JP2013103345A - Recording device and control method of the same - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To enhance throughput by evading needless control of a recording element in a recording device such as a printer, a copying machine, and a facsimile.SOLUTION: The recording device performs recording by the recording element that makes the recording heads being arranged in the given direction, scan on the recording medium in the direction that intersects the above given direction. The recording device includes: a conveying means including an upstream side conveyance drive means and a downstream side conveyance drive means arranged in the upstream side and the downstream side of the conveyance path of the recording medium to the scan area of the recording head in the recording device respectively, and conveying the recording medium from the upstream side to the downstream side; and a control means that controls the use area of the recording element according to the area of the conveyed recording medium and the conveyance amount of the recording medium by the conveying means. In the recording device, the control means does not control to reduce the conveyance amount when there is no recording data in the area of the recording medium that is the area of the recording medium to be conveyed by either one of the upstream side conveyance drive means and a downstream side conveyance drive means, and the area of the recoding medium set up to control to reduce the use range of the recording element area and the conveyance amount of the recording medium, or when there exists the recording data but the image density to be recorded by the recording data is not more than the set threshold value.

Description

  The present invention relates to a recording apparatus and a control method for the recording apparatus, and more particularly to a technique for improving throughput in a recording apparatus such as a printer, a copying machine, and a facsimile machine, avoiding unnecessary control of a recording element. Is.

  Conventionally, in a recording apparatus, as a mechanism for conveying a recording medium (recording sheet), a conveying roller, a pinch roller that generates a conveying force by pressing and sandwiching the recording sheet against the conveying roller, and a biasing force for pressing the pinch roller There is provided a mechanism including means for generating the above. This transport mechanism transports a recording sheet fed from a paper feed unit to a recording area by a recording head. In general, regarding the recording area by the recording head, there are two pairs of a conveyance roller and a pinch roller on the upstream side of the conveyance path of the recording sheet, and two pairs of a discharge roller and a spur on the downstream side. Provided as a pair of transport mechanisms. With this configuration, the recording sheet can be conveyed with high accuracy in the recording area by the recording head, and a predetermined tension is applied to the recording sheet between the two pairs of conveying mechanisms to keep a wide area flat. Can do.

  In the above-described conveyance mechanism, the conveyance amount is controlled when the recording sheet is held by the two roller pairs and the rear end is moved away from the roller pair of the conveyance roller and the pinch roller (opened). May cause errors. Further, when the recording sheet is transferred from the state where the recording sheet is sandwiched only by the roller pair of the transporting roller and the pinch roller to the state where the recording sheet is also sandwiched by the paper discharge roller and the spur, the recording sheet has a predetermined predetermined state. May be transported in less than the transport amount. Furthermore, in so-called borderless recording in which recording is performed without providing a margin at the edge (for example, the front end portion or the rear end portion) of the recording medium, the conveyance is performed by only one roller pair, and the conveyance accuracy is lowered. A recording area exists. In these cases, the relative position of the recording head with respect to the recording sheet deviates from the intended position, and as a result, the position (image position) of the ink dots ejected from the recording head and formed on the recording sheet deviates. As a result, the quality of the recorded image is impaired.

  As a control method for reducing the influence on the recording quality due to the conveyance error of such a recording apparatus, the recording element to be used is set according to the positional relationship between the recording medium and the conveying means among a plurality of recording elements of the recording head. How to do is known. Patent Document 1 divides a recording target area of a recording medium into a first area where the number of recording elements used in one scan is constant and a second area where the number of recording elements changes, and is used for recording in the second area. A control method for reducing the number of recording elements to be disclosed is disclosed.

JP 2006-76029 A

  In Patent Document 1, a recording element to be used is set according to the positional relationship between the recording medium and the conveying unit. For this reason, in the second area, control is performed to reduce the use range of the printing element and to reduce the conveyance amount of the printing medium accordingly, regardless of the presence or absence of printing data in that area. However, when there is no recording data, since no recording is performed, there is no problem of deterioration in image quality. Therefore, such control as a countermeasure is originally unnecessary. In the control method of Patent Document 1, when there is no recording data for the second area, control is performed to reduce the conveyance amount that is originally unnecessary, and this reduces the throughput of the recording apparatus. According to the present invention, when it is determined that there is no recording data for a predetermined area of the recording medium, it is possible to improve the throughput by omitting the control for reducing the use range of the recording element and reducing the conveyance amount accordingly. A recording apparatus and a control method thereof are provided.

  A recording apparatus of the present invention that achieves the above object is a recording apparatus that performs recording by scanning a recording head in which recording elements are arranged in a predetermined direction on a recording medium in a direction intersecting the predetermined direction. The recording apparatus includes upstream conveyance driving means and downstream conveyance driving means respectively arranged on the upstream side and downstream side of the conveyance path of the recording medium with respect to the scanning area of the recording head in the recording apparatus, and the recording medium is arranged from the upstream side to the downstream side. A conveying means for conveying, and a control means for controlling the use range of the recording element and the conveying amount of the recording medium by the conveying means in accordance with the area of the recording medium to be conveyed. And a recording medium area transported by one of the downstream-side transport driving means and set to perform control to reduce the use range of the recording element and the transport amount of the recording medium When there is no recording data for the body area, or when there is recording data and the density of the image to be recorded by the recording data is less than or equal to the set threshold value, control to reduce is not performed. Features.

  According to the present invention, unnecessary / unnecessary control is determined by determining whether or not the control to change the use range of the recording element and the conveyance amount of the recording medium is performed based on the recording target area of the recording medium and the presence / absence of recording data in the area. Is omitted. As a result, the number of scans of the recording elements necessary for recording the same image can be reduced and / or a reduction in the transport amount of the recording medium per scan can be avoided, and the throughput of the recording apparatus can be improved. it can.

1 is an internal block diagram of a recording apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. 1 is a top view of a recording apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of the recording apparatus in FIG. 2. 4 is a flowchart showing determination of necessity / unnecessity of recording control according to the embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a positional relationship between a recording element and a recording medium in a state where the recording medium is held by a roller pair. FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating a recording target area of the recording medium corresponding to each state in which the recording medium illustrated in FIG. 5 is held by a roller pair. (A) is a figure which shows the example of the recording control in the front-end | tip part of a recording medium, (b) And (c) is a figure explaining omission of this recording control. (A) is a figure which shows the example of the recording control in the rear-end part of a recording medium, (b) And (c) is a figure explaining omission of this recording control.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail. However, the components described in the following embodiments are merely examples, and are not intended to limit the scope of the present invention only to them.

  In this specification, “recording” (sometimes referred to as “printing”) means forming significant information such as characters and graphics. Not only that, “recording” is used on a wide range of recording media (recording sheets), regardless of whether it is significant involuntary, or whether it is materialized so that humans can perceive it visually. In addition, an image, a pattern, a pattern, or the like is formed or a medium is processed.

  In this specification, “recording medium” (sometimes referred to as “recording sheet”) is not only paper used in general recording apparatuses, but also widely used in cloth, plastic film, metal plate, glass, Ceramics, wood, leather, etc. that can accept ink are also expressed.

  Further, in the present specification, “ink” (sometimes referred to as “liquid”) should be interpreted widely as in the definition of “recording (printing)”. That is, “ink” is applied onto a recording medium to form an image, a pattern, a pattern, or the like, process the recording medium, or process ink (for example, coagulation of the colorant in the ink applied to the recording medium). Or a liquid that can be subjected to insolubilization.

  Further, in this specification, the “recording element” is a generic term for an ejection port or a liquid channel communicating with the ejection port and an element for generating energy used for ink ejection unless otherwise specified.

  Hereinafter, as one embodiment of the recording apparatus according to the present invention, a serial type ink jet recording apparatus that performs recording by scanning the recording element in a direction intersecting the conveyance direction of the recording medium and ejecting ink from the recording element is taken as an example. Will be described.

  The recording apparatus of this embodiment is equipped with an automatic paper feeder. The schematic configuration of the mechanism unit of the mounted recording apparatus includes a paper feeding device, a paper feeding unit, a paper discharging unit, a carriage unit, and a cleaning unit. Each component of the mechanism and its operation will be described in detail below. In addition to the mechanism section, the recording apparatus is provided with a control section in the form of a substrate that controls the operation of each component of the mechanism section and performs processing relating to recording data.

  FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a control configuration for performing recording control of the recording apparatus of the present embodiment. The control unit includes the CPU 105, the ROM 104, the RAM 103, and the like, which is the same as a known recording device, and these transmit and receive various data in the form of electrical signals via the system bus 100. The CPU 105 can control the recording device by developing and reading out the operation program of the recording device stored in the ROM 104 and the setting information of the recording device stored in the nonvolatile memory 109 in the RAM 103. . The interface unit 106 can receive image data from the host computer 110 or the like. The received image data is expanded in the RAM 103 and then subjected to necessary processing such as color correction and color conversion, whereby recording data used for recording is obtained. The recording data judgment unit 108 uses which recording element among a plurality of recording elements in each scan and which recording element is not used in each scan in accordance with the positional information of the recording medium, recording data, and the like. The use range of the recording element in 102) can be determined. The recording head 102 uses so-called baffle jet (BJ) in which bubbles are generated in the ink using the thermal energy generated by the electrothermal transducer (heating element, heater), and ink is ejected from the recording element by the pressure of the bubbles. This is an ink jet method adopting the method. The recording head 102 includes a plurality of recording elements arranged in the recording medium conveyance direction when mounted on the carriage of the recording apparatus. The motor driver 101 can drive the carriage to scan the recording head in a direction crossing the recording medium conveyance direction. The user can operate the recording apparatus from the operation unit 107 as a user interface.

  2 and 3 are views showing the mechanism. FIG. 2 is a top view of an example of the recording apparatus of the present embodiment, and FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view thereof. In the following, each component of the mechanism will be described first with reference to a cross-sectional view of one example of the recording apparatus of the present embodiment shown mainly in FIG.

(A) Paper feed unit (paper feed device)
In FIG. 3, the paper feed unit 2 is configured by mounting an automatic paper feeder on the recording apparatus main body. The automatic paper feeder has a base 20 to which a pressure plate 21 for stacking recording sheets P and a paper feed roller 28 for feeding the recording sheets P are attached. The paper feed roller 28 has a D-shape with a cross section cut out of a circular shape. A movable side guide 23 is movably provided on the pressure plate 21 so that the stacking position of the recording sheets P can be regulated. The pressure plate 21 is provided so as to be rotatable about a rotation shaft formed on the base 20, and can urge the recording sheets P to be loaded toward the paper feed roller 28 by the urging force of the pressure plate spring 212. Further, separation pads 234 made of a material having a large friction coefficient such as an artificial skin for preventing the double feeding of the recording sheet P are respectively provided at portions of the pressure plate 21 and the movable side guide 23 facing the sheet feeding roller 28. Is provided.

  Further, the base 20 is provided with a separation pad holder 24 provided with a separation pad 241 for separating the recording sheets P one by one so as to be rotatable about a rotation axis provided on the base 20. The separation pad holder 24 is urged toward the paper feed roller 28 by a separation pad spring 242. The separation roller holder 24 is urged at a predetermined pressure by the urging force of the rotating roller spring 252 in a direction opposite to the urging direction.

  The automatic paper feeder is provided with a release cam gear (not shown) for releasing the contact between the pressure plate 21 (or the recording sheet P placed thereon) and the paper feed roller 28. The rotation of the gear is set so that the cut portion 285 of the paper feed roller 28 faces the separation pad 241 when the pressure plate 21 is lowered to a predetermined position. Thereby, a predetermined space can be formed between the separation pad 241 and the paper feed roller 28. At this time, the rotating roller 251 is in contact with the separation pad 241 to prevent double feeding of the recording sheets P.

  As described above, the release cam gear pushes the pressure plate 21 down to a predetermined position in the state of waiting for paper feed, and thereby the contact between the pressure plate 21 and the paper feed roller 28 and the separation pad 241 and paper feed. The contact with the roller 28 is released. When a driving force for driving a conveyance roller 36 of the paper feeding unit 3 to be described later is transmitted to the paper feed roller 28 and the release cam gear via a gear or the like, the release cam gear is separated from the pressure plate 21, whereby the pressure plate 21 is The sheet feed roller 28 and the recording sheet P come into contact with each other. With the rotation of the paper feed roller 28, the recording sheets P are picked up and separated one by one by the separation pad 241 and sent to the paper feeding unit 3. When the recording sheet P is fed into the paper feeding unit 3, the contact between the paper feeding roller 28 and the pressure plate 21 and the paper feeding roller 28 and the separation pad 241 that are realized via the recording sheet P or not. The contact is released by the release cam gear. When the recording on the recording sheet P is completed and the paper discharge is completed, the return lever 26 acts on the recording sheet P that has entered the separation pad 241, and thereby the recording sheet P is moved to the stacking position on the pressure plate 21. Can be returned.

  The return lever 26 and the paper feed roller 28 are driven by transmitting the driving force of the transport roller 36 via a predetermined gear. Switching of driving force transmission is performed by a drive switching unit (not shown).

(B) Paper-feeding section Each element constituting the paper-feeding section 3 is attached to a chassis 8 (see FIG. 2) made of a bent metal sheet that constitutes a structural member of the recording apparatus main body. The paper feeding unit 3 is a component for conveying the recording sheet P. The paper feeding unit 3 is a pair of a conveyance roller 36 and a pinch roller 37 (upstream conveyance drive unit) provided on the upstream side of the conveyance path of the recording sheet P with respect to a recording area by the recording head 7 and a paper discharge provided on the downstream side. A pair of rollers 41 and spurs 42 (downstream conveyance drive means) is provided.

  The transport roller 36 is formed by coating the surface of a metal shaft with ceramic particles or the like. Both ends of the shaft of the transport roller 36 are supported by two bearings 38 (see FIG. 2, the other not shown) provided on both sides of the chassis 8. A plurality of driven pinch rollers 37 are provided on the transport roller 36 so as to be in contact with each other.

  The pinch roller 37 is held by the pinch roller holder 30. When the pinch roller holder 30 is urged by the pinch roller spring 31, the pinch roller 37 is pressed against the transport roller 36, thereby generating a transport force for the recording sheet P. The rotation axis of the pinch roller holder 30 is attached to the bearing of the upper guide 33 provided in the chassis 8, and the pinch roller holder 30 rotates around this axis.

  The pinch roller holder 30 is integrally formed and is set to have a certain degree of rigidity in the conveyance direction of the recording sheet P and to have a relatively small rigidity in the direction perpendicular thereto, and the urging force of the pinch roller spring 31 is pinched. The roller 37 is appropriately operated. All the pinch rollers 37 are configured substantially parallel to the rotation axis of the transport roller 36 (see FIG. 2). The pinch roller holder 30 and the upper guide 33 also serve as a guide for the recording sheet P. A platen 34 for guiding the recording sheet P is disposed at the entrance of the paper feeding unit 3 where the recording sheet P is conveyed from the paper feeding unit 2. The upper guide 33 is provided with a PE sensor lever 35 that operates a PE sensor 32 for detecting the leading edge and the trailing edge of the recording sheet P. The platen 34 is attached to the chassis 8 and its position is determined. The pinch roller 37 of the present embodiment is formed of a resin having good sliding properties such as POM (polyoxymethylene), and its outer diameter is set to about φ3 to 7 mm.

  A paper presser (not shown) that covers the end of the recording sheet P is provided on the paper reference side of the platen 34 that defines the reference position in the width direction of the recording sheet. As a result, even when the end portion of the recording sheet P is deformed or curled, the end portion is prevented from floating and interfering with the carriage 50 or the recording head 7. Further, the platen 34 has a groove provided on the surface thereof with an ink absorber for preventing contamination due to ink landed on the platen 34.

  A carriage unit 5 described later is provided above the sheet feeding unit 3. A recording head 7 is mounted on the carriage unit 5, and ink is applied to the recording sheet P conveyed by the pair of the conveyance roller 36 and the pinch roller 37 and the pair of the discharge roller 41 and the spur 42 by the scanning. Discharge recording can be performed. In this recording operation, the recording sheet P sent to the paper feeding unit 3 is guided to the platen 34, the pinch roller holder 30 and the upper guide 33, and is sent to the roller pair of the conveying roller 36 and the pinch roller 37. At this time, the PE sensor lever 35 is operated by the leading edge of the conveyed recording sheet P, whereby the leading edge of the recording sheet P is detected by the PE sensor. Based on the detection result, the recording position with respect to the recording sheet P can be determined.

  The recording sheet P is conveyed on the platen 34 by the rotation of the roller pair of the conveying roller 36 and the pinch roller 37 by driving the LF motor 88. The conveying roller 36 detects the rotational position. An encoder wheel 361 (see FIG. 2) is attached. The encoder wheel 361 is formed by forming radial marks on a disc-shaped transparent sheet at a predetermined pitch. By detecting this mark by an optical encoder sensor 362 (see FIG. 2) fixed to the chassis 8, the rotation position or the rotation amount of the transport roller 36 can be known.

(C) Carriage unit The carriage unit 5 includes a carriage 50 to which the recording head 7 is attached. In the carriage unit 5, ink tanks for supplying black and color inks to the recording head 7 are arranged individually and detachably with respect to the carriage 50 for each ink color. The carriage 50 maintains a gap between the recording head 7 and the recording sheet P by holding a guide shaft 81 extending in a direction substantially perpendicular to the conveyance direction of the recording sheet P and a rear end of the carriage 50. Similarly, it is supported by a guide rail 82 that extends. The carriage 50 is driven via a timing belt 83 by a carriage motor 80 attached to the chassis 8. The timing belt 83 is stretched and supported by an idle pulley 84. The carriage 50 includes a flexible substrate 56 for transmitting a recording signal and the like from the substrate 9 constituting the above-described control unit to the recording head 7. The recording head 7 heats the ink by a heater based on the transmitted recording signal or the like to cause film boiling, and the ink from the recording element of the recording head 7 is changed by pressure change caused by the growth or contraction of bubbles due to film boiling. Is ejected to record an image on the recording sheet P.

  In the above configuration, when recording is performed on the recording sheet P, the roller pair of the conveying roller 36 and the pinch roller 37 records the recording sheet P, and the row position (position in the conveying direction of the recording sheet P) is the recording head 7. It is conveyed so that it comes under the recording element. At the same time, the carriage motor 80 moves the carriage 50 to a recording row position (a position in a direction perpendicular to the conveyance direction of the recording sheet P) to scan the recording head 7. During this scanning, the recording head 7 can be driven based on the recording signal from the control unit, and ink can be ejected from the corresponding recording element to the recording sheet P, thereby recording an image or the like.

(D) Paper discharge unit A pair of paper discharge roller and spur of the paper feed unit constitutes a paper discharge unit. That is, the spur base 341 (see FIG. 2) is provided with a spur 42 that can rotate in correspondence with the paper discharge roller 41, and the spur 42 is in contact with the paper discharge roller 41. The discharge roller 41 can be driven by transmitting a driving force for the conveying roller 36 by the transmission roller 40.

  The paper discharge roller 41 is configured by arranging a plurality of roller portions made of a high friction material with high frictional resistance such as rubber on a shaft made of metal or resin (see FIG. 2). The spur 42 has a thickness of about 0.1 mm, and is provided with protrusions on the outer periphery thereof, a metal plate such as SUS (stainless steel), and a resin portion made of POM (polyoxymethylene) that forms a rotary bearing. It is composed of

  The transmission roller 40 that transmits driving force to the paper discharge roller 41 is a disk-shaped roller made of POM or the like and is attached with a low hardness and high frictional resistance material such as styrene elastomer. The transmission roller 40 is in contact with both the conveyance roller 36 and the paper discharge roller 41 with a predetermined pressure, and thereby, driving force can be transmitted.

  With the above configuration, the recording sheet P recorded by the scanning of the recording head 7 of the carriage unit 5 is conveyed by being sandwiched between the nip between the discharge roller 41 and the spur 42 and discharged to a discharge tray or the like. In the conveyance, the recording sheet P is nipped and conveyed only by the nip between the discharge roller 41 and the spur 42 of the discharge unit after the trailing end thereof is out of the nip between the conveyance roller 36 and the pinch roller 37. Recording or paper discharge is performed. Further, when the spur cleaner 43 contacts the spur 42, the ink or the like attached to the spur 42 can be removed.

(E) Cleaning unit The cleaning unit 6 (see FIG. 2) is positioned in the vicinity of the home position where the carriage returns when not recording, and has a pump (not shown) and a cap (not shown). Yes. The pump is used to perform a discharge recovery process for sucking thickened ink, dust, and the like near the ink discharge surface of the recording head 7. The cap is used to cover the ink ejection surface of the recording head 7 and suppress drying of the ink in each recording element.

<Recording control>
With reference to FIGS. 4 to 8A to 8C, description will be given of the control of the recording element in the recording of the leading end and the trailing end of the recording medium in the recording apparatus of the present embodiment described above.

  First, FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating a positional relationship between the recording element and the recording medium in a state where the recording medium is held by the roller pair. FIG. 6 is a diagram for explaining the relationship between the positional relationship shown in FIG. 5 and the area (recording target area) of the recording medium to be recorded in the positional relation. In the figure, the same reference numerals as those already described represent the same components.

  Referring to FIG. 5, a recording medium (recording sheet) P is conveyed in the recording medium conveyance direction X from the right side in the drawing. The leading edge and the trailing edge of the recording medium are detected by a PE sensor 32 as a position sensor. However, in the recording control of the present embodiment, the physical position information based on the detection result of the PE sensor 32 is used as the position information of the rear end of the recording medium. Use logical location information based on instructions. In other words, the rear end position of the recording medium is actually detected because different control needs to be performed when the recording medium size exceeds the assumed range. However, the leading edge of the recording medium can be controlled using logical position information because there are few factors that cause fluctuations in the position of the recording medium due to the size and conveyance error of the recording medium. Therefore, a logical value that can be easily processed by recording control can be used as the position information of the tip.

  The recording medium P is either one of a pair of a conveyance roller 36 and a pinch roller 37 (hereinafter also referred to as a conveyance roller pair) and a pair of a discharge roller 41 and a spur 42 (hereinafter also referred to as a discharge roller pair) or It is conveyed by being sandwiched by both and transmitting the driving force of the roller.

  Both states A and B shown in FIG. 5 are states in which the recording medium P is sandwiched only by the pair of transport rollers. The state W is a state in which the recording medium P is sandwiched between both the transport roller pair and the paper discharge roller pair. Both states C and D are states in which the recording medium P is held only by the pair of paper discharge rollers. Hereinafter, the state in which the recording medium is sandwiched by only one roller pair as in states A, B, C, and D is referred to as “one-grip state”, and the recording medium is sandwiched by both roller pairs as in state W. This state is called “both grip state”. Of the one-grip states, states A and B have the leading end in the recording medium conveyance direction X held therebetween, so that the “front-end single-grip state” and states C and D are in the recording medium conveyance direction X. Since the rear end is sandwiched, it is also referred to as “rear end piece grip state”.

  In the single grip states A, B, C, and D shown in FIG. 5, the recording medium P is transported while being sandwiched by only one roller pair, so the transport accuracy is low compared to the state W in both grip states, Further, the interval between the recording element and the recording medium P is not stable, and the recording accuracy is low. Further, in the one-grip states A and D, a plurality of heads or rear ends of the recording medium P in the transport direction X are provided in the recording head 7 so as to be arranged in the recording medium transport direction X when mounted on the recording apparatus. However, it is not at a position corresponding to the entirety of the plurality of recording elements. In this state, when recording is performed using the entire plurality of recording elements provided in the recording head 7 as the use range of the recording elements, ink that does not land on the recording medium P stains the platen 34.

  The recording target areas of the recording medium corresponding to the front end piece grip states A and B shown in FIG. 5 and the rear end piece grip states C and D described above are the front end piece grip areas 601 and 602 shown in FIG. Rear end piece grip regions 604 and 605. When recording is performed on these areas, the recording element is compared with recording on both grip areas 603, which is a recording target area of the recording medium corresponding to both grip states W, in order to prevent a decrease in recording accuracy. The recording range is reduced and fine recording control is performed while reducing the conveyance amount of the recording medium. Further, when recording is performed on the one grip areas 601 and 605, the recording element is arranged so that the ink that has come off the front and rear ends of the recording medium lands on the absorber existing in the groove of the platen 34 in order not to soil the platen 34. Recording control is performed to reduce the usage range and the conveyance amount of the recording medium. Therefore, in the recording medium regions 601, 602, 604, and 605, that is, in the states A, B, C, and D that are in the one-grip state, the state W that is in the both-grip state when recording is performed. The recording control is performed with a reduced use range of the recording element. The recording control method for the tip piece grip regions 601 and 602 may be the same or different. Further, the recording control method for the rear end piece grip regions 604 and 605 may be the same or different.

  With reference to FIGS. 7A to 7C and FIGS. 8A to 8C, the recording control method according to the present embodiment will be described.

  First, FIGS. 7A to 7C are diagrams illustrating an example of recording control at the leading end of the recording medium in the recording medium conveyance direction. In this example, as multi-pass printing used for printing, 4-pass printing in which printing of each unit area of the printing target area of the printing medium is completed by four scans is adopted. A recording head including a plurality of recording elements arranged in the recording medium conveyance direction is scanned in a direction intersecting (here, orthogonal) to the recording medium conveyance direction. Reference numerals m to m + 9 in the figure indicate the relative positional relationship of a plurality of recording elements (represented in the form of rows in the figure) arranged in the recording medium conveyance direction with respect to the recording medium in the scanning m to the scanning m + 9, respectively. Indicates.

FIG. 7A shows an example of recording control according to the present embodiment, in which recording is performed based on recording data for an area over the length H ₁ in the conveyance direction of the recording medium. A region extending in the conveyance direction length H ₁ of the recording medium spans the front end grip region 602 and both grip regions 603.

  When the recording area of the recording head per one scan includes the tip end grip area and recording data for the tip end grip area is present, in order to prevent a decrease in recording accuracy, recording is performed only on both grip areas. Recording with a narrower use range of the recording element. In this example, four-pass printing is performed by using a portion obtained by dividing a plurality of printing elements included in the printing head in 16 in the printing medium conveyance direction as the minimum unit of the printing element usage range, thereby completing an image. At this time, the conveyance amount of the recording medium per scan is controlled to be short according to the usage range of the recording element. Here, as the conveyance amount of the recording medium per scan, a length obtained by dividing a plurality of recording elements provided in the recording head into eight in the recording medium conveyance direction is adopted. (See scan m to scan m + 6.)

  Further, when the scanning area of the recording head per scan is only the both grip areas 603, a portion obtained by dividing a plurality of recording elements provided in the recording head into four in the recording medium conveyance direction is the minimum unit of the use range of the recording elements 4 pass recording to complete the image. At this time, a length obtained by dividing a plurality of recording elements provided in the recording head into four in the recording medium conveyance direction is adopted as the conveyance amount of the recording medium per scan. (Refer to scanning m + 7 to scanning m + 9.) That is, in a series of recording operations on the leading edge of the recording medium, the scanning area of the recording head per scan is only the two grip areas 603 from the area including the leading edge grip area 602. When shifting to, the range of use of the recording element that has been narrowed is expanded. At this time, the conveyance amount of the recording medium per scan is increased in accordance with the change in the usage range of the recording element.

  By controlling the usage range of the recording element and changing the conveyance amount of the recording medium accordingly, it is possible to effectively prevent a decrease in recording accuracy in recording in the front end piece grip state. Such control can be suitably used for borderless recording, for example.

  On the other hand, when there is no recording data for the one-grip area, the recording in the one-grip state is not performed, and thus the control for changing the use range of the recording element and the conveyance amount of the recording medium as described above is originally necessary. Absent. Therefore, in this embodiment, the control as described above is not performed in this case.

FIG. 7C shows an example in which recording is performed based on the recording data for the area over the length H ₂ in the conveyance direction of the recording medium according to the present embodiment. In other words, this is an example of recording control in which there is no recording data for the one grip region, and control for changing the usage range of the recording element and the conveyance amount of the recording medium is not performed. In FIG. 7C, scans corresponding to the scans shown in FIG. 7A are denoted by the same reference numerals, and therefore, the scan starts from m + 4. The entire area over the length H ₂ in the conveyance direction of the recording medium is included in both grip areas 603. Since there is no recording data for the tip end grip region, general four-pass recording is performed without performing the above-described control in a series of recording operations for the tip end portion of the recording medium. Specifically, four-pass printing is performed using a portion obtained by dividing a plurality of printing elements included in the printing head into four in the printing medium transport direction as the minimum unit of the printing element usage range, thereby completing an image. At this time, as the conveyance amount of the recording medium per scan, a length obtained by dividing a plurality of recording elements provided in the recording head into four in the recording medium conveyance direction is adopted. Since the use range of the printing element is not changed, the conveyance amount of the printing medium per scan is not changed in a series of printing operations. (See scan m + 4 to scan m + 9.)

  Here, the effect of the present invention in which the control for changing the usage range of the recording element and the conveyance amount of the recording medium is not performed when there is no recording data for the tip end grip region will be described.

In the embodiment of the present invention shown in FIG. 7C, the recording medium is transported at a constant distance from the scan m + 4 to the scan m + 9 by not performing the above-described control in the recording on the area over the length H ₂ in the transport direction of the recording medium. Conveyed in quantity. The constant transport amount at this time is a length obtained by dividing the plurality of recording elements included in the recording head into four in the recording medium transport direction, as described above. In contrast, as in the reference example shown in FIG. 7B, in the case where the above-described control is performed in the recording on the area over the length H ₂ in the conveyance direction of the recording medium, from the scanning m + 4 to the scanning m + 6 and the scanning m + 7. With the scan m + 9, the conveyance amount of the recording medium per scan changes. Specifically, the transport amount for the scan m + 4 to the scan m + 6 is a length obtained by dividing a plurality of recording elements provided in the recording head into eight in the recording medium transport direction. Further, the conveyance amount for the scan m + 7 to the scan m + 9 is a length obtained by dividing a plurality of recording elements provided in the recording head into four in the recording medium conveyance direction.

  Accordingly, the total amount of conveyance of the recording medium in a series of recording operations from scanning m + 4 to scanning m + 9 is larger than when the control is performed to change the usage range of the recording element and the conveyance amount of the recording medium. . That is, according to an embodiment of the present invention in which the above-described control is not performed when there is no recording data for a predetermined area, when the same image is recorded with the same number of scans, the conveyance amount of the recording medium is relatively set. A large value can be set, thereby improving the throughput of the recording apparatus.

  Further, since the conveyance amount of the recording medium is not changed in a series of recording operations, the recording medium can be stably conveyed. As a result, errors in position information of the recording medium are less likely to occur in a series of recording operations, and as a result, the quality of the recorded image is improved.

  8A to 8C are diagrams illustrating an example of recording control at the rear end portion of the recording medium in the recording medium conveyance direction. Also in this example, as multi-pass printing used for printing, 4-pass printing in which printing of each unit area of the printing target area of the printing medium is completed by four scans is adopted. A recording head including a plurality of recording elements arranged in the recording medium conveyance direction is scanned in a direction intersecting (here, orthogonal) to the recording medium conveyance direction. Reference numerals n to n + 8 in the figure indicate relative positional relationships of a plurality of printing elements (represented in the form of rows in the figure) arranged in the printing medium conveyance direction with respect to the printing medium in scanning n to scanning n + 8, respectively. Indicates.

FIG. 8A shows an example of recording control according to the present embodiment, in which recording is performed based on recording data for an area over the length H ₃ in the conveyance direction of the recording medium. The region extending over the length H ₃ in the conveyance direction of the recording medium extends over both grip regions 603 and the rear end piece grip region 604.

  When the scanning area of the recording head per scan is only both grip areas 603, in principle, an area obtained by dividing a plurality of recording elements provided in the recording head into four in the recording medium conveyance direction is the minimum of the use range of the recording elements. Using as a unit, 4-pass printing is performed to complete the image. At this time, a length obtained by dividing a plurality of recording elements provided in the recording head into four in the recording medium conveyance direction is adopted as the conveyance amount of the recording medium per scan. (See scan n.)

  In addition, when the scanning area of the recording head per one scan includes the rear end piece grip area and recording data for the rear end piece grip area exists, both grip areas are used to prevent a decrease in recording accuracy. Recording is performed with a use range of the recording element narrower than that for recording only. Specifically, four-pass printing is performed using an area obtained by dividing a plurality of printing elements included in the printing head into eight in the printing medium conveyance direction as the minimum unit of the printing element usage range, thereby completing an image. At this time, the conveyance amount of the recording medium per scan is controlled to be short according to the usage range of the recording element. Specifically, a length obtained by dividing a plurality of recording elements included in the recording head into eight in the recording medium conveyance direction is adopted as the conveyance amount of the recording medium per scan. (See scan n + 4 to scan n + 8.)

  Here, the recording control from scan n + 1 to scan n + 4 will be described. The conveyance amount of the recording medium per scan for scanning n is a length obtained by dividing a plurality of recording elements provided in the recording head into four in the recording medium conveyance direction, whereas the conveyance amount for scanning n + 4 is The length is divided into eight. In this example, even when the scanning area of the recording head is only the two grip areas, the use range of the recording element and the conveyance amount of the recording medium are appropriately reduced immediately before moving to the area including the rear end grip area. To control. Such control is performed when the recording medium transport amount setting is relatively small when shifting from the both-grip state to the rear-end-side grip state. This is because this can be kept small, and the reduction in recording quality can be prevented. The use range of the recording element and the conveyance amount of the recording medium employed in this example are the same as those for recording on the area including the rear end piece grip area. (See scan n + 1 to scan n + 3.)

  As described above, in a series of recording operations for the rear end portion of the recording medium, recording is performed in the process in which the scanning area of the recording head per scan is shifted from both grip areas 603 to the area including the rear end piece grip area 604. Narrow the range of use of the element. At this time, the conveyance amount of the recording medium per scan is shortened according to the change in the usage range of the recording element. By such control, it is possible to effectively prevent a decrease in recording accuracy in recording in the rear end piece grip state. Note that whether or not the process is a transition process can be determined from the positional information on the leading and trailing ends of the recording sheet obtained as described above.

  On the other hand, when there is no recording data for the one-grip area, recording in the one-grip state is not performed. Therefore, the above-described control for reducing the usage range of the recording element and the conveyance amount of the recording medium is not necessary. Absent. Therefore, in the embodiment of the present invention, the above-described control is not performed in this case.

FIG. 8C shows an example in which recording is performed based on the recording data for the area over the length H ₄ in the conveyance direction of the recording medium according to the present embodiment. That is, this is an example of recording control in which there is no recording data for the one-grip region 604 and no control is performed to reduce the use range of the recording element and the conveyance amount of the recording medium. The entire area over the length H ₄ in the conveyance direction of the recording medium is included in both grip areas 603. Since there is no recording data for the trailing edge grip area, general four-pass recording is performed without performing the above-described control in a series of recording operations for the trailing edge of the recording medium. Specifically, four-pass printing is performed using a region obtained by dividing a plurality of printing elements included in the printing head into four in the printing medium conveyance direction as the minimum unit of the printing element usage range, thereby completing an image. At this time, as the conveyance amount of the recording medium per scan, a length obtained by dividing a plurality of recording elements provided in the recording head into four in the recording medium conveyance direction is adopted. Since control for reducing the use range of the printing element is not performed, the conveyance amount of the printing medium per scan is not changed in a series of printing operations. (See scan n to scan n + 5.)
Here, an effect of the present invention in which control for reducing the use range of the recording element and the conveyance amount of the recording medium is not performed when there is no recording data for the rear end piece grip area will be described.

FIG. 8C is an example of an embodiment of the present invention in which the above-described control is not performed when there is no recording data for a predetermined area, from scanning n in recording on an area over the length H ₄ in the conveyance direction of the recording medium. 5 scans up to scan n + 5 are shown. The recording medium is transported by a constant transport amount in the recording operation from scan n to scan n + 5. The constant transport amount at this time is a length obtained by dividing a plurality of recording elements provided in the recording head into four in the recording medium transport direction.

On the other hand, FIG. 8B is a reference example in which control is performed to reduce the usage range of the printing element and the conveyance amount of the printing medium even when there is no printing data for a predetermined area. FIG. 9 shows six scans from scan n to scan n + 6 in printing on the area over the length H ₄ in the conveyance direction of the printing medium to obtain the same printed image as in FIG. 8C. The amount of conveyance of the recording medium per scan changes between scan n and scan n + 1 to scan n + 6. That is, the transport amount for scanning n is a length obtained by dividing a plurality of recording elements provided in the recording head into four in the recording medium transport direction. Further, the conveyance amount for the scan n + 1 to the scan n + 6 is a length obtained by dividing a plurality of recording elements provided in the recording head into eight in the recording medium conveyance direction.

  Therefore, first, the number of scans of the print head for obtaining the same print image is smaller when the above control is not performed than when the control is performed. Also, the total transport amount of the recording medium in the recording operation for obtaining the same recorded image is greater when transition recording is not performed than when it is performed. That is, according to the embodiment of the present invention in which the above control is not performed, when the same image is recorded, the number of scans of the recording head can be reduced, and the conveyance amount of the recording medium is relatively large. This can improve the throughput of the recording apparatus. Further, since the conveyance amount of the recording medium is not changed in a series of recording operations, the recording medium can be stably conveyed.

  Here, FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a flow for determining whether or not the recording data determination unit 108 shown in FIG. 1 performs control for reducing the use range of the recording element and the conveyance amount of the recording medium during recording. .

  In step S101, based on the position information of the front / rear end portion of the recording medium, it is determined whether or not the recording target area of the recording medium is a predetermined area set in advance as a target to be controlled as described above. If it is determined that the recording target area of the recording medium is not the target area for the above control, the process proceeds to step S104, and the above control is not performed. On the other hand, when it is determined that the recording target area of the recording medium is the target area for the above-described control, the process proceeds to step S102. In step S102, it is determined whether there is recording data for the recording target area of the recording medium. If the recording data exists, the process proceeds to step S103 and the above-described control is performed. If there is no recording data, the process proceeds to step S104, and the above control is not performed.

  According to the embodiment of the present invention in which the recording control is performed according to such a flow, the throughput of the recording apparatus can be improved and the recording medium can be stably conveyed.

<Other embodiments>
The control used in the above-described embodiment described with reference to FIGS. 7A and 8A is an example of control that can be used in the present invention, and the present invention is not limited to this. is not. For example, the recording method is not limited to four-pass recording, and the minimum unit of the area of the recording element to be used may be an area other than the above-described 4, 8, or 16 divisions.

  The control of the present invention can be applied to both the case where the use range of the printing element is reduced and the case where the printing element is extended.

  The control of the present invention is applied not only to the front and rear end portions of the recording medium as in the case of borderless printing, but also to all areas that can be controlled to change the usage range of the recording element and the conveyance amount of the recording medium. be able to. Examples of the area of the recording medium that can be controlled to change the usage range of the recording element and the conveyance amount of the recording medium include the following areas.

  (1) Recording target area when recording is performed in a state where the use range of the recording element is reduced in order to reduce recording unevenness (so-called spur intrusion unevenness) that may occur when the leading edge of the recording medium enters the pair of paper discharge rollers. The spur entry area.

  (2) A recording target area when the use range of the recording element is expanded after the leading edge of the recording medium enters the pair of paper discharge rollers.

  (3) Kicking area, which is a recording target area when the use range of the recording element is reduced in order to reduce recording unevenness (so-called kicking unevenness) that may occur when the trailing edge of the recording medium comes off the conveying roller pair. .

  A specific application example will be described with reference to the flow of FIG. 4 again. First, the spur entry area and kicking area of the recording medium are set in advance as “control target areas” that should be recorded using the reduced use range of the recording element and the transport amount of the recording medium in principle. deep. In step S101, based on the position information of the recording medium, it is determined whether the recording target area of the recording medium is a spur entry area or a kicking area. If it is a spur entry area or kicking area, it is determined that the recording target area of the recording medium is a control target area, and the process proceeds to step S102. In step S102, the presence / absence of recording data for the recording target area of the recording medium is determined. If there is print data, the process proceeds to step S103, and control is performed to reduce the use range of the print element and the conveyance amount of the print medium. On the other hand, if there is no recording data, no recording is performed, so the process proceeds to step S104, and control for reducing the use range of the recording element and the conveyance amount of the recording medium is not performed. By omitting this control, the recording medium is conveyed by a relatively large constant conveyance amount, so that the throughput of the recording apparatus is improved and the recording medium can be stably conveyed.

  The “control target area” used for the determination in step S101 of FIG. 4 is set in advance in the above example, but is not limited to this, and may be acquired and set together with the recording data.

  In the above example, the determination as to whether or not to perform the control shown in the flow of FIG. 4 is performed by the recording data determination unit 108 provided inside the recording apparatus as shown in FIG. The data determination unit may be provided outside the recording apparatus.

  In the following cases, it is possible to omit control for changing the usage range of the printing element and the conveyance amount of the printing medium. Thereby, the effect of improving the throughput of the recording apparatus can be obtained, and the recording medium can be stably conveyed.

  (1) When there is no recording data for the rear end piece grip area 604 shown in FIG. In this case, since recording is not performed after recording in both grip areas 603 is completed, a recording control method used for recording in both grip areas 603 (relatively large use range of recording elements and transport amount of recording medium) There is no need to change the setting. Therefore, it is possible to obtain the effect of improving the throughput of the recording apparatus without performing control for reducing the use range of the recording element and the conveyance amount of the recording medium.

  (2) The case where the recording data for both grip areas 603 shown in FIG. 6 does not exist and only the recording data for the rear end piece grip area 604 exists. In this case, since recording is not performed on both grip areas 603, recording is performed by the recording control method (reduced use range of the recording element and transport amount of the recording medium) used for recording on the rear end piece grip area 604 from the beginning. It can be performed. Therefore, since the recording medium is transported by a constant transport amount, stable transport is possible.

  In the above-described embodiment, it is determined whether or not to perform control based on the presence or absence of recording data (see steps S102 to S104 in FIG. 4). However, the method for determining the presence or absence of control that can be used in the present invention is not limited to this.

  For example, even when recording data is present, if the density of the recorded image is low, the image quality is not noticeable, and thus control for preventing the image quality from deteriorating is not necessarily performed. Therefore, as a criterion for determining the presence or absence of control in step S102, instead of the presence or absence of recording data, the density of the image to be recorded, for example, the amount of ink applied based on the recording data (the ink applied per unit area of the recording medium) Amount) may be used. That is, control is performed when the density of an image to be recorded based on the recording data exceeds a predetermined threshold value set in advance (step S103), and control is not performed when the density is equal to or lower than the predetermined threshold value (step S104). The recording control method may be as follows.

  Further, the presence or absence of control may be determined using a specific identifier regarding which recording element is used and how the conveyance amount is changed without depending on the recording data.

  In the above-described embodiment, an example in which the recording apparatus receives image data from the host computer via the interface unit has been described (see FIG. 1). However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the image data may be input to the recording apparatus in the form of read information by reading the image by reading means (not shown) such as a scanner. .

  When the same image is recorded on a plurality of recording media, the recording data is acquired based on the image data or the read information received or inputted with respect to the first recording medium, and this is recorded on the second recording medium. You may use similarly about subsequent recording media.

  The present invention may be applied to a system including a plurality of devices including devices corresponding to the above-described recording device, or may be applied to a recording device including a single device.

  The present invention is achieved by supplying a software program that implements the functions of the above-described embodiments directly or remotely to a system or apparatus, and reading and executing the supplied program code by the computer of the system or apparatus. Including the case.

  The program code itself installed in the computer to implement the functional processing of the present invention by the computer also implements the present invention. That is, the computer program itself for realizing the functional processing of the present invention is also included in the scope of the present invention.

  Further, the form need not be a software program or a computer program as long as it has the function of a program that implements the functional processing of the present invention. For example, the form may be object code, a program executed by an interpreter, script data supplied to the OS, or the like.

  The recording medium for supplying the program includes flexible disk, hard disk, optical disk, magneto-optical disk, MO, CD-ROM, CD-R, CD-RW, magnetic tape, nonvolatile memory card, ROM, DVD (DVD -ROM, DVD-R).

  The above-described embodiment has been described using an ink jet recording apparatus. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and can be widely applied to recording-type recording apparatuses having two transporting units on the upstream side and the downstream side of the recording medium transporting path with respect to the recording area.

Claims (5)

A recording apparatus that performs recording by scanning a recording medium having recording elements arranged in a predetermined direction on a recording medium in a direction intersecting the predetermined direction,
The recording apparatus includes upstream conveyance driving means and downstream conveyance driving means arranged on the upstream side and downstream side of the conveyance path of the recording medium with respect to the scanning area of the recording head in the recording apparatus, and the recording medium is moved from the upstream side to the downstream side. Conveying means for conveying to the side;
Control means for controlling the usage range of the recording element and the conveyance amount of the recording medium by the conveyance means according to the area of the recording medium to be conveyed;
With
The control means is an area of a recording medium conveyed by one of the upstream-side conveyance driving means and the downstream-side conveyance driving means, and reduces the usage range of the recording element and the conveyance amount of the recording medium. When there is no recording data for the area of the recording medium set to be controlled, or when the recording data exists and the density of an image to be recorded by the recording data is equal to or less than a set threshold value The recording apparatus is characterized by not performing the reduction control. Storage means for storing image data or image reading information input to the recording device;
2. The recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the control unit acquires recording data for an area of the recording medium from the image data stored in the storage unit or reading information of the image.   The storage unit can store a use range of the recording element according to a region of the recording medium to be transported controlled by the control unit and a transport amount of the recording medium by the transport unit. Item 3. The recording device according to Item 2.   A setting unit capable of acquiring and setting the area of the recording medium set so as to control to reduce the use range of the recording element and the conveyance amount of the recording medium together with image data or image reading information, The recording apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3. A control method of a recording apparatus for performing recording by causing a recording head in which recording elements are arranged in a predetermined direction to scan on a recording medium in a direction crossing the predetermined direction,
The recording apparatus includes upstream conveyance driving means and downstream conveyance driving means arranged on the upstream side and downstream side of the conveyance path of the recording medium with respect to the scanning area of the recording head in the recording apparatus, and the recording medium is moved from the upstream side to the downstream side. A transport process for transporting to the side,
A control step of controlling a use range of the recording element and a conveyance amount of the recording medium by the conveyance step according to a region of the recording medium to be conveyed;
Including
In the control step, an area of the recording medium that is conveyed by one of the upstream-side conveyance driving means and the downstream-side conveyance driving means, wherein the use range of the recording element and the conveyance amount of the recording medium are reduced. When there is no recording data for the area of the recording medium set to be controlled, or when the recording data exists and the density of an image to be recorded by the recording data is equal to or less than a set threshold value The control method is characterized in that the reduction control is not performed.

Images