JP2006011029A - Printing control unit - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a printing control unit for setting suitable printing conditions, in response to the temperature and humidity, even in a printer that is not provided with a temperature sensor or a humidity sensor. <P>SOLUTION: The printing control unit comprises a clocking part for notifying the time, a printing condition management table for indicating a relationship of combination of temperature and humidity and the printing condition Pm, and a printing condition setting means for setting the corresponding printing condition Pm, by referring to the printing condition management table from the temperature and humidity. Combinations of temperature and humidity information is assigned to respective time zones, and further, the printing control unit is provided with temperature and humidity classification data for managing each day the combinations of the temperature and humidity information assigned to respective time zones. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a printing control apparatus provided with a printing condition setting unit accompanying a change in temperature and humidity.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a printing apparatus that appropriately sets printing conditions and a control method for the printing apparatus have been devised in order to cope with changes in characteristics of printing apparatuses and printing paper due to changes in temperature and humidity in and near the printing apparatus.

  In the case of a laser printer having a photosensitive drum, a neutralizing unit is provided around the photosensitive drum, and the recording paper is neutralized (a negative charge is applied) by the neutralizing unit so that it can be easily peeled off from the photosensitive drum. Here, the amount of charge of the paper varies depending on the temperature and humidity of the installation location of the printing device, and the ease of peeling varies depending on the thickness, waist, curl, etc. of the applied recording paper. It may not be peeled off successfully. Therefore, the voltage for peeling the recording paper by the static elimination means is determined on the basis of the environmental temperature and humidity of the place where the apparatus is placed and the characteristics of the recording paper to be used so as to obtain the optimum static elimination voltage.

  For example, an electrophotographic apparatus having a means for detecting temperature / humidity with a temperature / humidity sensor when peeling a sheet wrapped around a photoconductor and changing a set value of the peeling current using a matrix table of the temperature and humidity is known. (For example, see Patent Document 1).

  Similarly, as an example of changing the printing conditions by the temperature / humidity sensor, data from the humidity sensor is applied to the charging roller for uniformly charging the surface of the photosensitive member in order to stabilize the state of toner adhesion to the photosensitive member. There is known an image forming apparatus provided with a power supply control circuit for applying the voltage according to the above (for example, see Patent Document 2).

  The above-described image forming apparatus can correct the printing conditions from the information about the temperature and humidity measured each time by reading the output of the temperature and humidity sensor, and can print in consideration of the temperature and humidity.

  On the other hand, another example of changing the printing conditions depending on the temperature and humidity environment is that the toner is difficult to fix when the temperature is low or the humidity is high, so the temperature and humidity information read from the thermometer hygrometer is provided with a monitor display. Set the printing time interval from the table that stores the relationship between the combination of the printing environment temperature and humidity and the printing time interval, and set the printing interval suitable for the printing environment and control the data transmission interval. A printing control apparatus is known (see, for example, Patent Document 3).

  The printing control apparatus described above can change printing conditions even in a printing apparatus not equipped with a temperature / humidity sensor by inputting temperature / humidity information in accordance with changes in temperature / humidity, and this affects the print quality each time. Printing considering temperature and humidity is possible.

  However, according to the electrophotographic apparatus and the image forming apparatus described above, it is possible to automatically set the printing conditions related to the temperature and humidity by providing the temperature and humidity sensor, but the existing printing apparatus that does not include the temperature and humidity sensor. On the other hand, if additional processing of the temperature / humidity sensor is performed, there may be cases where the cost is not met.

  On the other hand, according to the printing control apparatus described above, the printing conditions can be changed by referring to the table storing the relationship between the combination of temperature and humidity and the printing conditions from the temperature / humidity information input from the input means with a display. The printing conditions can be changed even in a printing apparatus not equipped with a temperature / humidity sensor. However, since the user has to consider the influence on the printing quality and the printing operation by the change of the temperature and humidity in each time zone every day, a work load for inputting the temperature and humidity information is generated each time.

Japanese Patent Publication 2001-83808

Japanese Patent Publication No. 2001-27836 Japanese Patent Publication No. 2000-280578

  SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide a printing control means capable of setting appropriate printing conditions in accordance with changes in temperature and humidity even in a printing apparatus that does not include a temperature sensor and humidity sensor. .

  The above-described problems include a clock unit for notifying time, a printing condition management table indicating a relationship between the combination of temperature and humidity and the printing condition Pm, and printing corresponding to the printing condition management table from the temperature and humidity. Printing condition setting means for setting the condition Pm is provided, and combination information of each temperature and humidity is assigned for each time zone, and further, temperature and humidity classification data for managing the temperature and humidity combination information assigned for each time zone is provided for each day. Solved by.

  In addition, the temperature / humidity classification data has weather information for each day and is solved by being classified according to the type of weather.

  In addition, an input unit that enables input of user settings, a clock unit that notifies time, a printing condition management table that indicates a relationship between a combination of temperature and humidity and the printing condition Pm, and the printing from temperature and humidity Print condition setting means for setting the corresponding print condition Pm with reference to a condition management table, and when the temperature, humidity, and weather information of the day are input from the input means, the temperature and humidity are determined from the input time. Classify by specific time zone, manage the classified temperature and humidity information for each day, and record and save temperature and humidity classification data classified according to the type of weather on the day when the temperature and humidity information are managed for each day It is solved by providing the means.

  In addition, when there is temperature and humidity information recorded and stored on different days in the same type of weather, the temperature and humidity information classified for each time zone of the temperature and humidity classification data by the previous term input means is rewritten. The problem is solved by providing editing means for selecting temperature and humidity information for one day for each type of weather and registering it as representative temperature and humidity data for each weather.

  In addition, when weather, temperature, and humidity are input from the input unit, data of the same type of weather as the input weather is selected from the representative temperature and humidity data of each weather, and the selected representative temperature and humidity data is selected. The temperature and humidity classified in the time zone corresponding to the input time and the difference between the input temperature and humidity are calculated, and each temperature classified for each time zone of the selected representative temperature and humidity data This is solved by providing means for subtracting the calculated temperature and humidity difference from each humidity and creating corrected temperature and humidity data from the selected representative temperature and humidity data.

  In addition, it comprises means for recognizing the boundary time of each time zone indicated by the corrected temperature / humidity data and monitoring whether the boundary time is reached, and immediately after the boundary time of the corrected temperature / humidity data. The temperature and humidity classified in the time zone are referred to, and the printing condition setting means further refers to the printing condition management table to set the corresponding printing condition Pm. .

  Further, there are provided two printing conditions Ps0 and Ps for updating the printing condition Pm, a means for measuring a time t2 from when the heating element in the printing apparatus stops heating until it starts to heat, and when the heating element starts to generate heat. Means for measuring the time t1 from the start of heat generation until the heat generation stops, the time ts from when the heating element starts to generate heat from a specific temperature near normal temperature until the temperature and humidity inside the printing apparatus reach a stable region, The time te from when the heating element stops generating heat until the temperature and humidity inside the printing apparatus reach a stable region, and after the heating element starts to generate heat, the temperature and humidity inside the printing apparatus become stable. A time tg shorter than the time until the temperature reaches, and the time t1 is a time ts from when the heating element starts to generate heat from a specific temperature near normal temperature until the temperature and humidity inside the printing apparatus reach a stable region. And the time t2 is longer than the time te until the temperature and humidity within the printing apparatus reach a region where the temperature and humidity are stable after the heating element stops heating, or the time t1 is shorter than the time tg. The printing condition Pm is updated to the printing condition Ps0, and the printing condition Pm is updated to the printing condition Ps when the time t1 and the time t2 are other than the above conditions. The

  According to the printing control apparatus according to the present invention, it becomes possible to set appropriate printing conditions for the temperature and humidity that varies depending on the installation environment of the printing apparatus and the heating element in the printing apparatus. Therefore, the temperature and humidity varies depending on these factors. Improvements in print quality and printing operations can be expected. Moreover, even if the printing apparatus is not provided with a temperature sensor humidity sensor, appropriate printing conditions can be set according to changes in temperature and humidity.

  Hereinafter, the present invention will be described by way of examples.

  FIG. 1 is a block diagram of the embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a flowchart, FIG. 3 is an operation panel display example, FIG. 5 is a data table, FIG. 9 is a flowchart of FIG. To explain.

  FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating configurations of a printing apparatus and a printing control apparatus. Reference numeral 1 is a host device, and 2 is a printing device. The printing device 2 includes an operation panel 3, a print control device 4, and a mechanism unit 13. The operation panel 3 has a display function such as LCD or CRT and a switch function such as a touch panel. The print control device 4 includes an operation panel control unit 5, a bus 6, an external I / F unit 7, a CPU 8, a clock unit 9, a memory 10, an HDD 12, and a mechanism control unit 11. The operation panel control unit 5 controls the display function and switch function of the operation panel 3. The bus 6 connects peripheral circuits of the operation panel control unit 5, the external I / F unit 7, the CPU 8, the clock unit 9, the memory 10, and the HDD 12. The external I / F unit 7 is an interface unit connected to the host device 1 via a network, and transmits / receives print data and other data to / from the host device. The CPU 8 performs calculation processing and determination, and performs overall control of each periphery. The clock unit 9 keeps time, and the CPU 8 reads the time. The memory 10 stores data and programs read from the HDD 12 and is used as a work area for CPU calculation and determination. The HDD 12 stores a program of the printing control device, temperature / humidity classification data, a printing condition correspondence table (printing condition management table) indicating each temperature / humidity versus printing conditions, and other data. The mechanism control unit 11 controls the operation of the mechanism unit 13. The mechanism unit 13 includes mechanisms (such as a sheet feeding unit, a sheet discharging unit, a transfer unit, and a fixing unit) necessary for printing, and operates according to instructions from the mechanism control unit 11.

  The thermometer 14 and the hygrometer 15 are near the printing apparatus 2 and can perform implicit measurement.

  Next, the operation of the present invention in the printing apparatus of FIG. 1 configured as described above will be described below.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing processing for correcting printing conditions in accordance with a change in environmental temperature of the day according to the present invention. When a predetermined program and data are loaded into the memory 10 from the HDD 12 provided in the print control device 4 when the power is turned on, initialization is performed and startup is completed (step 201), and then the printing conditions are corrected according to temperature and humidity. It is determined whether the temperature / humidity correction function is set to valid or invalid (step 202). If the temperature / humidity correction function is invalid, the printing conditions are not corrected and the processing shown in this flowchart is terminated. When the temperature / humidity correction function is set to be valid, a predetermined temperature / humidity correction screen is displayed on the operation panel 3, and the user enables or disables the correction function for the current weather, temperature, humidity, and printing conditions. A predetermined setting such as whether to do is performed (step 203). When the screen is displayed, the setting content to be displayed on the screen stored in the HDD 12 is read, and the setting content is reflected in the display content.
3 and 4 show an example of a screen used when the user performs a predetermined setting in step 203, but the user interface including the screen design is not limited to this. In the screen of FIG. 3, the setting of today's weather, current temperature, and current humidity, and whether to leave the weather, temperature, and humidity set there as a temperature / humidity history (select "take" to leave) It can be performed. “Today's weather” can be set by selecting a weather mark, and “current temperature” and “current humidity” can be set by pressing the up and down arrow buttons. When the “Cancel” button is pressed, the new settings set on the screens of FIGS. 3 and 4 are invalidated, the setting contents set last time are validated, the screen is closed, and the process proceeds to the next step (step 204). On the other hand, pressing the “Confirm” button validates the new settings set in FIGS. 3 and 4 and closes this screen, and saves the contents set in FIGS. 3 and 4 in the HDD 12. The process proceeds to the next step (step 204). The date displayed on the upper right of the screen is the time indicated by the clock unit 9, and this time information is applied when a temperature / humidity history is left.

  When the “next screen” button is pressed, the screen shown in FIG. 4 is displayed. On the screen shown in FIG. 4, whether or not to correct the printing condition is set by selecting and pressing the “valid” and “invalid” buttons of the “correction function”. In the “Temperature and Humidity Classification Data” section, you can set whether to use the temperature and humidity classification data information (press the “Enable” button) or not (press the “Disable” button) to correct the printing conditions, and the temperature and humidity classification Data can be edited ("Edit" button is pressed) and initialized ("Initialize" button is pressed). The contents and editing of the temperature / humidity classification data will be described in step 207 described later. In the “Display temperature / humidity correction screen every 6 hours” section, when the “valid” button is pressed, the screen of FIG. 3 is displayed every 6 hours from the time when the operation of step 203 is ended by pressing the “confirm” button. Is displayed on the operation panel 3 to enable a function for prompting the user to perform a predetermined setting. It can be set every N hours by the up and down arrow buttons located under “6”. When “6” is set and this function is enabled, the screen of FIG. 3 is displayed every 6 hours. At that time, a buzzer, a light, etc. are operated so that the user can recognize them even if they are not near the printing device. And convenient. In addition, it is possible to set how many hours the screen of FIG. 3 is displayed with the up and down arrow buttons. When “invalid” is selected in this section, the function of displaying this FIG. 3 every hour can be invalidated. When the “go to previous screen” button is pressed, the screen of FIG. 3 is restored.

  The above is the contents set by the user in step 203, and the process proceeds to step 204 as soon as the user's setting operation is completed. In step 204, if the “correction function” in FIG. 4 is disabled by the setting operation in step 203, the process proceeds to step 206 without performing the printing condition correction in step 205. When the “correction function” is enabled, the printing conditions suitable for the temperature and humidity set in the “current temperature” and “current humidity” of FIG. 3 are printed for each temperature and humidity stored in the HDD 12. It is selected and set from a printing condition correspondence table (printing condition management table) indicating conditions (step 205). FIG. 7 shows an example of the printing condition correspondence table. For the printing condition Pm, values (Pm1 to Pm9) suitable for the combination of each temperature zone and each humidity zone are shown. The printing conditions can be determined by recognizing which temperature zone and humidity zone combination in the correspondence table the temperature and humidity set in step 203 correspond to. After the processing of step 205 is completed, the routine proceeds to step 206.

  Next, in step 206, it is determined whether the temperature / humidity history is set to “take” or “do not take”, and if it is set to “do not take”, the process proceeds to step 210, where “take” is set. If it is set, the process proceeds to step 207. In step 207, the temperature / humidity classification data is added / updated. The specific explanation is as follows. FIG. 5 shows an example of temperature / humidity classification data. This data shows the daily weather and the temperature T and humidity W for each time zone.

  The black inverted display portion in the temperature / humidity classification data of FIG. 5 is history data of temperature and humidity measured by the user with the thermometer 14 and the hygrometer 15. After inputting the weather, measured temperature, and measured humidity information from the operation panel 3 in step 203, if the confirmation operation is performed on the day, if the input confirmation operation is not performed yet, the weather information of the day is recorded to record the history of the day. A new data string with (for example, “sunny 1”) is created, and the history information of the corresponding time zone is stored in the HDD 12. Further, when an operation for obtaining a history of temperature and humidity information at different input times in the same time zone on the same day is performed and a confirmation operation is performed, the new temperature and humidity information is validated and stored in the HDD 12. In the example of FIG. 5, the weather is “sunny 1” and the temperature: T1b1 and humidity W1b1 obtained by the user measuring with the thermometer 14 and the hygrometer 15 between 3:00 and 6:00 of the day are input and confirmed. Indicates. The same operation is performed at 6 o'clock to 9 o'clock (T1c1, W1c1), 12:00 to 15:00 (T1e1, W1e1), 15:00 to 18:00 (T1f1, W1f1), and 18:00 to 21:00 (T1g1, W1g1). History is taken.

  On the other hand, the non-black-inverted portion in FIG. 5 is not history information in which the temperature and humidity measured by the thermometer 14 and the hygrometer 15 are input, but “temperature / humidity classification data” in the screen shown in FIG. The contents of the table of FIG. 5 are displayed on the operation panel 3 after the “Edit” button is pressed, and the desired temperature and humidity are directly input in each time zone of the data string and stored in the HDD 12. History information cannot always be collected in all time zones for the convenience of the user, and depending on the printing apparatus or installation environment, it may be better to apply a special value rather than the point time zone. After the collection and the history of the day are taken, the contents of the table of FIG. 5 are displayed on the operation panel 3 in step 203, and 0:00 to 3:00 (T1a1, W1a1), 9:00 to 12:00 (T1a1, W1a1) ), The assumed temperature and humidity from 21:00 to 24:00 (T1h1, W1h1) are directly input, and the confirmation operation is performed.

  The number of data columns to be added to the lower table of FIG. 5 increases every time a history is taken on different days, but there is a limit to the number of data columns that can be created, and any of the cases where the number of data columns exceeds the limit Clear the contents of the data column.

  The data string with “■” mark on the line in FIG. 5 is the content of the temperature and humidity classification data in FIG. 5 after the “Edit” button of “Temperature and humidity classification data” in the screen shown in FIG. Is displayed on the operation panel 3 as a list, and one weather is selected from each of the data strings shown for each weather. Yes (representative temperature and humidity data for each weather). In this way, after selecting one data for each weather in advance, when the weather information is set in “Today's weather” on the screen of FIG. Select one. Here, the data string “Sunny 2” with the down arrow mark is the same as the weather type “Sunny” set in “Today's Weather” in the screen of FIG. Show.

  Now, after the temperature / humidity classification data addition / update process is completed in step 207, it is determined whether the temperature / humidity classification data is set to "valid" or "invalid" (step 208). If it is set, the process proceeds to step 209. At this time, as described above, in step 203, a data string with a down arrow is selected in the temperature and humidity classification data of FIG. Among the temperature and humidity information in this data string, the time zone in which the current time applies is selected, and the difference from the temperature and humidity set in step 203 is obtained. Next, the data string is corrected by subtracting this difference from the temperature and humidity data of all time zones in the data string (corrected temperature / humidity data). FIG. 6 is a conceptual diagram showing that the current time is between 3 and 6 o'clock, and the temperature Ti and humidity Wi set in step 3 are the data string “sunny 2” selected from the temperature and humidity classification data. The example shows 2 ° C. and 10% higher than the temperature T1b and the humidity W1b, respectively. The temperature T1b and humidity W1b in the selected data string are replaced with “T1b-2” and “W1b-10” which are 2 ° C. and 10% lower, respectively, and the same calculation is performed for temperature and humidity data in other time zones. Then, the corrected temperature / humidity data is created for the data string “clear 2” of the temperature / humidity classification data.

  Next, in step 210, monitoring of “time 1” is started. “Time 1” is a time at which the next printing condition is to be corrected, and this time is each boundary time of each time zone indicated by the temperature and humidity classification data. First, a boundary time between the time zone “S” including the current time and the next time zone “S + 1” is the next time 1 to be visited. After the time 1 arrives, the boundary time between the time zone “S + 1” and the next time zone “S + 2” becomes the next time 1. This time 1 has a meaning of designating the timing for correcting the printing conditions in step 215 described later.

  On the other hand, in step 208, it is determined whether the temperature / humidity classification data is set to “valid” or “invalid”. If “invalid” is set, the printing condition is not corrected, and time 1 needs to be monitored. No monitoring is performed at time 1 (step 211).

  After the time 1 monitoring ON (step 210) or the time 1 monitoring OFF (step 211) is completed, the process proceeds to step 212 and the “temperature / humidity correction screen every N hours” set in step 203 in the screen example of FIG. When “display” is set to “valid”, monitoring at time 2 is turned on (step 213), and when it is set to “invalid”, monitoring at time 2 is turned off (step 214). Time 2 is the time every N hours after step 203 ends. When creating new history information for temperature / humidity classification data, it is ideal to input weather, temperature, and humidity information from the operation panel 3 for each time period, so it is time to input every N hours. Is intended to notify the user.

  After the steps 213 and 214, the flow process is terminated.

  On the other hand, the flow in FIG. 2 is used to change the valid / invalid setting of each item while displaying the screens in FIGS. 3 and 4 and to refer to and edit the temperature / humidity classification data in FIG. The process also starts when it is called as a subroutine “setting update” so that it can be used when a setting scene is to be displayed.

  If “setting update” is called from another process, it is first determined whether the request is a screen display request from the menu screen of the operation panel 3 (step 212). If so, the process proceeds to step 203, and thereafter the flow process described above is performed. If it is not an irregular screen display request, the process proceeds to step 213 to determine whether time 2 monitoring ON is set and time 2 has been reached. If it has reached, the process proceeds to step 203, and thereafter the flow process described above is performed. This is based on the settings in steps 212 and 213 described above, and has the purpose of prompting the user to display a screen every N hours so as to record the history of weather, temperature, and humidity. When the time 2 has not been reached or the time 2 monitoring is OFF, the routine proceeds to step 214, where it is determined whether the time 1 monitoring has been set ON and the time 1 has been reached. If the temperature and humidity are reached, the temperature and humidity corresponding to the time when the weather information set from the operation panel 3 of the day and step 215 is called are selected from the contents of the temperature / humidity classification data in FIG. Correct the printing conditions.

  On the other hand, in this flow, when changing the valid / invalid setting of each item by displaying the screens of FIGS. 3 and 4, and referring to and editing the temperature / humidity classification data of FIG. 5, or at a specific time. The process also starts when it is called as a subroutine “update setting” so that it can be used even when it is desired to display the setting scene.

  If “setting update” is called from another process, it is first determined whether the request is a screen display request from the menu screen of the operation panel 3 (step 215). If so, the process proceeds to step 203, and thereafter the processing flow described above is performed. If it is not a screen display request, the process proceeds to step 216 to determine whether time 2 monitoring ON is set and time 2 has been reached. If it has reached, a buzzer is sounded (step 217), the process proceeds to step 203, and thereafter the flow process described above is performed. This is for the purpose of prompting the user to display a screen every N hours so as to record the history of weather, temperature, and humidity as explained in steps 217 and 218. When the time 2 has not been reached or the time 2 monitoring is OFF, the routine proceeds to step 218, where it is determined whether the time 1 monitoring has been set ON and the time 1 has been reached. If it has been reached, the corresponding printing condition Pm is selected in the printing condition management table of FIG. 7 from the temperature and humidity assigned in the time zone of time 1 from the corrected temperature and humidity data of FIG. Is notified to the mechanism control unit 11 (step 219). The mechanism control unit 11 performs an appropriate setting for the mechanism unit 13 based on the printing condition Pm.

  According to the present invention described above, the correction of the printing conditions corresponding to the daily environmental temperature change in each printing environment is performed from the operation panel at least once a day, the weather of the day, the temperature and humidity in the vicinity of the printing apparatus at that time. It becomes possible to implement by inputting.

  Next, a description will be given of means for correcting printing conditions in accordance with changes in temperature and humidity that are affected by a heating element inside the printing apparatus. This correction means includes the printing apparatus 2 and the printing control apparatus 4 shown in the block diagram of FIG. The embodiment will be described below with reference to the data tables in FIGS. 7 and 8 and the operation flowcharts in FIGS.

  A heating element typified by a fixing device and other devices of the printing apparatus 2 (hereinafter referred to as a heating element) undergoes changes in temperature and humidity inside the printing apparatus 2 from the start of heat generation until the temperature of the heating element stabilizes. Therefore, it is convenient if the printing conditions can be changed to desired printing conditions for the purpose of stabilizing the printing operation and quality.

  FIG. 8 shows the printing conditions Ps0 (Ps01 to Ps09) and the printing conditions Ps (Ps1 to Ps9) to be applied to the printing conditions Pm (Pm1 to Pm9) shown in FIG. The printing condition Ps0 (Ps01 to Ps09) is applied after the heating element starts to generate heat until the time change of the temperature and humidity in the printing apparatus 2 is stabilized, while the printing condition Ps (Ps1 to Ps9). Is applied after the temperature and humidity changes in the printing apparatus 2 are stabilized.

  FIG. 9 shows a processing flow for updating the printing conditions Pm (Pm1 to Pm9) after the heating element starts to generate heat. In the description of this figure, the process incidental to this process flow needs to be described first with reference to FIG.

  FIG. 10 shows a processing flow from when the heating element stops generating heat until the flag A is turned ON and the heat generation stop time (tq) is recorded and stored in the HDD 12. First, it is confirmed that the heating element has stopped generating heat (the heating element is turned OFF) (step 1001), and the time t1 after the heating element starts to generate heat (the heating element is turned ON) in step 1002 is a specific time tg. If it is determined that the length is shorter, the flag A is turned ON (step 1003), and the process proceeds to step 1004. If it is determined in step 1002 that the time t1 is equal to or longer than the specific time tg, the process directly proceeds to step 1004. Thereafter, the time tq when the heating element is turned off is recorded and stored in the HDD 12, and the processing flow of FIG.

  Here, the specific time tg is shorter than the time from when the heating element is turned on until the temperature and humidity inside the printing apparatus 2 reach the stable region, and is turned off after the heating element is turned on. Is shorter than the time tg, it indicates that the heating element has been turned off in a state where the temperature and humidity inside the printing apparatus 2 do not reach the stable region, and the flag A is turned on to transfer this information to the HDD 12. Record and save.

  Next, a processing flow for updating the printing conditions Pm (Pm1 to Pm9) after the heating element of FIG. 9 starts to generate heat will be described.

  First, in step 901, it is confirmed that the heating element has started to generate heat (the heating element is turned on), and in step 902, the heating element is turned on at time tq when the heating element has stopped heating (heating element turned off) before step 901. The time difference t2 from the current time (time of step 902) is recorded and saved. Next, in step 903, it is determined whether or not the timer for measuring the time t1 from the heating element ON is operating. When the timer for t1 is not operating, the timer for t1 is started in step 904 and the process proceeds to step 905. To do. If the t1 timer is already running at the branch of step 903, the process proceeds to step 905. At the branch of step 905, the time t1 is shorter than the time ts until the temperature and humidity in the printing apparatus 2 reach the stable region after the heating element is turned on from a specific temperature near normal temperature (0 <t1 <ts). If the time t2 is longer than the time te from when the heating element is turned off until the temperature and humidity inside the printing apparatus 2 reach a stable region (te <t2), the process proceeds to step 906. On the other hand, if the above condition is not satisfied in the branch of step 905, it is determined in step 909 whether the flag A is ON or OFF. When the flag A is ON, the process proceeds to step 906, and when the flag A is OFF, the process proceeds to step 907. Transition. As described above, when the flag A is ON, the heating element is turned off in a time shorter than the time from when the heating element is turned ON until the temperature and humidity inside the printing apparatus 2 reach the stable region. It is shown that. In other words, the determination at step 905 and step 909 proceeds to step 906 when the temperature and humidity inside the printing apparatus 2 are constantly changing since the heating element is turned on and have not reached the stable region. The process proceeds to step 910 when the temperature and humidity inside the printing apparatus 2 reach the stable region. In step 906 and step 910, appropriate printing conditions are incorporated in each case. First, when the process proceeds to step 906, the printing conditions Pm (Pm1 to Pm9) in the printing condition management table in FIG. 7 are rewritten to the printing conditions Ps0 (Ps01 to Ps09) shown in FIG. 8 and stored in the HDD 12 in FIG.

  On the other hand, in step 910, the printing conditions Pm (Pm1 to Pm9) in the printing condition management table in FIG. 7 are rewritten to the printing conditions Ps (Ps1 to Ps9) shown in FIG. 8 and stored in the HDD 12 in FIG. Following Step 906, Step 907 and Step 908 reset the flag A when the time t1 after the heating element is turned on is longer than the time ts when the temperature and humidity inside the printing apparatus reach the stable region (ts <t1). Then, the processing flow of FIG. 9 is ended. Conversely, when t1 is equal to or smaller than ts, the flag A is not reset and the flow of FIG. 9 is ended.

  On the other hand, after the transition from step 910, in step 911, the time t1 from when the heating element is turned on and the time t2 from when the heating element is turned off until it is turned on are reset, and the processing flow of FIG. Exit.

  The above is the means for correcting the printing conditions according to changes in temperature and humidity affected by the heating element inside the printing apparatus. By this correction means, correction of printing conditions corresponding to changes in temperature and humidity in the printing apparatus due to the start and stop of heat generation of the heating element in the printing apparatus can be performed without requiring a temperature sensor and a user setting operation.

  Further, the printing condition Pm (Pm1 to Pm9) in FIG. 7 described in the processing flow of FIG. 2 is added to the printing condition Ps0 (Ps01 to Ps09) and the printing condition Ps (in FIG. 8 described in the operation flow of FIGS. By applying Ps1 to Ps9), it is possible to set printing conditions according to changes in temperature and humidity depending on the installation environment of the printing apparatus and changes in temperature and humidity due to the heating element inside the printing apparatus.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram of an embodiment according to the present invention. (Example 1) It is a processing flow of the Example by this invention. (Example 1) It is an operation panel screen display of the Example by this invention. (Example 1) It is an operation panel screen display of the Example by this invention. (Example 1) It is temperature humidity classification data explanatory drawing of the Example by this invention. It is correction explanatory drawing of the temperature / humidity classification data of the Example by this invention. (Example 1) It is a printing condition management table explanatory drawing of the Example by this invention. (Example 1) It is explanatory drawing which shows two printing conditions of the Example by this invention. (Example 1) It is a processing flow of the Example by this invention. (Example 1) It is a processing flow of the Example by this invention. (Example 1)

Explanation of symbols

1 is a host device, 2 is a printing device, 3 is an operation panel, 4 is a printing control device, 5 is an operation panel control unit, 6 is a bus, 7 is an external I / F unit, 8 is a CPU, 9 is a clock unit, 10 Is a memory, 11 is a mechanism control unit, 12 is an HDD, 13 is a mechanism unit, 14 is a thermometer, and 15 is a hygrometer.

Claims (7)

  The clock section for notifying the time, the printing condition management table indicating the relationship between the combination of temperature and humidity and the printing condition Pm, and the corresponding printing condition Pm are set by referring to the printing condition management table from the temperature and humidity. It is provided with printing condition setting means, characterized by temperature / humidity classification data in which combination information of each temperature and humidity is assigned by time zone, and further, the combination information of temperature and humidity assigned by time zone is managed every day Print control device.   The print control apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the temperature / humidity classification data includes weather information for each day and is classified according to the type of weather.   Input means for enabling input of user settings, a clock unit for notifying time, a printing condition management table showing a relationship between the combination of temperature and humidity and the printing condition Pm, and the printing condition management from temperature and humidity A printing condition setting unit that sets the corresponding printing condition Pm with reference to a table is provided. When temperature, humidity, and weather information of the day are input from the input unit, the temperature and humidity are specified from the input time. Classifying by time zone, managing the classified temperature and humidity information for each day, and recording and storing temperature and humidity classification data classified according to the type of weather on the day when the temperature and humidity information are managed for each day A printing control apparatus comprising:   Rewrite the temperature and humidity information classified for each time zone of the temperature and humidity classification data by the previous input means, and if there is temperature and humidity information recorded and saved on different days with the same type of weather, 4. The printing control apparatus according to claim 2, further comprising an editing unit that selects temperature and humidity information of one day for each type and registers the information as representative temperature and humidity data of each weather.   When weather, temperature, and humidity are input from the input means, the data of the same type of weather as the input weather is selected from the representative temperature and humidity data of each weather, and the input of the selected representative temperature and humidity data is performed. Calculate the difference between the temperature and humidity classified in the time zone corresponding to the time and the input temperature and humidity, and each temperature and humidity classified for each time zone of the selected representative temperature and humidity data 5. The apparatus according to claim 2, further comprising means for subtracting the calculated temperature and humidity difference from humidity and generating corrected temperature / humidity data from the selected representative temperature / humidity data. The printing control apparatus according to any one of the above.   Recognizing the boundary time of each time zone indicated by the corrected temperature / humidity data, and having means for monitoring whether the boundary time is reached or not, the time immediately after the boundary time of the corrected temperature / humidity data each time the boundary time is reached The apparatus further comprises means for referring to the temperature and humidity classified into bands and further setting the corresponding printing condition Pm by referring to the printing condition management table in the printing condition setting means. Item 6. The print control apparatus according to Item 5. Two printing conditions Ps0 and Ps for updating the printing condition Pm, a means for measuring a time t2 from when the heating element in the printing apparatus stops heating until the heating starts, and after the heating element starts to generate heat Means for measuring the time t1 until the heat generation is stopped, the time ts from when the heating element starts to generate heat at a specific temperature near normal temperature until the temperature and humidity inside the printing apparatus reach a stable region, and the heat generation The time te from when the body stops heating to the time when the temperature and humidity inside the printing apparatus reach a region where the temperature and humidity are stable, and the time when the temperature and humidity inside the printing apparatus reach the stable region after the heating element starts to generate heat The time t1 is shorter than the time ts from when the heating element starts to generate heat from a specific temperature near normal temperature until the temperature and humidity inside the printing apparatus reach a stable region. And when the time t2 is longer than the time te until the temperature and humidity within the printing apparatus reach a region where the temperature and humidity are stable after the heating element stops generating heat, or when the time t1 is shorter than the time tg. Means for updating the printing condition Pm to the printing condition Ps0; and means for updating the printing condition Pm to the printing condition Ps when the time t1 and the time t2 are other than the above conditions. The printing control apparatus according to claim 6.

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