented, and the process is transferred to the back surface of the medium to be printed. In step 1813, comparison with the upper limit value 2 of Z is performed, and if it has not reached 2, the process proceeds to step 1802 to perform processing on the back surface, and if it reaches 2, processing on the back surface is completed. Step 18 to understand
The process ends at 14.

In step 1803, it is determined that the object does not exist in the area (X, Y, Z) and step 180
6, the value -1 indicating that there is no print data in the area is set to Data [X, Y, Z]. Object
Substitute NO and proceed to step 1807.

At step 1807, the area (X, Y,
Z) Array Data indicating the duty of print data on
[X, Y, Z]. Substitute 0 for Duty.

FIG. 19 is a flow chart showing a means for automatically selecting a print mode most suitable for a situation from a plurality of print modes, which is a feature of the apparatus of this embodiment.

At step 1901, X, Y and Z are initialized. Since the contents of X, Y, and Z are the same as the variables of the same name in FIG. 18, the description thereof will be omitted.

In step 1902, the print mode that can be determined for each object is initialized. The array PrintMode [object number] is an array that stores the print mode corresponding to each object, and PrintMode [Data [X,
Y, Z]. ObjectNO] is a region (X, Y, Z)
The print mode of the above print data is shown. Here, MODE2 is put in the print mode for initialization. Various allocations can be made to the actual contents of the MODE 2 depending on the embodiment. For details of the allocation, refer to FIG. 15 in the embodiment apparatus 1, FIG. 16 in the embodiment apparatus 2, FIG. 17 in the embodiment apparatus 3, etc., respectively. It is possible.

Steps 1903, 1904, 1905,
By executing these general loop processes 1906, 1907, and 1908, the print modes of all the objects on the print target medium can be initialized by MODE2.

At step 1909, X and Y are initialized again.

In step 1910, the area (X, Y,
0), that is, the duty of the print data on the surface of the target area,
The Duty of the print data of the area (X, Y, 1), that is, the back surface of the target area is added and compared with a predetermined boundary value DEEP. The added value is larger than DEEP, and high D
If it is determined to be uty, step 1911
Otherwise, proceed to 1912.

If the value obtained by adding the Duty of the front surface and the back surface is high, the print mode information of the corresponding object is set to MODE in steps 1911 and 1912.
Rewrite to 1. Various assignments can be made to the actual contents of the MODE 1 depending on the embodiment. For details of the assignment, see FIG. 15 in the example device 1, FIG. 16 in the example device 2, FIG. 17 in the example device 3, and the like, respectively. It is possible.

Steps 1913, 1914, 1915,
1916 is a general loop process, and by executing these processes, the optimum print mode can be assigned to all the objects on the print target medium.

When all the processing is completed, step 1917
Ends the process.

If the print mode determining means described above and the print mode assigning means shown in FIG. 15 in the apparatus 1 of the embodiment are used together, an excessively high duty can be obtained due to the added value of the dot counts of the front and back ink droplets. If it is detected, the low-duty print mode is selected; otherwise, the high-duty print mode is selected to obtain a more appropriate and highest-quality output for each part of the entire printed image. is there.

If the print mode determining means described above and the print mode allocating means shown in FIG. 16 in the apparatus 2 of the embodiment are used together, an excessively high value may result due to the sum of the dot counts of the ink drops on the front and back sides. When Duty is detected, by selecting the printing mode using colorless ink, the penetration of colored ink into the medium is reduced, and printing without show-through and ink color mixing is performed. It realizes printing without show-through and color mixture of ink while saving without using ink, and obtains more appropriate and highest quality output for each part of the entire printed image.

Further, if the print mode determining means described above and the print mode assigning means shown in FIG. 17 in the third embodiment are used together, an excessively high value may result due to the sum of the dot counts of the ink drops on the front and back sides. If Duty is detected, single-sided printing is selected to perform printing without show-through and ink color mixing, and if not, print with no show-through and ink color mixing while performing double-sided printing. This is to obtain an appropriate output that meets the requirements of each part of the entire image.

[0117]

With the above structure, the optimum print mode can be automatically selected for each target print data, and the performance of the ink jet recording apparatus having the double-sided printing mechanism can be efficiently obtained, which is convenient for the user. Can be planned.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a sectional configuration explanatory diagram of a printer which is an embodiment of an inkjet recording apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a configuration around a first discharge roller.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a state in which a leading end of a recording medium is guided to a joint surface between a platen and a bail roller.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a state in which the rear end of the recording medium 6 is fitted between the teeth of the first discharge roller, lifted by the rotation of the first discharge roller, and rotated by a certain angle.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a situation in which a recording medium is guided to an insertion slot.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a state in which a recording medium has reached a junction point between a second discharge roller for a second pass and a driven roller through a passage formed by a second guide plate and a third guide plate.

FIG. 7 is a configuration diagram of a printer which is an embodiment of the inkjet recording apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing control of a printer which is an embodiment of the inkjet recording apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a sectional configuration explanatory diagram of a printer which is an embodiment of the inkjet recording apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing control of a printer which is an embodiment of the inkjet recording apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 11 is an example in which the problem to be solved by the present invention is illustrated in an easily understandable manner.

FIG. 12 is an example in which the problem to be solved by the present invention is illustrated in an easily understandable manner.

FIG. 13 is a flowchart describing a means for obtaining information for determining whether or not the ink dents Duty on the front and back sides are excessive with respect to the print target medium, which is a feature of the apparatus according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 14 is a flowchart showing a means for automatically selecting a print mode most suitable for a situation from a plurality of print modes, which is a feature of the apparatus 1 of the embodiment.

FIG. 15 is a flowchart outlining the features of the apparatus 1 of the embodiment.

FIG. 16 is a flowchart outlining the features of Example device 2.

FIG. 17 is a flowchart outlining the features of Example device 3.

FIG. 18 is a flow chart describing a means for obtaining information for determining whether or not the ink dents Duty on the front and back sides are excessive with respect to the print target medium, which is a feature of the fourth embodiment device.

FIG. 19 is a flowchart showing a means for automatically selecting a print mode most suitable for a situation from a plurality of print modes, which is a feature of the embodiment apparatus 4.

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. In an inkjet recording apparatus having a double-sided printing mechanism, a means for determining whether or not an ink dent Duty on the front and back sides is excessive with respect to a print target medium,
An apparatus comprising means for automatically selecting a print mode most suitable for a situation from a plurality of print modes. 2. The determination means according to claim 1, wherein the print medium is divided into arbitrary area units, and the added value of the ink indentation Duty on the front and back sides is calculated for each of the divided areas. , A device for deciding the height of the duty by comparing the boundary value for judging the height of the duty and the added value of each area with the boundary value. 3. The determining means according to claim 1, wherein the medium to be printed is divided into arbitrary area units, an image area separating means which is a known technique, and a print object on each of the divided areas. On the other hand, the means for associating the attributes obtained by the image area separating means and the duty by the attributes
A device provided with means for determining the height of the device. 4. An apparatus in which a double-sided printing unit and a single-sided printing function are applied as the plurality of printing modes according to claim 1. 5. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a high-duty print mode and a low-duty print mode are applied as the plurality of print modes. 6. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a printing mode using a colorless printability improving treatment liquid and a printing mode not using it are applied as the plurality of printing modes.