JP2005212274A - Image recording apparatus and image recording system - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an image recording apparatus capable of keeping the quality of an image without generating a streak on the image in a repeated image recording. <P>SOLUTION: The image recording apparatus 5 is equipped with an image processing apparatus 7 equipped with a receiving controlling means 70 receiving image information, an image information storing means 79 storing the image information, an arithmetic processing means 74 arithmetically processing the image information and converting it to data, a data storing means 80 storing the data, and an output processing means 75 outputting the data, and an inkjet printer 6. The arithmetic processing means 74 performs an arithmetic processing including an error diffusion processing of the image information corresponding to a specified image with the image information corresponding to the whole or a part of an image to be positioned around the specified image, and only the data to be recordable corresponding to the specified image can be stored in the data storing means 80 when the image corresponding to the image information is to be repeatedly recorded in the main scanning direction and in the sub-scanning direction of the inkjet printer 6. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to an image recording apparatus and an image recording system, and more particularly to an image recording apparatus and an image recording system that do not cause streaks on an image in repeated image recording.

  2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, development of a technique for performing printing on a recording medium such as a fabric using an image recording apparatus including an ink jet printer and an image processing apparatus that controls the ink jet printer is progressing.

  For example, from the viewpoint of image processing, after color conversion is performed using LUT (Look Up Table) on image information corresponding to an image recorded on a recording medium, gradation conversion is performed using a gradation table. An image correction system that obtains an image with smooth gradation and favorable color reproducibility by performing error diffusion processing is disclosed (see Patent Document 1). Also disclosed is a control method for an inkjet printer for textile printing that can eliminate moire caused by interference between the pattern period of ink drops by error diffusion processing and the like and the period of weaving of the fabric that is the recording medium (patent). Reference 2).

Further, development of an image recording system in which image recording is performed by connecting an image recording apparatus and an image information transmitting apparatus via a network such as a LAN (Local Area Network) or the Internet is also progressing. In the normal printing field, for example, image information transmitted from an external image information transmission device is binarized by arithmetic processing such as error diffusion processing, and it takes time to create dot image data. Disclosed is an apparatus or method for temporarily storing the dot image data in a storage means and reading out the dot image data in accordance with a user's image recording instruction to perform image recording (see, for example, Patent Documents 3 and 4). . At that time, the dot image data is stored in the storage means after recording.
JP 2002-283550 A JP 2002-326344 A Japanese Patent No. 3092264 Japanese Patent No. 3392127

  However, when printing is performed using the conventional image recording apparatus as described above, the pattern of the connection portion of the image repeated vertically and horizontally may be discontinuous. Such discontinuity of the pattern is recognized as a streak on the image when viewed as the entire image on the recording medium, and impairs the commercial value of the printed matter. For example, even if the image information is accurately formed so that the pattern of adjacent repeated images is continuously connected in the image information forming apparatus in the image information transmitting apparatus of the image recording system described above, This occurs when printing is performed after image information is received by the image recording apparatus and image processing such as error diffusion processing is performed.

  Such streaks on the image are caused by the principle of error diffusion processing itself. As shown in FIG. 40, in the error diffusion process, the difference between the density value of one pixel “a” and the output value binarized by the threshold process by error diffusion is usually one column after or one row. Each of the subsequent pixels b, s, and t is distributed with a specific weight. Each distributed difference is added to each density value of the pixels b, s, t, and thereafter, error diffusion processing is similarly performed on the pixels b, c,..., S, t, u,. As described above, in FIG. 40, the error diffusion process is to perform halftoning (also referred to as screening) by diffusing and reflecting the difference between the upper left pixels on the right side, lower side, and lower right pixels. is there. Therefore, according to the error diffusion process, a continuous tone image can be formed with halftone dots. However, when such error diffusion processing is performed on image information corresponding to one image P, as shown in FIG. 41, the leftmost first pixel column p1 and the uppermost one row in units of pixels. The pixel row p2 of the eye does not reflect the influence of the pixels on the left and upper sides thereof, so the pixel column p1 and the pixel row p2 become a streak on the image in the entire image of the recording medium A on which the image P is repeatedly recorded. (In FIG. 41, the streaks of the pixel column p1 and the pixel row p2 are expressed with emphasis from the actuality).

  As a method for preventing the formation of stripes on such an image, a repeated image in which adjacent repeated patterns are continuously connected is regarded as one image, and arithmetic processing such as error diffusion processing is performed on the entire image. Possible ways to do this. However, with this method, especially for the entire image printed on a fabric having a length of several tens of meters or several hundreds of meters, the time required for arithmetic processing becomes very long, and efficient image processing cannot be performed. Further, when viewed as the entire system, transmission of image information from the image information transmitting apparatus to the image recording apparatus via the network becomes very time consuming, and the image information in the image recording apparatus storing the image information In practice, it is difficult to practically use a large number of storage capacities, which makes it impossible to efficiently process a large number of image recording jobs.

  Therefore, a main object of the present invention is to provide an image recording apparatus capable of maintaining image quality without causing streaks on an image in repeated image recording even when image processing is performed. Furthermore, another object of the present invention is to provide an image recording apparatus capable of higher speed, and to provide an image recording system that can maintain image quality and perform printing efficiently.

In order to solve the above-mentioned problem, an image recording apparatus according to claim 1,
Reception management means for receiving image information corresponding to an image recorded on a recording medium;
Image information storage means for storing the image information received by the reception management means;
Arithmetic processing means for reading the image information from the image information storage means, performing arithmetic processing including error diffusion processing, and converting the data into data recordable on a recording medium;
Data storage means for storing the converted data;
An image processing apparatus comprising: output processing means for reading out and outputting the data from the data storage means;
An ink jet printer for recording an image on a recording medium based on the data output from the output processing means;
With
When the arithmetic processing unit tries to repeatedly record an image corresponding to the image information in the main scanning direction and the sub-scanning direction of the inkjet printer, the arithmetic processing unit converts the image information corresponding to the specific image to the specific image. Along with the image information corresponding to all or part of the image to be located around, the calculation process including the error diffusion process is performed to convert the data into recordable data, and only the recordable data corresponding to the specific image is The data storage means is configured to store the data.

  According to the first aspect of the present invention, the error diffusion process is not performed only on the image information corresponding to the specific image, which is a repeating unit of printing, but on the entire image to be positioned around the image information. Since error diffusion processing is performed on the corresponding image information, the influence of the error diffusion processing of the image information corresponding to the surrounding image on the specific image is also affected by the error diffusion processing of the image information corresponding to the specific image. Reflected.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the image recording apparatus according to the first aspect, the arithmetic processing unit reads the image information from the image information storage unit, and the corresponding image is in the main scanning direction of the inkjet printer. The image information is duplicated and rearranged so as to be repeatedly arranged in the sub-scanning direction, and error diffusion is performed on the specific image and image information corresponding to all or part of the image to be positioned around the specific image. It is configured to perform arithmetic processing including processing to convert the data into recordable data.

  According to the second aspect of the present invention, an image corresponding to an image surrounding the specific image, in particular, an image on the front side of the specific image in the main scanning direction and the sub-scanning direction in the order of error diffusion processing. The influence of the information error diffusion process is also reflected in the error diffusion process of the image information corresponding to the specific image.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the image recording apparatus according to the first or second aspect, the recordable data corresponding to the specific image is data for one image of the image. And

  According to the third aspect of the present invention, arithmetic processing such as error diffusion processing is performed on image information for one image and image information corresponding to the surrounding image, and data for only one image is stored as data. Save to means.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the image recording apparatus according to the first or second aspect, the recordable data corresponding to the specific image corresponds to one image in the sub-scanning direction of the inkjet printer. In the main scanning direction, the output width data is obtained.

  According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, arithmetic processing such as error diffusion processing is performed on image information corresponding to one image in the sub-scanning direction and output width in the main scanning direction and image information corresponding to the surrounding image. Then, data for one image in the sub-scanning direction and data for the output width in the main scanning direction are stored in the data storage means.

  According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the image recording apparatus according to any one of the first to fourth aspects, an image to be positioned around the specific image is an error diffusion process in the order. It is one image each before, after, or on the front side of the specific image in the main scanning direction and the sub-scanning direction to be processed together with image information corresponding to the specific image.

  According to the invention described in claim 5, there is an error with respect to the image information corresponding to the specific image and the image information corresponding to the image for each one image before and after or in the main scanning direction and the sub-scanning direction. Arithmetic processing such as diffusion is performed.

  According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, in the image recording apparatus according to any one of the first to fourth aspects, a part of an image that should be positioned around the specific image is in the order of error diffusion processing. 100 pixels or more before and after the specific image in the main scanning direction to be processed together with image information corresponding to the specific image, and before and after or the front side of the specific image in the sub-scanning direction The number of pixels is 100 rows or more.

  According to the invention described in claim 6, the image information corresponding to the specific image and the image information corresponding to the image of 100 columns or more and 100 rows or more of the front and back or front side in the main scanning direction and the sub scanning direction. On the other hand, arithmetic processing such as error diffusion is performed.

  According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, in the image recording apparatus according to the first aspect, the arithmetic processing means reversibly compresses data that can be recorded on the converted recording medium by run-length encoding, and the data storage means. It is characterized by being made to preserve | save.

  According to the seventh aspect of the present invention, the dot image data obtained by the arithmetic processing is reversibly compressed by the run length coding and stored.

  According to an eighth aspect of the present invention, in the image recording system, the image recording apparatus according to any one of the first to seventh aspects and an image information transmitting apparatus are connected to a network, and the image information The transmission device is configured to transmit image information corresponding to a unit image of an image that is repeatedly recorded.

  According to the eighth aspect of the invention, the image information for one image block corresponding to the unit image of the image repeatedly recorded on the image recording device is transmitted from the image information transmitting device via the network.

  According to the first aspect of the present invention, the error diffusion process is not performed only on the image information corresponding to the specific image, which is a repeating unit of printing, but on the entire image to be positioned around the image information. Since error diffusion processing is performed on the corresponding image information, the influence of the error diffusion processing of the image information corresponding to the surrounding image on the specific image is also affected by the error diffusion processing of the image information corresponding to the specific image. Reflected. Therefore, when this specific image is recorded repeatedly, the natural continuity between the specific image and the surrounding image is maintained, effectively preventing streaking on the image as in the conventional example. Image quality can be maintained.

  According to the second aspect of the present invention, an image corresponding to an image surrounding the specific image, in particular, an image on the front side of the specific image in the main scanning direction and the sub-scanning direction in the order of error diffusion processing. The influence of the information error diffusion process is also reflected in the error diffusion process of the image information corresponding to the specific image. Therefore, natural continuity between the specific image and the surrounding image is maintained, and the generation of streaks on the image can be more effectively prevented.

  According to the third aspect of the present invention, the image information for one image and the image information corresponding to the surrounding image are subjected to arithmetic processing such as error diffusion processing, and only recordable data for one image is obtained. Is stored in the data storage means. In addition to the effects of the inventions described in the above claims, the time required for the arithmetic processing can be shortened, and the data storage capacity can be reduced.

  According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, arithmetic processing such as error diffusion processing is performed on image information corresponding to one image in the sub-scanning direction and output width in the main scanning direction and image information corresponding to the surrounding image. In addition to the effects described above, data for one image in the sub-scanning direction and data for the output width in the main scanning direction are stored in the data storage means. Is reliably maintained, and the generation of streaks on the image can be more reliably prevented.

  According to the invention described in claim 5, there is an error with respect to the image information corresponding to the specific image and the image information corresponding to the image for each one image before and after or in the main scanning direction and the sub-scanning direction. Since the arithmetic processing such as diffusion is performed, the effects of the inventions of the first to fourth aspects can be obtained in a state where the target of the arithmetic processing is narrowed down to a smaller range. Therefore, the time required for the arithmetic processing can be further shortened, and the speed can be increased.

  According to the invention described in claim 6, the image information corresponding to the specific image and the image information corresponding to the image of 100 columns or more and 100 rows or more of the front and back or front side in the main scanning direction and the sub scanning direction. On the other hand, since arithmetic processing such as error diffusion is performed, the same effect can be obtained in a state where the target of arithmetic processing according to the fifth aspect of the present invention is further narrowed down. Therefore, the time required for the arithmetic processing can be further shortened, and the speed can be further increased.

  According to the seventh aspect of the present invention, since the recordable data that has been converted into a dot image by the arithmetic processing is reversibly compressed and stored by the run-length encoding, the transfer time at the time of output to the ink jet printer can be shortened. In addition to the effects described above, it is possible to further speed up image processing and image recording.

  According to the eighth aspect of the present invention, in the image recording system of the present invention, the image for one image block corresponding to the unit image of the image repeatedly recorded on the image recording apparatus from the image information transmitting apparatus via the network. Since only information is transmitted, the transmission time is short. Also, the processing in the image processing apparatus of the image recording apparatus is merely to process the image information for one image block (the same as the image information corresponding to the specific image) together with all or part of the surrounding image information. Therefore, the processing time can be shortened. And the effect of the invention as described in said each claim is exhibited. As a result, the image recording system of the present invention is extremely accelerated as a whole, and the image quality can be maintained and printing can be performed efficiently without streaking on the image. .

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the image recording apparatus and the image recording system of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

  First, the configuration of an image recording system in which the image recording apparatus of the present embodiment is used will be described.

  FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram showing an image recording system using the image recording apparatus of the present embodiment. An image recording system 1 according to the present embodiment includes an image information transmitting device 3 that transmits image information corresponding to an image recorded on a recording medium A such as a fabric to a network 2 such as a LAN or the Internet, and information that monitors production status. The terminal 4 and the image recording apparatus 5 that receives the image information from the image information transmitting apparatus 3 and records the image on the recording medium A are connected. Further, the image recording device 5 receives the image information transmitted from the ink jet printer 6 and the image information transmitting device 3 via the network 2 and records the image information by performing arithmetic processing such as error diffusion processing. And an image processing apparatus 7 that converts the data into data recordable on the medium A and outputs the data to the ink jet printer 6.

  In this specification, as shown in FIG. 2, it is recorded on the recording medium A [see FIG. 2A], or the display means 32 of the image information transmitting apparatus 3, the display input means 71 of the image processing apparatus 7, etc. The direction of the image [see FIG. 2B] and the direction with respect to the image shown in FIG. 2 are referred to as the main scanning direction or the horizontal direction, and the direction of the arrow Y as the sub-scanning direction or the vertical direction.

  Next, the configuration of the image information transmission device 3 of the present embodiment will be described.

  FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the image information transmitting apparatus of this embodiment. As the image information transmitting device 3, for example, a computer in which necessary image editing software is installed is used. However, the image information transmitting device 3 may be configured as a device including a dedicated CPU.

  The input means 30 of the image information transmitting apparatus 3 is configured to read image information corresponding to an image to be used for an image recording job to the recording medium A. Specifically, the input unit 30 is a drive or an image reading device of an information recording medium such as MO, CD-R, or DVD-R, and RGB data is transferred from the information recording medium to a format file such as TIFF, BMP, or JPEG. The image information written in the color space such as the index color, YMCK, and Lab can be read. In addition to this, as a method of inputting image information to the input means 30, for example, image information created by another computer is taken in via a network or directly, or is created directly on the image information transmitting apparatus 3. It is also possible to configure.

  In the present embodiment, an image editing unit 31 is connected to the input unit 30, and a display unit 32 such as a monitor is connected to the image editing unit 31. The image editing unit 31 can edit the image information so as to form an image used for an image recording job in the image recording apparatus 5 while viewing an image corresponding to the image information displayed on the display unit 32. Specifically, various image editing functions such as repeated image creation and pasting, automatic placement, and repetition can be executed. These functions are functions for making a pattern specific to textile printing, but other functions can be provided as necessary.

  First, the repetitive image creation function is a function for editing image information corresponding to an image so that there is no contradiction when one image is arranged in the horizontal direction and the vertical direction. That is, for example, as shown in FIG. 4, although the polka dot pattern is cut at the end of the image P to form a semicircular pattern p1, there is no semicircular pattern at the corresponding opposite end. In this case, the image editing unit 31 is configured to generate a corresponding semicircular pattern p2 at the corresponding opposite end. In addition, as shown in FIG. 5, there is a case where one image is repeatedly recorded in the vertical direction or the horizontal direction while being shifted by 1/2 or 1/3, for example, upward or downward to the right. Is configured to generate the necessary patterns p3 and p4 when there is no pattern corresponding to the corresponding end of the image in such a shifted state.

  The pasting function is a function for editing image information so that a maximum of two images are arranged and recorded on the recording medium A. Mainly, sample recording is performed on the recording medium A by adjusting the color of the image. The purpose is to determine the arrangement to do. Specifically, the pasting function, for example, records the images P and Q on the image information and the image Q corresponding to the image P in order to record the images P and Q on the recording medium A in a specific arrangement as shown in FIG. 6 is a function for editing corresponding image information. As shown in FIG. 6B, the two image information are selected, and the colors of the images P and Q on the screen of the display means 32 of the image information transmitting apparatus 3 are selected. When the adjustment is performed and the arrangement of both images is determined, the image information for one image block and the images P, Q and the image information corresponding to the image block B, which is the smallest rectangular area including the images P, Q, and The layout information including the arrangement information and the like is created. In the present embodiment, the case where a maximum of two images are arranged has been shown, but it is also possible to configure to paste three or more images.

  The automatic arrangement function is a function for selecting up to eight images and automatically arranging them according to the width of the recording medium A, and is mainly intended to create a color arrangement sample. Specifically, for example, as shown in FIG. 7, the automatic arrangement function records eight pieces of image information corresponding to the images P1 to P8 in order to record the images P1 to P8 on the recording medium A in a parallel arrangement. When eight pieces of image information are selected, illustrations are omitted, but images P1 to P8 corresponding to the eight pieces of image information are displayed on the screen of the display unit 32 of the image information transmitting device 3. The images are automatically displayed in parallel, and the arrangement is changed so that all color samples fit within the cloth width according to the size, number, and cloth width of the image. Layout information for one image block including the arrangement information of each image P1 to P8 in the image block B (see FIG. 7) which is the smallest rectangular area including P1 to P8 is created. Yes. In the present embodiment, it is also possible to automatically display so-called different color arrangement images P2 to P8 that differ from the image P1 corresponding to one piece of image information together with the image P1. For the sake of convenience, FIG. 7 shows the case where the images P1 to P8 have the same dimensions. However, the images having different dimensions are automatically arranged as they are, or the images having different dimensions have the same vertical and horizontal lengths. It is also possible to configure such that the image is converted and automatically arranged, and more images can be automatically arranged.

  The repeat function is a function for selecting a maximum of two images and repeatedly arranging them in the vertical or horizontal direction or repeatedly arranging them in a zigzag pattern. 8 shows a case where the image P is simply repeated vertically and horizontally, FIG. 9 shows a case where the images P and Q are arranged in the horizontal direction and is repeated vertically and horizontally, and FIG. 10 shows that the images P and Q are arranged in the vertical direction and repeated vertically and horizontally. Indicates the case. FIG. 11 shows a case where the image P is repeated in a zigzag pattern, and FIG. 12 shows a case where the images P and Q are repeated in a zigzag pattern. Further, in the repetition in the vertical direction or the horizontal direction, it is possible to repeat the image by shifting the image by one image, 1/2 image, 1/3 image, or the like. For example, in FIG. 13, when the images P and Q are repeated in the vertical direction while shifting the right shoulder by one image, FIG. 14 is in the vertical direction while shifting the images P and Q by ½ images in the downward direction. When repeated, FIG. 15 shows a case where the images P and Q are repeated in the horizontal direction while being shifted by 1/2 image in the horizontal direction. Note that the image shown in FIG. 13 can be repeatedly generated in the horizontal direction while shifting the images P and Q by one image in the horizontal direction.

  In order to create images as shown in FIGS. 8 to 15, when one or two pieces of image information are selected in the image editing unit 31 of the present embodiment, the display unit 32 of the image information transmitting apparatus 3 The image P or the images P and Q corresponding to the one or two pieces of image information are displayed on the screen, and the vertical and horizontal image intervals (0 mm in the case of the above figures) can be set. ing. Further, for example, in the case of the image shown in FIG. 14, when it is set that the right side is descending and the shift amount is ½, the images P and Q are repeatedly arranged in the vertical direction. It is configured to be displayed and repeated in the horizontal direction so that the image is shifted to the lower right by half.

  Further, in the image editing unit 31 of the present embodiment, when an image as shown in FIGS. 8 to 15 is created on the screen of the display unit 32, an image block B which is a unit of an image that is repeatedly recorded for each. Is generated, and layout information for one image block including the arrangement information of the image P or the images P and Q is generated.

  14 and 15 show the case where the images P and Q have the same dimensions for the sake of convenience, it is possible to use the images P and Q having different dimensions also in this repeated case. For example, the vertical and horizontal dimensions of the image Q are converted so as to be the dimensions of the image P, or the shorter dimension in the vertical and horizontal directions of the images P and Q is set to the longer image. The image P or Q having different dimensions is converted to the same dimension, and the process is repeated by adjusting the size of the image to the size of the image, or conversely, adjusting the size of the image having the longer length to the size of the image having the shorter length. It is also possible to do. In the present embodiment, the case where a maximum of two images are arranged has been shown, but it is also possible to configure to paste three or more images.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the image editing means 31 is connected to a storage means 33 such as a hard disk. The storage means 33 is an image corresponding to the one image block edited or created by the image editing means 31. Information (hereinafter simply referred to as image information for one image block) and layout information are stored as they are or after being reversibly compressed. In this embodiment, when the image information is stored, the arrangement information and the like are written in the header portion. Although not shown, a simple printer for confirming the edited image may be connected to the image editing unit 31.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the image editing means 31 is connected to a bridge 34 that is a means for connecting to the network 2, and the image information transmitting apparatus 3 is connected to the network 2 outside the apparatus via the bridge 34. ing. In the present embodiment, image information and layout information for the one image block edited by the image editing means 31 from the image information transmitting device 3 are sent via the bridge 34 and the network 2 to the image processing device 7 of the image recording device 5. (See FIG. 1).

  In the present embodiment, the bridge 34 sets image recording conditions and the like for the image recording apparatus 5 that records an image on the recording medium A based on the layout information including the image information and the arrangement information of the image. It is possible. FIG. 16 is a schematic diagram illustrating a configuration example of a setting screen displayed on the display unit of the image information transmitting apparatus when the bridge 34 is called.

  On the setting screen 35, first, the image recording device 5 that transmits the layout information and the image information to perform the image recording job can be selected from the image recording devices 5 connected to the network 2. . In other words, the bridge 34 is configured to broadcast to the entire network 2, and specifically, data in a predetermined format is transmitted to specific TCP / IP ports of all devices connected to the network 2. Deliver. When receiving the predetermined data from the predetermined TCP / IP port, the image recording apparatus 5 is configured to return its own name and IP address as a correct response, and the bridge 34 adds the predetermined data to the predetermined data. If there is a device that has made a correct response, the device is configured to recognize that the device is a predetermined image recording apparatus 5. Thereby, the bridge 34 can recognize the image recording device 5 in operation and prompt the user of the image information transmission device 3 (that is, a client described later) to select it. In the present embodiment, when a pull-down button in the “print server” (same as an image processing apparatus) field on the setting screen 35 is pressed, a list of image processing apparatuses 7 of the image recording apparatus 5 connected to the network 2 is displayed. It is comprised so that.

  Further, in the setting screen 35, in the “recording mode” column, it is possible to specify an ink amount restriction for selecting a cloth type, a recording image quality, a color gamut, and an ink amount. In the “server setting” column, it is possible to enter a job name and a job comment for an operator who manages an image recording job. In “Recording job settings”, you can set whether or not calculation and ink usage simulation are necessary for the processing of image information etc. In the “Data processing” column, only calculation, only ink usage simulation, and calculation and ink usage Specification of quantity simulation is possible. In addition, it is possible to make settings such as automatically starting image recording after transmission of image information, or deleting an image recording job after the end of recording, by a check box below the check box.

  Note that the ink usage amount simulation means that when an image is recorded on the recording medium A based on image information, each color ink used for image recording is recorded per unit length or unit area, or in the entire image recording job. It is to perform calculation for estimating how much to use from the dot image data converted to be recordable on the recording medium A by calculating the image information. In the present embodiment, the ink usage amount simulation is performed by the image recording apparatus 5 selected on the setting screen 35 as described later.

  In the present embodiment, as an option for setting the image recording condition performed by the bridge 34, it is possible to set the image recording condition more finely. For example, it is possible to reset the repetitive recording and the recording. Whether to record an image for the cloth size in the longitudinal direction and the lateral direction of the fabric that is the medium A, specify a recording length, or a pattern (in this case, not an image corresponding to the image information of the one image block) The original image P, the images P and Q arranged in the vertical direction, or the images P and Q arranged in the horizontal direction) can be selected to specify the number and interval of the images to be recorded. In addition, various options can be set. Here, the image recording for the cloth size means that an image is recorded by repeating the pattern up to the cloth size. If the image recording for the cloth size is set to be performed in the vertical direction, the ink-jet printer 6 is set to the end of the cloth. It is configured to continue image recording until the image is detected.

  When the detailed processing contents of the image recording as described above are set, the bridge 34 is configured to write the contents in the layout information and output the layout information and the image information on the network 2.

  Next, as described above, the information terminal 4 (see FIG. 1) is a terminal for monitoring the production status. As in the case of the image information transmitting apparatus 3, for example, necessary production monitoring software is used. Although a computer in which the wear is installed is used, it can be configured as a device having a dedicated CPU. In the present embodiment, production monitoring software is installed in a computer used as the image information transmitting device 3, and the image information transmitting device 3 and the information terminal 4 are used in the same computer. .

  The information terminal 4 is provided with display means (not shown) such as a monitor. The information terminal 4 corresponds to the image recording device 5 selected on the setting screen 35 (see FIG. 16) of the image information transmitting device 3. Then, an inquiry signal for inquiring the production status, that is, the recording status in the inkjet printer 6, the input status of the image recording job in the image processing apparatus 7, the progress status of the arithmetic processing, etc. is transmitted via the network 2 and the selected Receive information from the image recording device 5 such as the length of the image recorded, the elapsed recording time, the recording start time, the scheduled recording end time, the remaining ink amount, the remaining amount of fabric, the error content, the error avoiding method, etc. The information is displayed on the display means.

  In addition, the display means of the information terminal 4 includes the bridge 34 displayed on the display means 32 of the image information transmitting apparatus 3 described above, in addition to the ink remaining amount and the remaining amount of cloth in the selected image recording apparatus 5. A setting screen 35 (see FIG. 16), a printer screen 84 (see FIG. 24), an input job screen 85 (see FIG. 25), a calculation property displayed on the display input means 71 (to be described later) of the selected image recording apparatus 5 Setting screen 86 (see FIG. 26), operation job screen 87 (see FIG. 27), recording property setting screen 88 (see FIG. 28), recording job screen 89 (see FIG. 29), output assignment setting screen 90 (see FIG. 30) , Property confirmation screen 91 (see FIG. 32), expected ink usage confirmation screen 92 (see FIG. 33), preview screen 93 (see FIG. 34), output assignment information confirmation screen 94 (see FIG. 35). ) And the like are displayed, and on these screens, information such as the recorded length of the image, the number of joints of the recording medium A that has passed through the recording device 5, and the like can be confirmed. It is like that. Further, the display means of the information terminal 4 includes not only the production status of the selected image recording device 5 but also the production status of all the image recording devices 5 connected to the information terminal 4 via the network 2. It can also be configured to be displayed.

  The information terminal 4 is for confirming such information, and in this embodiment, the information terminal 4 cannot perform operations such as changing the setting contents of the screen display. In the image recording system 1 of the present embodiment, these contents are changed by the image information transmitting apparatus 3 or an image processing apparatus 7 described later. The information terminal 4 does not change the setting contents of each image recording device 5 or give an operation instruction to the ink jet printer 6 because these terminals are usually located away from the image recording device 5. In other words, since the actual situation of the recording medium A, which will be described later, and the exact situation of the unwinder, dryer, winder, etc. cannot be grasped, remote operation via the network 2 is useless. This is because image recording may occur or the head of the inkjet printer 6 may be damaged. However, for example, it may be configured to be remotely operated by providing a monitoring device or the like in the inkjet printer 6 or the unwinder.

  Next, the configuration of the image recording apparatus 5 of the present embodiment will be described.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the image recording apparatus 5 receives image information transmitted from the inkjet printer 6 and the image information transmitting apparatus 3 via the network 2, and performs error diffusion processing or the like on the image information. An image processing device 7 that performs arithmetic processing to convert the data into data that can be recorded on the recording medium A and outputs the data to the ink jet printer 6 is provided.

  In the present embodiment, the ink jet printer 6 is a serial head type ink jet printer. Although not shown, the inkjet printer 6 has two sets of eight heads for ejecting ink toward the recording medium A, a total of 16 heads, and the recording medium A in the inkjet printer 6 is mainly used on the recording medium A. A carriage 61 [see FIGS. 17A and 17B] that is reciprocally movable in the scanning direction is provided. Each head has two ink packs, and the ink set includes yellow (Y), magenta (M), cyan (C), black (K) set and light YMCK set, Alternatively, a special color set of YMCK, orange, violet, and red can be used.

  For example, as shown in FIG. 17A, the fabric seam S as the recording medium A is disposed upstream of the head mounted on the carriage 61 of the inkjet printer 6 in the conveyance direction of the recording medium A of the inkjet printer 6. The detection part 62 which detects this is provided. When the detection unit 62 detects the joint S of the recording medium A, the ink jet printer 6 records an image for a distance L from the detection unit 62 to the carriage 61 and then releases the carriage 61 from the recording medium A in the main scanning direction. Then, the recording medium A is fed by a certain amount, and then the carriage 61 is returned onto the recording medium A to resume the ink jet recording. Since a certain amount of feeding when the recording medium A is fed by escaping the carriage 61 differs depending on how the recording medium A is spliced, as described later, the recording property setting displayed on the display input means 71 of the image processing apparatus 7 The screen 88 can be set for each image recording job.

  The detection unit 62 includes a rod-like detector 64 that can be moved up and down by a guide 63, and a wheel that is rotatable at the lower end of the detector 64 in accordance with the conveyance of the fabric while being in contact with the fabric. 65 is attached, and an electrical contact structure 66 electrically connected to the image processing apparatus 7 is provided on the upper end side. Since the seam S of the fabric is thicker than the other parts of the fabric, according to this detection unit 62, the wheel 65 is pushed upward by the seam S of the fabric, and the detector 64 moves upward in conjunction therewith. Thus, the electrical contact structure 66 is turned on, and the joint can be detected.

  In addition, as shown in FIG. 17B, the detection unit 62 can be configured by, for example, an ultraviolet irradiation lamp 67 and a light receiving element 68 that are electrically connected to the image processing apparatus 7. The detection unit 62 is provided at the same position as in FIG. 17A with respect to the head, and the ultraviolet irradiation lamp 67 is positioned and oriented so that ultraviolet rays can be applied to the cloth as the recording medium A. The light receiving element 68 is provided at a position and a direction in which fluorescence from the fabric can be received. According to this detection unit 62, the light receiving element 68 detects the fluorescence emitted from the yarn of the joint S by the ultraviolet irradiation by the ultraviolet irradiation lamp 67 by keeping the seam S of the fabric not sewn with the yarn containing the fluorescent dye. As a result, the seam of the fabric can be detected.

  Note that a plurality of detection units 62 as shown in FIGS. 17A and 17B can be provided in the width direction of the recording medium A, that is, in the main scanning direction. Moreover, it is also possible to detect the joint or end of the fabric by the detection unit 62 using a method other than the method shown in FIGS. 17A and 17B. In the present embodiment, the inkjet printer 6 is provided with a storage unit (not shown) including a memory, and the storage unit records an image from the number of joints of the recording medium A detected by the detection unit 62 and the joints. Is configured to store the measured length.

  The ink jet printer 6 is provided with a wrinkle detecting means (not shown) for detecting wrinkles of the fabric. Further, the ink jet printer 6 forcibly wipes the nozzles provided in the head and sucks out ink from the nozzles that are clogged with ink and have a reduced ink discharge function (so-called nozzle missing state). A cleaning mechanism is provided for recovering the discharge function of the nozzle by discharging.

  The ink jet printer 6 used in the present embodiment is an ink jet printer that performs image recording while carrying a fabric, which is a recording medium A, on a transport belt. Although a specific configuration is not shown, an endless conveyance belt (not shown) on which the recording medium A is placed on the front side is supported from the back side by a flat platen below the carriage on which the head is mounted. Various rollers such as a driving roller, a guide roller, and a tension roller are in contact with the conveying belt at both ends and below the platen. In addition, a belt cleaner, which is a roller for cleaning the surface of the conveyor belt, is in contact with the conveyor belt so as to be able to contact and separate from the outside of the conveyor belt. A plurality of belt cleaners may be provided as necessary.

  Furthermore, in this embodiment, an unillustrated unwinding machine for unwinding the recording medium A in a wound state is provided on the upstream side in the transport direction of the recording medium A of the ink jet printer 6. On the downstream side of the recording medium A in the conveyance direction, a dryer for drying the recording medium A on which an image is recorded and a winder (not shown) for winding the dried recording medium A are provided. ing.

  Next, the configuration of the image processing device 7 of the image recording device 5 of the present embodiment will be described.

  FIG. 18 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the image processing apparatus of this embodiment. As the image processing apparatus 7, for example, a computer in which necessary software is installed is used, as in the case of the image information transmitting apparatus 3 described above, but it can also be configured as an apparatus having a dedicated CPU. is there.

  The reception management means 70 is connected to the network 2 and is configured to receive the image information and the layout information corresponding to an image to be used for an image recording job from the network 2 to the recording medium A. A display input unit 71 having a monitor or the like is connected to the reception management unit 70, and the reception management unit 70 and the display input unit 71 are configured to communicate with each other using the TCP / IP protocol. The display input means 71 is configured to display a list of image recording job contents and to input processing instructions for each image recording job.

  Further, job management means 72 for managing various processes performed in the image processing apparatus 7 is connected to the reception management means 70. In addition to the reception management means 70, the job management means 72 includes image information management means 73. Arithmetic processing means 74, data management means 75, output management means 76, printer status management means 77, and LUT management means 78 are connected.

  When the job management unit 72 receives a processing request from the display input unit 71, the job management unit 72 causes the image information management unit 73 and the like to perform the requested processing, and at the same time receives necessary information from the received information through the reception management unit 70. Are sent to the display input means 71. Further, when the inquiry signal for inquiring the production status is transmitted from the information terminal 4 (see FIG. 1), the status of the ink jet printer 6, that is, the recorded length, the remaining ink amount, and the error are sent to the printer status management means 77. Information such as contents is acquired and notified, and the information is returned to the information terminal 4 via the reception management means 70 and the network 2. As described above, the display unit of the information terminal 4 displays a screen similar to a printer screen 84 (see FIG. 24), which will be described later, displayed on the image processing apparatus 7, but in response to the inquiry signal. In addition, information necessary for display on the respective screens from the job management means 72 is also transmitted at the same time.

  Connected to the image information management means 73 is an image information storage means 79 for storing image information and layout information received by the reception management means 70 and sent via the job management means 70 for each image recording job. Yes.

  The image information management unit 73 is configured to manage the contents of the image information storage unit 79. Specifically, the image information management unit 73 generates a unique job ID different from the job name when storing the image information or the like in the image information storage unit 79, and uses the image information and layout information as the job ID. The job ID and the like are sent to the display input unit 71 via the job management unit 72 and displayed. When the image information management unit 73 receives an instruction to delete a specific image recording job from the display input unit 71, the image information storage unit 79 obtains image information and layout information associated with the job ID of the image recording job. It is configured to be erased. Further, the image information management unit 73 is configured to manage the free space and usage rate of the image information storage unit 79. The job ID generated by the image information management means 73 is returned to the image information transmission apparatus 3 that has transmitted the image information and the like through the network 2 via the job management means 72 and the reception management means 70. Yes.

  When the image information transmitting device 3 transmits image information to the image processing device 7, the image information corresponding to the preview image obtained by converting the image information into RGB is transmitted together with the image information for image recording. ing. Image information corresponding to the preview image is transmitted by the image information transmitting device 3 when the image processing device 7 does not have a color conversion function. Further, the image information transmitting device 3 can inquire of the image processing device 7 whether or not the image processing device 7 has a function of creating a preview image from various image information. The function for creating a preview image here refers to a conversion function and an enlargement / reduction function from the color space of various images (for example, YMCK, Lab, YMCK + various special colors) to RGB which is the color space of the preview image.

  The image processing device 7 assigns a job ID to the received image information and saves it. At this time, if there is no image information corresponding to the preview image and the image processing device 7 has a preview image creation function, The received image information is reduced or enlarged to image information suitable for preview, and further converted from the color space of the received image information to the RGB color space and stored as image information of the preview image. If there is no image information corresponding to the preview image and the image processing apparatus 3 does not have a preview image creation function, it is stored as no image preview information as the image recording job.

  Further, when the resolution of the received image information is larger than the designated output resolution, the image processing device 7 is configured to reduce the image information so as to match the output resolution and store it as image information. Furthermore, when the received image information is stored, run-length compression for each color is performed.

  In addition to the job management means 72 and the image information storage means 79, arithmetic processing means 74 is connected to the image information management means 73, and data management means 75 is further connected to the arithmetic processing means 74.

  The arithmetic processing means 74 is configured to perform arithmetic processing on the image information and convert it into data recordable on the recording medium A. More specifically, the arithmetic processing unit 74 receives the arithmetic processing instruction for the specific image recording job from the display input unit 71 via the image information management unit 73 in response to the instruction from the job management unit 72. The image information associated with the job ID is read from the image information storage unit 79, and the image information is converted into dot image data that can be recorded on the recording medium A by performing arithmetic processing such as color conversion, enlargement, and error diffusion. The result is reversibly compressed by simple run-length encoding by the run-length method for each color, and stored for each image recording job in the data storage unit 80 connected to the data management unit 75 via the data management unit 75. It is configured to let you.

  It should be noted that the image information quantization method may be a combination of such error diffusion and other methods, and when reducing the image information, processing may be performed in the order of reduction, color conversion, and error diffusion. Is possible. Further, as described above, the dot image data can be reversibly compressed and stored by simple run-length encoding, thereby reducing the amount of data written to the data storage means 80, and compared with other compression methods. In this case, the transfer time for output to the inkjet printer 6 described later can be reduced by about 30% on average, which is preferable.

  In the present invention, the arithmetic processing means 74 is used in this error diffusion processing to repeatedly record an image corresponding to image information in the main scanning direction and the sub-scanning direction of the inkjet printer 6, that is, the image information transmitting device. 3 is configured to process as follows when it is set to form a repeated image (see FIGS. 8 to 15).

  That is, the arithmetic processing unit 74 reads the image information from the image information storage unit 79 and performs processing such as color conversion and enlargement, and then the image R for one image block corresponding to this image information is stored in the inkjet printer 6. Image information is duplicated as many times as necessary (9 times in the case of FIG. 19), and the arrangement of the image information is rearranged so as to be repeatedly arranged in the main scanning direction and the sub-scanning direction (see FIG. 19). In this way, image information corresponding to a specific image (the center image R in the case of FIG. 19) and the entire image to be positioned around it is created, error diffusion processing is performed on the image information, and recording is performed. It is converted into dot image data that can be recorded on the medium A. In FIG. 19, hatched portions and mesh portions are ranges in which error diffusion processing is performed, and mesh portions are ranges of data to be stored (hereinafter, the same applies to FIGS. 20 to 23).

  The arithmetic processing unit 74 is configured to cause the data storage unit 80 to store only data for one image corresponding to the specific image among the dot image data thus formed. Specifically, the arithmetic processing means 74 performs error diffusion processing on the image information rearranged as shown in FIG. 19 from the first row (the uppermost row in FIG. 19) for each line, that is, for each horizontal row. However, the data is not written to the data storage means 80, and when the head of the converted dot image data corresponding to the specific image comes, the storage is started and only the necessary portion of the dot image data is stored. It is configured as follows.

  In FIG. 19, images to be positioned around a specific image to be subjected to error diffusion processing are each one before and after the specific image in the main scanning direction and the sub scanning direction of the inkjet printer 6 in the order of error diffusion processing. Although the image portion is shown, the error diffusion processing characteristics shown in FIG. 40 indicate that the image to be positioned around a specific image to be subjected to the error diffusion processing as shown in FIG. In order, it is also possible to make one image each on the front side of the specific image in the main scanning direction and the sub-scanning direction.

  Further, the image to be positioned around the specific image is one image before or after the specific image in the main scanning direction and the sub-scanning direction of the inkjet printer 6 as in the case of FIGS. 19 and 20. Instead of using minutes, as a part of each image, in the order of error diffusion processing, 100 columns or more in units of pixels before and after (see FIG. 21) or front (see FIG. 22) of the specific image in the main scanning direction. Also, it is possible to use 100 rows or more in the unit of pixels before and after the specific image in the sub-scanning direction. As described above, the error diffusion process distributes the difference between the density value of a certain pixel and the binarized output value to each pixel after one column or one row with a specific weight in pixel units, 21 and FIG. 22, the difference between the output value and the output value is diffused and reflected on the right side, lower side, and lower right side pixels. If there are more than the columns and more than 100 rows before and after or the front side, the effect of error diffusion in the specific image portion is almost the same as the case of using one image for each of the front and back sides or the front side as shown in FIGS. I know it can be in a state. In particular, in the case of printing on a fabric, it has been found that the discontinuity in the vertical direction has no problem visually.

  Further, in the error diffusion processing in the arithmetic processing unit 74, as shown in FIGS. 19 to 22, the specific image is not made one image, and the specific image is displayed on the inkjet printer 6 as shown in FIG. The image information should be duplicated as many times as necessary so that there is one image in the sub-scanning direction and an output width in the main scanning direction, and the image information array should be rearranged and positioned around a specific image. An error diffusion process may be performed together with the image, and only data corresponding to the specific image may be stored in the data storage unit 80. If processed in this way, the calculation processing is performed up to the full output width in the main scanning direction of the ink jet printer 6 in one error diffusion processing, so that the specific image is not repeated in the main scanning direction. It is possible to more reliably prevent the phenomenon that the pixel row p1 as shown in FIG.

  Further, in order to perform the color conversion process at a higher speed, the arithmetic processing unit 74 may be configured to copy a plurality of combinations of the image information and the color converted data into the cache. . With this configuration, when the same image information is sent to the color conversion process, it is possible to send the color converted data from the cache without performing the color conversion process. For example, the speed can be increased by about 10% for various images. Note that this cache exhibits a sufficient effect only by storing about one pixel immediately before in the processing line, but the result of several pixels of a combination of different colors immediately before may be used.

  In addition, as shown in FIG. 16, when the ink usage amount simulation is selected as the data processing on the setting screen 35 of the bridge 34 of the image information transmitting apparatus 3, the arithmetic processing means 74 performs the post-calculation processing. The estimated ink usage, that is, the expected ink usage is calculated from the number of ink dots (that is, the number of ink droplets) obtained as a result of error diffusion. In this embodiment, since the volume of one drop of ink ejected from the head of the inkjet printer 6 is known (in this embodiment, 20 pl per drop), the unit length is calculated from the number of dots of the ink as described above. It is possible to estimate the ink amount of each color used for image recording per unit area or per unit area or for the entire image recording job.

  In this embodiment, from the viewpoint of improving the accuracy of ink usage simulation, the ink amount is calculated from the number of dots of the dot image data converted as described above. For example, RGB, YMCK, etc. A table for color conversion can be created in advance by finding the correspondence between the combination of colors and YMCK after color conversion, error diffusion, etc. and color combinations such as the special color set or the photo mode for each color. For example, without using arithmetic processing such as color conversion and error diffusion, the ink usage of each color is quickly calculated from image information expressed by a combination of RGB, YMCK, and the like by a simple three-dimensional or four-dimensional LUT calculation. It becomes possible.

  The simulation result is stored in the data storage unit 80 via the data management unit 75 separately from the data. In the present embodiment, since the data amount of the simulation result (hereinafter referred to as simulated data) needs to be reduced as much as possible, the simulated data is different from the data obtained by the arithmetic processing and is obtained by the inkjet printer 6. The data attribute cannot be used for image recording. Further, as described above, in the “recording job setting” of the bridge 34 of the image information transmitting apparatus 3, it is possible to specify only calculation, only ink usage simulation, and calculation and ink usage simulation for image information processing. Therefore, two data, that is, data used for image recording and simulation data that is a result of simulation, can be generated from one image recording job. Therefore, in the present embodiment, in order to manage the data and the simulated data separately, a new job ID is generated at the stage of the arithmetic processing in the arithmetic processing unit 74, and the data is associated with the different new job ID. The storage unit 80 is configured to store the data.

  The data management means 75 is configured to receive the arithmetically processed data and the ink use amount simulation result from the arithmetic processing means 74 as described above, and store the data in the data storage means 80 and manage the contents of the data storage means 80. Has been. In the present embodiment, all or part of the arithmetic processing performed by the arithmetic processing means 74 is configured to be executed by the bridge 34 (see FIG. 3) of the image information transmitting apparatus 3 described above. In such a case, the contents are written in the header portion such as image information. Therefore, when all the arithmetic processing is performed by the bridge 34, it is not necessary to perform the arithmetic processing by the image processing apparatus 7 (see FIG. 18), and the job management unit 72 reads the header portion such as the received image information. The image information (that is, the data in this case) is sent to the data management means 75 and stored in the data storage means 80 by determining that the data has already been converted into data that can be recorded on the recording medium A. The data management means 75 is configured to manage the free capacity and usage rate of the data storage means 80.

  In addition to job management means 72, arithmetic processing means 74 and data storage means 80, output processing means 76 is connected to the data management means 75, and a printer port driver 81 is further connected to the output processing means 76. ing. The ink jet printer 6 is connected to the printer port driver 81 via the USB driver 82.

  The output processing unit 76 is configured to read data from the data storage unit 80, sequentially arrange the data, and output the data to the inkjet printer 6 via the printer port driver 81 and the like. Specifically, first, when the job management means 72 receives an output processing instruction for a specific image recording job from the display input means 71, an output list of data to be output processing used for the image recording job is displayed. Create and read the arrangement information in the layout information associated with the newly generated job ID and the processing content of the image recording, or output in accordance with the new output format input by the display input means 71 An output instruction is output to the processing means 76 together with the output list. In response to the output instruction, the output processing unit 76 reads one or a plurality of data from the data storage unit 80 via the data management unit 75 based on the output list. For example, the output processing unit 76 repeats the horizontal arrangement (see FIG. 15), the data is sequentially arranged and output to the inkjet printer 6 by copying one line on the memory.

  In addition to the USB driver 82, printer status management means 77 is connected to the printer port driver 81, and job management means 72 is connected to the printer status management means 77 as described above.

  The printer status management unit 77 acquires the status of the inkjet printer 6 through the printer port driver 81 and the USB driver 82 at regular intervals or in response to a request from the job management unit 72 and notifies the job management unit 72 of the status. It is configured as follows.

  A CMS (Color Management System) management unit 83 is connected to the LUT management unit 78. The LUT management unit 78 and the CMS management unit 83 are configured to respond with an appropriate LUT according to the calculation processing conditions from the job management unit 72. In this embodiment, a color conversion LUT (sRGB, RGB photo, YMCK conversion 3DLUT), a liquid amount correction LUT, and the like are registered as the LUT. When adding an LUT, media can be inserted into the image processing apparatus 7 and the information can be read and added.

  Since the LUT for CMS used for each fabric as the recording medium A and the bidirectional correction value, the head height adjustment value, the feed amount, etc. of the inkjet printer described later are different, in this embodiment, these are different for each fabric type. The information is stored in a storage unit (not shown) of the image processing apparatus 7 and managed. That is, when a new fabric type is registered in the storage means, the LUT, the bidirectional correction value, etc. are stored as an input set corresponding to the fabric type. In addition, the storage means has a management function that allows the setting contents of similar cloth types to be copied and edited to be registered as a new cloth type or to be deleted.

  As described above, the display input unit 71 is configured to display a list of the contents of the image recording job and to input a processing instruction for each image recording job. The display input means 71 can display a list of the reception status, calculation processing status, and output processing status of the image recording job separately. Hereinafter, reception of image information, calculation processing, and output by the image processing device 7 will be described based on a screen displayed on the display input unit 71.

  When the image processing apparatus 7 is turned on, the display input unit 71 is configured to display a printer screen 84 for displaying the state of the inkjet printer 6 as shown in FIG. In the present embodiment, the “printer status” column of the printer screen 84 includes the cloth type of the recording medium A set in the inkjet printer 6, the head height adjustment value, and the total recording amount from the start of operation of the inkjet printer 6. The detection unit 62 of the ink jet printer 6 described above (see FIGS. 17A and 17B) detects the fabric seam count, the recording amount from the fabric seam, and the belt cleaner of the ink jet printer 6 described above. It is configured to display the state of contact / release of the belt to the conveyor belt. In the “option status” column, for example, the above-described unwinder status, winder status, dryer status, and temperature status are set to be displayed. In response to an inquiry automatically transmitted from the display input unit 71 to the job management unit 72 at regular intervals, the job management unit 72 sends the information from the printer state management unit 77 to the inkjet printer 6 or the unwinder. Such information is received and returned, and is automatically updated at regular intervals. It should be noted that in “Memo 1” and “Memo 2”, the operator can describe a memo such as that the image recording is for testing. In addition, when registering the cloth type described above, it is possible to register the characteristics of the cloth as a part of the input set, and to display it on the “memo 1” and “memo 2”.

  In the “ink state” column on the right side of the printer screen 84, YMCK and light YMCK (LY in the figure) are displayed for a total of 32 ink packs, each of which is mounted on each of the 16 heads. , LM, LC, LK), etc., the presence / absence of ink in the ink pack, the ink being used, the presence / absence of the ink pack itself, unused / not connected, etc. are displayed using colors and marks. It has become so. In this embodiment, in particular, “no ink” indicating that there is an ink pack but no ink is displayed in red, and “no ink pack” indicating that there should be no ink pack itself is a red X on a white background. It is marked with a mark and is configured to alert the operator.

  Below the printer screen 84, there are provided columns for displaying the status of the inkjet printer 6 and information of the image recording job being recorded, and the communication status, online status, operational status of the inkjet printer 6 and the like are shown. It has become. This field is always displayed without switching even when switching to another screen. Further, in this column, the job name set on the setting screen 35 of the bridge 34 of the image information transmitting apparatus 3 and the job comment for the operator are displayed for the image recording job being recorded. Furthermore, on the right side of the column, the total recording amount recorded for each image recording job is displayed relatively large so that it can be easily seen by the operator. It is configured to be displayed in red to call attention.

  Next, when a tag (not shown) for switching the screen in the printer screen 84 is pressed, the display input means 71 displays a list of reception statuses of image recording jobs as shown in FIG. 25 for each image recording job, so-called input. A job screen 85 is configured to be displayed. Specifically, as described above, when image information or the like is sent from the image information transmitting apparatus 3 via the network 2, a job ID is given to the image information or the like by the image information management unit 73, and this job ID The information recorded in the header portion of the image information associated therewith is sent to the display input means 71 and registered. Therefore, when image information is transmitted to the image processing device 7, the job ID corresponding to the transmitted image information and the image associated therewith are displayed on the input job screen 85 of the display input means 71 shown in FIG. The job name, cloth type, output size, etc. of the recording job are automatically added. In this case, the priority order of the image recording job is configured to be the lowest of all the image recording jobs displayed in the list.

  The display input unit 71 is configured to cause the image information management unit 73 to transmit information regarding the reception status of the image recording job via the job management unit 72 at regular intervals. In response to the reception status inquiry, the image information management unit 73 obtains information such as the degree of progress of storage of the image information associated with each job ID stored from the image information storage unit 79, and displays it. It is configured to reply to the means 71. For this reason, the “input progress” and “data size (Mbyte)” on the input job screen 85 are automatically updated at regular intervals, and the display in the “status” column is automatically updated at regular intervals accordingly. It is configured to be updated.

  Further, the display input means 71 reports the free capacity and usage rate of the image information storage means 79 and data storage means 80 to the image information management means 73 and data management means 75 via the job management means 72 at regular intervals. The result is displayed in the lower left part of the input job screen 85. In the lower left display, the image information storage unit 79 is displayed as “primary spool”, and the data storage unit 80 is displayed as “secondary spool”.

  On the lower right side of the input job screen 85, buttons for “calculation start”, “delete”, “property setting”, “priority up”, and “priority down” are provided. Selecting one or more image recording jobs from the list display of image recording jobs and pressing the “Delete” button deletes the image recording job from the list display, and the image information associated with the job ID, etc. Are deleted from the image information storage means 79. If you select an image recording job from the list of image recording jobs and press the “Up Priority” button, the priority of the image recording job can be raised, and the image recording job in the list display can be increased. When the position of the job is raised and the “down priority” button is pressed, the priority of the image recording job is lowered, and the position of the image recording job in the list display is also lowered.

  Also, when an input image recording job is selected from the list display of image recording jobs and the “property setting” button is pressed, a calculation property setting screen 86 as shown in FIG. 26 is displayed. Yes. On this screen 86, the contents of the arithmetic processing set on the image editing means 31 of the image information transmitting apparatus 3 and the setting screen 35 of the bridge 34 are displayed, and the numerical values and conditions can be changed. . Although not shown in the figure, on the calculation property setting screen 86, for example, a radio button is provided or a pull-down menu method is used, and any one of the error diffusion processes shown in FIGS. It can also be configured to be selectable.

  In the recording property column of the calculation property setting screen 86, the image recording conditions set by the image information transmitting device 3 are displayed and can be changed in the same manner. Furthermore, manual / automatic recording operation and manual / automatic data deletion can be set.

  When an image recording job is selected from the image recording job list displayed on the input job screen 85 shown in FIG. 25 and the “calculation start” button is pressed, the image recording job is transferred to the arithmetic processing. Yes. Specifically, as described above, when an image recording job is selected and the “calculation start” button is pressed, the job management unit 72 instructs the calculation processing unit 74 to perform calculation processing. 74 reads the image information associated with the job ID from the image information storage unit 79 via the image information management unit 73.

  After performing color conversion processing and enlargement processing on the image information, an image R for one image block corresponding to the image information is ink-jetted according to the error diffusion processing processing method selected on the calculation property setting screen 86. Image information is duplicated as many times as necessary so that the printer 6 is repeatedly arranged in the main scanning direction and the sub-scanning direction (see FIG. 19 and the like), and the arrangement of the image information is rearranged. On the other hand, arithmetic processing such as error diffusion processing is performed to convert it into dot image data that can be recorded on the recording medium A. Among the dot image data, 1 corresponding to the specific image (the mesh portion in FIG. 19 and the like). Only the image data is reversibly compressed by the run-length method for each color and associated with the newly generated job ID in the data storage unit 80 connected to the data management unit 75 via the data management unit 75. It is configured to save for each image recording job.

  Further, when the bridge 34 of the image information transmitting apparatus 3 is designated to perform the ink usage simulation, the expected ink usage is calculated from the number of ink dots after the same arithmetic processing as described above. The simulation data is stored in the data storage unit 80 via the data management unit 75 in association with a newly generated job ID different from the data that can be recorded on the recording medium A.

  The progress of this arithmetic processing is not displayed on the input job screen 85 shown in FIG. When the “calculation job” radio button at the top of the input job screen 85 is pressed, the screen is switched to the calculation job screen 87 as shown in FIG. 27, and the display input means 71 displays the calculation processing status of the image recording job. The calculation job screen 87 is configured to display a list.

  In this calculation job screen 87, similarly to the above-described input job screen 85 (see FIG. 25), a list of newly generated job IDs, job names, cloth types, output sizes, etc. are displayed for each image recording job. As described above, the image recording job selected on the input job screen 85 and having the “calculation start” button pressed is added to the bottom of the list display. More specifically, at the bottom of the list display of the calculation job screen 87, new data about data that can be recorded on the recording medium A when only the calculation is designated by the bridge 34 of the image information transmitting apparatus 3 is displayed. If a job ID, etc. is additionally displayed, and only the ink usage simulation is specified, a new job ID, etc., is displayed for the simulated data. If an operation and an ink usage simulation are specified, they are recorded. Two columns, such as a new job ID for data that can be recorded on the medium A and a new job ID for simulation data as a simulation result, are additionally displayed.

  In addition, the display input unit 71 calculates the processing status of the image recording job with respect to at least one of the processing unit 74 and the data management unit 75 via the job management unit 72 at regular time intervals. The calculation processing means 74 and the data management means 75 report information such as the progress of the calculation processing and the expected calculation time in response to the calculation processing status inquiry, and display input means. It is comprised so that it may reply to 71. Therefore, the “calculation progress” and “data size (Mbyte)” on the calculation job screen 87 are automatically updated at regular intervals, and the display of the “status” column is automatically updated at regular intervals accordingly. Configured to be updated automatically. In the “status” column, “calculated”, “under calculation”, “waiting for calculation”, and the like are displayed.

  Similar to the input job screen 85, the free space and the usage rate of the image information storage unit 79 (primary spool) and the data storage unit 80 (secondary spool) are displayed on the lower left side of the calculation job screen 87, respectively. Has been.

  Similar to the input job screen 85, various buttons are displayed on the lower right side of the calculation job screen 87. When the “delete”, “priority up”, and “priority down” buttons are pressed, a single image selected from the list of image recording jobs is displayed as in the input job screen 85. Alternatively, a plurality of image recording jobs are deleted, or the priority order in the list display of the selected image recording jobs can be raised or lowered. If you select an image recording job that is currently being processed and press the “Pause” button, the calculation process is paused. If you select a paused image recording job and then press the “Resume” button, the calculation process resumes. When the paused image recording job is selected and the “suspend” button is pressed, the computation processing is interrupted and the paused image recording job is deleted from the computation job screen 87, and the computed image recording job is selected. When the “recalculation” button is pressed, recalculation processing is performed for the image recording job.

  Further, when a calculated image recording job is selected from the list display of the calculation job screen 87 and the “property setting” button is pressed, a recording property setting screen 88 as shown in FIG. 28 is displayed. ing. On the recording property setting screen 88, the image recording processing content set by the image information transmitting apparatus 3 or the image recording processing content changed on the calculation property setting screen 86 (see FIG. 26) is displayed. It can be changed again.

  Further, in the present embodiment, various image recording conditions can be set in the “option” column below it. Here, in the recording property setting screen 88, by checking “Perform recovery”, one or a plurality of heads out of the two sets of eight heads of the inkjet printer 6 described above are the nozzles described above. When one set cannot be used due to a shortage, it is possible to set so that image recording is performed with only the other set. Further, as described above, the ink jet printer 6 of the present embodiment can detect the end of the fabric and the seam of the fabric by the detection unit 62 and the like. In the recording property setting screen 88, the end of the fabric is detected. When a seam or seam is detected, an instruction for processing to the ink jet printer 6 can be input by selecting from three options of sending a predetermined amount of cloth (ie, a predetermined amount L in FIG. 17), pausing, or not detecting. It is like that. Further, when the end is detected or when the joint is detected, it is possible to select whether to perform the head cleaning described above or whether to detect wrinkles of the fabric.

  When one image recording job for data that can be recorded on the recording medium A is selected from the list of image recording jobs on the calculation job screen 87 shown in FIG. 27 and the “Create recording job” button is pressed, The image recording job can be recorded, so to speak, it is in a waiting state. In the present embodiment, an operation for starting image recording cannot be performed on the calculation job screen 87, and when a radio button “record job” above the calculation job screen 87 is pressed, a so-called recording job screen 89 as shown in FIG. The display input means 71 is configured to display a list of the recording processing status of the image recording job on this recording job screen 89. Note that even if an image recording job for simulated data that is a result of the ink usage simulation is selected and the “record job creation” button is pressed, the image recording job is not displayed on the recording job screen 89.

  The image recording start operation is configured to be started by selecting an image recording job on the recording job screen 89 and pressing a “recording start” button.

  In addition, when a plurality of image recording jobs for data that can be recorded on the recording medium A are selected from the list of image recording jobs on the calculation job screen 87 shown in FIG. A so-called output assignment setting screen 90 as shown in FIG. 30 is displayed. In the output allocation, as shown in FIG. 31A, a plurality of images of the same pattern or images of different patterns are repeatedly recorded in the horizontal direction on the recording medium A by using one inkjet printer 6. This is to prevent a decrease in the effective scanning rate in the main scanning direction when recording an image on a narrow fabric. As shown in FIG. 31B, the case where the same image or different image is repeatedly recorded on a plurality of narrow recording media A1 and A2 using one inkjet printer 6 is included.

  In the output assignment setting screen 90 (see FIG. 30) of the present embodiment, job names of a plurality of image recording jobs selected from the calculation job screen 87 (see FIG. 27) are displayed from the assignment job 1 to the assignment job at the top of the screen. 4 is displayed. The inkjet printer 6 is configured to record images in the horizontal direction in order from the smallest assigned job number. By specifying up and down with the spin buttons on the right side of the job name of the assigned job, the job name and the upper or lower job name are interchanged, and the order of the assigned jobs can be changed. In the output assignment setting screen 90, a recording job name can be input in order to handle a plurality of assigned image recording jobs as one image recording job, and the output length can be set. ing. Furthermore, the number of repetitions or the repetition length in the horizontal direction of each image recording job can be set, and the allocation interval between the image recording job and the image recording job can be set.

  In the list display of the recording job screen 89 shown in FIG. 29, when one image recording job is selected on the calculation job screen 87, the job ID and job name of the image recording job are added at the bottom. When a plurality of image recording jobs are selected and output assigned on the operation job screen 87, the recording job name of the newly created image recording job set on the output assignment setting screen 90 and the job management means 72 are displayed. The generated job ID and the like are added and displayed at the bottom. The displayed items are the same as those in the case of the input job screen 85 and the calculation job screen 87 described above.

  Similarly, the lower left portion of the recording job screen 89 is configured to display the free capacity and the usage rate of the image information storage unit 79 (primary spool) and the data storage unit 80 (secondary spool), respectively. Various buttons are displayed on the lower right side of the recording job screen 89. When the “delete”, “priority up”, and “priority down” buttons are pressed, the same as in the input job screen 85. In addition, it is possible to delete one or more image recording jobs selected from the image recording job list display, or to increase or decrease the priority in the selected image recording job list display. It has become.

  As described above, data output processing for image recording is configured to be started by selecting one image recording job waiting for recording on the recording job screen 89 and pressing the “recording start” button. . When the button is pressed, as described above, an output processing instruction for the image recording job selected from the display input means 71 is transmitted to the job management means 72, and the job management means 72 responds to the instruction by recording the image recording job. An output list of data used for the job is created, the output list is sent to the output processing unit 76, and an output instruction is issued. The output processing unit 76 adds the output list to the output list according to the output instruction. Based on this, one or more data are read from the data storage means 80 via the data management means 75, the data are sequentially arranged on the memory, and the data are output to the inkjet printer 6 via the printer port driver 81 and the USB driver 82. It is configured as follows.

  The display input unit 71 transmits information on the recording state of the image recording job to at least one of the data management unit 75 and the output processing unit 76 via the job management unit 72 about the recording status of the image recording job at regular intervals. In response to an inquiry from the display input means 71, the data management means 75 reports information related to the data output status from the data storage means 80, and the output processing means 76 relates to the data output processing status. Information such as the expected recording time and recording progress is reported and returned to the display input means 71. On the recording job screen 89 of the display input means 71, the display of columns such as “status” and “recording progress” is automatically updated at regular intervals. In the “status” column, “waiting for recording”, “waiting for printer”, “recording”, “recorded”, and the like are displayed. Here, the state of waiting for recording refers to the state of the image recording job from when the “record job creation” button is pressed on the calculation job screen 87 to before the “record start” button is pressed on the record job screen 89. Say.

  Also, if you select an image recording job that is being recorded and press the “Pause” button, the recording process will be paused. If you select a paused image recording job and then press the “Resume” button, the recording process will resume. When the paused image recording job is selected and the “interrupt” button is pressed, the recording process is interrupted and the state of the image recording job returns to the recording standby state. This temporary stop is performed by the operator of the image recording apparatus 5 when the fabric of the recording medium A is wrinkled during image recording or when a foreign object is found on the surface of the recording medium A, for example. This is a function for stopping the scanning operation and correcting wrinkles or removing foreign matter. Further, even when it is found that ink ejection from the nozzles of the head is not normal during image recording, the head can be temporarily stopped and the head can be cleaned.

  In the input job screen 85, the calculation job screen 87, and the recording job screen 89, job information such as properties of the image recording job is selected by selecting an image recording job displayed in a list and performing a special operation. It is configured to be able to confirm. In the present embodiment, when the image recording job portion displayed in a list is double-clicked, a screen on which job information is described is displayed. For example, when an image recording job displayed as a list on the recording job screen 89 is double-clicked, a property confirmation screen 91 for displaying the property state of the image recording job as shown in FIG. 32 is displayed. On the property confirmation screen 91, it is possible to confirm not only the job ID and job name but also the state of the calculation property and the recording property. In addition, when the “estimated ink usage” button is pressed in the radio button portion, an expected ink usage confirmation screen 92 (see FIG. 33) in which the expected ink usage can be confirmed for each ink color is displayed. When the button is pressed, a preview screen 93 (see FIG. 34) on which an image recorded by the image recording job can be confirmed is displayed.

  In the present embodiment, the reduced preview image displayed on the preview screen 93 is transmitted as image information and layout information by the image information transmitting device 3 and at the same time, an image corresponding to the transmitted image information is converted into an RGB image. The converted image is converted into a reduced image, and the image transmitted via the network 2 is displayed. In this way, if the preview image is created on the image information transmitting apparatus 3 side, the RGB image used for image editing by the image editing means 31 and its reduced image can be used. Is efficient. However, when the image processing apparatus 7 receives image information, it is possible to perform a reduction process or conversion into an RGB image.

  The property confirmation screen 91, the expected ink usage confirmation screen 92, and the preview screen 93 can be displayed as the job information on the input job screen 85 and the calculation job screen 87, respectively. It is configured to be able to confirm. That is, an “output allocation information” button is displayed on the radio button portion of the property confirmation screen 91, the expected ink usage confirmation screen 92, or the preview screen 93, and when this button is pressed, FIG. An output assignment information confirmation screen 94 as shown in FIG. 6 is displayed, and the job ID and job name of the image recording job newly generated as a result of output assignment are displayed at the top of the screen, and the job of the image recording job used for output assignment Names and job IDs are displayed in order at the bottom of the screen. When an image recording job that has not been assigned an output is selected on the recording job screen 89, the “output assignment information” button is not displayed on the radio button portion of the property confirmation screen 91 or the like.

  When points to be corrected are found in the calculation properties, recording properties, output assignments, etc. on the confirmation screens, as described above, the “property setting” button on the input job screen 85 or the calculation job screen 87 is pressed. The setting can be changed by calling the calculation property setting screen 86 and the recording property setting screen 88, or by selecting a plurality of image recording jobs on the calculation job screen 87 and calling the output assignment setting screen 90.

  Further, in the present embodiment, it is possible to perform cloth setting for making various settings in relation to the cloth that is the recording medium A on which an image is recorded by the ink jet printer 6, and the printer screen 84 and the input can be performed. When a not-shown tag for screen switching such as the job screen 85 is pressed, a fabric setting screen is displayed. In the cloth setting, a cloth width detection screen 100 is displayed as shown in FIG. 36A, and the right position and the left position of the cloth width can be set by entering numerical values. In addition, when the “cloth width detection” button is pressed, the inkjet printer 6 automatically detects the cloth width and the numerical values are displayed at the right position and the left position, and the numerical values can be changed. It is said that.

  Further, the head can be adjusted. As shown in FIG. 36B, on the feed adjustment / print reciprocation position adjustment screen 101, the cloth type data name, feed amount, bidirectional correction reference value, head height are displayed. An adjustment value can be input. Here, as described above, the bidirectional correction means that the ink jet printer 6 of the present embodiment is a serial head system, and the ink ejection position from the nozzles in the forward path and the ink ejection in the backward path in accordance with the reciprocation of the carriage. This is a correction that matches the positions. When the bidirectional correction reference value is entered, the numerical value is displayed in the part where the bidirectional correction reference value of each of the 16 heads displayed at the bottom of the screen is entered, and it is possible to enter further correction reference values for each head. It has become. It is possible to print the test chart by pressing the “Feed adjustment test chart” button or the “Reciprocation position adjustment test chart” button, see the result, and re-enter the feed amount and bidirectional correction reference value of each head. ing.

  In addition, the operator can enter a memo in the “Memo 1” and “Memo 2” columns, and the contents described in the “Memo 1” and “Memo 2” columns are displayed on the printer screen 84 described above. “Memo 1” and “Memo 2” are displayed. As described above, at the time of registering the cloth type, the characteristics of the cloth may be registered as a part of the input set, and may be configured to be displayed in “Memo 1” and “Memo 2”. If the same kind of fabric is registered as different fabric types when the pre-processing and post-processing conditions are different, the same pre-processing as the image recording job or referring to “Memo 1” and “Memo 2”. You can select the fabric type for the post-processing conditions. By selecting the fabric type, the feed amount, bidirectional correction reference value, head height adjustment value, etc. used for previous image recording remain the same as the previous settings. Since it is displayed, the difference due to the change in conditions can be reduced, and the conditions under which image recording can be performed accurately can be stored. Furthermore, as described above, since this content is displayed not only on the display input means 71 of the image processing apparatus 7 but also on the information terminal 4, it can be used effectively for production management.

  In the present embodiment, the cloth width detection screen 100 and the feed adjustment / print reciprocation position adjustment screen 101 are sequentially displayed in a wizard format in the cloth setting so that the setting can be performed independently. It may be configured to do.

  In this embodiment, the inkjet printer 6 can be maintained at three levels.

  The first level of maintenance is normal maintenance performed by an operator of the ink jet printer 6 and the like. The nozzle missing of the head nozzle is detected, the head is cleaned, and the test pattern is printed. Specifically, when a tag (not shown) for switching the screen such as the printer screen 84 or the input job screen 85 is pressed, a normal maintenance screen 110 as shown in FIG. 37 is displayed. When the “inspection wizard” button is pressed, nozzle missing detection, head cleaning and test pattern printing can be easily performed in a series of operations in a wizard format.

  In the present embodiment, it is possible to perform nozzle missing detection and the like independently, and when the “nozzle missing detection” button on the normal maintenance screen 110 is pressed, a nozzle missing detection screen 111 as shown in FIG. 38 is displayed. It is comprised so that. On the nozzle missing detection screen 111, a head for performing nozzle missing detection can be individually specified, or a nozzle can be detected by specifying a head for each color. It is also possible to specify all the heads. When the “Execute” button is pressed, nozzle missing detection is executed and the result is displayed.

  When the “head cleaning” button on the normal maintenance screen 110 is pressed, a head cleaning screen 112 as shown in FIG. 39 is displayed. Similarly, in this head cleaning screen 112, the head to be head-cleaned can be individually specified, or the head cleaning can be performed by specifying the head for each color, and all the heads can be specified. It is said that. Also, various maintenance can be performed by selecting various modes in the mode setting. When the “Execute” button is pressed, head cleaning is started and the result is displayed. In addition, the normal maintenance screen 110 can execute test pattern printing, belt cleaning, and LUT management.

  The second level of maintenance is maintenance at the level of an administrator who has undergone maintenance education. Although not shown, the head replacement, cleaning automatic execution setting, suction unit cleaning, damper air bleeding, and ink jet printer 6 parameters are subjected to image processing. Storage in the F-ROM for sucking to the apparatus 7 side, setting of a computer name, setting of a TCP / IP address, setting of a head voltage, and the like can be performed. In head replacement, specification of the head to be replaced, setting of the head drive voltage, suction of the replaced head, nozzle missing detection of the replaced head, cleaning of the head that has detected the nozzle missing, test printing of various check charts, head tilt and The front-rear position adjustment, the setting of gap parameters in the main scanning direction and the sub-scanning direction, and the like are performed in a wizard format.

  In the automatic cleaning execution setting, the setting of whether or not the head cleaning is required when the power is turned on, the start of image recording and during the recording, and the mode of each head cleaning that is performed three times in one cleaning (simple mode, normal mode) Mode or powerful mode is selected.). If the cleaning is not performed normally after three head cleanings, an error is displayed. Damper air bleeding can be performed by designating the heads individually or by color, or by designating all the heads in the same manner as the nozzle missing detection shown in FIG.

  The third level of maintenance is maintenance at an administrator level that has received a high level of education regarding maintenance. Although not shown, firmware rewriting, automatic cleaning execution settings, factory default settings, factory default data storage, initial value settings, IO check, winder / unwinder, dryer, serial number input of image processing apparatus, ink set designation, arbitrary data setting, etc. can be performed. In the ink set designation, the ink set to be used can be designated from the YMCK set, the YMCK and light YMCK set, or the special color set of YMCK and orange, violet, etc. Is changed, for example, display of ink sets (Y, M, C, K, etc.) such as a printer screen 84 (see FIG. 24), a nozzle missing detection screen 111 (see FIG. 38), a head cleaning screen 112 (see FIG. 39), etc. LY, LM, LC, LK, etc.) are all changed. Also, in the arbitrary data setting, various parameters in the ink jet printer 6 can be changed.

  Next, the operation of the image processing apparatus, image recording apparatus, and image recording system of the present invention will be described.

  When the client inserts an information recording medium such as an MO in which image information used for an image recording job is written into the input unit 30 of the image information transmitting apparatus 3 (see FIG. 3), the input unit 30 reads the image information and edits the image. Send to means 31. The client performs editing operations such as repetitive image creation and pasting, automatic placement, and repetition while viewing an image corresponding to the image information displayed on the display means 32 such as a monitor. The layout information for one image block including the image information edited by this editing operation and the arrangement information of the created image is stored in the storage means 33 as it is or by being reversibly compressed by the selection of the client. .

  The client calls the bridge 34 of the image information transmitting apparatus 3 and sets image recording conditions from the setting screen 35 (see FIG. 16). Since the image processing device 7 of the image recording device 5 connected to the network 2 is displayed on the setting screen 35, the client selects an appropriate image processing device 7 for transmitting an image recording job from among them. In addition, since a job comment can be input to the image processing apparatus 7 through the setting screen 35, the client gives the operator of the image recording apparatus 5 notes and instructions regarding the fabric that is the recording medium A, image recording, and the like. You can contact us about the deadline. Further, the image recording condition can be set in detail by an option for setting the image recording condition.

  Image information and layout information are transmitted to the image processing device 7 (see FIG. 18) of the selected image recording device 5 via the network 2, and image information management means are received via the reception management means 70 and the job management means 72. The image information is stored in the image information storage unit 79 for each image recording job. At that time, the image information management unit 73 assigns a unique job ID different from the job name to the image recording job, and the image information and layout information are managed in association with the job ID. The job ID, the image recording condition, and the like are sent to the display input unit 71 and registered, and the information is displayed on the input job screen 85 (see FIG. 25) of the display input unit 71. The operator of the image recording apparatus 5 can grasp the reception status of the image recording job registered on the input job screen 85.

  The operator selects an image recording job from the list display on the input job screen 85 and presses the “priority up” button and the “priority down” button, thereby displaying the image recording job in the list display. It can be changed by raising or lowering the priority. When there is a request for deletion from the client, the operator can delete the image recording job by selecting the corresponding image recording job from the list display and pressing the “Delete” button. Image information and layout information of the image recording job can be deleted from the storage unit 79. Also, when the free space of the image information storage unit 79 (primary spool) displayed at the lower left of the input job screen 85 is reduced, the operator can display the list while referring to the data size of the image recording job. The user can select an appropriate image recording job and press the “delete” button to delete the unnecessary image recording job and efficiently increase the free space of the image information storage unit 79.

  When the operator selects an image recording job from the list display of the input job screen 85 and presses “Property setting”, the calculation property setting screen 86 (see FIG. 26) can be displayed. In 86, the operator can change the contents of the arithmetic processing set by the client on the image editing means 31 of the image information transmitting apparatus 3 or the setting screen 35 of the bridge 34 as required. The image recording conditions set by the image information transmitting device 3 can be changed in the same manner. Further, as described above, if the calculation property setting screen 86 is configured to be able to select any one of the error diffusion processes shown in FIGS. A processing method suitable for the job is selected, and an error diffusion processing method is selected.

  In addition, the operator selects an image recording job from the list display and double-clicks it, so that a property confirmation screen 91 (see FIG. 32), an expected ink usage confirmation screen 92 (see FIG. 33), and a preview screen 93 (see FIG. 33). 34) can be displayed to check the job information. At this time, for example, if there is a point to be corrected in the calculation property or the record property of the property confirmation screen 91, the “property setting” button of the input job screen 85 is pressed to display the calculation property setting screen 86 to change the setting. Can do. Note that the radio button for the output assignment information is not displayed on the property screen 91 or the like called from the input job screen 85.

  Each image recording job displayed in a list on the input job screen 85 of the display / input means 71 is selected by the operator and the “calculation start” button is pressed.

  When an operation instruction is input to the display input unit 71 in this way, the image information associated with the job ID of the selected image recording job is read from the image information storage unit 79 to the operation processing unit 74, and the calculation is performed. After the color conversion process and the enlargement process are performed by the processing unit 74, the image R for one image block corresponding to this image information is converted into the ink jet printer 6 according to the error diffusion process processing method selected on the calculation property setting screen 86. The image information is duplicated as many times as necessary so as to be repeatedly arranged in the main scanning direction and the sub-scanning direction (see FIG. 19 and the like), and the arrangement of the image information is rearranged. Then, arithmetic processing such as error diffusion processing is performed on the image data to convert it into dot image data. Among the dot image data, data for one image corresponding to the specific image (a mesh portion in FIG. 19 and the like). Only the color is reversibly compressed by the run length method for each color. The data is stored in the data storage unit 80 in association with the newly generated job ID.

  In addition, when the ink usage simulation is specified by the client, the ink usage simulation is performed from the data obtained by the arithmetic processing, and a job ID different from the job ID generated for the dot image data is generated. Then, simulation data that is a simulation result associated with the job ID is stored in the data storage unit 80 via the data management unit 75. The status of the arithmetic processing is not displayed on the input job screen 85, and the operator can grasp the arithmetic processing status on the arithmetic job screen 87 (see FIG. 27).

  As in the operation on the input job screen 85, the operator selects an image recording job from the list display on the calculation job screen 87 and presses the “priority up” button and “priority down” button. The priority can be changed in the list display of the image recording job by raising or lowering the priority. Further, when there is a request for deletion from the client or when the free capacity of the data storage means 80 (secondary spool) displayed at the lower left of the calculation job screen 87 is reduced, the operator selects an image from the list display. By selecting a recording job and pressing the “Delete” button, the image recording job instructed to be deleted or an unnecessary image recording job can be deleted, and the image information of the image recording job can be deleted from the data storage unit 80. It is possible to delete the layout information and increase the free capacity of the data storage unit 80 efficiently.

  Further, when an image recording job is selected from the list display and “property setting” is pressed, a recording property setting screen 88 (see FIG. 28) is displayed, and the client edits the image editing means 31 or bridge of the image information transmitting apparatus 3. The contents of the image recording process set on the setting screen 35 can be changed as necessary by the operator, and more detailed image recording conditions can be set. In addition, the operator can temporarily stop or restart the calculation process of the image recording job, interrupt the calculation process, delete the image recording job from the list display, or perform the recalculation process.

  Further, as in the case of the input job screen 85, the operator selects an image recording job from the list display on the calculation job screen 87 and double-clicks it, so that the property confirmation screen 91 (see FIG. 32) or the expected ink is displayed. The usage amount confirmation screen 92 (see FIG. 33) and preview screen 93 (see FIG. 34) can be displayed to check the job information. If there is a point to be corrected, the “property setting” button is pressed and recorded. The property setting screen 86 can be displayed to change the setting. Note that the output assignment information radio button is not displayed on the property screen 91 or the like called from the operation job screen 87.

  Each image recording job for data that can be recorded on the recording medium A displayed in a list on the calculation job screen 87 of the display input means 71 is not selected until the operator selects the “record job creation” button and starts the image recording process. Turned and waiting for recording. At that time, the operator can select one image recording job from the list display and shift to the image recording processing, but can select a plurality of image recording jobs and record the images by output assignment. . When a plurality of image recording jobs are selected and the “Create recording job” button is pressed, an output assignment setting screen 90 (see FIG. 30) is displayed, and the operator handles the plurality of image recording jobs as one image recording job. Therefore, a new job name is set, and an image recording condition for output assignment is set.

  On the calculation job screen 87, the operator cannot perform an operation for starting image recording, and an operation for starting image recording can be performed only after switching to the recording job screen 89 (see FIG. 29).

  The operator starts image recording by selecting an image recording job from the list display of the recording job screen 89 and pressing a “recording start” button. When an instruction for image recording processing is input to the display input means 71 in this way, an instruction for output processing for the selected image recording job is transmitted from the display input means 71 to the job management means 72, and the job management means 72 In response to the instruction, an output list of data used for the image recording job is created, the output list is sent to the output processing unit 76, and an output instruction is issued. In response to the output instruction, the output processing unit 76 reads one or more data from the data storage unit 80 via the data management unit 75 based on the output list, and sequentially stores the data on the memory based on the arrangement information. Arrange. Then, it is repeatedly output for the number of times set in the vertical direction and the horizontal direction based on the image recording conditions, sent to the inkjet printer 6 via the printer port driver 81 and the USB driver 82, and the image is recorded on the recording medium A by the inkjet printer 6. Is recorded.

The case where the output processing unit 76 performs output assignment will be described in more detail. When output is selected for an image recording job, the output processing unit 76
1. A plurality of processed recordable data of the selected image recording job are sequentially read out and arranged on the memory in the horizontal direction. Since the horizontal direction is designated for each image when the recordable data is arranged in the horizontal direction, repetition is performed for each image. At this time, a white background is added in accordance with the interval between images designated in advance by the operator.
2. When one or more lines of this data are prepared, the data is transmitted to the ink jet printer 6 to perform image recording.
3. Regarding the repetition in the vertical direction, the reading position for each image is managed, and output is performed again from the beginning every time one vertical period is completed.

  In this way, different images (those having the same recording resolution) can be simultaneously recorded on the fabric, so that the image recording apparatus 5 with high productivity can be provided. This function is used to set a plurality of belt-like fabrics on a conveyor belt and record different images (for example, when producing a plurality of fabrics with different images) or to produce a plurality of different images on a single fabric ( It can be used effectively when creating color samples).

  Even in the case of repeated images, the image information to be transmitted only needs to store the image information corresponding to the unit image, so that the input image storage area can be saved. Even when the speed of the ink jet printer 6 is high, the error diffusion processing is performed in advance, so that the output recording speed is not limited to this calculation processing speed, and it corresponds to a unit image that has been subjected to error diffusion processing even in the case of roll output. Since only recordable data needs to be recorded, the storage area of the data storage unit 80 can be saved.

  The operator selects an image recording job from the list display on the recording job screen 89 and operates the “Up Priority” button and the “Down Priority” button as in the operation on the input job screen 85 and the calculation job screen 87. By pressing a button, it is possible to change the priority by raising or lowering the priority in the list display of the image recording job. Also, when there is a request from the client or when the free space of the data storage means 80 (secondary spool) displayed at the lower left of the input job screen 85 is reduced, the operator can select an image recording job from the list display. An unnecessary image recording job can be deleted by selecting and pressing the “delete” button, and the image information and layout information of the image recording job can be deleted from the data storage unit 80. Further, the operator can suspend or resume the recording process of the image recording job, interrupt the image recording process, and return the image recording job to a recording standby state.

  Similarly to the case of the input job screen 85 and the calculation job screen 87, the operator selects an image recording job from the list display of the recording job screen 89 and double-clicks to display the property confirmation screen 91 (FIG. 32). The job information can be confirmed by displaying a predicted ink usage confirmation screen 92 (see FIG. 33) and a preview screen 93 (see FIG. 34). When output assignment is performed, the output assignment information confirmation screen 94 (see FIG. 35) can be displayed to check the output assignment state.

  The production status of the inkjet printer 6 can also be monitored by the client-side information terminal 4 (see FIG. 1) connected to the network 2. When an inquiry signal is transmitted from the information terminal 4, the network 2 Information such as the length of the image recorded from the image processing device 7 of the image recording device 5, the recording elapsed time, the recording start time, the scheduled recording end time, the remaining amount of ink, the remaining amount of fabric, the error content, the error avoidance method, and the like are returned. It will be. Specifically, as described above, the display unit of the information terminal 4 includes the printer screen 84 (see FIG. 24) and the input job screen (see FIG. 25) displayed on the display input unit 71 of the image processing apparatus 7. Similar screens are displayed, and the information can be confirmed on these screens.

  As described above, in the present embodiment, the display input unit 71 also performs reception management in the same manner as the information terminal 4 communicates with the reception management unit 70 of the image processing apparatus 7 via the network using the TCP / IP protocol. Communication is performed using the same protocol as the means 70. Therefore, the job management unit 72 can respond to the inquiry signal from the information terminal 4 with the same protocol as the response to the request from the display input unit 71.

  On the other hand, the operator of the image recording apparatus 5 can constantly monitor the status of the ink jet printer 6 and the unwinding machine and the ink status on the printer screen 84 (see FIG. 24). A column for displaying the status of the ink jet printer 6 and information of the image recording job being recorded is provided below the printer screen 84. Even if the printer screen 84 is switched to the input job screen 85 or the like, this portion is displayed. Always displayed without switching. Below this column, a job comment input by the client on the setting screen 35 of the bridge 34 of the image information transmitting apparatus 3 is displayed, and the operator can smoothly execute the image recording job by checking the content. Can do.

  When the ink in the ink pack runs out, the ink pack portion is displayed in red. In addition, when a problem occurs in the ink jet printer 6 or the unwinding machine or the ink state, the error content is displayed in red in the corresponding part of the printer screen 84, and the error location and error content are displayed in red in the lower column. Therefore, the operator can deal with it accurately and quickly.

  The operator can perform cloth width setting, head adjustment, head cleaning, automatic cleaning execution setting, head replacement, and the like through the cloth setting and various maintenances.

  As described above, according to the image recording apparatus 5 of the present invention, error diffusion processing should not be performed only on image information corresponding to the specific image, which is a repeating unit of textile printing, and should be positioned around the image information. Since error diffusion processing is performed on the image information corresponding to the entire image, the surrounding image of the specific image, in particular, the front side of the specific image in the main scanning direction and the sub scanning direction in the order of error diffusion processing. The effect of the error diffusion process of the image information corresponding to the image is effectively reflected in the error diffusion process of the image information corresponding to the specific image. For this reason, when the specific image is repeatedly recorded, natural continuity between the specific image and the surrounding image is maintained, and streaks on the image as in the conventional example (see FIG. 41) occur. There is nothing.

  In addition, if error diffusion processing is performed so that a specific image becomes one image in the sub-scanning direction of the inkjet printer and an output width in the main-scanning direction, the continuity in the sub-scanning direction is particularly good. Is reliably maintained, and the generation of streaks on the image can be more reliably prevented.

  Furthermore, the image recording apparatus 5 of the present invention stores only data for one image corresponding to the specific image among the dot image data formed by an arithmetic process such as an error diffusion process. Is a relatively small capacity. For this reason, a large number of data can be stored in the data storage means, and an image recording job can be executed efficiently.

  In addition, the dot image data obtained by the arithmetic processing such as error diffusion processing is reversibly compressed by run-length encoding and stored, so that the transfer time for the subsequent output to the ink jet printer can be shortened. . The amount of data varies depending on the image, but can be reduced by about 30% on average. By copying a plurality of combinations of image information and already processed data into the cache, it is possible to omit the arithmetic processing when the same image information is transmitted. Can be achieved. In experiments, this caching was able to achieve a speed increase of about 10% for various images.

  From the viewpoint of the image recording system according to the present invention, the image information transmitting apparatus transmits image information for one image block instead of transmitting image information of the entire image used for textile printing. Can be done in a short time. Also, the processing in the image processing apparatus of the image recording apparatus is merely to process the image information for one image block (the same as the image information corresponding to the specific image) together with all or part of the surrounding image information. Therefore, the processing time can be shortened.

  As a result, the image recording system of the present invention is extremely accelerated as a whole, and the image quality can be maintained and printing can be performed efficiently without streaking on the image. .

  In the present embodiment, the case where the ink jet printer 6 and the image processing device 7 are independent devices is shown as the image recording device 5 (see FIG. 1). For example, the image processing device 7 is included in the ink jet printer 6. It is also possible to form both of them as a single unit by, for example, incorporating. The image recording apparatus 5 includes those in which both are integrally formed as described above.

  In this embodiment, since the USB interface is used for the connection between the image processing apparatus 7 and the inkjet printer 6, the USB driver 82 is used for the image processing apparatus 7. However, SCSI, IEEE 1394, or the like may be used as the interface. A suitable driver or the like is appropriately used for the image processing apparatus 7. It is also possible to incorporate a CPU (Central Processing Unit) of the image processing device 7 on the ink jet printer 6 side to provide a dedicated interface connection.

  In addition, although a serial head type ink jet printer is used as the ink jet printer 6 of the image recording apparatus 5 of the present invention and an image is printed on a cloth as the recording medium A, it goes without saying that the present invention is not limited thereto.

It is a schematic block diagram which shows the image recording system using the image processing apparatus of this embodiment. It is a figure explaining the main scanning direction or horizontal direction and sub-scanning direction or vertical direction of an image, (A) shows the state recorded on the recording medium, (B) shows the state displayed on the display input means. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the image information transmission apparatus of this embodiment. It is a figure explaining the repeated image creation function which produces | generates the pattern corresponding to the edge part of the image in an image editing means. It is a figure explaining the repeated image creation function which produces | generates the pattern corresponding to the edge part of the shifted image in an image editing means. It is a figure explaining the sticking function in an image editing means, (A) shows the state recorded on the recording medium, (B) shows the state displayed on the display means. It is a figure explaining the automatic arrangement | positioning function in an image editing means. It is a figure explaining the repeat function which repeats an image simply in an image editing means. It is a figure explaining the repeating function which arranges and repeats two images in a horizontal direction in an image editing means. It is a figure explaining the repeating function which arranges and repeats two images in the vertical direction in the image editing means. It is a figure explaining the repeating function which repeats an image in zigzag form in an image editing means. It is a figure explaining the repeating function which repeats two images in zigzag form in an image editing means. It is a figure explaining the repeat function which repeats in the vertical direction, shifting two images downward by one image in the image editing means. It is a figure explaining the repetition function which repeats in a vertical direction, shifting two images in the image editing means by 1/2 image downward. It is a figure explaining the repeat function which repeats in a horizontal direction, shifting two images in the image editing means by 1/2 image downward. It is the schematic which shows the structural example of the setting screen displayed on the display means of an image information transmitter when calling the bridge | bridging of an image information transmitter. 2A and 2B are schematic diagrams illustrating a configuration example of a seam detection unit of the ink jet printer according to the present embodiment, in which FIG. 3A illustrates a method for detecting the thickness of a seam, and FIG. Show. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the image processing apparatus of this embodiment. It is a figure which shows the state in which the specific image and the image which should be located in the circumference | surroundings were located in the error diffusion process of the arithmetic processing means. It is a figure which shows the case where the image which should be located in the circumference | surroundings of a specific image in the error-diffusion process of an arithmetic processing means is one front side image of a main scanning direction and a subscanning direction. FIG. 20 is a diagram showing that error diffusion processing is performed in a range narrower than the range shown in FIG. 19 in the error diffusion processing of the arithmetic processing means. FIG. 21 is a diagram showing that error diffusion processing is performed in a range narrower than the range shown in FIG. 20 in error diffusion processing of arithmetic processing means. It is a figure which shows the range which carries out the error diffusion process of the image information for an output width in the main scanning direction in the error diffusion process of the arithmetic processing means. It is the schematic of the printer screen displayed on a display input means. It is the schematic of the input job screen displayed on a display input means. It is the schematic of the calculation property setting screen displayed on a display input means. It is the schematic of the calculation job screen displayed on a display input means. It is the schematic of the recording property setting screen displayed on a display input means. It is the schematic of the recording job screen displayed on a display input means. It is the schematic of the output allocation setting screen displayed on a display input means. It is a figure explaining output allocation, (A) shows the state which assigned output to one recording medium, and (B) shows the state which assigned output to a plurality of recording media. It is the schematic of the property confirmation screen displayed on a display input means. FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram of an expected ink usage confirmation screen displayed on a display input unit. It is the schematic of the preview screen displayed on a display input means. It is the schematic of the output allocation information confirmation screen displayed on a display input means. It is the schematic of the screen displayed on a display input means by the cloth setting in an image processing apparatus, (A) is a cloth width detection screen, (B) shows a feed adjustment and printing reciprocation position adjustment screen. It is the schematic of a normal maintenance screen displayed on a display input means. It is the schematic of the nozzle missing detection screen displayed on a display input means. It is the schematic of the head cleaning screen displayed on a display input means. It is a schematic diagram explaining an error diffusion process. It is a schematic diagram explaining the streaks on an image.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Image recording system 2 Network 3 Image information transmission apparatus 4 Information terminal 5 Image recording apparatus 6 Inkjet printer 7 Image processing apparatus 70 Reception management means 71 Display input means 73 Image information management means 74 Operation processing means 75 Data management means 76 Output processing means 79 Image information storage means 80 Data storage means A Recording medium

Claims (8)

Reception management means for receiving image information corresponding to an image recorded on a recording medium;
Image information storage means for storing the image information received by the reception management means;
Arithmetic processing means for reading the image information from the image information storage means, performing arithmetic processing including error diffusion processing, and converting the data into data recordable on a recording medium;
Data storage means for storing the converted data;
An image processing apparatus comprising output processing means for reading out and outputting the data from the data storage means;
An ink jet printer for recording an image on a recording medium based on the data output from the output processing means;
With
When the arithmetic processing unit tries to repeatedly record an image corresponding to the image information in the main scanning direction and the sub-scanning direction of the inkjet printer, the arithmetic processing unit converts the image information corresponding to the specific image to the specific image. Along with the image information corresponding to all or part of the image to be positioned around, the calculation process including the error diffusion process is performed to convert the data into recordable data, and only the recordable data corresponding to the specific image is An image recording apparatus configured to be stored in a data storage unit.   The arithmetic processing unit reads the image information from the image information storage unit, and reproduces and rearranges the image information so that corresponding images are repeatedly arranged in the main scanning direction and the sub-scanning direction of the inkjet printer. And performing arithmetic processing including error diffusion processing on the image information corresponding to all or part of the specific image and the image to be positioned around the specific image and converting the image information into recordable data. The image recording apparatus according to claim 1.   3. The image recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the recordable data corresponding to the specific image is data for one image of the image.   The recordable data corresponding to the specific image is data for one image in the sub-scanning direction of the ink-jet printer and data for the output width in the main scanning direction. 2. The image recording apparatus according to 2.   The images that should be located around the specific image are, in order of error diffusion processing, before and after the specific image in the main scanning direction and the sub-scanning direction to be processed together with image information corresponding to the specific image. The image recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the image recording apparatus corresponds to one image on the front side.   A part of the image to be positioned around the specific image is, in the order of error diffusion processing, before or after the specific image in the main scanning direction to be calculated together with image information corresponding to the specific image, or 5. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the number of pixels on the front side is 100 columns or more and the number of rows is about 100 or more on the front and back sides of the specific image in the sub-scanning direction. Image recording device.   2. The image according to claim 1, wherein the arithmetic processing unit is configured to reversibly compress data that can be recorded on the converted recording medium by run-length encoding and store the data in the data storage unit. Recording device.   The image recording apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 7 and an image information transmitting apparatus are connected to a network, and the image information transmitting apparatus supports unit images of images that are repeatedly recorded. An image recording system configured to transmit image information to be transmitted.

Images