JP2008001100A - Inkjet recording device, and recording method - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To suppress slipping in a dot forming position resulting from an insufficient carrying precision by the eccentricity of a carrying roller, and to enable a recorded image the unevenness of which is hard to see to be obtained. <P>SOLUTION: The accumulated amount of errors in the carrying amount is reduced in such a manner that the contraction of a nozzle using range or the reduction of the carrying amount is performed over the whole of a recording region in response to a mode for recording an image for which the number of colors of inks to be used is less at the time of the image recording, and the covering rate of a recording medium may become smaller (e.g., a mode in which a black ink is dominant use in all density regions to record a monochrome image). <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an ink jet recording apparatus and a recording method for forming an image by applying ink as a recording agent to a recording medium.

  Recently, OA devices such as personal computers and word processors are widely used, and various recording devices for recording information output from these devices on various recording media are provided. An example of such a recording apparatus is an ink jet printer that uses ink as a recording agent. In a recording apparatus that supports color image recording, three colors of cyan (C), magenta (M), and yellow (Y), or four colors of black (K) added thereto are used as recording media. Generally, image formation is performed by expressing various colors by subtractive color mixing.

  However, in recent years, with the widespread use of digital cameras, an image quality equivalent to a silver salt photograph is also demanded for an ink jet recording apparatus that can easily output captured images to a recording medium such as paper. Therefore, in addition to the above four inks, recording is performed by adding low-density inks such as light cyan (Lc) and light magenta (Lm), thereby improving the image quality in the color photographic image recording result. There is also.

  In addition, digital cameras of the single-lens reflex type have come to be provided at a relatively low price, and not only color photographic images but also monochrome images are recorded by inkjet recording apparatuses. In the recording of this monochrome image, not only the black ink which is the basic tone of the image but also chromatic ink is used for color tone correction.

  During image formation, recording is performed based on signal values that define the amount of each color recording agent applied. However, there are many cases where this is not faithfully reproduced even if an attempt is made to obtain a desired color by defining the recording agent application amount by these signal values. For example, if the sizes of the dots formed by the respective recording agents on the recording medium are slightly different, the color may be slightly shifted and observed in a recorded image composed of a set of those dots. .

  In an ink jet printer, this may occur due to a slight difference in the amount (volume) of ink ejected due to individual differences in recording heads that eject ink, for example. In an electrophotographic printer, the latent image dots formed on the photoconductor may be slightly different in size. In addition, a slight difference in dot size may occur depending on the relationship between the type of recording medium used and the characteristics of the recording agent such as ink or toner. Furthermore, the size of the dots to be formed may change due to changes with time of these recording apparatuses (or recording heads in the case of inkjet printers).

  The phenomenon that the actual color of the printed image is reproduced out of the intended color in the color space as described above is a phenomenon that can occur in many image forming apparatuses. In this specification, such a phenomenon is referred to as “color shift”.

  The color shift is noticeable when a monochrome image, for example, an achromatic image is formed. Conventionally, when such an achromatic image is formed, only three colors of C, M, and Y or three colors of Lc, Lm, and Y are often used, particularly in a low density region (gray region).

  FIG. 44 shows a conventional color conversion look-up table (LUT) when six colors (K, C, M, Y, Lm, Lc) are used to represent a gray line (achromatic line) from white to black. The contents of Here, the horizontal axis is represented by (R, G, B) = (255, 255, 255) from white (W) represented by (R, G, B) = (0, 0, 0). The vertical axis corresponds to the output density signal of each color. As shown in this figure, in the low density region, gray is expressed using inks of three colors Lc, Lm and Y. Since dots are formed discretely in the process of gradually increasing the density from a low density to a high density, by using a lower density ink, the reflection density of the background area is relatively low. The graininess visually recognized when high dots are scattered is reduced. In the vicinity of the medium density region, the output value for using the inks of Lm and Lc is close to the maximum value, and it becomes difficult to express a density higher than this with a combination of these inks. On the other hand, in this density region, since many dots are filled on the recording medium, the graininess due to the single dots is less noticeable. Therefore, from the vicinity of the middle density region, by gradually adding C, M, and further K, the density can be increased in a state where the graininess is reduced. At the same time, for Lc, Lm and Y, the output value is gradually decreased. Ultimately, an output value for K ink is higher than any of the other inks, so that an achromatic image with good gradation can be expressed.

  However, particularly in the low density area, the low density area (gray) is expressed using only the three colors of inks Lc, Lm, and Y. Therefore, even if the amount of the recording agent applied for each color changes slightly, The hue changes relatively greatly due to the loss of the balance of the three colors. For this reason, it is difficult to adjust the recording material or the coloring material. Further, since the applied amount slightly changes, even if the size of the formed dots changes slightly, the color tone changes relatively greatly. This means that, particularly in the gray region, the intended achromatic color has a chromatic color, so that a color shift is noticeably observed.

On the other hand, Patent Document 1 discloses the use of a different color conversion LUT.
FIG. 45 shows the contents of the color conversion LUT described in Patent Document 1, in which K ink is used in all areas from the low density area to the high density area, and maintains a higher output value than inks of other colors. . The ink amount of K is monotonously increasing, and an achromatic color K ink is used in all density regions defined by the image data to record an achromatic image. As a result, it is possible to prevent color misregistration due to a slight loss of the balance of the amount of each color ink when a monochrome image is expressed using chromatic ink. In other words, the chromatic ink is used together with the K ink even in the low density region. In this case, the chromatic ink plays a role of reducing graininess and a basic color that forms gray while maintaining a balance. Does not play a role. Therefore, even if the density changes, the output value only increases monotonously.

  In addition, there are some which use an achromatic color ink (gray ink or the like) having a density different from that of the K ink instead of the plurality of chromatic color inks (for example, see Patent Document 2). That is, by using gray or black in the entire density range, it is possible to prevent color misregistration as in the case disclosed in Patent Document 1.

  Note that the use of achromatic ink from a low density region is likely to deteriorate the graininess. However, recently, recording heads that have a sufficiently small ink discharge amount per dot have appeared, and when such a recording head is used, the formed dots are hardly sensed at a clear viewing distance. For this reason, since the color shift rather than the graininess is an image adverse effect, it is effective to apply the techniques disclosed in Patent Document 1 and Patent Document 2.

JP 2005-238835 A JP 2000-177150 A

  As described above, when image formation of a monochrome image is performed, the effect on the “color shift” is large when K ink is predominantly used from the low density region. However, in this case, the present inventors have examined the recording results of monochrome images with various densities, and found that the adverse effect of the image due to the shift of the dot formation position in a wide density range becomes large.

  FIG. 46A shows a dot arrangement when an image having a uniform density is recorded using predominantly K ink, and FIG. 46B shows a density using three colors of inks of C, M, and Y. It is the schematic which shows dot arrangement | positioning at the time of recording a uniform image. Both of these figures show a state in which dots are arranged in a state where there is no shift in the formation position. That is, the dots are uniformly arranged in both FIG. 46A and FIG. 46B, and the image does not feel rough.

  47 (a) and 47 (b) show dot arrangements in the case where the same image as that shown in FIGS. 46 (a) and 46 (b) is formed, and the formation position is shifted. . As is clear from FIG. 47A, when K ink is used predominantly, the number of dots forming this image is small, that is, the coverage is low, and the amount of ink applied to the recording medium is C. , M, and Y are clearly fewer than when using three colors of ink. For this reason, compared to the case where the formation position shift occurs when inks of three colors C, M, and Y are used (FIG. 47B), the formation position shift is conspicuous and has an effect on the image. You can see that it ’s big.

  This deviation in the dot formation position occurs due to various factors such as variations in the nozzle shape of the recording head, noise components such as vibration of the apparatus during the recording operation, and the distance between the recording medium and the recording head. The present inventor has recognized that one of the major factors causing the deviation of the dot formation position is the conveyance accuracy of the recording medium. Usually, a roller (conveyance roller) is used as a recording medium conveyance mechanism, and the recording medium is conveyed by a desired length by rotating the conveyance roller by a specified angle in a state where the recording medium is pressed. Is possible. The conveyance accuracy of the recording medium is determined by the stopping accuracy of the conveyance roller, the eccentricity of the conveyance roller, the slip amount between the recording medium and the conveyance roller, and the like.

  The eccentricity of the conveyance roller is a state in which the rotation axis is deviated with respect to the central axis of the conveyance roller, which is a major factor in the deviation of the dot formation position. The amount of eccentricity of the conveyance roller is usually devised so as to be kept below a certain level, but the yield of the conveyance roller decreases as the standard for the amount of eccentricity becomes stricter, leading to an increase in the manufacturing cost of the recording apparatus. It is not preferable that the standard for the amount of eccentricity is too strict.

  However, if the transport roller is eccentric, a difference occurs in the transport amount of the recording medium even at the same rotation angle, and a desired transport amount cannot be realized. That is, when a difference occurs in the conveyance amount, dots are not formed at the originally intended positions along the recording medium conveyance direction, and the dot formation state in the direction is sparse and the conveyance amount corresponding to one rotation of the conveyance roller is cycled. (Hereinafter, referred to as eccentric unevenness).

  This eccentricity unevenness is likely to be visually recognized particularly when a monochrome image using predominantly K ink is formed. In the case of such a monochrome image, since the K ink dots are dominant on the white recording medium, the contrast is higher than that of the chromatic ink dots. For this reason, in the portion where the dots are locally sparse due to the deviation of the dot formation position due to the eccentric rotation of the transport roller (white streaks extending in the main scanning direction), FIG. 47A is described. For the same reason, there is a high probability that many colors of the recording medium itself can be seen. Then, the contrast between the white stripe and the portion where the dots are concentrated locally (black stripe extending in the main scanning direction) appears strongly, which is visually recognized as eccentric unevenness that appears periodically in the recording medium conveyance direction. It is easy.

  As described above, the eccentricity unevenness can be conspicuous when recording an achromatic monochrome image using K ink dominantly. However, the eccentricity unevenness originates from the eccentricity of the transport roller. Therefore, when recording a monochrome image using predominantly other colors of ink, and even when recording an image in which the coverage of the recording medium is low due to the small number of ink colors used, visibility However, the eccentricity unevenness occurs.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and an object of the present invention is to provide a configuration capable of suppressing a shift in dot formation position due to insufficient conveyance accuracy due to eccentricity of a conveyance roller. In particular, the present invention is effective in the case where monochrome image recording that is conspicuous and in which unevenness is conspicuous is performed such that the coverage of the recording medium is reduced because the number of ink colors used for image recording is reduced.

For this purpose, the present invention provides a recording scan in which recording is performed while a recording head on which recording elements that eject inks of different colors are arranged is scanned with respect to a recording medium, and a direction that intersects the direction of the recording scan. An inkjet recording apparatus that records an image on the recording medium by carrying the recording medium,
When a recording mode for recording a monochrome image is designated, the recording scan for performing recording with a limited use range of the arrayed recording elements is performed over the entire recording area on the recording medium. And a recording control means executable.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a recording scan in which recording is performed while a recording head on which recording elements for ejecting different colors of ink are arranged is scanned with respect to a recording medium, An inkjet recording method for recording an image on the recording medium by carrying the recording medium,
A process for instructing a monochrome image recording mode;
Based on at least the designation of the recording mode of the monochrome image, the recording scan for performing recording while restricting the use range of the arranged recording elements to a part is performed over the entire recording area on the recording medium. Process,
It is characterized by comprising.

  According to the present invention, in the case where monochrome image recording that is conspicuous and uneven is performed such that the coverage of the recording medium is reduced because the number of ink colors used for image recording is reduced, the nozzles are formed over the entire recording area. The range of use is reduced or the transport amount is reduced. Thereby, the integrated amount of the error of the conveyance amount can be reduced, and the occurrence of unevenness due to the deviation of the dot formation position due to the insufficient conveyance accuracy can be effectively suppressed.

  Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

1. 1. Basic Configuration 1.1 Overview of Recording System FIG. 1 is a diagram for explaining the flow of image data processing in a recording system applied in an embodiment of the present invention. The recording system J0011 includes a host device J0012 for generating image data indicating an image to be recorded, setting a UI (user interface) for generating the data, and the like. Further, a recording device J0013 is provided which records on a recording medium based on the image data generated by the host device J0012. The recording apparatus J0013 includes cyan (C), light cyan (Lc), magenta (M), light magenta (Lm), yellow (Y), red (R), green (G), first black (K1), and second. Recording is performed with 10 color inks of black (K2) and gray (Gray). For this purpose, a recording head H1001 that discharges these 10 colors of ink is used. These 10 color inks are pigment inks containing a pigment as a coloring material.

  As programs that operate in the operating system of the host device J0012, there are applications and printer drivers. The application J0001 executes processing for creating image data to be recorded by the recording apparatus. This image data or data before editing or the like can be taken into a PC via various media. The host device according to the present embodiment can first take in, for example, JPEG format image data captured by a digital camera using a CF card. Also, for example, TIFF format image data read by a scanner or image data stored in a CD-ROM can be captured. Furthermore, data on the web can be taken in via the Internet. These captured data are displayed on the monitor of the host device and edited, processed, etc. via the application J0001, for example, image data R, G, B of sRGB standard is created. On the UI screen displayed on the monitor of the host device J0012, the user sets the type of recording medium used for recording, the quality of recording, and issues a recording instruction. In response to this recording instruction, the image data R, G, B are transferred to the printer driver.

  The printer driver includes a pre-stage process J0002, a post-stage process J0003, a γ correction J0004, a halftoning J0005, and a print data creation J0006. Hereinafter, each process J0002 to J0006 performed by the printer driver will be briefly described.

(A) Pre-processing The pre-processing J0002 performs color gamut mapping. In the present embodiment, data conversion is performed to map the color gamut reproduced by the image data R, G, B of the sRGB standard into the color gamut reproduced by the recording device J0013. Specifically, 256-gradation image data R, G, and B, each of which is represented by 8 bits, are converted into 8-bit data in the color gamut of the recording apparatus J0013 by using a three-dimensional LUT. Convert to R, G, B.

(B) Subsequent processing In the post-processing J0003, based on the 8-bit data R, G, and B on which the color gamut is mapped, 8-bit and 10-color colors corresponding to the combination of inks that reproduce the color represented by this data Find decomposition data. That is, color separation data of Y, M, Lm, C, Lc, K1, K2, R, G, and Gray are obtained. In the present embodiment, this process is performed by using a three-dimensional LUT together with an interpolation operation as in the previous process.

(C) γ Processing The γ correction J0004 performs density value (gradation value) conversion for each color data of the color separation data obtained by the subsequent processing J0003. Specifically, by using a one-dimensional LUT corresponding to the gradation characteristics of each color ink of the printing apparatus J0013, conversion is performed so that the color separation data is linearly associated with the gradation characteristics of the printer.

(D) Halftoning Halftoning J0005 is a quantum that converts 8-bit color-separated data Y, M, Lm, C, Lc, K1, K2, R, G, and Gray that have been γ-corrected into 4-bit data. To do. In the present embodiment, 256-bit 8-bit data is converted to 9-gradation 4-bit data using an error diffusion method. This 4-bit data is data serving as an index for indicating an arrangement pattern in the dot arrangement patterning process in the printing apparatus.

(E) Recording data creation process At the end of the process performed by the printer driver, the recording data creation process J0006 creates recording data in which recording control information is added to the recording image data containing the 4-bit index data. .

  FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a configuration example of such recording data. The recording data is composed of recording control information for controlling recording and recording image data (the above-described 4-bit index data) indicating an image to be recorded. The recording control information includes “recording medium information”, “recording quality information”, and “other control information” such as a paper feed method. In the recording medium information, information such as the type and size of the recording medium to be recorded is described. Examples of the recording medium include plain paper, glossy paper, matte paper, postcard, and printable disc. The recording quality information describes the quality of the recording, and any one of the quality of “clean (high quality recording)”, “standard”, “fast (high speed recording)”, etc. is defined. . Note that these pieces of recording control information are formed based on the contents specified by the user on the UI screen on the monitor of the host device J0012, which will be described in detail later with reference to FIG. Further, it is assumed that the recorded image data describes the image data generated by the above-described halftone process J0005. The recording data generated as described above is supplied to the recording device J0013.

  The printing apparatus J0013 performs the following dot arrangement patterning process J0007 and mask data conversion process J0008 on the printing data supplied from the host apparatus J0012.

(F) Dot arrangement patterning process In the above-described halftone process J0005, the number of gradation levels is reduced from 256-value multi-value density information (8-bit data) to 9-value gradation value information (4-bit data). . However, data that can be actually recorded by the printing apparatus J0013 is binary data (1 bit data) indicating whether or not ink dots are printed. Therefore, in the dot arrangement patterning process J0007, for each pixel represented by 4-bit data of gradation levels 0 to 8, which is an output value from the halftone process J0005, the gradation value (level 0 to 8) of that pixel is represented. ) Is assigned to the dot arrangement pattern. This defines whether or not ink dots are recorded in each of a plurality of areas in one pixel (dot on / off), and 1-bit binary data of “1” or “0” for each area in one pixel. Place. Here, “1” is binary data indicating dot recording, and “0” is binary data indicating non-recording.

  FIG. 3 shows output patterns for input levels 0 to 8 that are converted by the dot arrangement patterning processing of the present embodiment. Each level value shown on the left of the drawing corresponds to level 0 to level 8 which are output values from the halftone processing unit on the host device side. An area composed of 2 vertical areas × 4 horizontal areas arranged on the right side corresponds to an area of one pixel output by halftone processing. Each area in one pixel corresponds to a minimum unit in which dot on / off is defined. In this specification, the “pixel” is a minimum unit that can express gradation, and is a target of image processing of multi-bit multi-value data (processing such as the preceding stage, the latter stage, γ correction, and halftoning). Is the smallest unit.

  In the figure, the area filled with a circle indicates an area where dots are recorded, and the number of dots to be recorded increases by one as the number of levels increases. In the present embodiment, the density information of the original image is finally reflected in such a form.

  (4n) to (4n + 3) indicate pixel positions in the horizontal direction from the left end of the image data to be recorded by substituting an integer of 1 or more for n. Each pattern shown below indicates that a plurality of different patterns are prepared according to pixel positions even at the same input level. That is, even when the same level is input, four types of dot arrangement patterns shown in (4n) to (4n + 3) are cyclically assigned on the recording medium.

  In FIG. 3, the vertical direction is the direction in which the ejection ports of the recording head are arranged, and the horizontal direction is the scanning direction of the recording head. In this way, it is possible to perform recording with a plurality of different dot arrangements for the same level by equalizing the number of ejections between the nozzles located in the upper stage and the nozzles located in the lower stage of the dot arrangement pattern, There is an effect of dispersing various unique noises.

  When the dot arrangement patterning process described above is completed, all dot arrangement patterns for the recording medium are determined.

(G) Mask Data Conversion Process Since the dot arrangement patterning process J0007 described above determines the presence / absence of dots for each area on the recording medium, binary data indicating this dot arrangement is sent to the drive circuit J0009 of the recording head H1001. If input, a desired image can be recorded. Here, if binary data obtained in the dot arrangement patterning process J0007 is input to the drive circuit J0009 without going through the mask data conversion process J0008, so-called one-pass printing can be executed. This completes recording in the same scanning area on the recording medium by one scanning. On the other hand, if the mask data conversion process J0008 is interposed, so-called multi-pass printing can be executed in which printing for the same scanning area on the printing medium is completed by a plurality of scans. Here, an example of multi-pass recording will be described.

  FIG. 4 schematically shows a recording head and a recording pattern in order to explain the multipass recording method. The recording head H1001 applied to the present embodiment has 768 nozzles arranged so as to be capable of recording, for example, 1200 dpi (dot / inch) per one color ink, as actually being able to participate in recording. . However, here, for the sake of simplicity, description will be made assuming that 16 nozzles are provided. As shown in the drawing, the nozzles are divided into first to fourth nozzle groups, and each nozzle group includes four nozzles. The mask pattern P0002 includes first to fourth mask patterns P0002 (a) to P0002 (d). The first to fourth mask patterns P0002 (a) to P0002 (d) define areas where the first to fourth nozzle groups can be recorded. The black area in the mask pattern indicates a recording allowable area, and the white area indicates a non-recording area. The first to fourth mask patterns P0002 (a) to P0002 (d) are complementary to each other, and when these four mask patterns are overlapped, recording of a region corresponding to a 4 × 4 area is completed. It has become.

  Each pattern indicated by P0003 to P0006 shows a state in which an image is completed by overlapping recording scans. At the end of each printing scan, the printing medium is conveyed by the width of the nozzle group (four nozzles in this figure) in the direction of the arrow in the figure. Therefore, the same area of the recording medium (area corresponding to the width of each nozzle group) is configured such that an image is completed only after four recording scans. As described above, the formation of each same area of the recording medium by a plurality of nozzle groups by a plurality of scans has an effect of reducing variations peculiar to the nozzles and variations in the conveyance accuracy of the recording medium.

  FIG. 5 shows an example of a mask pattern that can be actually applied in this embodiment. The recording head H1001 applied in this embodiment has 768 nozzles (maximum number that can be involved in actual recording) per color, and 192 nozzles belong to each of the four nozzle groups. . The mask pattern size is 768 areas in the vertical direction equivalent to the number of nozzles and 256 areas in the horizontal direction, and the four mask patterns corresponding to each of the four nozzle groups maintain a complementary relationship with each other. It has become.

  By the way, it is known that an air flow is generated in the vicinity of a recording unit in an ink jet recording head that discharges a large number of small droplets at a high frequency as applied in the present embodiment. It has been confirmed that this air flow particularly affects the ejection direction of nozzles located at the end of the recording head. Therefore, in the mask pattern of this embodiment, as can be seen from FIG. 5, the distribution of the printing allowance is biased depending on the region in each nozzle group or the same nozzle group. As shown in FIG. 5, by applying a mask pattern having a configuration in which the recording allowance of the end nozzles is smaller than the recording allowance of the center, landing position deviation of the ink droplets ejected by the end nozzles This makes it possible to make the harmful effects caused by. Note that it is not essential in the present embodiment to apply a mask pattern in which such a recording allowance is biased. In the present embodiment, it is also possible to apply a mask pattern having a uniform recording allowance rate.

  The recording allowance determined by the mask pattern is as follows. In other words, the ratio of the number of print allowance areas to the total number of print allowance areas (black areas of the mask pattern P0002 in FIG. 4) and non-print allowance areas (white areas of the mask pattern P0002 in FIG. 4) constituting the mask pattern. It is expressed as a percentage. That is, if the mask pattern recording allowable area is M and the non-recording allowable area is N, the mask pattern recording allowable ratio (%) is M ÷ (M + N) × 100.

  In the present embodiment, the mask data shown in FIG. 5 is stored in a memory in the recording apparatus main body. In the mask data conversion process J0008, an AND process is performed between the mask data and the binary data obtained by the above-described dot arrangement patterning process, so that a binary to be recorded in each recording scan is obtained. Data is determined. Then, the binary data is sent to the drive circuit J0009. As a result, the recording head H1001 is driven and ink is ejected according to the binary data.

  In FIG. 1, it is assumed that the pre-processing J0002, the post-processing J0003, the γ processing J0004, the halftoning J0005, and the recording data creation processing J0006 are executed by the host device J0012. The dot arrangement patterning process J0007 and the mask data conversion process J0008 are executed by the printing apparatus J0013. However, the present invention is not limited to this form. For example, a part of the processes J0002 to J0005 executed by the host device J0012 may be executed by the recording device J0013, or all may be executed by the host device J0012. Alternatively, the processing J0002 to J0008 may be executed by the recording device J0013.

1.2 Configuration of Mechanism Unit The configuration of each mechanism unit in the recording apparatus applied in the present embodiment will be described. The recording apparatus main body in the present embodiment can be generally classified into a paper feed unit, a paper transport unit, a paper discharge unit, a carriage unit, a flat path recording unit, a cleaning unit, and the like based on the role of each mechanism unit. Is housed in the exterior.

  6, FIG. 7, FIG. 8, FIG. 12, and FIG. 13 are perspective views showing the external appearance of a recording apparatus applied in this embodiment. 6 is a state seen from the front when the recording apparatus is not used, FIG. 7 is a state seen from the rear when the recording apparatus is not used, and FIG. 8 is a state seen from the front when the recording apparatus is used. Each is shown. FIG. 12 shows a state seen from the front during flat pass recording, and FIG. 13 shows a state seen from the back during flat pass recording. FIGS. 9 to 11 and FIGS. 14 to 16 are diagrams for explaining the internal mechanism of the recording apparatus main body. 9 is a perspective view from the upper right part, FIG. 10 is a perspective view from the upper left part, and FIG. 11 is a side sectional view of the recording apparatus main body. FIG. 14 is a cross-sectional view during flat pass recording. 15 is a perspective view of the cleaning unit, FIG. 16 is a cross-sectional view for explaining the configuration and operation of the wiping mechanism in the cleaning unit, and FIG. 17 is a cross-sectional view of the wet liquid transfer unit in the cleaning unit. is there.

  Hereinafter, each part will be sequentially described with reference to these drawings as appropriate.

(A) Exterior part (FIGS. 6 and 7)
The exterior part is attached so as to cover the periphery of the paper feed part, paper transport part, paper discharge part, carriage part, cleaning part, flat path part and wet liquid transfer part. The exterior portion mainly includes a lower case M7080, an upper case M7040, an access cover M7030, a connector cover, and a front cover M7010.

  A lower discharge tray rail (not shown) is provided below the lower case M7080, and the divided discharge tray M3160 can be stored. Further, the front cover M7010 is configured to close the paper discharge port when not in use.

  An access cover M7030 is attached to the upper case M7040 and is configured to be rotatable. A part of the upper surface of the upper case has an opening, and the ink tank H1900 and the recording head H1001 (FIG. 21) can be exchanged at this position. In the recording apparatus of the present embodiment, the recording head H1001 is in the form of a unit in which a plurality of discharge units capable of discharging one color of ink are integrally configured. The ink tank H1900 is configured as a recording head cartridge H1000 that can be attached and detached independently for each color. The upper case M7040 is provided with a door switch lever (not shown) for detecting opening / closing of the access cover M7030, an LED guide M7060 for transmitting / displaying LED light, a power key E0018, a resume key E0019, a flat pass key E3004, and the like. Yes. Further, the multi-stage type paper feed tray M2060 is rotatably attached, and when the paper feed unit is not used, the paper feed tray M2060 is accommodated so that it also serves as a cover for the paper feed unit. Has been.

  The upper case M7040 and the lower case M7080 are attached with elastic fitting claws, and a connector cover (not shown) covers a portion where the connector portion is provided therebetween.

(B) Paper feed unit (FIGS. 8 and 11)
Referring to FIG. 8 and FIG. 11, the paper feed unit is configured as follows. That is, a pressure plate M2010 for stacking recording media, a paper feed roller M2080 for feeding recording media one by one, a separation roller M2041 for separating the recording media, a return lever M2020 for returning the recording media to the stacking position, and the like on the base M2000. It is configured by being attached.

(C) Paper transport unit (FIGS. 8 to 11)
A conveyance roller M3060 for conveying a recording medium is rotatably attached to a chassis M1010 made of a bent metal sheet. The conveying roller M3060 has a structure in which ceramic fine particles are coated on the surface of a metal shaft, and is attached to the chassis M1010 in a state where the metal portions of both shafts are received by bearings (not shown). The conveyance roller M3060 is provided with a roller tension spring (not shown), and by energizing the conveyance roller M3060, an appropriate amount of load is applied during rotation so that stable conveyance can be performed.

  A plurality of driven pinch rollers M3070 are provided in contact with the transport roller M3060. The pinch roller M3070 is held by the pinch roller holder M3000, but is urged by a pinch roller spring (not shown) to be brought into pressure contact with the conveyance roller M3060, and generates a conveyance force for the recording medium. At this time, the rotation shaft of the pinch roller holder M3000 is attached to the bearing of the chassis M1010 and rotates around this position.

  A paper guide flapper M3030 and a platen M3040 for guiding the recording medium are disposed at the entrance where the recording medium is conveyed. The pinch roller holder M3000 is provided with a PE sensor lever M3021. The PE sensor lever M3021 plays a role of transmitting detection of the leading end and the trailing end of the recording medium to a paper end sensor (hereinafter referred to as a PE sensor) E0007 fixed to the chassis M1010. The platen M3040 is attached to the chassis M1010 and positioned. The paper guide flapper M3030 can rotate around a bearing portion (not shown) and is positioned by contacting the chassis M1010.

  A recording head H1001 (FIG. 21) is provided on the downstream side of the conveyance roller M3060 in the recording medium conveyance direction.

  The conveyance process in the above configuration will be described. The recording medium sent to the paper transport unit is guided by the pinch roller holder M3000 and the paper guide flapper M3030, and is sent to the roller pair of the transport roller M3060 and the pinch roller M3070. At this time, the PE sensor lever M3021 detects the leading edge of the recording medium, and thereby the recording position with respect to the recording medium is obtained. A roller pair composed of a conveyance roller M3060 and a pinch roller M3070 is rotated by driving of the LF motor E0002, and the recording medium is conveyed on the platen M3040 by this rotation. The platen M3040 is provided with a rib serving as a conveyance reference surface, and a gap between the recording head H1001 and the recording medium surface is managed by the rib. At the same time, the ribs play a role of suppressing the undulation of the recording medium together with a paper discharge unit described later.

  The driving force for rotating the transport roller M3060 is transmitted, for example, to the pulley M3061 provided on the shaft of the transport roller M3060 via a timing belt (not shown) from the LF motor E0002 made of a DC motor. It is obtained by doing. A code wheel M3062 for detecting the amount of conveyance by the conveyance roller M3060 is provided on the axis of the conveyance roller M3060. The adjacent chassis M1010 is provided with an encode sensor M3090 for reading the marking formed on the code wheel M3062. The markings formed on the code wheel M3062 are formed at a pitch of 150 to 300 lpi (line / inch; reference value).

(D) Paper discharge section (FIGS. 8 to 11)
The paper discharge unit includes a first paper discharge roller M3100, a second paper discharge roller M3110, a plurality of spurs M3120, a gear train, and the like.

  The first paper discharge roller M3100 is configured by providing a plurality of rubber portions on a metal shaft. The first paper discharge roller M3100 is driven by transmitting the driving of the transport roller M3060 to the first paper discharge roller M3100 via an idler gear.

  The second paper discharge roller M3110 has a structure in which a plurality of elastomer elastic bodies M3111 are attached to a resin shaft. The second paper discharge roller M3110 is driven by transmitting the drive of the first paper discharge roller M3100 via an idler gear.

  The spur M3120 is formed by integrating a circular thin plate made of, for example, SUS, which has a plurality of convex shapes around the resin portion, and is attached to the spur holder M3130. This attachment is performed by a spur spring provided with a coil spring in a rod shape. At the same time, the spring force of the spur spring causes the spur M3120 to contact the discharge rollers M3100 and M3110 with a predetermined pressure. With this configuration, the spur M3120 can be rotated following the two discharge rollers M3100 and M3110. Some of the spurs M3120 are provided at the position of the rubber portion of the first paper discharge roller M3100 or the elastic body M3111 of the second paper discharge roller M3110, and mainly play a role of generating the conveyance force of the recording medium. Yes. In addition, some others are provided at positions where the rubber part or the elastic body M3111 is not present, and mainly play a role of suppressing the lifting of the recording medium during recording.

  Further, the gear train plays a role of transmitting the driving of the transport roller M3060 to the paper discharge rollers M3100 and M3110.

  With the above configuration, the recording medium on which an image has been formed is sandwiched between the nip between the first paper discharge roller M3110 and the spur M3120, conveyed, and discharged to the paper discharge tray M3160. The paper discharge tray M3160 is divided into a plurality of parts and can be stored in a lower part of a lower case M7080 described later. When used, pull out. Further, the discharge tray M3160 is designed such that its height increases toward the leading end, and both ends thereof are held at high positions, improving the stackability of the discharged recording medium, rubbing the recording surface, and the like. Is preventing.

(E) Carriage part (FIGS. 9 to 11)
The carriage unit has a carriage M4000 for mounting the recording head H1001, and the carriage M4000 is supported by a guide shaft M4020 and a guide rail M1011. The guide shaft M4020 is attached to the chassis M1010 and guides and supports the carriage M4000 to reciprocate in a direction perpendicular to the recording medium conveyance direction. The guide rail M1011 is formed integrally with the chassis M1010, and holds the rear end of the carriage M4000 and plays a role of maintaining a gap between the recording head H1001 and the recording medium. Further, a sliding sheet M4030 made of a thin plate of stainless steel or the like is stretched on the sliding side of the guide rail M1011 with respect to the carriage M4000 so as to reduce the sliding noise of the recording apparatus.

  The carriage M4000 is driven via a timing belt M4041 by a carriage motor E0001 attached to the chassis M1010. The timing belt M4041 is stretched and supported by an idle pulley M4042. Further, the timing belt M4041 is coupled to the carriage M4000 via a carriage damper made of rubber or the like, and the unevenness of the recorded image is reduced by attenuating the vibration of the carriage motor E0001 or the like.

  An encoder scale E0005 (described later with reference to FIG. 18) for detecting the position of the carriage M4000 is provided in parallel with the timing belt M4041. On the encoder scale E0005, markings are formed at a pitch of 150 lpi to 300 lpi. An encoder sensor E0004 (described later with reference to FIG. 18) for reading the marking is provided on a carriage substrate E0013 (described later with reference to FIG. 18) mounted on the carriage M4000. The carriage substrate E0013 is also provided with a head contact E0101 for electrical connection with the recording head H1001. In addition, a flexible cable E0012 (not shown) for transmitting a drive signal from the electric board E0014 to the recording head H1001 is connected to the carriage M4000.

  The following is provided as a configuration for fixing the recording head H1001 to the carriage M4000. That is, an abutting portion (not shown) for positioning the recording head H1001 while pressing the recording head H1001 and a pressing means (not shown) for fixing the recording head H1001 to a predetermined position are provided on the carriage M4000. The pressing means is mounted on the head set lever M4010, and is configured to act on the recording head H1001 by turning the head set lever M4010 about the rotation fulcrum when setting the recording head H1001.

  Further, the carriage M4000 is provided with a position detection sensor M4090 including a reflection type optical sensor for recording on a special medium such as a CD-R or for detecting the position of a recording result or a sheet edge. . The position detection sensor M4090 can detect the current position of the carriage M4000 by emitting light from the light emitting element and receiving the reflected light.

  When an image is formed on the recording medium in the above configuration, a pair of rollers including the conveyance roller M3060 and the pinch roller M3070 conveys and positions the recording medium with respect to the position in the row direction. For the position in the row direction, the carriage M4000 is moved in the direction perpendicular to the transport direction by the carriage motor E0001, and the recording head H1001 is placed at the target image forming position. The positioned recording head H1001 ejects ink to the recording medium in accordance with a signal from the electric substrate E0014. A detailed configuration and recording system for the recording head H1001 will be described later. In the recording apparatus of the present embodiment, recording main scanning in which the carriage M4000 scans in the column direction while recording is performed by the recording head H1001 and sub-scanning in which the recording medium is conveyed in the row direction by the conveyance roller M3060 are alternately repeated. . Thus, an image is formed on the recording medium.

(F) Flat pass recording unit (FIGS. 12 to 14)
Paper feeding from the paper feeding unit is performed in a state where the recording medium is bent because the path through which the recording medium passes is bent until reaching the pinch roller as shown in FIG. Therefore, for example, when a thick recording medium of about 0.5 mm or more is to be fed from the sheet feeding unit, a reaction force of the bent recording medium may be generated, and the sheet feeding resistance may increase to prevent sheet feeding. . Even if paper can be fed, the recording medium after being ejected may remain bent or bend.

  Flat-pass recording is performed on a recording medium that is not desired to be bent, such as a thick recording medium, or a recording medium that cannot be bent, such as a CD-R.

  Here, in flat pass recording, there is a type in which recording is performed by nipping a recording medium to a pinch roller of the main body from a slit-like opening on the back of the main body (under the paper feeding device) in a manual paper feeding mode. However, the flat-pass recording according to the present embodiment is a mode in which recording is performed after a recording medium is fed from a paper discharge port on the front side of the main body to a recording position and switched back.

  The front cover M7010 is below the paper discharge unit to serve also as a tray for stacking about several tens of normally recorded recording media (FIG. 8). During flat-pass recording, the front tray M7010 is raised to the position of the paper discharge port in order to feed the recording medium horizontally from the paper discharge port in the direction opposite to the normal transport direction (FIG. 12). The front cover M7010 is provided with a hook or the like (not shown), and the front cover M7010 can be fixed at a flat path paper feeding position. It can be detected by the sensor that the front cover M7010 is in the flat path paper feed position, and the flat path recording mode can be determined according to the detection.

  In the flat pass recording mode, the flat pass key E3004 is first operated in order to place the recording medium on the front tray M7010 and insert the recording medium from the paper discharge outlet. Thus, the spur holder M3130 and the pinch roller holder M3000 are lifted by a mechanism (not shown) to a position higher than the assumed thickness of the recording medium. Further, when the carriage M4000 is present in the sheet passing area, the recording medium can be easily inserted by lifting the carriage M4000 by a lift mechanism (not shown). Further, the rear tray M7090 can be opened by pressing the rear tray button M7110, and the rear subtray M7091 can be opened in a V shape (FIG. 13). The rear tray M7090 and the rear sub-tray M7091 are trays for supporting a long recording medium also on the back of the main body, since the rear recording tray protrudes from the back of the main body when a long recording medium is inserted from the front of the main body. If a thick recording medium does not maintain a flat posture during recording, it may rub against the surface of the head (discharge surface) provided with the discharge ports or the transport load may change, which may affect the recording quality. Therefore, the arrangement of these trays is effective. However, if the recording medium has a length that does not protrude from the back of the main body, the rear tray M7090 or the like need not be opened.

  As described above, the recording medium can be inserted into the main body from the paper discharge port. The rear end of the recording medium (the end on the near side closest to the user) and the right end are aligned with the marker position of the front tray M7010 and placed on the front tray M7010.

  When the flat pass key E3004 is operated again here, the spur holder 3130 descends and the recording medium is nipped by the paper discharge rollers M3100 and M3110 and the spur 3120. Thereafter, the recording medium is pulled into the main body by a predetermined amount by the paper discharge rollers M3100 and M3110 (the direction opposite to the conveying direction during normal recording). When the recording medium is set for the first time, the front end (rear end) of the recording medium is aligned, so the front end of the short recording medium (end farthest from the user's end) is the transport roller M3060. May not reach. Accordingly, the predetermined amount is a distance until the rear end of the assumed shortest recording medium reaches the conveyance roller M3060. Since the recording medium fed by a predetermined amount reaches the conveying roller M3060, the pinch roller holder M3000 is lowered at that position, and the recording medium is nipped by the conveying roller M3060 and the pinch roller M3070. Then, the recording medium is further fed so that the rear end portion is nipped by the conveying roller M3060 and the pinch roller M3070. This completes the feeding of the recording medium for flat path recording (recording standby position).

  The nip force between the paper discharge rollers M3100 and M3110 and the spur M3120 is set to be relatively low so as not to affect the formed image during paper discharge during normal recording. Accordingly, there is a risk that the position of the recording medium may be shifted before recording is performed during flat pass recording. However, in the present embodiment, the recording medium is nipped by the conveying roller M3060 and the pinch roller M3070 having a relatively high nip force, so that the setting position of the recording medium is secured. Further, when the recording medium is fed into the main body by the predetermined amount, a flat path paper detection sensor lever (hereinafter referred to as an FPPE sensor lever) M3170 shields or forms an optical path of an FPPE sensor E9001 which is an infrared sensor not shown here. . As a result, the rear end position of the recording medium (which becomes the front end position during recording) can be detected. The FPPE sensor lever may be provided between the platen M3040 and the spur holder M3130 so as to be rotatable.

  When the recording medium is set at the recording standby position, a recording command is executed. In other words, the recording medium is transported by the transport roller M3060 to the recording position by the recording head H1001, and thereafter, recording is performed in the same manner as the normal recording operation, and the paper is discharged to the front tray M7010 after recording.

  If further flat pass recording is desired, the recorded recording medium is taken out from the front tray M7010, the next recording medium is set, and then the above-described processing is repeated. Specifically, it starts by pushing the flat pass key E3004 to lift the spur holder M3130 and the pinch roller holder M3000 and set the recording medium.

  On the other hand, when the flat pass recording is ended, the normal recording mode can be restored by returning the front tray M7010 to the normal recording position.

(G) Cleaning unit (FIGS. 15 and 16)
The cleaning unit is a mechanism for cleaning the recording head H1001. This includes a pump M5000, a cap M5010 for suppressing the drying of the recording head H1001, a wiper portion M5020 for cleaning the discharge port forming surface of the recording head H1001, and the like.

  In the present embodiment, the main driving force of the cleaning unit is transmitted from the AP motor E3005 (FIG. 18). A pump M5000 is operated by rotation in one direction by a one-way clutch (not shown), and the wiper part M5020 is moved and the cap M5010 is moved up and down by rotation in the other direction. The AP motor E3005 is also used as a drive source for the recording medium feeding operation, but a dedicated motor for performing the operation of the cleaning unit may be provided.

  The cap M5010 is driven from the motor E0003 so as to be lifted and lowered via a lift mechanism (not shown). At the raised position, it is possible to perform capping for each ejection surface of several ejection units provided in the recording head H1001 to protect or perform suction recovery during a non-recording operation. Further, during the recording operation, the position is set at a lowered position that avoids interference with the recording head H1001, and preliminary ejection can be received by facing the ejection surface. For example, in the illustrated example, two caps M5010 are provided so that ten ejection units are provided in the recording head H1001 and capping can be performed collectively for each ejection surface of the five ejection units. .

  A wiper portion M5020 made of an elastic member such as rubber is fixed to a wiper holder (not shown). The wiper holder is movable in the + Y and -Y directions (arrangement direction of the discharge ports in the discharge unit) in FIG. When the recording head H1001 reaches the home position, the wiper holder moves in the arrow -Y direction, so that wiping is possible. When the wiping operation is completed, the carriage is retracted out of the wiping area and then returned to a position where the wiper does not interfere with the ejection surface or the like. The wiper unit M5020 of this example is provided with a wiper blade M5020A that wipes the entire surface of the recording head H1001 including the ejection surfaces of all ejection units. Further, two wiper blades M5020B and M5020C for wiping in the vicinity of the nozzles are provided for each ejection surface of the five ejection units.

  Then, after wiping, the wiper portion M5020 abuts against the blade cleaner M5060, so that the ink attached to the wiper blades M5020A to M5020C itself can be removed. Further, a configuration (wet liquid transfer portion) is provided that improves the cleaning performance by wiping by transferring the wet liquid to the wiper blades M5020A to M5020C prior to wiping. The configuration of the wet liquid transfer unit and the wiping operation will be described later.

  The suction pump M5000 can generate a negative pressure in a state where the cap M5010 is joined to the discharge surface and a sealed space is formed therein. As a result, ink can be filled into the ejection portion from the ink tank H1900, and dust, sticking matter, bubbles, etc. existing in the ejection port or the ink path inside the ejection port can be removed by suction.

  As the suction pump M5000, for example, a tube pump type is used. This includes a member formed with a curved surface that holds at least a part of a flexible tube, a roller that can press the flexible tube toward the member, and a roller that supports the roller. And a rotatable roller support portion. That is, by rotating the roller support portion in a predetermined direction, the roller rolls while crushing the flexible tube on the curved surface forming member. Along with this, a negative pressure is generated in the sealed space formed by the cap M5010, the ink is sucked from the discharge port, and is drawn from the cap M5010 into a tube or a suction pump. The drawn ink is further transferred toward an appropriate member (waste ink absorber) provided in the lower case M7080.

  Note that an absorber M5011 is provided in an inner portion of the cap M5010 in order to reduce ink remaining on the ejection surface of the recording head H1001 after suction. Further, by sucking the ink remaining in the cap M5010 or the absorber M5011 with the cap M5010 opened, consideration is given to preventing the remaining ink from sticking and the subsequent adverse effects. Here, an air release valve (not shown) is provided in the middle of the ink suction path, and the cap M5010 is opened in advance when the cap M5010 is detached from the discharge surface, so that a sudden negative pressure does not act on the discharge surface. It is preferable to keep it.

  Further, the suction pump M5000 can be operated not only for suction recovery, but also for discharging ink received in the cap M5010 by a preliminary ejection operation performed with the cap M5010 facing the ejection surface. That is, by operating the suction pump M5000 when the pre-discharged ink held in the cap M5010 reaches a predetermined amount, the ink held in the cap M5010 is transferred to the waste ink absorber through the tube. can do.

  A series of operations continuously performed such as the operation of the wiper unit M5020, the raising and lowering of the cap M5010, and the opening and closing of the valve are performed by a main cam (not shown) provided on the output shaft of the motor E0003 and a plurality of cams driven by the main cam It can be controlled by an arm or the like. That is, a predetermined operation can be performed by operating the cam portions, arms, and the like of the respective portions by the rotation of the main cam in accordance with the rotation direction of the motor E0003. The position of the main cam can be detected by a position detection sensor such as a photo interrupter.

(H) Wet liquid transfer part (FIGS. 17 and 16)
Recently, for the purpose of improving the recording density, water resistance, light resistance and the like of recorded matter, an ink containing a pigment component (hereinafter referred to as “pigment ink”) is increasingly used as a coloring material. The pigment ink is obtained by dispersing a solid color material in water by introducing a functional group on the surface of the pigment or the pigment. Therefore, the dried pigment ink, which is dried by evaporation of the water in the ink on the ejection surface, causes more damage to the ejection surface than the dry fixed matter of the dye-based ink in which the coloring material itself is dissolved at the molecular level. . In addition, there is a property that the polymer compound used for dispersing the pigment in the solvent is easily adsorbed to the ejection surface. This is a problem that occurs other than the pigment ink when a high molecular compound is present in the ink as a result of adding a reaction liquid to the ink for the purpose of adjusting the viscosity of the ink, improving light resistance, or the like.

  In order to deal with this problem, in the present embodiment, liquid is transferred and adhered to the blade of the wiper unit M5020, and wiping is performed with the wet blade. Thereby, the discharge surface is prevented from being deteriorated by the pigment ink, the wear of the wiper is reduced, and the accumulated matter is removed by dissolving the ink residue accumulated on the discharge surface. In the present specification, such a liquid is referred to as a wet liquid, and wiping using the liquid is referred to as wet wiping.

  In the present embodiment, the wet liquid is stored inside the recording apparatus main body. M5090 is a wet liquid tank, which stores a glycerin solution or the like as the wet liquid. M5100 is a wet liquid holding member, which is a fibrous member having an appropriate surface tension so that the wet liquid does not leak from the wet liquid tank M5090, and is impregnated and held with the wet liquid. M5080 is a wet liquid transfer member, which is made of, for example, a porous material having an appropriate capillary force, and has a wet liquid transfer portion M5081 in contact with the wiper blade. The wet liquid transfer member M5080 is also in contact with the wet liquid holding member M5100 soaked with the wet liquid, so that the wet liquid also soaks into the wet liquid transfer member M5080. The wet liquid transfer member M5080 is made of a material having a capillary force that can supply the wet liquid to the wet liquid transfer portion M5081 even when the remaining wet liquid is low.

  The operation of the wet liquid transfer unit and the wiper unit will be described.

  First, the cap M5010 is set to the lowered position, and the carriage M4000 is retracted to a position where it does not touch the blades M5020A to M5020C. In this state, the wiper portion M5020 is moved in the -Y direction, passes through the portion of the blade cleaner M5060, and is brought into contact with the wet liquid transfer portion M5081 (FIG. 17). By maintaining the contact state for an appropriate time, an appropriate amount of wet liquid is transferred to the wiper part M5020.

  Next, the wiper part M5020 is moved in the + Y direction. Since the blade touches the blade cleaner M5060 on the surface where the wet liquid is not attached, the wet liquid remains held by the blade.

  After returning the blade to the wiping start position, the carriage M4000 is moved to the wiping position. By moving the wiper unit M5020 in the −Y direction again, the ejection surface of the recording head H1001 can be wiped with the surface with the wet liquid.

1.3 Electrical Circuit Configuration Next, the configuration of the electrical circuit in the present embodiment will be described.

  FIG. 18 is a block diagram for schematically explaining the overall configuration of the electrical circuit in the recording apparatus J0013. The recording apparatus applied in the present embodiment is mainly configured by a carriage substrate E0013, a main substrate E0014, a power supply unit E0015, a front panel E0106, and the like.

  Here, the power supply unit E0015 is connected to the main board E0014 and supplies various driving powers.

  The carriage substrate E0013 is a printed circuit board unit mounted on the carriage M4000, and functions as an interface for exchanging signals with the recording head H1001 and supplying head drive power through the head connector E0101. As a portion for controlling the head drive power supply, a head drive voltage modulation circuit E3001 having a plurality of channels for each color ejection portion of the recording head H1001 is provided. Then, a head drive power supply voltage is generated according to a specified condition from the main board E0014 through a flexible flat cable (CRFFC) E0012. Further, a change in the positional relationship between the encoder scale E0005 and the encoder sensor E0004 is detected based on the pulse signal output from the encoder sensor E0004 as the carriage M4000 moves. Further, the output signal is output to the main board E0014 through a flexible flat cable (CRFFC) E0012.

  As shown in FIG. 20, an optical sensor E3010 composed of two light emitting elements (LEDs) E3011 and a light receiving element E3013 and a thermistor E3020 for detecting the ambient temperature are connected to the carriage substrate E0013. Hereinafter, these sensors are referred to as a multi-sensor E3000. Information obtained by the multi-sensor E3000 is output to the main board E0014 through a flexible flat cable (CRFFC) E0012.

  The main substrate E0014 is a printed circuit board unit that controls driving of each part of the ink jet recording apparatus according to the present embodiment. A host interface (host I / F) E0017 is provided on the board, and the recording operation is controlled based on the received data from the host device J0012 (FIG. 1). Further, these are connected to various motors such as a carriage motor E0001, an LF motor E0002, an AP motor E3005, and a PR motor E3006 to control them. The carriage motor E0001 is a motor serving as a drive source for main-scanning the carriage M4000. The LF motor E0002 is a motor serving as a drive source for transporting the recording medium. The AP motor E3005 is a motor that is a driving source for the recovery operation of the recording head H1001 and the recording medium feeding operation. The PR motor E3006 is a motor serving as a drive source for the flat pass recording operation. Furthermore, it connects to the sensor signal E0104 for transmitting and receiving control signals and detection signals to various sensors that detect the operating state of each part of the printer, such as PE sensors, CR lift sensors, LF encoder sensors, and PG sensors. Is done. The main board E0014 is connected to each of the CRFFC E0012 and the power supply unit E0015, and further has an interface for exchanging information with the front panel E0106 via a panel signal E0107.

  The front panel E0106 is a unit provided in front of the recording apparatus main body for the convenience of user operation. This has a resume key E0019, LED E0020, power key E0018, and flat pass key E3004 (FIG. 6), and also has a device I / F E0100 used for connection with peripheral devices such as a digital camera.

  FIG. 19 is a block diagram showing an internal configuration of the main board E1004.

  In the figure, E1102 is an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit). This is connected to the ROM E1004 through the control bus E1014, and performs various controls according to the program stored in the ROM E1004. For example, the sensor signal E0104 related to various sensors and the multi-sensor signal E4003 related to the multi-sensor E3000 are transmitted and received. In addition, the output state from the encoder signal E1020, the power key E0018 on the front panel E0106, the resume key E0019 and the flat pass key E3004 is detected. Also, according to the connection and data input state of the host I / F E0017 and the device I / F E0100 on the front panel, various logical operations and condition judgments are performed, each component is controlled, and drive control of the ink jet recording apparatus is performed. I am in charge.

  E1103 is a driver reset circuit. This generates a CR motor drive signal E1037, an LF motor drive signal E1035, an AP motor drive signal E4001 and a PR motor drive signal E4002 in accordance with the motor control signal E1106 from the ASIC E1102, and drives each motor. Further, the driver / reset circuit E1103 has a power supply circuit, and supplies necessary power to each part such as the main board E0014, the carriage board E0013, and the front panel E0106. Further, a drop in the power supply voltage is detected, and the reset signal E1015 is generated and initialized.

  E1010 is a power supply control circuit that controls power supply to each sensor having a light emitting element in accordance with a power supply control signal E1024 from the ASIC E1102.

  The host I / F E0017 transmits a host I / F signal E1028 from the ASIC E1102 to a host I / F cable E1029 connected to the outside, and transmits a signal from the cable E1029 to the ASIC E1102.

  On the other hand, power is supplied from the power supply unit E0015. The supplied power is supplied to each part inside and outside the main board E0014 after voltage conversion as necessary. A power supply unit control signal E4000 from the ASIC E1102 is connected to the power supply unit E0015, and controls a low power consumption mode and the like of the recording apparatus main body.

  The ASIC E1102 is a one-chip semiconductor integrated circuit with an arithmetic processing unit, and outputs the motor control signal E1106, the power supply control signal E1024, the power supply unit control signal E4000, and the like described above. Then, signals are exchanged with the host I / F E0017, and signals are exchanged with the device I / F E0100 on the front panel through the panel signal E0107. Further, the state is detected by each sensor such as a PE sensor and an ASF sensor through a sensor signal E0104. Further, the multi-sensor E3000 is controlled through the multi-sensor signal E4003 and the state is detected. Further, the state of the panel signal E0107 is detected, the driving of the panel signal E0107 is controlled, and the LED E0020 on the front panel blinks.

  Further, the ASIC E1102 detects the state of the encoder signal (ENC) E1020 to generate a timing signal, and controls the recording operation by interfacing with the recording head H1001 using the head control signal E1021. Here, the encoder signal (ENC) E1020 is an output signal of the encoder sensor E0004 inputted through the CRFFC E0012. The head control signal E1021 is connected to the carriage substrate E0013 through the flexible flat cable E0012. Then, the information is supplied to the recording head H1001 via the head drive voltage modulation circuit E3001 and the head connector E0101, and various information from the recording head H1001 is transmitted to the ASIC E1102. Among these, the head temperature information for each ejection unit is amplified by the head temperature detection circuit E3002 on the main substrate, and then input to the ASIC E1102 to be used for various control determinations.

  In the figure, E3007 is a DRAM, which is used as a data buffer for recording, a data buffer received from the host computer, etc., and also as a work area necessary for various control operations.

1.4 Recording Head Configuration The configuration of the head cartridge H1000 applied in this embodiment will be described below. The head cartridge H1000 in this embodiment has a recording head H1001, means for mounting the ink tank H1900, and means for supplying ink from the ink tank H1900 to the recording head. Then, it is detachably mounted on the carriage M4000.

  FIG. 21 is a diagram illustrating a state in which the ink tank H1900 is attached to the head cartridge H1000 applied in the present embodiment. The recording apparatus of the present embodiment forms an image with 10 color pigment inks. The ten colors are cyan (C), light cyan (Lc), magenta (M), light magenta (Lm), yellow (Y), first black (K1), second black (K2), red (R), and green. (G) and Gray. Accordingly, the ink tank T0001 is prepared for these 10 colors independently. As shown in the figure, each ink tank is detachable from the head cartridge H1000. The ink tank H1900 can be attached and detached while the head cartridge H1000 is mounted on the carriage M4000.

1.5 Ink Configuration The 10 color inks used in the present invention will be described below.

  The ten colors used in the present invention are cyan (C), light cyan (Lc), magenta (M), light magenta (Lm), yellow (Y), first black (K1), second black (K2), Gray (Gray), Red (R) and Green (G). All of the colorants used for each color are preferably pigments. Here, in order to disperse the pigment, a known general dispersant may be used, or the pigment surface may be modified by a known general method to impart self-dispersibility. In the gist of the present invention, the colorant used for at least some of the colors may be a dye. Further, the colorant used for at least some of the colors may be in the form of toning pigments and dyes, and a plurality of types of pigments may be included. Further, the 10-color ink used in the present invention may contain at least one selected from water-soluble organic solvents, additives, surfactants, binders, and preservatives within the scope of the present invention. .

2. 2. Characteristic Configuration 2.1 Reduction of Eccentricity Unevenness An object of the present invention is basically to provide a configuration capable of suppressing a shift in dot formation position due to insufficient conveyance accuracy due to eccentricity of a conveyance roller.

  22A and 22B show a state in which the rotation center axis Ec of the transport roller M3060 is eccentric with respect to the geometric center axis. If there is such an eccentricity, even if the conveying roller M3060 is rotated by an equal angle θ, as shown in FIGS. 22A and 22B, the circumferential length corresponding to the angle θ (the length of the arc) ) Since PL is different, an error occurs in the conveyance amount of the recording medium.

  FIG. 23 is a graph schematically showing an error in conveyance accuracy. As shown in this figure, the transport error due to eccentricity occurs in both the direction (positive direction) to be added to the normal transport amount (state of error “0”) and the direction to be subtracted (negative direction). . Here, as the transport error increases in the positive direction, the ink formation position becomes sparser and white stripes appear. Conversely, as the conveyance error increases in the negative direction, the formation positions become denser and black stripes appear. Then, since the conveyance roller is driven to rotate, the conveyance error appears with the length of one round as a cycle. The decrease in the conveyance accuracy is caused by a combination of the eccentricity of the conveyance roller itself and the deviation in the attachment position of the conveyance roller. In any case, the conveyance error is caused by the conveyance as shown in FIG. The length of one round of the roller appears as a cycle.

  Then, if ideal conveyance accuracy is obtained, the image to be recorded as shown in the schematic diagram of FIG. 24A is the conveyance amount for one rotation of the conveyance roller as shown in FIG. Is recorded as an image having striped unevenness (eccentric unevenness) that periodically appears in the transport direction. As described above, this is particularly easily recognized when recording a monochrome image in which an achromatic image is recorded using K ink from a low density region. The K ink is the ink of the first black K1 or the second black K2 described above. Here, the ink of the first black K1 and the second black K2 is a photo black ink that realizes recording of a glossy image on glossy paper and a matte black ink that is suitable for matte paper with no glossiness, respectively. If so, the first black K1 ink can be used.

  In response to such a problem, the present inventor found that the effect on the image quality due to the conveyance error of the recording medium is that the length in the recording medium conveyance direction of the area recorded by one recording scan (scan) of the recording head H1001 ( I came up with a dependency on the recording width. That is, it has been found that the eccentricity unevenness becomes more prominent as the recording width is larger, and is less likely to appear as the recording width is smaller. In other words, the reduction of the nozzle use range involved in recording is a reduction in the conveyance amount of the recording medium between each scan. For example, when recording a region on a recording medium by multi-pass recording by reducing the transport amount, the total transport amount required to perform multi-pass recording is small, and the integrated amount of transport amount error is small. I'm sorry. Hereinafter, this point will be further described.

  As described above, the recording head H1001 is arranged so that 768 nozzles that can be involved in recording can be recorded at a density of 1200 dpi per color. Using this recording head, the recording medium is conveyed in a direction intersecting the recording scanning direction by a width corresponding to, for example, 64 (= 768 ÷ 12) nozzles each time one recording scan is performed, that is, between recording scans. Consider the case where the above process is repeated 12 times. That is, consider a case where 12-pass printing is used to complete the printing of the same image area on the printing medium using the printing head H1001.

  In this case, it is considered that the conveyance error shown in FIG. 23 is integrated for 768 nozzles used for recording and affects each recording area on the recording medium. The movement error integrated value obtained as a result of calculating the error integrated value for 768 nozzles while shifting by 64 nozzles is as shown in the curve “integrated error at 768N” in FIG. The period indicated by this curve represents the period of eccentricity unevenness, and the magnitude of this amplitude is considered to correspond to the degree of eccentricity unevenness.

  This unevenness in eccentricity can be improved by reducing the nozzle use range that can be involved in recording and reducing the recording width of one scan. Reducing the nozzle use range involved in recording and reducing the recording width by one scan means that the transport amount of the recording medium between each scan is reduced. Regarding the transport roller M3060, the rotation angle between each scan is reduced.

  FIGS. 26A and 26B show a case where the rotation angle θ of the transport roller M3060 is made smaller than in the case of FIGS. 22A and 22B. As is apparent from FIGS. 26A and 26B, the rotation center axis Ec of the transport roller M3060 is decentered, so that there is a difference in the circumferential length (arc length) PL corresponding to the angle θ. However, the difference is smaller than in the case of FIGS. 22 (a) and 22 (b). By reducing the transport amount in this way, for example, when recording of an area on a recording medium is completed by multi-pass recording, the total transport amount required for performing multi-pass recording is also reduced, and the error of the transport amount is integrated. The amount will be small.

  As an example, a nozzle use range that can be involved in recording is set to 192 (= 768 ÷ 768) so that a quarter of the maximum recordable width corresponding to the array range of 768 nozzles of the recording head H1001 is the recording range. 4) Consider the case where the nozzle is reduced. Also in this case, the transport error shown in FIG. 23 is integrated for 192 nozzles in the same manner as described above, and the movement integrated value similar to that described above is obtained. In this case, by obtaining the error integrated value for 192 nozzles to be used while shifting by 16 (= 192 ÷ 12) nozzles, the characteristics shown in “Integrated error at 192N” in FIG. 25 can be obtained. From these results, compared with the case where all 768 nozzles are used, when the nozzle use range is reduced to 192 nozzles, the amplitude is reduced to about 1/4, and the degree of eccentricity unevenness is also reduced. I understand that. This result also corresponds to the appearance of the eccentricity unevenness appearing in the image actually recorded using 768 nozzles and the eccentricity unevenness appearing in the image recorded using 192 nozzles.

  As described above, the eccentricity unevenness is easily visually recognized when forming a monochrome image using K ink predominantly from the low density region to the entire density region. An object of the present invention is to obtain a recorded image in which unevenness is appropriately suppressed according to the number of colors of ink used for image recording.

  In this embodiment, it is possible to select a monochrome image recording mode (particularly a mode for recording an achromatic image) in which the number of ink colors used for image recording is reduced. Then, according to the mode selection, the nozzle use range that can be involved in recording is reduced or the recording medium conveyance amount is reduced.

2.2 Setting of Recording Mode, etc. A configuration for accepting various selection settings by the user when recording is described.

  FIG. 27 shows an example of a UI screen that is displayed on the monitor of the host device J0012 and can be used to set the type of recording medium used for recording, the quality of recording, and the like. Here, D0001 is a part for designating the type of recording medium to be used. The type of recording medium (high-grade glossy paper, low-priced glossy paper, plain paper, coated paper) is selected from a pull-down menu displayed in response to the operation of the menu display button. Paper, etc.) can be selected. D0002 is a portion for selecting a recording mode related to recording quality, and “clean” (high quality recording), “standard”, “fast” (high speed recording), “custom”, etc. can be selected by radio buttons. it can.

  D0003 is a portion for selecting a color image recording mode or a monochrome image recording mode. When this “grayscale printing” check box D0003 is checked, recording is performed in the monochrome image recording mode (recording of an achromatic image in the present embodiment), and when not checked, the recording is performed in the color recording mode. Can be recorded. When the check box D0003 for “grayscale printing” is checked, even if the input image is a color image, it can be output as a monochrome image.

  Here, the UI screen displayed on the monitor of the host device J0012 is used to perform various settings. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and for example, an operation unit prepared in the recording device may be used. .

  In the present embodiment, the color conversion to be used is used even when the same achromatic image or image portion is recorded when the color image recording mode is selected and when the monochrome image recording mode is selected. The LUT is different.

  FIGS. 28A and 28B show the contents of the color conversion LUT used in the subsequent stage J0003 for expressing a gray line when the color image recording mode is selected and when the monochrome image recording mode is selected, respectively. Indicates. These figures show the contents of a conventional color conversion lookup table (LUT) when six colors (K, C, M, Y, Lm, Lc) are used. In these drawings, the horizontal axis is from white (W) indicated by (R, G, B) = (0, 0, 0) to (R, G, B) = (255, 255, 255). The range up to black (K) is shown. The vertical axis corresponds to the density signal of each color output in the subsequent stage J0003. In the color conversion LUT shown in FIG. 28A, seven colors of ink of Gray, Lc, Lm, C, M, Y, and K (K1 or K2) are appropriately selected and used for each density region. . Specifically, Gray, Lc, Lm, and Y are mainly used in the low concentration region, C, M, and Y are mainly used in the medium concentration region, and K is mainly used in the high concentration region. On the other hand, in the color conversion LUT shown in FIG. 28B, five colors of ink of Gray, Lc, Lm, Y, and K (K1 or K2) are appropriately selected and used for each density region. Specifically, Gray is predominantly used from the low concentration region to the high concentration region. By using Gray predominantly, graininess and color deviation can be suppressed. On the other hand, since Lc, Lm, and Y are only used for toning, the amount of use is extremely suppressed from the low density region to the high density region. K starts to be used from the medium concentration region to increase the concentration, and the amount of use gradually increases from the medium concentration region to the high concentration region. As a result, it is possible to express a gray scale with less graininess and color deviation.

2.3 Conditions for Determining the Use Nozzle In this embodiment, the nozzle use range that can be involved in recording is reduced (restricted) or the recording medium conveyance amount is reduced according to the mode selection. Further, in the present embodiment, the following are employed as the conditions for determining the used nozzles in addition to the mode selection.

  First, the nozzle group to be used is not fixed when the nozzle use range is limited. This is due to the following reason.

  When the recording is continued with the use nozzles limited, there is a large difference in the cumulative number of ejection operations between the nozzles used for the recording and others. It has been found that the ink ejection state of the nozzle changes depending on the number of cumulative ejection operations. This is mainly due to the deterioration of the durability of the discharge mechanism (element for generating energy used for ink discharge) provided in the nozzle as the cumulative number of discharge operations increases. It is considered that the discharge speed is changed.

  FIGS. 29A to 29C are schematic diagrams for explaining the influence on the image when the recording is continued in a state where the use nozzles are limited. FIGS. 7A and 7B show nozzle rows corresponding to a certain color ink, and 768 nozzles are arranged. FIG. 6 (a) shows that only 192 nozzles on the upper end side of the drawing are used when the nozzle use range involved in printing is reduced, and FIG. It shows that all nozzles are used without reducing the range.

  In the present embodiment, as described above, depending on the mode selection, it is determined whether to use all nozzles or some of the nozzles for printing. Then, after reducing the nozzle use range and continuing recording using the limited nozzle group as shown in FIG. 29A, a uniform image is recorded using all the nozzles as shown in FIG. Then, it is conceivable that an image recorded by one recording scan becomes as shown in FIG. This is because the cumulative discharge operation count of the 192 nozzles on the upper end side in FIG. 5A is larger than that of the other nozzles, so that the deterioration of durability progresses and the ink discharge amount becomes small. The reason is that only the recorded part looks thin. When such a density difference occurs in the recorded image in one recording scan, so-called band unevenness appears in the finally completed image.

  Therefore, in the present embodiment, in the mode in which the recording is performed with the nozzle use range being limited, the nozzles used for the recording are not fixed, and the cumulative number of ejection operations can be obtained as uniform as possible for all the nozzles.

  Furthermore, in this embodiment, the nozzle use range is appropriately reduced in recording at the leading end or the trailing end of the recording medium.

  FIG. 30 is a diagram illustrating the areas of the front end, the center, and the rear end when the marginless recording is performed on the A4 size (294 mm × 210 mm) recording medium in the recording apparatus of the present embodiment. Here, an area in which recording can be performed in a state where the recording medium is held by both the conveying roller M3060 and the paper discharge roller M3100 shown in FIG. In addition, an area that is recorded before the leading edge of the recording medium is supported by the paper discharge roller M3100 is a leading edge, and an area that is recorded after the trailing edge of the recording medium is separated from the conveying roller M3060 is a trailing edge.

  The reason why the nozzle use range is reduced (restricted) between the front end portion and the rear end portion depends on the configuration of the platen M3040 disposed between the transport roller M3060 and the paper discharge roller M3100.

  The recording apparatus of the present embodiment provides an output product having a quality equivalent to that of a silver halide photograph, and is configured as a recording apparatus capable of realizing an image having no margin, so-called “marginless recording”.

  FIG. 31 is a schematic plan view when the platen M3040 is viewed from above, and the recording medium is conveyed from the lower side to the upper side in the conveyance direction indicated by the arrows. In other words, the transport roller M3060 and the paper discharge roller M3100 are disposed on the lower side and the upper side of the drawing, respectively.

  HN is a nozzle row provided in the recording head H1001, and only one corresponding to one color ink is shown in the figure for simplicity. The platen M3040 that supports the recording medium that passes through the recording area scanned by the nozzle row HN has an opening. In this opening, a plurality of ribs P001 are provided to support the recording medium, and accepts ink ejected from the leading and trailing edges and side edges of the recording medium when performing marginless recording. An ink absorber P002 is installed.

  A plurality of ribs P001 are provided along the upstream end and the downstream end in the transport direction within the opening of the platen M3040. The distance between the rib at the upstream end and the rib at the downstream end is longer than the length corresponding to the maximum number of nozzles (768 nozzles in this embodiment) used during recording at the central portion of the recording medium. Great. As a result, the ribs are prevented from being stained by the ink ejected from the left and right edges of the recording medium.

  A plurality of ribs P001 are also arranged in the central portion of the opening 208 in the recording medium conveyance direction to support the recording medium. The ribs arranged in the central portion are arranged so as not to be stained by ink ejected from the leading and trailing edges and the left and right side edges of the recording medium during marginless recording. The arrangement of such ribs and the maximum number of nozzles that can be involved in recording at the front and rear end portions of the recording medium are appropriately determined in consideration of the mutual relationship.

  Another reason for restricting the nozzle use range at the time of recording at the front and rear end portions of the recording medium is that the recording medium is supported by both the conveying roller M3060 and the discharge roller M3100 when recording the leading end portion or the trailing end portion of the recording medium. Sometimes not. In a state where the recording medium is supported by only one roller, the flatness of the recording medium is not ensured, and the distance between the unsupported end (front end or rear end) and the recording head (hereinafter referred to as the paper interval) (Distance) fluctuates and is unstable. In the central portion, recording scanning is performed while ejecting ink at a timing corresponding to a predetermined inter-paper distance maintained on the platen by the front and rear rollers. The ink ejected at an appropriate timing becomes dots on the recording medium, and an image is formed by arranging the ink at an appropriate pitch. On the other hand, at the leading and trailing edges, the distance between the papers is unstable, so if the fluctuation in the paper distance within the recording width is large, the position of the dots on the recording medium also becomes unstable, resulting in white streaks. And image defects such as black streaks or graininess will occur.

  Therefore, in the present embodiment, the recording width of the recording head (that is, the nozzle use range during recording) is suppressed during recording at the front and rear end portions, and the conveyance amount of the recording medium is also reduced accordingly. As a result, the recording width of the recording head can be reduced, and fluctuations in the inter-paper distance within the recording width can be suppressed.

  FIG. 32 is a diagram for explaining a nozzle use range determined in consideration of the above various conditions, and schematically shows a state viewed from the nozzle forming surface side of the recording head H1001 employed in the present embodiment. Yes. The recording head H1001 of this example has two recording element substrates H3700 and a recording element substrate H3701 in which nozzle arrays for each of the ten colors are formed. H2700 to H3600 are nozzle rows corresponding to 10 different colors of ink, respectively.

  One recording element substrate H3700 is provided with nozzle rows H3200, H3300, H3400, H3500, and H3600 that are supplied with gray, light cyan, first black, second black, and light magenta inks and perform ejection operations. . On the other recording element substrate H3701, nozzle rows H2700, H2800, H2900, H3000, and H3100 are formed that perform discharge operations by being supplied with cyan, red, green, magenta, and yellow inks. Each nozzle row is composed of 768 nozzles arranged at an interval of 1200 dpi in the conveyance direction of the recording medium, and ejects approximately 2 picoliters of ink droplets. The opening area at each nozzle outlet is set to approximately 100 square μm.

  In the mode in which the recording is executed with the nozzle use range limited (reduced), as shown in the left part of the figure, the entire range M of each nozzle row, that is, 768 nozzles is equally divided into four with respect to the central recording. . Then, the divided areas (indicated by reference numerals Em0 to Em3 from the downstream side in the transport direction, that is, from the leading end side of the recording medium) are used. Each of these nozzle areas Em0 to Em3 is composed of 192 continuous nozzles. In the present embodiment, the divided areas to be used for the central portion are not fixed, and the areas Em0 to Em3 are switched as appropriate. As for the front and rear end portions, an area Em ′ including 192 nozzles continuous inward from a position displaced inward by 64 nozzles from the most downstream end portion is used. In this embodiment, a divided region including 192 nozzles is used for both the front and rear end portions and the central portion of the recording medium. However, the number of nozzles used at the front and rear end portions may be smaller than that of the central portion. .

  In a mode in which recording is executed without restricting (reducing) the nozzle use range, the entire range M of each nozzle row, that is, 768 nozzles, is used for recording in the central portion of the recording medium. However, for the recording of the front and rear end portions, as shown in the right part of FIG. 32, an area Ecf including 256 nozzles located on the downstream side in the recording medium conveyance direction (discharge roller side) is used.

2.4 Embodiment of recording operation according to set recording mode, etc. A specific example of the recording operation performed based on the above nozzle use range will be described.

  In this example, when the user checks the check box D0003 in FIG. 27 and selects the monochrome image recording (grayscale printing) mode, the nozzle use range is limited (reduced) over the entire recording medium including the central portion of the recording medium. ) To record. Hereinafter, this is referred to as “entire nozzle limited recording (or limited recording mode)”. In other cases, recording is performed without limiting (reducing) the nozzle use range at least with respect to the central portion of the recording medium. Hereinafter, this is referred to as “normal recording (or unrestricted recording mode)”.

  FIG. 33 is a flowchart showing an example of a recording processing procedure executed in the recording system of this embodiment. First, in step S1, it is determined whether or not a monochrome image recording mode is selected. As a result, the following recording control can be executed.

  If a negative determination is made here, the process proceeds to step S11 to select a color conversion LUT for recording a color image, and color conversion processing based on this is performed in step S13. In this case, even if the image to be recorded has an achromatic image or image portion, the LUT shown in FIG. 28A is applied to the image or image portion.

  On the other hand, if an affirmative determination is made in step S1, the process proceeds to step S21 to select a color conversion LUT for recording a monochrome image, and color conversion processing based on this is performed in step S23. In this case, even if the image to be recorded has a color or image portion, the LUT shown in FIG. 28B is applied to the image or image portion.

  In step S30, the print data is generated by performing necessary processing on the color-converted data as described above. The above is the processing executed by the host device J0012. The host device J0012 supplies the created print data to the recording device J0013 together with the setting information as shown in FIG.

  In response to this, the printing apparatus J0013 executes the following control.

  In this procedure, first, it is recognized whether or not it is a monochrome image recording mode (step S100).

  If a negative determination is made here, normal recording is executed. In the case of performing normal recording in this example, 768 nozzles in each nozzle row are used for recording at the central portion of the recording medium, and recording (8-pass recording) is performed with eight recording scans. Further, regarding the recording of the front and rear end portions, it is assumed that 8-pass printing is performed using the area Ecf including 256 nozzles shown in the right part of FIG. Note that 8-pass printing refers to applying 8 printing scans to the same image area in multi-pass printing. The 4-pass printing has been described above with reference to FIGS. 4 and 5, but the same applies to the 8-pass printing. In other words, the used nozzles (768 or 256) are divided into eight, and scanning is performed by applying a mask pattern that maintains a complementary relationship to each of the eight nozzle groups in the same manner as described above, and divided between each scan. What is necessary is just to perform recording medium conveyance corresponding to the length of an area | region.

  In normal recording, appropriate ejection data corresponding to the nozzle range used for recording at the front end, center, and rear end of the recording medium is created (step S115), and the recording operation for one page of the recording medium is executed (step S115). Step S117). Then, it is determined whether or not the print job is finished every time one page is recorded (step S119). If there is a next page in the print job, the process returns to step S115 to repeat the above processing. If there is no next page, the procedure is terminated.

  The operations performed during normal recording will be described more specifically with reference to FIGS. 34 (a) to (c) and FIGS. 35 (a) and 35 (b).

  When recording the leading edge of the recording medium, as shown in FIG. 34A, 256 nozzles in the region Ecf located on the downstream side in the recording medium conveyance direction are used. The same applies to the rear end recording (FIG. 34C). By restricting the nozzles to be used at the time of recording at the front and rear end portions of the recording medium, ink is not ejected onto the rib P001. Further, when recording the central portion of the recording medium, as shown in FIG. 34B, 768 nozzles in the entire range M that can be involved in recording are used. Also in this case, since the rib P001 is appropriately arranged (in other words, for example, no rib is arranged at a position corresponding to the side edge of the standard size recording medium), the ink is placed on the rib P001. There is no discharge.

  FIG. 35 is a diagram for explaining a mode of scanning and nozzle use in the normal recording operation. Here, FIG. 9A shows a state where recording from the vicinity of the front end portion of the recording medium is shifted to recording at the central portion, and FIG. It shows the state of going. In these drawings, a region corresponding to all 768 nozzles is shown in the vertical direction, and a hatched portion of the region is used. Further, a state in which the recording medium is conveyed as it goes from the left to the right in the drawing is shown, which is expressed by shifting the nozzle row for each recording scan.

  When recording the leading edge, as shown in FIG. 35 (a), scanning is initially performed using 256 nozzles on the downstream side in the transport direction, and between each scan, 32 nozzles (= 256 / Recording is performed by repeating the conveyance of 8). Then, the number of nozzles to be used is gradually expanded, and the carry amount is changed accordingly. After the recording at the leading end is completed (the recording is shifted to the central recording), a scan using all 768 nozzles is performed. And 96 nozzles (= 768/8) are repeated for recording.

  At the time of transition to the rear end recording, as shown in FIG. 35 (b), the used nozzle range is gradually reduced from the state where the central recording is performed (the left portion in the figure) toward the rear end recording. While scanning, an appropriate amount of conveyance is performed between the scans. When reaching the rear end, that is, after the trailing edge of the recording medium exceeds the transport roller M30600, scanning is performed using 256 nozzles on the downstream side in the transport direction, and transport for 32 nozzles is performed between each scan. Repeat recording.

  The timing for starting the nozzle restriction at the rear end can be determined based on the timing at which the PE sensor E0007 detects the trailing edge of the recording medium. That is, based on this timing, the time point when the trailing edge of the recording medium leaves the nipping position between the conveying roller M3060 and the pinch roller M3070 (at the time of trailing edge separation) is recognized. Then, the trailing edge recording can be started from “recording scanning when trailing edge is removed” shown in the drawing. Thereby, it is possible to suppress the occurrence of unevenness due to the impact that tends to occur at the moment when the recording medium is released from the restraint by the conveying roller M3060 and the pinch roller M3070.

  Referring again to FIG. 33, when the monochrome image recording mode is recognized in step S100, full-surface nozzle limited recording is executed. In the case of performing full-surface nozzle limited recording in this example, recording is performed with 12 recording scans (12-pass recording) using 192 continuous nozzles when recording the front and rear end portions and the central portion of the recording medium. To do. Here, for the recording of the front and rear end portions, an area Em ′ including continuous 192 nozzles shown in the left portion of FIG. 32 is used. However, the use area is not fixed for the central portion, and any of the areas Em0 to Em3 is used for each page included in the print job. Note that 12-pass printing refers to applying 12 printing scans to the same image area in multi-pass printing. That is, in this case, the used nozzles (192) are divided into twelve, and scanning is performed by applying a mask pattern similar to the above to each of the twelve nozzle groups, and the length of the divided region between the scans is accommodated. The recording medium is transported.

  In full-surface nozzle restriction recording, first, in step S121, the page counter for counting the number of recordings executed in the print job is incremented by +1. In step S123, based on this count value, an area related to recording in the central portion of the recording medium of the page is set. For example, for the 4Nth page (N is an integer equal to or greater than 0), the area Em0 on the most downstream side in the transport direction is used, and for the 4N + 1th page, the second area Em1 from the most downstream side in the transport direction is used. . The area Em2 can be used for the 4N + 2 page, and the area Em3 can be used for the 4N + 3 page.

  Next, appropriate ejection data corresponding to the nozzle range used for recording at the front end portion, the central portion, and the rear end portion of the recording medium is created (step S125), and the recording operation for one page of the recording medium is executed (step S125). S127). Then, it is determined whether or not the print job is finished every time one page is recorded (step S129). If there is a next page in the print job, the process returns to step S121 and the above processing is repeated. If there is no next page, the procedure is terminated.

  36A to 36C, 37A and 37B, and FIGS. 40A and 40B, the operation performed during full nozzle limited recording will be described more specifically.

  When recording the leading end portion and the trailing end portion of the recording medium, as shown in FIGS. 36 (a) and 36 (c), an area biased inward by 64 nozzles from the most downstream position in the conveyance direction of the recording medium, respectively. Use Em's 192 nozzles. Further, when recording the central portion of the recording medium, the areas Em0 to Em3 are switched and used for each page as shown in FIG. In these cases, ink is not ejected onto the ribs P001 as in normal recording.

  FIG. 37 to FIG. 40 are diagrams for explaining modes of scanning and nozzle use in the 4N page to 4N + 3 page of the full-surface nozzle limited recording operation. In these figures, (a) shows a state in which recording from the vicinity of the leading end of the recording medium is shifted to recording in the central part, and (b) shows a state in which recording from the central part of the recording medium is shifted to recording near the rear end. ing. In these drawings, a region corresponding to all 768 nozzles in the vertical direction is shown, and a hatched portion of the region is used. Further, a state in which the recording medium is conveyed as it goes from the left to the right in the drawing is shown, which is expressed by shifting the nozzle row for each recording scan.

  FIG. 37 shows a case where recording is performed on the 4Nth page, and the nozzle area used for recording on the central portion of the recording medium is set to Em0. Similarly, FIG. 38 shows a case where recording is performed on the (4N + 1) th page, and the nozzle area used for recording on the central portion of the recording medium is set to Em1. FIG. 39 shows a case where recording is performed on the 4N + 2 page, and the nozzle area used for recording on the central portion of the recording medium is set to Em2. FIG. 40 shows a case where recording is performed on the 4N + 3th page, and the nozzle area used for recording on the central portion of the recording medium is set to Em4.

  As shown in these drawings, at the time of leading and trailing edge recording, every page is scanned using 192 nozzles in the region Em ′ located on the downstream side in the transport direction, and between each scan, 16 nozzles (= 192 / Recording is performed by repeating the conveyance of 12). In the central portion, scanning is performed using 192 nozzles in any of the set areas Em0 to Em3, and recording is performed by repeatedly carrying 16 nozzles between each scan. At the time of transition from the front end portion to the central portion and at the time of transition from the central portion to the rear end portion, the used nozzles are directed toward the region set from the region Em ′ and from the set region toward the region Em ′, respectively. Record while shifting. The timing for starting the nozzle restriction at the rear end is determined in the same manner as described above.

  According to the above configuration, in the monochrome image recording mode, the recording is performed by reducing the nozzle use range that can be involved in the recording or reducing the transport amount of the recording medium. Unevenness can be suppressed.

  FIGS. 41A and 41B show monochrome image recording results when full-surface nozzle restriction recording is not performed and when it is performed. Here, when full-surface nozzle restriction recording is not performed, all 768 nozzles are used, and when full-surface nozzle restriction recording is performed, 192 nozzles out of 768 are used for scanning. Conveyance corresponding to the range of nozzles used was performed. Further, glossy paper was used as the recording medium under the condition that the conveyance roller has a sectional diameter of 11.847 mm and the conveyance amount variation due to the eccentricity of the conveyance roller is 4 μm when the conveyance amount is 64 nozzle units. .

  When full-surface nozzle restriction recording is not performed, as is apparent from FIG. 41A, eccentricity unevenness is observed in image portions having various densities. On the other hand, when full-surface nozzle restriction recording is performed, as is apparent from FIG. 41 (b), unevenness is hardly visible in any density image.

  Further, in the above example, the nozzle use area used for full-surface nozzle restriction recording is not fixed, but is switched and used for each page, so that variations in the cumulative number of nozzle ejection operations can be reduced.

  The page count can be executed for each print job. However, it is preferable to provide a counter area in a nonvolatile memory such as an EEPROM so that the count value is cumulatively managed so that the contents are retained even when the apparatus is turned off. According to this, the areas Em0 to Em3 can be used almost evenly with respect to the central recording regardless of the number of recording sheets included in various print jobs generated at various timings in the flow of time. . That is, it is possible to more effectively reduce the variation in the number of cumulative ejection operations of the nozzles.

  In the above description, the areas Em0 to Em3 related to the central recording are switched for each page. However, this may be performed for each of a plurality of pages. In addition, switching of the used nozzle limit position may be controlled using a dot count together.

  FIG. 42 is a flowchart showing the main part of the recording processing procedure when dot count is used together. In this procedure, after the monochrome image recording mode is recognized in step S100, the dot count value is determined in step S131. Here, the dot count value is a cumulative value of the number of ejection operations of each color ink nozzle. In step S131, it is determined whether or not the dot count value of any color has exceeded a threshold value determined as shown in FIG. If an affirmative determination is made here, the process proceeds to step S133, the page counter is incremented by +1, and the dot count value is reset in step S135. Then, the process proceeds to the used nozzle area setting process in step S123. If it is determined in step S131 that the dot count value of any color does not exceed the threshold value, the process immediately proceeds to step S123.

  In such a control procedure, the areas Em0 to Em3 involved in the central recording are not necessarily switched for each page. If even one of the dot count values of each color exceeds the threshold, the page The area is switched by incrementing the count value. By using the dot count value in this way, it is possible to reduce variations in the cumulative number of ejection operations even when printing is performed with different duty for each page.

  In the above description, only the number of recordings for monochrome image recording is counted. However, the effect can be expected because it is considered that the nozzles used in monochrome image recording can be largely avoided by counting every number of recorded sheets including the case of performing normal recording. Furthermore, the count target may be the number of print job receptions instead of the number of recordings. In this case, it is considered that various prints are included in one print job. However, as many print jobs are processed over a long period of time, the cumulative number of ejection operations is almost equalized. Therefore, it is possible to generally avoid deviation of the nozzles used.

  Also, instead of switching nozzle use areas in units of pages, for example, when there are multiple recording areas with blanks (non-recording areas) in one page in the transport direction, switching is performed for each recording area. It is also possible to perform this. That is, the nozzle use area may be switched within one page. At this time, the dot count described above may be used in combination.

  Further, the switching mode of the nozzle use area is not limited to the regular switching mode in which switching is regularly performed in the order of Em0, Em1, Em2, and Em3 described above. The area used first may be other than Em0, and for example, a mode of random switching in which the nozzle use areas Em0 to Em3 are randomly selected can be employed.

  In addition, the nozzle range used for the recording of the front and rear ends can be appropriately determined as long as there is no inconvenience that the ink is discharged onto the rib. That is, the arrangement position of the rib P001 and the presence / absence of the rib are appropriately determined, and accordingly, the nozzle range used for the recording of the front and rear ends can be appropriately determined. And like the above-mentioned embodiment, you may determine separately from the nozzle range used in a center part, and use either Em0-Em3 used for recording of a center part, changing or changing. You can also. Further, when recording on one recording medium, the same range (block) may be used for both the front and rear ends and the central portion. Further, different ranges may be used for the front end portion and the rear end portion, and the number of nozzles used (the size of the continuous range) may be different.

  In addition, since eccentricity unevenness can be conspicuous when recording an achromatic monochrome image using K ink predominantly, in the above example, full-surface nozzle limited recording is performed in the case of gray scale printing. It was supposed to be. However, even when recording monochrome images using predominantly other colors of ink, or when recording monochrome images with a slight tint (such as sepia photographs), there is a difference in the degree of visibility. However, eccentricity can occur. In general, when recording an image in which the coverage of the recording medium is low due to the small number of ink colors to be used, eccentricity unevenness can occur regardless of the difference in the degree of visibility. Therefore, not only when performing gray scale printing using K ink dominantly, full nozzle limited recording may be performed by recognizing the recording mode.

(Modification 1)
In the above example, when the achromatic monochrome image recording (grayscale printing) mode is selected, the entire nozzle limit recording is performed uniformly. However, even when the gray scale printing mode is selected, the full nozzle restriction recording may not be performed depending on the conditions (for example, the type of the recording medium and the user setting). Therefore, in the first modification, in addition to the gray scale printing mode using the full nozzle restriction recording, the gray scale printing mode not using the full nozzle restriction recording can be selected.

(I) Types of recording media Recording media (high-grade glossy paper, low-cost glossy paper, etc.) mainly used for recording photographs are required to have a high level of image quality. On the other hand, plain paper does not require such a high level of image quality. Since the level of image quality required varies depending on the type of recording medium as described above, the tolerance of eccentricity unevenness can be varied depending on the type of recording medium. In other words, with plain paper, the tolerance of eccentricity unevenness can be made larger than with glossy paper.

  Therefore, in this example, according to the type of the recording medium, it is possible to select whether or not to perform “full-surface nozzle limited recording” as a countermeasure against uneven eccentricity. Specifically, when the “grey-scale printing” check box D0003 in the UI screen of FIG. 27 is checked and high-grade glossy paper or low-priced glossy paper is selected as the “paper type” of D0001, the entire nozzle Set limit recording. That is, when recording on high-grade glossy paper or low-priced glossy paper (first type of recording medium), the use nozzles are limited so that eccentricity unevenness is prevented as much as possible. On the other hand, when the check box D0003 for “gray scale printing” is checked and plain paper (second type of recording medium) is selected as the “paper type” of D0001, the full nozzle restriction recording is not set. First, set normal recording. In other words, when recording on plain paper, nozzles are not limited and all nozzles are used. Thus, speed priority recording is performed. If the “grayscale printing” check box D0003 on the UI screen in FIG. 27 is not checked, normal recording is set. The above items are summarized as shown in Table 1.

(Ii) User Setting Here, a configuration will be described in which the user can freely select a grayscale printing mode using full-surface nozzle restriction recording and a grayscale printing mode not using full-surface nozzle restriction recording.

  In order to realize this configuration, a check box X for executing “entire nozzle restriction recording” is provided in the UI screen of FIG. The check box X is configured so that it can be specified only when the check box D0003 for "grayscale printing" is checked. That is, when the check box D0003 for “grayscale printing” is not checked, the check box X is grayed out and cannot be specified. Then, when the check box D0003 is checked and the check box X is checked, “entire nozzle restriction recording” is executed. That is, if the user desires “full nozzle restriction recording”, the “full nozzle restriction recording” can be executed regardless of the type of the recording medium. According to this configuration, the user's selection range is widened, and a wide range of user needs can be met.

(Second Embodiment)
In the first embodiment described above, the nozzle group (Em0 to Em3) used for recording on the central portion of the recording medium is not fixed when limiting the nozzles to be used in the limited recording mode. However, not fixing the nozzle group is not an essential requirement of the present invention. In the present invention, it is only necessary to perform recording over the entire recording area in a state where the nozzle use range is reduced, and the nozzle group involved in recording in the central portion may be fixed.

  In view of this, the second embodiment is characterized in that the nozzle group used for the central recording is fixed in the limited recording mode. Since other aspects are the same as those in the first embodiment described above, description thereof is omitted here.

  The second embodiment will be described below with reference to FIGS. 32 and 37. As described above, Em0 and Em 'in FIG. 32 are composed of 192 continuous nozzles. In this embodiment, the nozzle groups Em0 and Em' are used in the limited recording mode. That is, the used nozzle group is fixed to Em0 at the central portion, and the nozzle group Em 'is used at the front and rear end portions. More specifically, when moving from the tip portion to the center portion, the used nozzle range is changed as shown in FIG. 37A, and the nozzle group Em ′ is used at the tip portion. Next, in the central portion, the used nozzle range is fixed to Em0, and recording is performed using the nozzle group Em0. In this embodiment, even if the page changes, the nozzle range used in the center is fixed to Em0. Finally, when moving from the central portion to the rear end portion, the used nozzle range is changed as shown in FIG. 37B, and the nozzle Em ′ is used at the rear end portion.

  As described above, according to this embodiment, since the used nozzle range is not changed as in the first embodiment, the control can be simplified. Furthermore, when the nozzle used is changed, a density difference may occur due to a difference in ink droplet ejection characteristics or landing accuracy by the nozzle. However, in the present embodiment, such a problem does not occur, and there is an effect that it is possible to prevent the occurrence of the density difference caused by the change of the nozzle used.

  It should be noted that the nozzle group involved in the central recording need not be Em0. In the present embodiment, it is only necessary to fix the nozzle group involved in the central recording, and for example, only one of Em1 to Em3 may be used.

  In this embodiment, the number of nozzles used at the center and the front and rear ends is the same, but the number of nozzles used at the front and rear ends may be smaller than that at the center. If the number of nozzles used at the front and rear ends is reduced and the transport amount is reduced, the transport error at the front and rear ends is reduced and the image quality of the front and rear ends can be further improved.

2.5 Others The gist of the present invention is to reduce the nozzle use range or the conveyance amount over the entire recording area in order to suppress unevenness in the recorded image due to the conveyance error of the recording medium. It is. Accordingly, in each of the above-described embodiments, the recording apparatus capable of realizing the marginless recording has been described, but the present invention does not necessarily require this. In addition, examples using rollers as the transport mechanism are illustrated, and periodic transport amount fluctuations due to the eccentricity of the transport rollers are illustrated as a cause of unevenness. However, depending on the configuration of the transport mechanism and the periodicity of transport amount fluctuations Regardless, the present invention is applicable. In other words, by reducing the nozzle use range or reducing the carry amount, the integrated amount of carry amount error is reduced.

  The number of ink colors to be used, the number of nozzles (recording elements), the reduction ratio of the nozzle usage range and the reduction ratio of the conveyance amount of the recording medium, the number of passes of multi-pass printing, and the types of mask patterns to be applied It is an example. That is, it goes without saying that these can be used as appropriate.

It is a figure for demonstrating the flow of the image data process in the recording system applied by one Embodiment of this invention. FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a configuration example of recording data that is transferred from the printer driver of the host device to the recording apparatus in the recording system of FIG. 1. FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an output pattern with respect to an input level that is converted by a dot array patterning process by a recording apparatus used in the embodiment. It is a schematic diagram for demonstrating the multipass printing method which the printing apparatus used by embodiment performs. It is explanatory drawing which shows an example of the mask pattern applied to the multipass printing method which the printing apparatus used by embodiment performs. FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a recording apparatus used in the embodiment, and shows a state viewed from the front when not in use. FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a recording apparatus used in the embodiment, and shows a state viewed from the back when not in use. 1 is a perspective view of a recording apparatus used in an embodiment, and shows a state viewed from the front surface during use. It is a figure for demonstrating the internal mechanism of the recording device main body used by embodiment, and is a perspective view from an upper right part. It is a figure for demonstrating the internal mechanism of the recording device main body used by embodiment, and is a perspective view from the upper left part. FIG. 4 is a side sectional view for explaining an internal mechanism of the recording apparatus main body used in the embodiment. FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a recording apparatus used in the embodiment, and shows a state viewed from the front surface during flat pass recording. FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a recording apparatus used in the embodiment, and shows a state viewed from the back during flat pass recording. It is a typical side sectional view for explaining flat pass recording performed in an embodiment. FIG. 4 is a perspective view illustrating a cleaning unit in the recording apparatus main body used in the embodiment. FIG. 16 is a cross-sectional view for explaining the configuration and operation of the wiper unit in the cleaning unit of FIG. 15. FIG. 16 is a cross-sectional view for explaining the configuration and operation of a wet liquid transfer unit in the cleaning unit of FIG. 15. 1 is a block diagram schematically showing an overall configuration of an electrical circuit in an embodiment of the present invention. It is a block diagram which shows the example of an internal structure of the main board | substrate in FIG. It is a figure which shows the structural example of the multi sensor mounted in the carriage board | substrate in FIG. FIG. 5 is a perspective view illustrating a state where an ink tank is mounted on the head cartridge applied in the embodiment. (A) and (b) illustrate a state in which an error occurs in the conveyance amount of the recording medium even by rotation at an equal angle because the conveyance roller used in the conveyance mechanism in the embodiment is eccentric with respect to the central axis. It is a typical sectional view for doing. It is explanatory drawing which represented the error of the conveyance accuracy by eccentricity of a conveyance roller with a graph. (A) And (b) is explanatory drawing for demonstrating the image which does not have the nonuniformity by eccentricity, and an image with nonuniformity, respectively. It is explanatory drawing which represented the change of the conveyance error integrated value corresponding to the number of used nozzles with the graph. (A) And (b) is typical sectional drawing for demonstrating the aspect which reduces a conveyance error by making the rotation angle of a conveyance roller smaller than the case of FIG. 22 (a) and (b). . It is explanatory drawing of the setting screen which can be used when performing the setting of the kind of recording medium used for recording, the quality of recording, etc. FIG. (A) And (b) is explanatory drawing which shows the content of the color conversion LUT used when a color image recording mode is selected and a monochrome image recording mode is selected, respectively. (A)-(c) is a schematic diagram for demonstrating the influence on the image at the time of recording continuing in the state which limited the use nozzle. FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating regions of a front end portion, a central portion, and a rear end portion when recording is performed on a recording medium by the recording apparatus of the embodiment. FIG. 3 is a schematic plan view of the platen in the recording apparatus according to the embodiment when viewed from above. It is a figure for demonstrating the nozzle use range according to recording modes etc., and is the schematic diagram seen from the nozzle formation surface side of the recording head employ | adopted by this embodiment. It is a flowchart which shows an example of the recording processing procedure performed with the recording system of embodiment. (A)-(c) is a schematic diagram for demonstrating the operation | movement performed at the time of normal recording in the procedure of FIG. (A) And (b) is a schematic diagram for demonstrating the operation | movement performed at the time of normal recording in the procedure of FIG. (A)-(c) is a schematic diagram for demonstrating the operation | movement performed at the time of the whole surface nozzle limited recording in the procedure of FIG. (A) And (b) is a schematic diagram for demonstrating the operation | movement performed at the time of the whole surface nozzle limited recording in the procedure of FIG. (A) And (b) is a schematic diagram for demonstrating the operation | movement performed at the time of the whole surface nozzle limited recording in the procedure of FIG. (A) And (b) is a schematic diagram for demonstrating the operation | movement performed at the time of the whole surface nozzle limited recording in the procedure of FIG. (A) And (b) is a schematic diagram for demonstrating the operation | movement performed at the time of the whole surface nozzle limited recording in the procedure of FIG. (A) And (b) is explanatory drawing which shows the recording result at the time of forming when a monochrome image is formed by normal recording, respectively, and forming by full-surface nozzle restriction recording, respectively. It is a flowchart which shows the principal part of the other example of the recording processing procedure performed with the recording system of embodiment. FIG. 43 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of a threshold value of a dot count value employed in the procedure of FIG. It is explanatory drawing which shows the content of the color conversion LUT in the case of forming an achromatic part on a recording medium using multiple colors of ink. FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram illustrating the contents of a color conversion LUT when an achromatic color portion is formed on a recording medium using predominantly K ink. (A) and (b) show the dot arrangement and the density of three colors C, M, and Y when an image having a uniform density is recorded using predominantly K ink. It is the schematic which shows dot arrangement | positioning at the time of recording such an image. (A) And (b) is explanatory drawing showing the dot arrangement | positioning at the time of the shift | offset | difference of a landing position, when the same image as FIG. 23 (a) and (b) is formed, respectively.

Explanation of symbols

M3040 Platen M3060 Transport roller M3061 Pulley M3070 Pinch roller M3100, M3110 Paper discharge roller H1001 Recording head H1900 Ink tank M All nozzle array area P001 Rib P002 Absorber Ecf, Em0 to Em3 Used nozzle reduction area

Claims (13)

A recording scan in which recording is performed while a recording head on which recording elements for discharging different color inks are arranged is scanned with respect to the recording medium, and conveyance of the recording medium in a direction intersecting the direction of the recording scan. An inkjet recording apparatus that records an image on the recording medium by performing:
When a recording mode for recording a monochrome image is designated, the recording scan for performing recording with a limited use range of the arrayed recording elements is performed over the entire recording area on the recording medium. An ink jet recording apparatus comprising recording control means that can be executed.   The inkjet recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the monochrome image is an achromatic monochrome image. The recording head has an array of recording elements that discharges achromatic ink and an array of recording elements that discharges chromatic ink.
In the monochrome image recording mode, the monochrome image can be recorded using the achromatic color ink and the chromatic color ink. In recording the monochrome image, the achromatic color ink is dominant in the entire density range. The ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the ink jet recording apparatus is used.   The recording control means performs the recording scan for recording using all of the arranged recording elements when the recording mode of the monochrome image is not designated, at least a part of the recording area on the recording medium. The ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the ink jet recording apparatus is executable on the ink jet recording apparatus.   When the recording mode of the monochrome image is specified and the first type of recording medium is specified as the type of the recording medium, the recording control unit partially uses the arrayed recording elements. A recording scan for recording in a limited manner is performed over the entire recording area on the recording medium, and (B) the recording mode of the monochrome image is designated and the recording medium is a second type of recording medium 5. The recording scan for performing recording using all of the arrayed recording elements is executed for at least a part of the recording area on the recording medium. Any one of the inkjet recording apparatuses.   2. The ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the presence or absence of recording performed by limiting a use range of a recording element used for recording is determined according to a type of the recording medium.   7. The ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the recording control means includes means for switching a recording element to be used when the restriction is performed among the arranged recording elements.   The inkjet recording apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the switching unit performs the switching at a timing when a page of the recording medium changes.   9. The ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 8, further comprising means for cumulatively managing the number of recording media on which recording has been performed, wherein the switching means performs the switching according to the cumulative value. Comprising a management means for managing a cumulative value of the number of ejection operations performed by the recording head;
10. The inkjet according to claim 8, wherein the switching unit performs the switching at a timing at which a page of the recording medium changes when a cumulative value of the number of ejection operations exceeds a predetermined threshold. Recording device.   The inkjet recording apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the switching unit performs the switching within one page.   The recording scan in which recording is performed by limiting the range of use of the arrayed recording elements to a part based on the amount of conveyance performed between the recording scans in which recording is performed using all of the arrayed recording elements. The inkjet recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein an amount of the conveyance performed between the two is small. A recording scan in which recording is performed while a recording head on which recording elements for discharging different color inks are arranged is scanned with respect to the recording medium, and conveyance of the recording medium in a direction intersecting the direction of the recording scan. An inkjet recording method for recording an image on the recording medium by performing:
A process for instructing a monochrome image recording mode;
Based on at least the designation of the recording mode of the monochrome image, the recording scan for performing recording while restricting the use range of the arranged recording elements to a part is performed over the entire recording area on the recording medium. Process,
An ink jet recording method comprising:

Images