JP2006240064A - Image recording device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an image recording device capable of more finely printing on an expensive printing medium. <P>SOLUTION: In the image recording device, a plurality of printing profiles are stored inside of a printer, allowing an appropriate printing profile to be selected using an ID equipped to a roll paper for printing. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a recording apparatus and a recording method, and more particularly to a recording apparatus and a recording method using a recording head that performs recording by ejecting ink according to an ink jet method.

  In recent years, OA equipment such as personal computers, copying machines, word processors, and the like has become widespread, and a recording apparatus that performs digital image recording by an ink jet method as a kind of image forming (recording) apparatus of these equipment has rapidly developed and spread. ing. In particular, along with the enhancement of the functions of OA devices, the colorization of these devices is progressing, and various color ink jet recording apparatuses have been developed accordingly.

  In general, an ink jet recording apparatus includes a carriage on which a recording head and an ink tank are mounted, a transport mechanism that transports recording paper, and a control circuit that controls these. In such a recording apparatus, ink is ejected while serially scanning a recording head having a plurality of ejection openings for ejecting ink droplets in the direction (main scanning direction) perpendicular to the recording paper conveyance direction (sub-scanning direction). On the other hand, the recording operation is executed by intermittently conveying the recording paper by an amount equal to the recording width of the recording head while ink is not ejected from the recording head. Further, in the case of a recording apparatus capable of color recording, a color image is formed by superimposing ink droplets ejected from a plurality of recording heads.

  In the ink jet recording apparatus, as a method of ejecting ink, a heating element (electrothermal energy converter) is provided in the vicinity of the ejection port, and an electric signal is applied to the heating element to locally heat the ink to change the pressure. Conventionally, a method for causing ink to discharge from an ejection port and a method for ejecting ink by applying a mechanical pressure to the ink using a piezoelectric element such as a piezoelectric element are known.

  This ink jet recording method records characters and figures by ejecting ink as fine droplets from a discharge port onto a recording medium according to a recording signal, and has low noise because it is non-impact. Because it has advantages such as low running costs, easy downsizing, and relatively easy colorization, it can be used in combination with computers and word processors, etc. Are widely used as image forming (recording) means in recording apparatuses such as copying machines, printers, and facsimiles.

  1 and 2 are block diagrams showing schematic configurations of a controller unit and an engine unit of the ink jet recording apparatus, respectively.

  First, the function and schematic operation of the controller unit will be described. The CPU 101 is connected to the host computers 120 and 121 via the USB interface 108 or the IEEE 1394 interface 109. The CPU 101 receives the control program, the updatable control program, the processing program, various constant data, and the like from the ROM 105 and the host computer 120. The RAM 104 for storing the command signal and the image information is accessed, and the recording operation is controlled based on the information stored in these memories. The instruction information input from the keys of the operation panel 107 is transmitted to the CPU 101 via the operation panel interface 106, and the LED lighting and LCD display of the operation panel 107 are similarly controlled via the operation panel interface 106 according to commands from the CPU 101. Is done. The HDD 110 has a larger storage capacity than the RAM 104 and is a secondary storage device that stores image data and the like. The image information is converted into dot data of each ink color by the image data processing block 111 and output to the engine (FIG. 2). Similarly, various commands and status information are transmitted and received between the controller and the engine via the image data processing block 111.

  Next, the function and operation outline of the engine unit will be described. The engine unit is connected to a controller (FIG. 1) via a band memory control block 209. The CPU 201 accesses a ROM 203 storing a control program, an updatable control program, a processing program, various constant data, and the like, and a controller (FIG. 1) RAM 202 for storing received command signals and image information. The recording operation is controlled based on the stored information. The carriage 220 is moved by operating the carriage motor 208 via the carriage motor control circuit 207. Further, by operating the paper feed motor 205 via the paper feed motor control circuit 204, the paper transport mechanism 206 such as a transport roller is operated. Further, the CPU 201 can record a desired image on a recording medium by controlling the band memory control block 209 and the recording head control block 211 based on various information stored in the RAM 202 and driving the recording head 212. .

  A power supply circuit (not shown) is supplied with a logic drive voltage Vcc (for example, 3.3 V) for operating the CPU and various control circuits, various motor drive voltages Vm (for example, 24 V), and a heat voltage for driving the recording head. Vh (for example, 12V) is output.

  As a method of binarizing multi-value data to obtain binary data and reproducing a gradation image in a pseudo manner using the binary data, for example, (1) density pattern method, (2) systematic pattern dither And (3) error diffusion method.

  In the density pattern method, one pixel is developed into M * N recording dots (M and N are integers of 1 or more), and gradation expression by binary is performed by area modulation, and dots are recorded per unit area. The area modulation is realized by changing the number (number of ink particles).

  In the pattern dither method, a pattern dither matrix including threshold values configured in a matrix is prepared, and one-to-one pixel comparison between each threshold value and each pixel of input data is performed to determine ON / OFF.

  In the error diffusion method, a diffusion coefficient is assigned to a peripheral pixel for a target pixel, and a quantization error generated in the target pixel is distributed to the peripheral pixels according to the diffusion coefficient. As a result, the density of the entire image is preserved, and a favorable pseudo gradation expression is possible.

  In general, the pattern dither method tends to have a lower image quality than an image to which the error diffusion method is applied. However, since parallel processing is possible, high-speed processing is easy. In the error diffusion method, it is difficult to perform high-speed processing because it is not possible to shift to processing of the next pixel until an error propagates.

  In the conventional ink jet recording method, it was necessary to use a special coated paper having an ink absorbing layer in order to obtain a color image with high color development without ink bleeding. A method of giving printability to plain paper that is used in large quantities on a machine has been put into practical use. Furthermore, it is desired to support various recording media such as OHP sheets, fabrics, plastic sheets, wallpaper, films, boards, etc. In order to meet these requirements, recording media (recording media) with different ink absorption characteristics are required. Development and commercialization of a recording apparatus capable of performing the best recording regardless of the type of the recording medium when it is selected as necessary are underway. In addition, as for the size of the recording medium, large-sized woven fabrics such as advertisement posters and clothing have been required. Such an ink jet recording apparatus is in high demand in a wide range of fields as an excellent recording means, and it can be said that there is a demand for providing higher quality images, and the demand for higher speed is further increased.

  Generally, the color ink jet recording method uses three color inks of cyan (C), magenta (M), and yellow (Y), and further uses four color inks added with black (Bk). Realizes color recording. In such a color ink jet recording apparatus, unlike a monochrome dedicated ink jet recording apparatus that records only characters, various factors such as color development, gradation expression, and uniformity of an image are recorded in recording a color image. It is necessary to consider.

  However, the quality of the recorded image largely depends on the performance of the recording head unit. The slight differences in the characteristics of each nozzle that occur during the printhead manufacturing process, such as the shape of the printhead discharge ports and the variations in the quality of the electrothermal transducer (discharge heater), are due to the amount and direction of ink discharged. The direction of the image is influenced, and these effects appear as density unevenness in the finally formed recorded image, which causes deterioration in image quality. As a result, there are “white” portions that do not meet the area factor of 100% periodically in the main scanning direction of the recording head, or conversely, the dots overlap abnormally or white streaks occur. Will be. These phenomena are usually perceived as uneven density by the human eye.

  Therefore, a method called a multi-pass recording method has been proposed as a countermeasure against such density unevenness. Here, for the sake of simplicity, a case where a recording head that performs recording using a single color ink consisting of 8 nozzles is used will be described as an example.

  In the first scan of multi-pass printing, even-numbered row patterns are used, and in the second scan, odd-numbered row patterns are used. In the first scan, print data is thinned using a staggered pattern and a second scan is an inverted staggered pattern. A case where two-pass printing is realized by adopting a fixed mask method for generating pass data according to FIG. The staggered pattern is recorded in the first scan, the paper is fed by half the recording width (4 dot width), and then the inverted staggered pattern is recorded in the second scan to complete the recording. That is, the recording area in units of 4 dots is completed for each scan by alternately performing paper feeding in units of 4 dots and recording in a zigzag / reverse zigzag pattern.

  Next, two-pass printing is realized by adopting a table reference method that generates pass data by thinning out print data using a random mask pattern in which print dots and non-print dots are randomly arranged. The case will be described. 3 is a diagram showing an example of a mask table for each recording scan, table areas A and B are complementary mask tables used in the first pass and the second pass, respectively. The table is 1 bit / dot, 0 indicates a mask target, and 1 indicates a non-mask target. Mask tables A and B are tables each having a size corresponding to 12 pixels in the main scanning direction and 4 pixels in the sub-scanning direction, and are repeatedly developed in each direction and used as mask data. The number of nozzles provided in the recording head is 8, and the number of pixels corresponding to the paper conveyance amount in 2-pass recording is 8/2 = 4, which matches the sub-scanning direction sizes of Tables A and B.

  FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining the state of recording scanning using the mask table shown in FIG. For 8 lines of data corresponding to 8 nozzles, A and B are applied as mask patterns every 4 lines. In each recording scan, image data masking (replaces recording dots with non-recording dots) is executed using the stored mask table to generate and output pass data. Specifically, by taking the logical product of the image data and the mask data, if the mask data is 1, the image data is output as it is, and if the mask data is 0, the image data is This is realized by replacing with 0. All image areas are always masked in the order of A and B by two scans to generate print data. Here, the mask OFF (1) ratios of A and B are equally about 50%.

  Similarly to the table reference type two-pass recording, an example of the table reference type four-pass recording is shown below. FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of a mask table for each printing scan. The table areas A, B, C, and D are complementary to each other used in the first pass, the second pass, the third pass, and the fourth pass. It is a mask table. The table is 1 bit / dot, 0 indicates a mask target, and 1 indicates a non-mask target. The mask tables A, B, C, and D are tables each having a size corresponding to 12 pixels in the main scanning direction * 2 pixels in the sub scanning direction, and are repeatedly developed in each direction and used as mask data. The number of nozzles provided in the recording head is 8, and the number of pixels corresponding to the paper conveyance amount in 4-pass recording is 8/4 = 2, which matches the sub-scanning direction sizes of the tables A, B, C, and D. .

  FIG. 6 is a diagram for explaining the state of recording scanning using the mask table shown in FIG. For 8 lines of data corresponding to 8 nozzles, A, B, C and D are applied as mask patterns every 2 lines. In each recording scan, image data masking (replaces recording dots with non-recording dots) is executed using the stored mask table to generate and output pass data. Specifically, by taking the logical product of the image data and the mask data, if the mask data is 1, the image data is output as it is, and if the mask data is 0, the image data is This is realized by replacing with 0. All image areas are always masked in the order of A, B, C, and D by four scans to generate print data. Here, the mask OFF (1) ratios of A, B, C, and D are equally about 25% each.

  Thus, by recording one line using two different nozzles, it is possible to form a high-quality image with suppressed density unevenness. In addition, the multi-pass printing method has the effect of suppressing bleeding (bleeding) by printing while drying the ink, and the print head temperature rise, which causes ejection failure, by reducing the printing dots for each scan. The suppression effect can be achieved at the same time. Although the main scanning direction has been described here, it is possible to further improve the image quality by thinning out and recording continuous dots in the sub-scanning direction. Further, when it is desired to realize image formation in the sub-scanning direction at a resolution higher than the nozzle resolution, the thinning recording in the sub-scanning direction is an essential process.

  As described above, the pass data for each scan is generated by thinning out the print data using a random mask pattern in which print dots and non-print dots are randomly arranged as described above. In addition to the method of generating the data (referred to as the table reference method), the method of generating the pass data by thinning out the recording data using the even / odd column pattern or the zigzag / reverse zigzag pattern (referred to as the fixed mask method) In addition, a method of generating pass data by performing a thinning process while paying attention to recording dots (referred to as a data mask method) or a method using these in combination is known.

  The above is the description of the print recording method. However, in order to cope with various recording media (paper), it is necessary to change not only the print recording method but also the processing method of the recorded data itself.

  That is, in order to print on various media with high quality, it is effective to perform printing by changing recording conditions, particularly image processing parameters, according to the type and characteristics of the recording medium.

  For example, if the amount of moisture received by another recording medium is larger than that of a certain recording medium, increasing the amount of ink applied to the recording medium is advantageous for improving the reproducibility of gradation. And print it.

As another conventional example, Patent Literature 1 and Patent Literature 2 can be cited.
JP 2001-270192 A JP 2001-219552 A

  As described in the previous section, in order to perform optimal printing, it is necessary to perform printing by performing image processing according to the recording medium. For this reason, in most products, the user inputs the type of recording medium into the recording apparatus by some method. For example, there are a method in which the user makes a selection using the operation panel, a setting on the operation screen of the printer driver on the host computer, and the like. Based on these settings, for example, plain paper, coated paper, thick-coated paper, glossy paper, glossy film, and the like are selected.

  The recording apparatus performs image processing according to these settings and performs printing. For this reason, if the setting is incorrect, printing is performed based on an inappropriate profile, and an expensive recording medium is wasted.

  The type of recording medium can be automatically discriminated to some extent by its surface roughness, light transmittance, reflectivity, etc., and printer products equipped with such a discriminating device are also available on the market.

  However, because of the size, cost, and processing time of the discriminating device, the vast types of recording media that exist in the market can be categorized into several types and processed. However, it did not print with a special treatment.

  For this reason, in order to obtain a more beautiful image, the user still has to make some settings and adjustments. However, setting conditions is not easy, and there is software for setting a profile in a system that performs business printing.

  In addition, so-called graphic printers that print photographs, posters, wallpaper, and the like are printed with roll paper because high printing stability for business use and long printing are required.

  In order to prevent the skew of the roll paper, the roll paper is supplied in advance and waiting, and for this reason, unlike cut paper, it is not easy to replace the paper. Therefore, it is important to print using a more correct profile.

  Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2001-270192 discloses that a roll paper is provided with wireless communication means, has a non-volatile memory, and stores information relating to image formation, the amount of recording material, ID, the number of printed sheets, and the remaining number of printed sheets. However, there is no mention of a change in the image processing method, particularly a profile change. Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2001-219552 discloses a proposal for printing by providing a recording paper type on a cut sheet. However, since the recording paper type information is used for setting in the printer driver, the printing speed is high. Depending on the processing capability of the host PC, inconveniences are also likely to occur when the printer is shared over a local area network or the like.

  In order to solve the above problems, in the present invention, a plurality of print profiles are stored in the printer, and an appropriate print profile is selected using the ID provided on the roll paper to perform printing.

  An image recording apparatus according to a first aspect of the present invention has the following configuration.

  A storage element, a wireless communication unit, and a wireless communication unit which are arranged in the vicinity of the structure of the recording medium to be used, the structural material constituting the recording medium, and the ID information for identifying the recording medium, and the wireless communication unit A computer having a reader / writer capable of wireless communication with the storage element, a non-volatile memory storing a plurality of profile information corresponding to the ID information, and an image processing apparatus for performing processing using the profile information. And an interface for transferring multi-value or binary image data / control data between them, a print head having a plurality of ink ejection sections is scanned on the print medium, and the input image information is based on the input image information. An image recording apparatus for forming an image by ejecting ink from a recording head onto a recording medium.

  Further, the image recording apparatus according to the second invention of the present invention has the following configuration.

  In the above apparatus, the profile information includes at least a color space conversion parameter.

  Furthermore, an image recording apparatus according to the third aspect of the present invention has the following configuration.

  In the above apparatus, the profile information includes at least a parameter for γ conversion.

  Furthermore, an image recording apparatus according to the fourth aspect of the present invention has the following configuration.

  An image recording apparatus according to the above device, wherein the memory element is embedded in a part of the structural material.

  The image recording apparatus according to the fifth aspect of the present invention has the following configuration.

  An image recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the recording medium stack is roll paper.

  The image recording apparatus according to the sixth aspect of the present invention has the following configuration.

  The above-described image recording apparatus, wherein the recording head is a recording head that ejects ink using thermal energy, and includes thermal energy conversion means for generating thermal energy applied to the ink.

  Furthermore, an image recording apparatus according to a seventh aspect of the present invention has the following configuration.

  The image recording apparatus described above, wherein the recording head ejects ink using a pressure generating element.

  As described above, an integrated body of recording media to be used, a structural material constituting the recording medium, a storage element arranged near the structural material, and holding ID information for specifying the recording medium, and a wireless communication unit, A reader / writer capable of wireless communication with the storage element, a non-volatile memory storing a plurality of profile information corresponding to the ID information, and an image processing apparatus for performing processing using the profile information, through the wireless communication unit; Equipped with an interface for transferring multi-value or binary image data / control data to / from a host computer, and a print head having a plurality of ink ejection sections is scanned on a print medium and inputted It is possible to provide an image recording apparatus that forms an image by ejecting ink from a recording head onto a recording medium based on the image information.

  Hereinafter, the details of the present invention will be described in accordance with the description of the embodiments.

(First embodiment)
Hereinafter, a first embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 7 shows the structure of the recording unit of the ink jet recording apparatus according to the present invention.

  Reference numeral 701 denotes a recording head, which is an ink tank in which four color inks of black (Bk), cyan (Cy), magenta (Mg), and yellow (Ye) are sealed, and four independent heads corresponding to the ink tanks. It is comprised by the multihead which consists of. The number of nozzles for each color is 16 nozzles. A carriage 702 supports the recording head 701 and moves them together with recording. The carriage can move in the X direction using the stay 706. The carriage 702 is at the home position HP shown in the drawing during standby such as a non-recording state. Reference numeral 703 denotes a paper feed roller that rotates while suppressing the recording paper 704 and feeds the recording paper 704 in the Y direction as needed. Reference numeral 705 denotes a paper feed roller that feeds the recording paper 704 and plays the role of suppressing the recording paper 704 in the same manner as the paper feed roller 703 and the auxiliary roller. Here, the recording head 701 has 1024 nozzles respectively arranged in the paper feed direction for the four colors Bk, Cy, Mg, and Ye.

  A basic recording operation in the above configuration will be described.

  The carriage 702 at the home position HP at the time of standby performs recording by ejecting ink onto the recording paper 704 according to the recording data by a plurality of nozzles of the recording head 701 while moving in the X direction by a recording start command. When the recording of the recording data to the end of the recording paper 704 is completed, the carriage returns to the original home position. As the paper feed roller 703 rotates in the direction of the arrow, the paper is fed by a predetermined width in the Y direction, and the carriage 702 again ejects ink while moving in the X direction and starts recording. Data recording is realized by repeating such scanning operation and paper feeding operation.

  The ink jet recording apparatus of this embodiment converts an interface for exchanging image information and various control information with a host computer or the like, and converts input image information into dot ON / OFF data for each ink color. And a controller (FIG. 1) configured with an image data processing block, and an engine (FIG. 2) that transports recording paper and drives a carriage and controls the recording head to form an image. ing.

  In this embodiment, a USB interface and an IEEE1394 interface are provided. The user can select and use one of the two interfaces, and can send and receive image information and control information to and from the host computer using the actually connected interface. Here, it is assumed that the effective rate of the USB interface is 0.5 MByte / S, and the effective rate of the IEEE 1394 interface is 4 MByte / S.

  Further, the ink jet recording apparatus according to the present embodiment employs a multi-pass recording method in which the same recording area is scanned a plurality of times to form an image. As described above, multi-pass printing forms an image using a plurality of nozzles for one line, thereby suppressing density unevenness due to slight differences in the ink discharge amount and discharge direction for each nozzle, and simultaneously passing This is a recording method in which the recording duty is reduced to prevent image quality deterioration due to ink bleeding or the like.

  Here, description will be given by taking two-pass printing as an example. The carriage is driven at a speed equal to or lower than the maximum ejection frequency, and each scan completes an image by two print scans while referring to a mask table. The amount of paper transport performed between scans corresponds to the width of nozzles obtained by dividing the number of used nozzles by two.

  As described above, the recording head has 1024 nozzles for each color, and the nozzle numbers are assigned as # 0, 1, 2, 3,. In the present embodiment, a fixed mask method is employed in which even columns and odd columns are alternately formed. In the first pass, only even-numbered rows of X coordinates = 2n are formed. Then, after carrying the paper having a width corresponding to half of the number of used nozzles, in the second pass, only odd-numbered dots with X coordinates = 2n + 1 are formed. Then, paper is transported with a width corresponding to half of the number of used nozzles. Thereafter, even-numbered dot formation, paper conveyance, odd-numbered dot formation, and paper conveyance are sequentially repeated.

  Next, description will be given by taking 4-pass printing as an example. The carriage is driven at a speed equal to or less than the maximum ejection frequency, and each scan completes an image by four print scans while referring to a mask table. The amount of paper transport performed between scans corresponds to the width of nozzles obtained by dividing the number of used nozzles by four.

  As described above, the recording head has 1024 nozzles for each color, and the nozzle numbers are assigned as # 0, 1, 2, 3,. In the present embodiment, a fixed mask method is employed in which even columns and odd columns are alternately formed. In the first pass, only the dots in the row with the X coordinate = 4n are formed. Then, after carrying a paper having a width corresponding to ¼ of the number of used nozzles, only dots in a row where the X coordinate is 4n + 1 are formed in the second pass. Similarly, paper having a width corresponding to ¼ of the number of used nozzles is conveyed, and in the third pass, only dots in the row where the X coordinate is 4n + 2 are formed. By performing this operation four times, recording is performed for the X coordinates 4N to 4N + 3, that is, all dots.

  FIG. 8 shows the configuration of the controller unit of the ink jet recording apparatus. The basic configuration is the same as in FIG. 1, and the differences are the 513 profile memory, the 525 reader / writer unit (wireless tag communication unit), the 526 printer unit coil, the 527 recording medium unit coil, and the 528 wireless tag unit (RF-ID unit). Therefore, only the description will be given below.

  Reference numeral 513 denotes a profile memory. The color space conversion data and γ conversion data for each recording medium used in the 511 image data processing block are stored. 525 is a reader / writer unit (wireless tag communication unit), and 526 is a coil (antenna) connected to the reader / writer unit.

  Reference numeral 527 denotes a coil (antenna) of the wireless tag portion (RF-ID portion), and reference numeral 528 denotes a processing device thereof. The electromagnetic energy supplied from the coil 526 on the printer side is received by the 527 coil, and this is rectified by the power supply rectifying unit existing inside the 528 wireless tag unit, stabilized, and used as the power source of the wireless tag unit. The wireless tag unit is initialized as soon as the power is turned on, and communicates the ID held in the internal nonvolatile memory to the printer body based on the information transmitted from the printer body. This control method will be further described in FIG.

  FIG. 9 shows the structure of the recording medium (roll paper) portion.

  Reference numerals 401, 402 and 408, 409 denote shaft ends for holding roll paper incorporating a one-way clutch. 401 and 408 are placed on a roll paper bearing of the printer main body. Since a one-way clutch is built in 402 and 408, 401 and 408 do not rotate, and only 402 and 408 rotate in a single direction. This is to prevent the paper from jamming intentionally when the front end of the paper is returned to the carriage position by backfeed after cutting the media.

  Reference numerals 403 and 407 denote holders for fixing the roll paper in the left-right direction. Reference numeral 405 denotes a paper roll, and 404 denotes roll paper. Reference numeral 410 denotes a wireless tag part (RF-ID) part attached to the inside of the cigarette. Reference numeral 411 denotes a wireless tag unit (reader / writer unit) of the printer main body. This corresponds to 525 and 526 in FIG.

  FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing a control method of the printer main body for reading the ID held in the recording medium and setting a profile for image processing.

  In step S901, an ID number inquiry is made to the recording medium. Using the electromagnetic energy of the communication itself, the wireless tag unit returns the ID stored therein to the printer.

  In step S902, a response from the wireless tag unit is awaited. If there is no response, the recording medium is not compatible with the present invention, and the user is requested to set the recording medium to be used based on the remote setting from the operation panel or PC. The result is set in S907 and the process ends.

  If there is a response, it is checked in step S903 whether the corresponding ID exists in the profile memory in FIG. If there is, the corresponding profile is set in S907 and the process ends.

  If the corresponding ID does not exist in the profile, it is checked in S904 whether a close profile exists in the nonvolatile memory. For example, the glossy paper is used, but the manufacturer is different. If it exists, a close profile is set in the image processing apparatus in S906, and the process ends.

  In S905, since there is no near recording medium, it is set to plain paper with a high frequency of normal use, and the process ends.

(Second embodiment)
In this embodiment, the reader / writer (wireless tag communication unit) installed on the printer main body is not installed on the outer periphery of the recording medium, but is installed at the center of the shaft that holds the roll paper.

  This will be described with reference to FIG.

  The difference from FIG. 9 is the 310 wireless tag and the 311 wireless tag communication unit. Unlike the wireless tag 310 shown in FIG. 9, a part of the cigarette at the center of the recording medium is cut out and embedded in the cigarette. For this reason, the rotation of the shaft holding the roll paper is not hindered. This structural diagram is shown in FIG.

  The 310 RFID tag communication unit is installed in the center of the shaft that holds the roll paper so as to extend from the end of the 301 shaft. For this reason, the 311 reader / writer (wireless tag communication unit) does not rotate. A signal connector is prepared between the end of the shaft 301 and the bearing, and is used for communication between the 311 reader / writer (wireless tag communication unit) and the CPU in FIG.

  In this embodiment, the absolute distance between the wireless tag and the reader / writer (wireless tag communication unit) passing through the shaft wall is small and contributes to the stability of communication.

  FIG. 12 is a structural diagram of roll paper in which a wireless tag is embedded.

  Reference numeral 1201 denotes a roll paper roll. It is made of a strong paper in a cylindrical shape, and a recording medium is wound around the periphery. Reference numeral 1202 denotes a state in which this cigarette is cut out in a rectangular shape and a wireless tag is embedded therein. The wireless tag may be attached to the plastic film, and the plastic film itself may be bonded to the cigarette so that the wireless tag is fitted into the notched hole.

  The present invention is not limited by the operation principle or configuration of the recording head. That is, the recording head is provided with a heating element (electrical / thermal energy conversion element) in the vicinity of the discharge port, and by applying an electric signal to the heating element, the ink is locally heated to cause a pressure change, and the ink is discharged. A thermal system that ejects ink from an ejection port may be used, or a piezoelectric system that ejects ink by applying mechanical pressure to the ink using an electrical / pressure converting means such as a piezoelectric element.

  The form of the ink jet recording apparatus according to the present invention is not limited to an image output apparatus of an information processing apparatus such as a computer or a word processor, but is provided integrally or separately, and a copying apparatus or a communication function combined with a reading apparatus. It may be a facsimile machine having

It is a schematic block diagram of the controller part in an inkjet recording device. It is a schematic block diagram of the engine part in an inkjet recording device. It is a figure which shows an example of the mask table for multipass 2 pass data production | generation. It is a figure explaining the mode of multipass printing using the mask table of FIG. An example of a mask table for each scan of the 4-pass printing in the table reference method is shown. It is a figure explaining the mode of the recording scan using a mask table. 1 shows a configuration of a recording unit of an ink jet recording apparatus. It is a schematic block diagram of the controller part in 1st Example of this invention. It is sectional drawing which shows the structure of the roll paper in the 1st Example of this invention, its holding mechanism, and a wireless tag communication part. 6 is a flowchart illustrating a control method of the printer main body for reading an ID held in a recording medium and setting a profile for image processing. It is sectional drawing which shows the structure of the roll paper in 2nd Example of this invention, its holding mechanism, and a wireless tag communication part. FIG. 3 is a structural diagram of roll paper in which a wireless tag is embedded.

Claims (7)

  A storage element, a wireless communication unit, and a wireless communication unit which are arranged in the vicinity of the structure of the recording medium to be used, the structural material constituting the recording medium, and the ID information for identifying the recording medium, and the wireless communication unit A computer having a reader / writer capable of wireless communication with the storage element, a non-volatile memory storing a plurality of profile information corresponding to the ID information, and an image processing apparatus for performing processing using the profile information. And an interface for transferring multi-value or binary image data / control data between them, a print head having a plurality of ink ejection sections is scanned on the print medium, and the input image information is based on the input image information. An image recording apparatus for forming an image by ejecting ink from a recording head onto a recording medium.   2. The image recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the profile information includes at least a color space conversion parameter.   The image recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the profile information includes at least a parameter of γ conversion.   2. The image recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the storage element is embedded in a part of the structural material.   2. The image recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the recording medium stack is roll paper.   6. The recording head according to claim 1, wherein the recording head is a recording head that ejects ink using thermal energy, and includes thermal energy conversion means for generating thermal energy applied to the ink. An image recording apparatus according to any one of the above.   The image recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the recording head ejects ink using a pressure generating element.

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