JP2007153609A - Recording medium discriminating device of recorder, recording medium discriminating method of recorder, program and storage medium - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To control a recorder by detecting so that a desired quality of a user can be recorded when automatically detecting a recording medium. <P>SOLUTION: This recording medium discriminating device of the recorder has a detecting means detecting a physical property of the recording medium and an ancillary information recording means recording ancillary information associated to the recording medium possessed by the recorder; and specifies a kind of recording medium in response to a detecting result when the detecting result of the detecting means falls within a specific range; and specifies a kind of recording medium by using the ancillary information when the detecting result of the detecting means does not fall within the specific range. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a recording medium determination device for a recording apparatus, a recording medium determination method for the recording apparatus, a program, and a storage medium. More specifically, the present invention relates to a recording medium discriminating apparatus of a recording apparatus, a recording medium discriminating method of the recording apparatus, a program, and a storage medium that detect the type of the recording medium in the recording apparatus and provide optimum recording control accordingly.

  Various recording media such as so-called plain paper, coated paper, glossy paper, and plastic sheets (transparent sheets) for OHP (Overhead Projector) are used in the mainstream recording apparatuses at present, depending on the desired recording quality and recording purpose. It is selected and used in a timely manner.

  In order to provide the maximum quality image by the recording medium to be used for such many types of recording media, it is necessary to execute recording control according to the recording medium to be used. For example, in an ink jet recording apparatus, it is necessary to change the recording control method between recording media, such as plain paper and coated paper, which have greatly different ink penetrating power and ink drying speed.

  In order to increase the convenience of the user in selecting the recording control method, it is considered that the user does not select and set the recording medium but uses a sensor (hereinafter also referred to as a media sensor) arranged in the recording apparatus. ing. For example, there is provided a recording apparatus having a function of automatically determining the type of a recording medium loaded by a media sensor and executing a recording quality recording control method corresponding to the type.

  Patent Document 1 discloses a method for determining the type of a recording medium by detecting the thickness of the recording medium, and Patent Document 2 discloses a method for measuring a multidirectional reflection function on the surface of the recording medium using an optical sensor. A method for determining the type of recording medium is described.

  However, as described above, while a wide variety of recording media (paper) are distributed, there are variations even in the same type of recording media, and there are also variations in the media sensor on the detection side. Furthermore, it is not always possible to obtain a correct detection result in view of the influence of light from the outside during detection. In particular, many types of plain paper are available among recording media, and some of the plain paper is likely to be erroneously recognized as coated paper in detection using an optical sensor.

  FIG. 7 is an example of a flowchart for discriminating conventionally known types of recording media. As shown in the figure, in the flowchart for determining the type of recording medium, the recording medium is set to Group-01 (plain paper), Group-02 (glossy paper), Group-03 (coated paper), Group-04 (OHP paper: Overhead Projector)) and “no paper”. In addition, in order to perform the discrimination operation classified into these four types, the amount of light irradiated to the recording medium is controlled in four stages of Value-1, Value-2, Value-3, and Value-4.

  First, in step S1, the recording medium is irradiated with light of Value-1 and the recording medium belonging to Group-01 and Group-04 and “no paper” according to the output value OUT-1 of the detection side media sensor, respectively. Is detected. That is, if the output value OUT-1 is 120 or more in step S2, setting is made in step S3 on the assumption that the recording medium is Group-01 plain paper, and the recording medium discrimination sequence is terminated.

  If the output value OUT-1 is 120 or less in step S2, the process proceeds to step S4. Further, when the output value OUT-1 of the media sensor is 8 or less, it is determined that the recording medium is a Group-04 OHP sheet. Then, the setting is performed in step S5, and the recording medium discrimination sequence is completed.

  However, if it is determined in step S4 that the output value OUT-1 is greater than 8, the process proceeds to step S6. If it is determined that the output value OUT-1 of the media sensor is in the range of 9 and 19, it is determined that there is no recording medium. Then, setting is performed in step S7, and the discrimination sequence for the recording medium is completed.

  Further, if it is determined in step S6 that the output value OUT-1 is not in the range of 9 and 19, the process proceeds to step S8, and the recording medium is irradiated with light of a value-4 different from Value-1, and step Proceed to S9. If the output value OUT-4 is 120 or more in step S9, it is determined that the recording medium is Group-01 plain paper. Then, setting is performed in step S3, and the recording medium discrimination sequence is completed.

  If the output value OUT-4 is 120 or less in step S9, the process proceeds to step S10, and it is determined whether the output value OUT-4 is in the range of 26 and 119 or 25 is less than that. If the output value OUT-4 is in the range of 26 and 119, in step S11, the recording medium is irradiated with light with a light amount of Value-2 different from Value-4, and the process proceeds to step S12. If it is determined that the output value OUT-2 of the media sensor is in the range of 33 and 79, it is determined in step S13 that the recording medium is Group-03 coated paper, and this recording medium determination sequence is performed. Exit. However, if it is determined in step 12 that the output value OUT-2 of the media sensor is not in the range of 33 and 79, it is determined in step S3 that the recording medium is Group-01 plain paper, The recording medium discrimination sequence ends.

Returning to step S10, if the output value OUT-4 is not in the range of 26 and 119 in step S10, the recording medium is irradiated with light with a light amount of Value-3 different from Value-4 in step S14. Proceed to S15. If it is determined that the output value OUT-3 of the media sensor is in the range of 50 or less, it is determined in step S16 that the recording medium is Group-02 glossy paper, and the recording medium is discriminated. End the sequence. However, if it is determined in step 15 that the output value OUT-3 of the media sensor is 50 or more, it is determined in step S3 that the recording medium is Group-01 plain paper, and this recording medium is set. The determination sequence is terminated. As described above, it has been proposed to determine the recording medium.

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 08-146815 Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 08-48438

  However, in the above case, for example, there is a sequence that distinguishes between plain paper and coated paper by irradiating with light of Value-2. However, the detection value out-2 of the media sensor is different by “1”. In some cases, it may be determined that the paper is a coated paper. For example, when a coated paper that is generally expected to be recorded at a high quality is mistakenly recognized as a normal quality plain paper, there is a problem that it becomes impossible to provide a user with a recording medium recorded at a desired recording quality. . On the other hand, it is very rare for a user to use many types of recording media, and most users use a specific type of recording medium suitable for their tastes.

  Therefore, if the detection result detected by the media sensor is in the area near the boundary of the threshold when judging the recording medium, it depends on other information such as the past usage status of the recording device of the user. Recognize that the recording medium is used by the user. By doing so, printing is performed with a recording quality suitable for the type of the recording medium, and a recorded matter with a recording quality suitable for the user's preference can be provided.

  Therefore, according to the present invention, when the type of the recording medium is automatically determined, the type of the recording medium is determined by using other accompanying information such as a print history for the determination result that is difficult to automatically determine. Objective.

  According to an embodiment of the present invention, the detection means for detecting a physical property of the recording medium and the incidental information recording means for recording incidental information related to the recording medium of the recording apparatus, the detection of the detection means When the result is in a specific range, the type of the recording medium is specified according to the detection result. When the detection result of the detection means is not in the specific range, the type of the recording medium is used using the accompanying information. The recording medium discriminating apparatus of the recording apparatus is characterized by specifying the recording medium.

  According to another embodiment of the present invention, the method includes a detection step of detecting a physical property of the recording medium, and a step of accumulating incidental information related to the recording medium of the recording apparatus, and the detection result of the detection step is When it is within a specific range, the type of the recording medium is specified according to the detection result, and when the detection result of the detection step is not within the specific range, the accumulated information is used to store the recording medium. Provided is a recording medium discrimination method for a recording apparatus, characterized in that the type is specified. According to still another embodiment of the present invention, there is provided a program in which the procedure of the recording medium discrimination method of the recording apparatus is described as a computer executable code.

  According to still another embodiment of the present invention, there is provided a computer-readable storage medium on which a program in which a procedure of the recording medium discrimination method of the recording apparatus is described as a code is recorded.

  According to the present invention, according to information such as the usage status of the user's past apparatus, the user recognizes that the recording medium is used and prints with a recording quality suitable for the recording medium. It is possible to provide a recorded matter with a recording quality suitable for the user's preference.

<Embodiment 1>
Preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a recording apparatus applicable as an embodiment of the present invention. A recording apparatus applicable to the embodiment of the present invention shown in FIG. 1 is an ink jet recording apparatus provided with a recording head 1 of a so-called ink jet recording method. This recording head 1 is a method of heating ink and ejecting ink droplets by thermal energy using an electrothermal transducer such as a heating element having a heating resistor as an energy generating means, among ink jet recording methods. By using this method, high density and high definition of the recorded image are achieved. However, the embodiment of the present invention is not limited to the ink jet recording type recording apparatus, and can be applied to other types of recording apparatuses. However, in the present specification, the present invention will be described using an ink jet recording type recording apparatus as an example of the embodiment.

  The recording head 1 has four color recording heads, a cyan recording head 1C, a magenta recording head 1M, a yellow recording head 1Y, and a black recording head 1K. The recording heads 1 </ b> C, 1 </ b> M, 1 </ b> Y, and 1 </ b> K for each color are mounted on the carriage 2 in a state where the recording heads 1 </ b> C, 1 </ b> M, 1 </ b> Y, and 1 </ b> K are arranged along the length direction of the guide shaft 3. In FIG. 4, the recording head 1 is mounted on the carriage 2 so as to eject ink downward in the drawing. An ink droplet is ejected while the bearing portion 2a of the carriage 2 moves along the guide shaft 3, and an image for one scan is formed on a recording medium 4 such as a recording sheet. The reciprocating motion along the guide shaft 3 of the carriage 2 is performed via the timing belt 7 by the rotation of the pulley 6 to which the driving force of the carriage motor 5 is transmitted.

  When recording for one scan by the recording head 1 is completed, the recording head 1 stops recording, and the conveyance motor 9 is driven so that the recording medium 4 positioned on the platen 8 is orthogonal to the moving direction of the carriage 2. Is conveyed by a predetermined amount. Next, image formation for the next one scan is performed while moving the carriage 2 along the guide shaft 3 again. By repeating these operations, characters and images are recorded on the entire recording medium 4.

  A recovery system 10 that performs a recovery operation for maintaining a good ink discharge state of the recording head 1 is disposed on the right side of the drawing of the entire recording apparatus. The recovery system 10 is provided with a cap 11 that caps the recording head 1, a wiper 12 that wipes the ink ejection surface of the recording head 1, a suction pump (not shown) for sucking ink from the ink ejection nozzles of the recording head 1, and the like. It has been. In addition, the recording apparatus of the present embodiment includes an encoder scale 13 and an encoder 14 in order to detect the position of the carriage 2.

  Reference numeral 15 denotes a media sensor, which is not shown, but is configured to be able to detect the type of the recording medium 4 mounted on the recording medium feeding unit of the recording apparatus.

  FIG. 2 is a functional block diagram showing an internal control configuration of the recording apparatus shown in FIG. 1, and the same reference numerals are used for the same parts as the parts shown in FIG.

  Reference numeral 500 denotes an I / F (Interface) block that transmits and receives recording data to and from the host during normal printing, and includes a first-in first-out (FIFO) memory. Reference numeral 501 denotes an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC) that performs various controls such as a recording operation, and includes a central processing unit (CPU) and a gate array (GA).

  Reference numeral 502 denotes a ROM (Read Only Memory) in which a program describing a recording operation procedure and the like is stored. Reference numeral 503 denotes a RAM (Random Access Memory) that temporarily stores data, and is also used as a print buffer area. Reference numeral 504 denotes an EEPROM (Electrically Erasable Programmable Read Only Memory) which is a nonvolatile memory, and the stored data is retained even when the apparatus is turned off. Information on the use of the apparatus such as recording quality (recording medium) information executed by the ink jet recording apparatus, the cumulative number of recordings for each recording quality or the cumulative number of suctions of the recording head 1, and the remaining amount of ink is stored.

  During recording, the carriage motor 5 that is a drive source of the carriage 2 and the transport motor 9 that is a transport drive source of the recording medium 4 are driven by drivers 508 and 509, respectively. In addition, a recording medium supply motor 506 that is a driving source of an ASF (Auto Sheet Feeder) 505 and a recovery motor 507 that is a driving source of the recovery system 10 are driven by drivers 510 and 511, respectively. Further, ejection energy generating means (not shown) provided in the recording head 1 is driven by a driver 512. A recording operation is performed by driving each drive source and the recording head. The driving of each driver is controlled based on information from a corresponding sensor (not shown).

  The detection result of the media sensor 15 is also input to the ASIC 501. Note that the detection timing of the media sensor is performed immediately before the recording on the recording medium 4 is started. Based on the detection result, the ASIC 501 recognizes the recording medium 4 to be recorded next, and performs the recording control with the recording quality corresponding to the recording medium 4. The recording operation is performed.

  FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of a control circuit of the media sensor 15. The media sensor 15 shown in FIG. 3 measures the difference in reflectance on the surface of the recording medium 4 from a fixed angle by a reflective photosensor, and determines the type by a threshold method. The media sensor 15 includes one light emitting unit (light source) indicated by an LED (Light Emitting Diode) 16, a detector 17 that is a light receiving unit, and a detector 18. Further, the focal length and angle of the LED 16 and the detectors 17 and 18 are adjusted so as to focus on the same location on the surface of the recording medium 4.

  Further, an external circuit including a resistor R and a capacitor C is provided so that the LED 16 can respond at high speed. Further, a PWM (Pulse Width Modulation) port is assigned to the port of the ASIC 501 that controls the LED 16, and the recording medium 4 is irradiated with four levels of light from Value-1 to Value-4 shown in FIG. It is configured to be possible.

  The recording medium 4 is irradiated with light from the LED 16, and specularly reflected light that is directly reflected from the recording medium 4 and diffused light that is scattered light are detected by the detectors 17 and 18. The output values of the detectors 17 and 18 are connected to an A / D (Analog to Digital) port of the ASIC 501, and the ASIC 501 recognizes an analog value corresponding to the detected light.

  Of course, the detection levels of the above-described specular reflection light and diffused light detectors 17 and 18 differ depending on the recording medium 4, and the recording medium 4 is finally determined according to the sequence shown in FIG. Note that the output level value in FIG. 7 is the value of the ratio of the detection levels of the above-described regular reflection light and diffused light detectors 17 and 18.

  FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing the operation in one embodiment of the present invention. In order to simplify the description, the description will be given focusing on the sequence portion in which the plain paper and the coated paper are discriminated based on the light amount of Value-2 in FIG. 7 of the conventional example described above. Obviously, this is not a limitation. The flowchart in FIG. 4 can be implemented, for example, as being replaced with a portion surrounded by a dotted line including step S12 in FIG. Accordingly, in one embodiment of the present invention, the type of the recording medium 4 is first determined by the same procedure as in the conventional example shown in FIG.

  Accordingly, in step S11 in the flowchart of FIG. 7, the recording medium 4 is irradiated with light with a light amount of Value-2 different from Value-4, and the process proceeds to step S41 of FIG.

  In the conventional example shown in FIG. 7, if it is determined in step S12 that the output value OUT-2 of the media sensor is between 33 and 79, the recording medium 4 is Group-03 coated paper. It was judged. Then, the setting is performed in step S13, and the discrimination sequence for the recording medium 4 is completed. If it is determined that the output value OUT-2 of the media sensor is not between 33 and 79, it is determined that the recording medium 4 is Group-01 plain paper. Then, setting is performed in step S3, and the determination sequence of the recording medium 4 is completed.

  However, in the embodiment of the present invention shown in FIG. 4, when the output value OUT-2 of the media sensor is 24 or less and 88 or more in step S41, the recording medium 4 is plain paper of Group-01. Judge that is. Then, setting is performed in step S3 of FIG. 7, and the determination sequence of the recording medium 4 is completed. If it is determined in step S41 that the output value OUT-2 of the media sensor is between 25 and 87, the process proceeds to step S42, and the output value OUT-2 of the media sensor is checked again. If it is determined in step S42 that the output value OUT-2 of the media sensor is in the range of 40 and 72, it is determined that the recording medium 4 is Group-03 coated paper. Then, the setting is performed in step S13 in FIG. 7, and the determination sequence of the recording medium 4 is completed.

  However, if the output value OUT-2 of the media sensor is not in the range of 40 and 72 in step S42, the process proceeds to step S43, where the threshold value area is set. Here, when the output value OUT-2 of the media sensor is not in the range of 40 and 72, that is, the output value OUT-2 of the media sensor is in the range of 25 and 39, or in the range of 73 and 87. Is the case. In step S43, the recording quality or recording medium information executed by the ink jet recording apparatus stored in the EEPOM 504, and the cumulative number of recordings for each recording quality are read. Further, the recording medium 4 corresponding to the recording quality printed in the past based on the past usage history of the user is selected.

  For example, in step S43, it is assumed that, as a result of reading by the EEPROM 504, printing in the plain paper mode has been performed in the past, and printing in the coated paper mode has been performed in the past 100 sheets. In this case, when the threshold area is detected, control is performed so that the recording medium 4 is determined to be a group-03 coated paper in step S44. Therefore, in step S44, it is determined whether the type of the recording medium 4 is the coated paper of Group-03 or the plain paper of Group-01 according to the past history. According to the determination, the corresponding setting is performed in step S3 or step S13, and the determination sequence of the recording medium 4 is completed. By adopting the control configuration as described above, even in an area where detection accuracy cannot be obtained due to variations in the recording medium 4 and the media sensor 15, recording is performed in correspondence with the recording medium 4 having a quality that suits the user's preference. Recorded records can be provided.

  Specifically, the detection result is determined with reference to the user's past use history of the recording medium 4 for an area where the detection accuracy cannot be obtained due to variations in the recording medium 4 and the media sensor 15. In the above embodiment, the history of recording media used in the past stored in the EEPROM 504 is used as a reference object. However, for example, the history of the last 100 times or the history of the last week may be used. The intention of the present invention can be realized.

<Embodiment 2>
In the above-described embodiment, the detection accuracy is increased by using the past use history of the recording medium of the user. However, a control configuration using other information is also possible.

  FIG. 5 is a general view of a multifunction printer (MFP) which is a recording apparatus applicable as an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in the figure, the MFP is an apparatus in which a scanner unit 600 and a recording device unit 610 are integrated. The scanner unit 600 can also freely set the reading quality so that the recording device unit 610 can change the recording quality according to the recording medium 4.

  FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing the operation in the second embodiment of the present invention. This is basically the same as the flowchart showing the operation in the second embodiment shown in FIG. 4, and is performed by replacing Step S12 surrounded by the dotted line in FIG. In the flowchart in FIG. 6, steps S61, S62 and S64 are the same as steps S41, S42 and S44 in the flowchart shown in FIG. In step S64 of the flowchart of the embodiment of FIG. 6, according to the reading quality history of the scanner unit 600, whether the type of the recording medium 4 is Group-03 coated paper or Group-01 plain paper. To decide.

  For example, if the scanner unit 600 is operated immediately before the recording operation, it is predicted that the image read immediately before is printed in many cases. Therefore, when the scanner unit is operated immediately before recording, it is often considered to record with a recording medium corresponding to the read quality. Assume that the output value OUT-2 detected by the media sensor 15 for the recording medium 4 immediately before actual recording is a value in the threshold value region. In this case, if the scanning resolution of the scanner unit is scanned at a high resolution of 1200 dpi, it is specified as a group-03 coated paper, and if it is scanned at a low resolution of 300 dpi, it is specified as a group-01 plain paper. It is what.

  In addition, the number of read data for each scanner reading resolution in the scanner control unit 610 is stored in the EEPROM 504, and all past histories are referred to as targets, for example, the most recent 100 histories are used for determination. Can be realized. In addition, the intention of the present invention can be realized by using the history for the last week instead of the history for the last 100 times.

Further, the intended configuration of the present invention can be realized as a control configuration in which the type of the recording medium 4 is determined by combining the use history of the recording medium of the user and the reading quality history. The object of the present invention can also be achieved by supplying a system or apparatus with a storage medium storing software program codes for realizing the functions of the above-described embodiments.
That is, it goes without saying that this can also be achieved by the computer (or CPU or MPU) of the system or apparatus reading and executing the program code stored in the storage medium.

  In this case, the program code itself read from the storage medium realizes the functions of the above-described embodiments, and the storage medium storing the program code constitutes the present invention. As a storage medium for supplying the program code, for example, a flexible disk, hard disk, optical disk, magneto-optical disk, CD-ROM, CD-R, magnetic tape, nonvolatile semiconductor memory card, ROM, or the like can be used. . Further, the functions of the above-described embodiments may be realized by executing the program code read by the computer.

  However, when the OS (operating system) operating on the computer performs part or all of the actual processing based on the instruction of the program code, and the functions of the above-described embodiments are realized by the processing. Needless to say, is also included.

  Furthermore, the program code read from the storage medium may be written in a memory provided in a function expansion board inserted into the computer or a function expansion unit connected to the computer. After that, based on the instruction of the program code, the CPU of the function expansion board or function expansion unit performs part or all of the actual processing, and the processing of the above-described embodiment is realized by the processing. Needless to say.

1 is a perspective view illustrating a configuration of a recording apparatus that can be applied to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a schematic control block configuration inside a recording apparatus applicable to the embodiment of the present invention. It is a circuit diagram which shows an example of the control circuit of the media sensor applicable to embodiment of this invention. It is an example of the flowchart of discrimination | determination of the recording medium by embodiment of this invention. It is a schematic block diagram of the multi-function recording device which is a recording device applicable as other embodiment of this invention. It is an example of the flowchart of discrimination | determination of the recording medium by other embodiment of this invention. It is an example of the flowchart of discrimination | determination of the recording medium in a prior art example.

Explanation of symbols

4 Recording medium 15 Media sensor 16 LED
17, 18 Detector 501 ASIC
504 EEPROM
600 Scanner unit 610 Recording device unit

Claims (13)

Detection means for detecting physical properties of the recording medium;
An accompanying information recording means for recording accompanying information related to the recording medium,
When the detection result of the detection means is in a specific range, the type of the recording medium is specified according to the detection result,
A recording medium discriminating apparatus for a recording apparatus, wherein when the detection result of the detection means is not within a specific range, the type of the recording medium is specified using the accompanying information.   2. The recording medium discriminating apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the detecting means for detecting a physical property of the recording medium includes a light source and a sensor.   3. The recording medium discriminating apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the accompanying information recording unit is configured by a non-volatile memory provided in the recording apparatus.   4. The recording medium discrimination of the recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the accompanying information is information related to a type of a recording medium used by the recording apparatus to record in the past. apparatus.   4. The recording medium determination device for a recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the accompanying information is information relating to quality read by a document reading device integrated with the recording device. 5. .   The accompanying information includes information on a type of a recording medium used for recording in the past by the recording apparatus and information on quality read by a document reading apparatus integrated with the recording apparatus. The recording medium discriminating apparatus of the recording apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3.   7. The recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the recording apparatus is an ink jet type recording apparatus that forms an image by ejecting ink, and controls the recording apparatus according to a type of the specified recording medium. A recording medium discrimination device for a recording device according to any one of the preceding claims. A detection step for detecting physical properties of the recording medium;
A process for accumulating accompanying information related to a recording medium included in the recording apparatus,
When the detection result of the detection step is in a specific range, the type of the recording medium is specified according to the detection result,
When the detection result of the detection step is not within a specific range, the type of the recording medium is specified using the accumulated accompanying information.   9. The recording medium discrimination method for a recording apparatus according to claim 8, wherein the detection step of detecting a physical property of the recording medium is executed by a light source and a sensor.   The method according to claim 8 or 9, wherein the accompanying information is information relating to a type of a recording medium used by the recording apparatus to record in the past.   10. A recording medium discrimination method for a recording apparatus according to claim 8, wherein the accompanying information is information relating to quality read by an original reading apparatus integrated with the recording apparatus.   A program in which a procedure of a recording medium discrimination method for a recording apparatus according to any one of claims 8 to 10 is described as a code executable by a computer.   A computer-readable storage medium having recorded thereon a program in which the procedure of the recording medium discrimination method of the recording apparatus according to claim 12 is described as a code.

Images