JP2004223988A - Image recording apparatus and image recording method - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide image recording apparatus and an image recording method, which are fast and versatile. <P>SOLUTION: The image recording apparatus for forming an image on a plate having a disk shape. Has plate rotating means that rotates the plate using a center axis of the plate as a rotating center, and image recording means that discharges ink on the plate being rotated by the rotating means to form the image. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2004,JPO&NCIPI

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to an image recording apparatus and method for forming an image on a plate having a disk shape, and more particularly to an image recording apparatus and method for forming an image on an optical disk such as a CD, CD-R, DVD, Blu-ray disk. About.
[0002]
[Prior art]
In recent years, optical discs such as CDs and DVDs have become widespread and are used in various fields such as recording and reproduction of music and video, and data storage of computers. In addition, a standard called Blu-ray has been newly proposed as a standard for an optical disc having a recording capacity exceeding that of a DVD. In the Blu-ray disc, a recording layer is formed on at least one surface of a disc substrate, a cover layer made of a plastic sheet through which laser light is transmitted is provided on the recording layer, and the recording layer is irradiated with laser light through the cover layer. Thus, the signal recorded on the recording layer can be read.
[0003]
In an optical disc such as a CD, DVD, or Blu-ray disc, when a recording layer is provided on only one side, an image printing layer for printing characters, images, labels, etc. is generally provided on the opposite side.
[0004]
In this image recording layer, it is possible to describe the name of the file recorded on the optical disc or a title indicating the type of the optical disc, and the user who uses the optical disc performs these operations to identify the optical disc. Can do. Regarding image recording on a disc, the following prior art documents can be cited.
[0005]
[Patent Document 1]
JP 10-16206 A
[0006]
[Patent Document 2]
JP2002-216396
[0007]
Patent Document 1 discloses a printing method for a plate-shaped recording medium in which a CD-R or the like is placed on a tray having a predetermined shape, the tray is placed on a transporting means capable of reciprocating transport, and printing is performed using an ink jet printer. An apparatus is disclosed.
[0008]
Patent Document 2 discloses an image recording apparatus that records an image on the same surface as an information recording surface by laser light using an optical pickup. The recording medium used in this image recording apparatus has a predetermined image recording area on the same surface as the information recording surface, and performs image recording by irradiating the image recording area with laser light. .
[0009]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
However, since a general inkjet printer as shown in Patent Document 1 is premised on recording on a rectangular sheet, the sheet is intermittently moved in one direction or both directions, and the printer Recording is performed by moving the head to the left and right of the paper. Therefore, in order to form an image on a plate having a disk shape such as an optical disk, it is necessary to repeat the movement of the paper and the movement of the head many times even when forming a relatively small image. End up. In addition, it is necessary to prepare a separate tray, and the user must perform work such as setting the tray.
[0010]
Moreover, since an image recording apparatus as shown in Patent Document 2 forms an image by irradiating a laser beam, it is necessary to prepare a special optical disk whose state is changed by the laser beam. Therefore, it cannot be applied to an optical disc having a general image recording layer, and lacks versatility. The image recording apparatus disclosed in Patent Document 2 forms an image on a printing layer prepared on the same surface as the information recording surface, and the image is recorded on the image recording layer formed on the opposite side of the information recording surface. There is no suggestion or teaching regarding the formation.
[0011]
The present invention has been made to solve the above-described problems, and provides an image recording apparatus and method for forming an image on a plate having a disk shape, which is fast and versatile. The purpose is to do.
[0012]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In order to achieve the above object of the present invention, an image recording apparatus according to claim 1 of the present invention is an image recording apparatus for forming an image on a plate having a disk shape, wherein the central axis of the plate is the center of rotation. Plate rotating means for rotating the plate; and image recording means for forming an image by ejecting ink onto the plate rotated by the rotating means.
[0013]
According to the first aspect, it is possible to provide an image recording apparatus capable of performing image recording at high speed without preparing a tray or preparing a special optical disk.
Further, since the recording is performed by rotating the disk, it is not necessary to feed a recording medium such as a sheet or a tray with a disk in one direction unlike a normal ink jet printer. Therefore, it is not necessary to provide a predetermined paper or a tray with a disk in one direction or to secure a space for discharging, and it is possible to provide a compact image recording apparatus.
[0014]
An image recording apparatus according to a second aspect of the present invention is the image recording apparatus according to the first aspect, wherein the image recording means includes a head for ejecting ink onto the plate, and the head in the radial direction of the plate. A head driving unit that moves the plate, a plate rotating unit that rotates the plate, and a synchronization control unit that instructs the head to eject ink while synchronizing the head driving unit and the plate rotating unit.
[0015]
According to the second aspect, the head is configured to be movable in the radial direction of the disk. Therefore, image recording can be performed over the entire recording surface of the disc with a compact configuration.
[0016]
An image recording apparatus according to a third aspect of the present invention is the image recording apparatus according to the first or second aspect, wherein the plate is an optical disk on which data is written. Thus, the image recording apparatus of the present invention can suitably perform image recording on the surface of the optical disc.
[0017]
An image recording apparatus according to claim 4 of the present invention is the image recording apparatus according to claim 3, wherein image data is stored in the optical disc, and the image recording means is a thumbnail image of the image data. Are formed on the optical disk.
[0018]
According to the fourth aspect, by recording the thumbnail image on the surface of the optical disc, the type and contents of the data stored therein can be understood at a glance. Improves handling efficiency.
[0019]
The image recording method according to claim 5 of the present invention is an image recording method for forming an image on a plate having a disk shape, the step of rotating the plate around the central axis of the plate, Ejecting ink from the head onto the plate, and moving the head in a radial direction of the plate.
[0020]
According to the image recording method of the fifth aspect, it is possible to perform image recording capable of performing image recording at high speed without preparing a tray or preparing a special optical disc. Further, since the recording is performed by moving the head in the radial direction and rotating the disk, it is not necessary to feed a recording medium such as a sheet or a tray with a disk in one direction unlike a normal ink jet printer. Therefore, it is not necessary to provide a predetermined paper or a tray with a disk in one direction or to secure a space for discharging, and it is possible to provide a compact image recording apparatus.
[0021]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0022]
Embodiments of an image recording apparatus and method according to the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.
[0023]
FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an image recording apparatus 10 according to an embodiment of the present invention. The image recording apparatus 10 includes a disk rotating unit 11, a head unit 12, a head driving unit 13, a synchronization signal generating unit 15, a control unit 16, a memory 17, and an external input / output interface 18.
[0024]
The disk rotating unit 11 includes a spindle motor 11a for rotationally driving the optical disk 1 as a recording medium of the image recording apparatus 10, a rotating shaft 11b for transmitting the rotation of the spindle motor 11a to the disk, and a disk fixing for fixing the optical disk 1. A portion 11c is provided. The spindle motor 11a is driven at a rotation speed based on a synchronization signal output from a synchronization signal generator 15 described later, and controls the rotation of the optical disc 1.
[0025]
FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view showing the layer structure of the optical disc 1. Here, a Blu-ray disc will be described as an example. This optical disc 1 is a disc having a disk shape with a diameter of 12 cm, has a central hole 1 a, a recording layer 3 is formed on one surface side of the disc substrate 2, and laser light is emitted on the recording layer 3. A cover layer 4 made of a transparent plastic sheet is formed. An image recording layer 5 made of a plastic sheet having the same or substantially the same physical characteristics as the cover layer 4 is formed on the other surface side of the disk substrate 2. An image recording area in which an image is recorded is provided on the surface of the image recording layer 5 and can be recorded by the image recording apparatus 10. The thickness of the cover layer 4 is 0.1 mm in the case of a Blu-ray disc.
[0026]
A rotating shaft 11 b of the disk rotating unit 11 is inserted into the center hole 1 a of the optical disk 1. The optical disk fixing portion 11c axially fixes the optical disk 1 so as to be rotatable about the rotation shaft 11b. Here, the optical disc 1 is arranged so that the image recording layer 5 faces upward (opposite side of the spindle motor 11a).
[0027]
A head unit 12 is provided above the image recording layer 5 side of the optical disc 1.
The head unit 12 blows the liquid ink supplied from the ink tank 12 b toward the image recording layer 5, and the housing 12 a that stores the ink tank 12 b that stores liquid ink for image recording. A head 12c for forming an image and a reading sensor 12d for reading an origin mark, an image recording area instruction mark, and the like are provided. Here, the head 12c ejects ink in accordance with an ink ejection timing signal from a synchronization signal generation unit 15 described later.
[0028]
The head unit 12 is fixed to be movable by a head driving unit 13. The head drive unit 13 passes through the housing 12 a of the head unit 12 and fixes the housing 12 a so as to be movable parallel to the radial direction of the disk 1, and moves the head unit 12 in the radial direction of the disk 1. A belt 13b, a fixing portion 13b for fixing the housing 12a of the head portion 12 to the belt 13b, a driven roller 13d around which the belt 13b is wound and driven according to the movement of the belt 13b, and a belt drive motor for driving the belt 13b 14.
[0029]
The head drive motor 14 is driven according to a belt drive signal from a synchronization signal generation unit 15 described later, and is configured to be able to move the head unit 12 in the radial direction of the disk 1. As a result, the head portion 12 is movable in the radial direction from the innermost circumference to the outermost circumference above the image recording layer 5 formed on the disk 1.
[0030]
The synchronization signal generation unit 15 is a disk rotation signal that controls the rotational position and speed of the spindle motor 11 according to image data that is the basis of an image formed on the image recording layer 5, and an ink that controls ink ejection of the head 12d. An ejection control signal and a belt driving signal for controlling driving of the head driving motor 14 are generated. The synchronization signal generation unit 15 functions as a synchronization control unit that outputs various generated signals to the spindle motor 11, the head drive motor 14, and the head 12d, and controls each unit synchronously. Here, the synchronization signal generation unit 15 generates various synchronization signals in accordance with image data sent from the control unit 16, which will be described later, in this case, a circumferential signal.
The synchronization signal generation unit 15 also performs independent control of operations of the spindle motor 11, the head drive motor 14, the head 12c, the reading sensor 12d, and the like according to various instructions from the control unit 16.
[0031]
The control unit 16 is connected to the synchronization signal generation unit 15, the external input / output interface 17, the memory 18, and the display unit 19 via a bus line, and is a controller that performs overall control of each unit of the image recording apparatus 10. The external input / output interface 17 is connected to an external device such as a personal computer or a digital camera, or a network such as a LAN or the Internet, and exchanges data with the outside.
When the control unit 16 receives the image generation command together with the image data from the external input / output interface 17, the controller 16 buffers the data in the memory 18 and records the received image data on the optical disc 1 as a circumferential signal. Convert to
[0032]
The display unit 19 includes a display, a lamp, or the like, and displays a message about the state of the image recording apparatus 10 in accordance with an instruction from the control unit 16.
[0033]
Hereinafter, the circumferential signal, the origin mark, and the image recording area instruction mark will be described while rotating the optical disc 1 and moving the head unit 12.
[0034]
FIG. 3 is a conceptual diagram showing the rotation of the optical disc 1 and the movement of the head unit 12. The image recording apparatus 10 according to the present embodiment ejects ink by moving the head unit 12 in the radial direction of the optical disk 1 while the optical disk 1 that is a recording medium on which an image is formed is rotating. An image is formed on the entire area or a part of the recording layer 5. Specifically, image recording is performed in the following drawing order.
[0035]
FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing a drawing order in image recording on the image recording layer 5 of the optical disc 1. First, the head unit 12 prints an origin mark O (“*” in FIG. 4) indicating the origin at one point or a predetermined area corresponding to the outermost periphery at the drawing position on the optical disc 1 on which an image is to be formed. This origin mark O indicates the reference point of the phase in the circumferential direction of the optical disc 1. The origin mark O may be engraved at the start of image recording, or may be automatically engraved when the optical disc 1 is inserted into the image recording apparatus. This origin mark O is read by the reading sensor 12 d of the head unit 12, whereby the image recording apparatus 10 can read the phase origin of the optical disc 1. The origin mark is not limited to “*” and may be any character or pattern, but is preferably printed in a shape and size that does not become unreadable due to dirt or the like.
[0036]
Thereafter, when image recording starts, the head 12c first moves immediately above the start point A, which is the image recording start point. Then, with the head 12c fixed, ink ejection is started with the starting point A as a reference, and the disk is rotated once. When the head 12c returns to the starting point A, the head 12c is moved to the inner circumference side of one line, and the head 12c is positioned immediately above the point B adjacent to the inner circumference side of the starting point A. Then, ink discharge is started with the point B as a reference, and the optical disk 1 is rotated once. When the head 12c returns to the point B, the head 12c is further moved immediately above the point C on the inner circumference side of one line. Thereafter, by repeating the procedure from point B, image recording is performed so as to draw a plurality of concentric circles, and the image recording ends.
[0037]
When the image recording is completed, the head 12c moves to a position adjacent to the origin mark O, and prints an image recording area instruction mark E indicated as “A01F” in FIG. This image recording area instruction mark E indicates an area in which an image on the image recording layer 5 has been formed. When an additional recording is performed after an image is once formed, the area where the image has already been formed is displayed as an image. This is provided so that the recording apparatus 10 can recognize it. Similar to the origin mark O, the image recording area instruction mark E is read by the reading sensor 12d of the head unit 12.
[0038]
Further, the above-described circumferential signal is a signal indicating a drawing pattern corresponding to the circumferential coordinate defined along the drawing line. The controller 16 creates a circumferential signal so that an image is formed at an image printing position in a print instruction, based on an image signal expressed by a point or a vector based on XY coordinates or other coordinate systems. The created circumferential signal is sent to the synchronization signal generator 15. The synchronization signal generation unit 15 controls the spindle motor 11 and the head drive motor 14 based on the sent circumferential signal, thereby moving the head 12c along the drawing line shown in FIG.
[0039]
The circumference signal is generated on the outside of the image recording apparatus 10, for example, on the personal computer connected via the external input interface 17, and on the image recording apparatus 10 side, the circumference signal is not created. It may be configured. In this case, a configuration may be adopted in which a circumferential signal that is an image signal received via the external input interface 17 is directly sent to the synchronization signal generation unit to perform image recording.
[0040]
FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing the overall flow of an image recording method using the image recording apparatus 10 of the present embodiment. Hereinafter, image recording will be described with reference to FIG.
[0041]
First, when the image recording apparatus 10 receives an image signal and an image recording instruction via the external input / output interface 17 (step S1), the control unit 16 generates a circumferential signal based on the received image signal and image recording instruction. (Step S2). Here, if the received image signal is already a circumference signal, step S2 may be omitted.
[0042]
Next, it is checked whether or not the origin mark O exists on the outermost periphery of the image recording area of the optical disc 1 using the head unit 12 (step S3). Here, if the origin mark O exists, it is next checked whether or not the image recording area instruction mark E exists (step S4). If there is no origin mark O, the origin mark O is printed on the outermost periphery of the image recording area of the optical disc 1 (step S5), and the process proceeds to step S8.
[0043]
If it is determined in step S4 that the image recording area instruction mark E exists, the process proceeds to step S6, and the area where the image indicated by the image recording area instruction mark E has already been formed and the image indicated by the circumferential signal are displayed. Compare the areas to be formed and check if there are any overlaps. On the other hand, if there is no image recording area instruction mark E, the process proceeds to step S8.
[0044]
If it is determined in step S6 that there is an overlap, the image recording is stopped and the control unit 16 displays on the display unit 19 that the overlap has occurred. At the same time, the control unit 16 notifies the personal computer or the like that issued the print instruction that there is an overlap via the external input / output interface, and ends the operation. On the other hand, if there is no overlap, the process proceeds to step S8.
[0045]
In step S8, the synchronization signal generation unit 15 generates a disk rotation drive signal and a belt drive signal for determining the synchronous movement timing of the spindle motor 11 and the head drive motor 14 according to the circumference signal, and simultaneously records the image from step S9. To start.
[0046]
When the image recording starts, according to the circumference signal, the optical disk 1 is rotated once from the starting point A with the head portion 12 fixed, and printing is performed for one turn (step S9), and whether or not the image recording is finished is determined. Is performed (step S10). If the image recording has not been completed, the head is moved inward by one line in step S12, and the process returns to step S9. On the other hand, if the image recording is completed, the process proceeds to step S12, the print head 13c is moved to the vicinity of the origin, and the image recording area instruction mark E indicating the image recording area where the current recording is performed is printed (step S11). Then, the image recording operation is terminated.
[0047]
FIG. 6 is an example showing an image created on the optical disc 1 using the image recording apparatus of the present embodiment. In this figure, a thumbnail image which is a reduced version of the image stored in the optical disk 1 is printed. Thus, by printing thumbnail images of all or part of the image data stored in the optical disc 1 and thumbnail images of the optical disc 1 on the surface of the disc, the user can identify the type and contents of the internal data at a glance. It is convenient because it can be judged.
[0048]
As described above, according to the present embodiment, image recording in the image recording area of the optical disc 1 is performed by rotating the optical disc 1 around the central axis of the optical disc 1 and ejecting ink onto the rotating plate. Minute recording is performed, and after the completion of one-round recording, image recording is performed by repeating the operation of moving the head by one line toward the inner circumference. Therefore, it is possible to quickly perform image recording without preparing a tray or using an optical disk coated with a special material.
[0049]
Further, unlike a normal ink jet printer, recording is performed along the circumferential direction by moving the disk and moving the head line by line, so that speedy processing can be realized.
[0050]
In addition, since the origin mark, the image recording area indication mark, etc. are printed on the disc, even if additional recording is performed after recording once, the previous recording is performed redundantly in the previously recorded area. It is possible to prevent mistakes such as deleting the record.
[0051]
In the above description, the image is recorded on the Blu-ray disc. However, the present invention is not limited to this.
[0052]
FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view showing a CD. The CD 110 has a disk shape with a diameter of 12 cm and has a center hole 110a. The recording layer 112 is formed on the other surface side of the transparent disk substrate 111 on which laser light is incident from one surface. An image print layer 113 for recording an image is formed on 112. In the CD 110, the thickness of the substrate 111 is about 1.2 mm, and the total disc thickness is 1.2 mm, similar to the Blu-ray disc. Even on a CD, an image can be recorded on the image printing layer 113.
[0053]
FIG. 8 is a diagram showing an example in which a non-slip portion is provided on the DVD. The DVD 120 is a single-sided DVD having a disk shape with a diameter of 12 cm. The DVD 120 has a central hole 120a, and a single layer or two recording layers 122 are formed between two substrates 121 and 123, and an image forming layer 124 is formed on the opposite side of the substrate 122 from the recording layer 123. Has been. In the DVD 120, the thicknesses of the substrates 121 and 123 are both about 0.6 mm, and the total disc thickness is 1.2 mm, similar to the CD and Blu-ray discs. Even in the case of a CD, an image can be recorded on the image printing layer 124.
[0054]
As described above, CDs and DVDs as a whole have the same size standard as Blu-ray, and therefore can be configured to record images on various disks using a single image recording device.
[0055]
【The invention's effect】
According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a versatile image recording apparatus capable of performing image recording at high speed without preparing a tray or preparing a special optical disk. Further, since the recording is performed by rotating the disk, it is not necessary to feed a recording medium such as a sheet or a tray with a disk in one direction unlike a normal ink jet printer. Therefore, it is not necessary to provide a predetermined paper or a tray with a disk in one direction or to secure a space for discharging, and it is possible to provide a compact image recording apparatus.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an image recording apparatus according to an embodiment.
FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view showing a layer structure of an optical disc (Blu-ray).
FIG. 3 is a conceptual diagram showing rotation of an optical disk and movement of a head unit.
FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing a drawing order in image recording on an optical disk image recording layer.
FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing an overall flow of an image recording method using the image recording apparatus of the present embodiment.
FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an optical disc on which thumbnail images of internal data are recorded.
FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view showing a layer structure of a CD.
FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view showing a layer structure of a DVD.
[Explanation of symbols]
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Image recording apparatus 11 Disk rotation part 11a Spindle motor 12 Head part 12c Head 12d Reading sensor 13 Head drive part 14 Head drive motor 15 Synchronization signal generation part 16 Control part 17 External input / output interface 18 Memory 19 Display part

Claims (5)

An image recording apparatus for forming an image on a plate having a disk shape,
Plate rotating means for rotating the plate around the central axis of the plate;
An image recording apparatus comprising: image recording means for forming an image by ejecting ink onto the plate rotated by the rotating means. The image recording means includes
A head for ejecting ink onto the plate;
A head drive unit for moving the head in the radial direction of the plate;
A plate rotating section for rotating the plate;
The image recording apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising: a synchronization control unit that instructs the head to eject ink while synchronizing the head driving unit and the plate rotating unit. The image recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the plate is an optical disk on which data is written. 4. The image recording apparatus according to claim 3, wherein image data is stored on the optical disc, and the image recording unit forms a thumbnail image of the image data on the optical disc. An image recording method for forming an image on a plate having a disk shape,
Rotating the plate about the center axis of the plate as a rotation center;
Discharging ink from a head onto the rotating plate;
And a step of moving the head in the radial direction of the plate.

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