JP2014108619A - Recording device and control method for cleaning operation of recording device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a recording device capable of carrying out high quality recording even if a printing process is performed on continuous sheets, and a control method for a cleaning operation performed by the recording device.SOLUTION: When image data received from a host is recorded on a recording medium using a recording head on the basis of the image data while transporting the recording medium, a cleaning operation is controlled as follows. First, it is identified whether blank data in which the image data is not recorded by the recording head is present in the image data received from the host and stored in a page memory by number equal to or larger than a preset number of lines. Next, if it is identified that the blank data is present by the number equal to or larger than the preset number of lines, then a recording operation is temporarily stopped, and a cleaning mechanism is controlled to operate so as to clean the recording head.

Description

  The present invention relates to a recording apparatus and a method for controlling the cleaning operation thereof, and more particularly to a recording apparatus that performs recording using, for example, an inkjet recording head and a cleaning operation thereof.

  Conventionally, when a recording device performs printing processing on paper that is long in the transport direction, such as roll paper, the print length is long, so backfeed cannot be performed midway, and there is a pause during printing. If this happens, a large amount of waste paper will be generated.

  In addition, when post-processing such as bookbinding is performed, if a stop occurs in the middle as described above, that portion must be discarded, and printing must be performed again from the beginning. A decrease in efficiency was a problem.

  Conventionally, when the end of a print job or the amount of stored data is less than the specified amount, the printing process is continued until the timing of the subsequent processing is good, and the processing is stopped when the timing is good. By doing so, it was possible to avoid waste paper and a decrease in efficiency.

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2006-300956

  However, as in the above-described conventional example, when printing on the paper is continued until the end of data or the data amount becomes a predetermined amount or less, the following problems occur when an abnormality occurs in the recording operation of the recording head. . That is, density unevenness and print fading occur in the print result, and a normal print result cannot be acquired.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above conventional example, and an object thereof is to provide a recording apparatus that can perform high-quality recording even when printing processing is performed on continuous paper, and a method for controlling the cleaning operation thereof. Yes.

  In order to achieve the above object, the recording apparatus of the present invention has the following configuration.

  That is, a recording apparatus for recording on the recording medium using a recording head while conveying the recording medium based on image data received from the host, and storing means for storing the image data received from the host Specifying means for specifying whether or not blank data, which is not recorded by the recording head, continuously exists in the image data stored in the storage means exceeds a preset number of lines; and the recording head When the blanking data is identified to exist continuously more than the preset number of lines by the cleaning unit that performs the cleaning, and the specifying unit, the recording operation is temporarily stopped, and the recording head And control means for controlling the operation of the cleaning means so as to perform cleaning.

  Another aspect of the present invention is a method for controlling a cleaning operation in a recording apparatus that performs recording on a recording medium using a recording head while conveying the recording medium based on image data received from a host. And a specifying step for specifying whether or not blank data not to be recorded by the recording head continuously exists in the image data received from the host and stored in the page memory for a predetermined number of lines or more. In the specifying step, when it is specified that the blank data continuously exists for the preset number of lines or more, the recording operation is temporarily stopped and the recording head is cleaned. And a control step for controlling the operation of the mechanism.

  Therefore, according to the present invention, the position of blank data that does not affect the recording result is specified from the image data during recording, and if the blank data exists more than a preset number of lines, recording is performed at that location. Can be temporarily stopped to perform the cleaning operation of the recording head.

  Thereby, it is possible to perform a cleaning operation and maintain high-quality recording without affecting image recording. Further, there is an advantage that the recording medium is not wasted by the cleaning operation.

1 is a block diagram showing an outline of a configuration of a recording system that is a typical embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is an external perspective view illustrating an outline of a configuration of an ink jet recording apparatus included in the recording system illustrated in FIG. 1. FIG. 3 is a perspective view schematically showing a recording paper feed operation of the recording apparatus shown in FIG. 2. It is a block diagram which shows the control structure of the inkjet recording device and personal computer which comprise a recording system. FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an operation outline of a recording head during a recording operation. It is a flowchart which shows the outline | summary of the recording operation which a recording device performs. It is a flowchart which shows the search process of blank data.

  Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described more specifically and in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

  In this specification, “recording” (sometimes referred to as “printing”) is not limited to the case of forming significant information such as characters and graphics, but may be significant. Furthermore, it also represents a case where an image, a pattern, a pattern, or the like is widely formed on a recording medium or a medium is processed regardless of whether or not it is manifested so that a human can perceive it visually.

  “Recording medium” refers not only to paper used in general recording apparatuses but also widely to cloth, plastic film, metal plate, glass, ceramics, wood, leather, and the like that can accept ink. Shall.

  Further, “ink” (sometimes referred to as “liquid”) should be interpreted widely as in the definition of “recording (printing)”. Therefore, by being applied on the recording medium, it is used for formation of images, patterns, patterns, etc., processing of the recording medium, or ink processing (for example, solidification or insolubilization of the colorant in the ink applied to the recording medium). It shall represent a liquid that can be made.

<Overview of recording system (FIGS. 1 to 4)>
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an outline of the configuration of a recording system that is a typical embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 1, the recording system 300 includes an inkjet recording device 301 and a personal computer (PC) 310 connected by a USB cable 340 or the like. The personal computer (PC) 310 is called a host or an information processing apparatus in the following description.

  Connected to the host 310 are a display 320 for displaying various information and an instruction unit 330 including a keyboard and a pointing device for giving instructions to the host. The host 310 includes a CPU 311 for executing various programs and a memory 312 for storing these programs and data. The memory 312 includes a semiconductor memory such as a ROM and a RAM, a hard disk, and the like.

  The ink jet recording apparatus 301 is controlled by the host 310. Accordingly, a printer driver (a kind of control program) for operating the ink jet recording apparatus 301 to perform recording control and an application for generating image data are installed in the host 310. When this printer driver is executed by the CPU 311 during recording, various menu screens related to the recording operation are displayed on the display 320 of the host. As a matter of course, the host generates a print job, generates image data for printing, and supplies the image data to the inkjet recording apparatus 301 as a print job. At this time, the host 310 converts the image data generated using the printer driver into a format that can be interpreted by the inkjet recording apparatus 301, and transmits this to the inkjet recording apparatus 301.

  On the other hand, the inkjet recording apparatus 301 records an image on a recording medium based on image data and a control signal from the host 310.

  In the configuration shown in FIG. 1, the host and the inkjet recording apparatus are connected by a USB cable. However, the connection method is not limited to this. For example, it can be connected by a LAN cable or a wireless interface. Note that the overall configuration of the recording system shown here is merely an example. For example, a plurality of information processing apparatuses 310 and a plurality of recording apparatuses 301 may be provided to form a recording system. Other devices may be connected to the recording system.

  2 is an internal side view showing an outline of the configuration of an ink jet recording apparatus (hereinafter referred to as a recording apparatus) included in the recording system shown in FIG.

  The recording apparatus 301 includes four full-line inkjet recording heads (hereinafter referred to as recording heads) 305 that respectively discharge yellow (Y) ink, magenta (M) ink, cyan (C) ink, and black (K) ink. Further, the recording apparatus 301 includes a print buffer memory (hereinafter referred to as VRAM) for temporarily storing image data for each color sent from the host 310, and when the bitmap development of the image data is finished in the VRAM, The recording operation is performed. That is, the roll holder 302 and the conveyance unit 303 are operated to run the recording paper 304, which is a roll-like continuous paper composed of a mount and a plurality of labels, and according to the contents of the VRAM, the YMCK inks are ejected to perform recording. .

  Note that the VRAM of the recording apparatus has a capacity for storing image data sufficient to record an image having a predetermined length in the conveyance direction of the recording paper. For example, when the recording width of the recording head 305 is 210 mm, the capacity is a capacity necessary for developing 297 mm (that is, A4 size) of image data into a bitmap in the transport direction. Therefore, it can be said that the VRAM is a page memory or a frame memory. By examining the value of the image data bitmap-developed in the VRAM, it is possible to specify which portion of the image data is so-called blank data that does not cause ink ejection. The detection of blank data will be described later.

  The recording apparatus 301 receives various setting data such as a paper type, an ink type, and an image data size from the host 310.

  FIG. 3 is a perspective view schematically showing the recording paper feed operation of the recording apparatus shown in FIG.

  According to FIG. 3, the recording paper 304 is inserted from the roll holder 302 into the transport unit 303, and the recording paper 304 is transported in the direction in which an image is recorded (the arrow direction in FIG. 3) by the transport force of the transport unit 303. This operation is called a feed operation.

  When the expansion of the image data to the VRAM is completed, the recording head 305 is driven in synchronization with the feed operation to perform recording on the recording paper 304 based on the image data expanded to the VRAM.

  FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating functional configurations of the recording apparatus and the information processing apparatus that constitute the recording system. Note that FIG. 4 does not show all functions of the recording apparatus and the information processing apparatus, but only functions related to the present invention.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the information processing apparatus 310 functionally includes a cleaning request reception unit 31, a data search unit 32, a position storage unit 33, a print stop transmission unit 34, a recording device control unit 35, and a user notification unit 36. Have. These functions are basically configured as functions of a printer driver, and are realized by executing the CPU 311.

  The cleaning request receiving unit 31 receives a recording head cleaning request from the recording apparatus 301. The cleaning request includes print head identification information and the type of cleaning.

  When there is a cleaning request, the data search unit 32 analyzes recorded data and searches for data indicating blank data in data to be printed thereafter. That is, an analysis is performed on an area in the print data that does not require printing by ejecting ink from the nozzles of the print head. In this analysis, for example, the start coordinates and end coordinates of the recording image in the recording data bitmap-developed in the VRAM are obtained, and based on the result, an area where recording by ink ejection is not required is derived. An area where recording by ink ejection is not required refers to, for example, a margin or white data area in the recording area.

  Since the recording head 305 is a full-line recording head, in consideration of the recording method, the blank data here means one recording line in which ink is not ejected from any recording element (nozzle) of the recording head 305. Minute image data.

  Based on the result of the data search unit 32, the position storage unit 33 stores position information where blank data exists in the recording data. The information to be stored includes the number of lines from the beginning in the recording data. Based on the result of the data search unit 32 and the result of the position storage unit 33, the print stop transmission unit 34 issues a command for temporarily stopping printing to the operating recording head. The recording device control unit 35 transmits the command issued by the print stop transmission unit 34 to the recording device 301.

  The user notification unit 36 notifies the user that the recording apparatus 301 has been stopped by a command issued by the print stop transmission unit 34. The notification method is not particularly limited, and may be performed by, for example, voice or a message display on the display 320.

  On the other hand, the recording apparatus 301 includes a cleaning request transmission unit 51, a recording control unit 52, a cleaning mechanism 53, a user notification unit 54, and a recording head 305. Here, all functional configurations other than the cleaning mechanism 53 and the recording head 305 are realized by a CPU or ASIC built in the recording apparatus executing a control program or firmware.

  The cleaning request transmission unit 51 transmits a cleaning request to the information processing apparatus 310 when the recording head 305 needs to perform a cleaning operation. The recording control unit 52 performs overall control of the operation of the recording apparatus 301. For example, the recording operation by the recording head 305 and the cleaning process by the cleaning mechanism 53 are controlled.

  The cleaning mechanism 53 cleans the recording head 305. The cleaning mechanism 53 is configured so that the four recording heads 305 can be individually cleaned. The user notification unit 54 notifies the user of the state of the recording device 301, for example, whether the current recording device is printing or cleaning, under the control of the recording control unit 52.

  Needless to say, the functional configurations provided in the information processing apparatus 310 and the recording apparatus 301 are not necessarily realized as illustrated, and various modifications are possible. For example, a user notification unit or a cleaning request transmission unit may be incorporated in the recording control unit 52.

  Next, an outline of the operation related to the temporary stop of the recording head in the recording operation using the recording system having the above configuration will be described.

  FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating a state where recording is performed on continuous paper by the recording head.

  As shown in FIG. 5, when printing is started, image data is transmitted to the recording head 305, and at the same time, conveyance of the recording paper 304 is started in the direction of the arrow 63. Simultaneously with the start of movement of the recording paper 304, the recording head 305 starts recording the image 61 on the recording paper 304 based on the received image data.

  In FIG. 5, (a) shows a state before the cleaning request is transmitted. The condition for sending the cleaning request from the recording apparatus 301 is when the dot count (number of ink ejections from the recording head) reaches a certain value. Here, the cleaning request is transmitted when the dot count value reaches 80% of the dot count value generated when the cleaning request is generated.

  When the dot count value reaches the above value, the printing apparatus searches the received image data and searches for a position where blank data exists. Here, the blank data to be searched is blank data equal to or greater than the preset number of lines. In this embodiment, the number of blank data lines to be searched is 20.

  When the image data search is performed, as shown in FIG. 5A, blank data creating a blank area as indicated by reference numeral 64 is detected when recording is performed. If blank data is detected, the position is set as a temporary stop position, and position information where blank data exists (for example, the number of lines from the beginning of the data, etc.) is stored in a memory (for example, RAM) of the recording apparatus.

  FIG. 5B shows a state in which a cleaning request is transmitted and the recording operation and the conveyance of the recording paper are temporarily stopped. The recording head 305 continues the recording operation until it reaches the stored data position. Then, when the reading position in the VRAM of the image data necessary for recording reaches the data position stored in the memory, a cleaning request is transmitted to the information processing apparatus 310, and printing is temporarily stopped. Thereafter, the recording apparatus performs a predetermined cleaning operation on the recording head 305.

  FIG. 5C shows a state of restarting printing after the cleaning is completed.

  In this embodiment, after the cleaning is completed, the recording apparatus resumes the temporarily stopped printing by restarting the reading of the image data from the data position stored in the memory.

  Next, a recording operation executed by the recording apparatus 301 will be described with reference to a flowchart. This recording operation is started when a print job is transmitted from the information processing apparatus 310 to the recording apparatus 301.

  FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing an outline of a recording operation executed by the recording apparatus.

  First, in step S101, recording of the dot count of the recording head is started simultaneously with the start of printing. In step S102, an image is recorded based on the received image data.

  In step S103, it is determined whether or not the recorded dot count value has reached 80% of the prescribed dot count for starting cleaning. If it is determined that the dot count value has reached 80% of the specified number, the process proceeds to step S104. If it is determined that the dot count value has not reached 80% of the specified number, the process proceeds to step S104. Returning to S102, printing is continued.

  In step S104, blank data having a predetermined number of lines or more is searched from the image data. Details of this processing will be described later.

  In step S105, printing is continued while the processing in step S104 is being executed and until the position in the image data stored as the processing result is reached. In step S106, it is checked whether the reading position of the image data used for recording has reached the blank data position searched in step S104. If it is determined that the read position of the image data has reached the blank data position stored in the memory, the process proceeds to step S107. On the other hand, if it is determined that the read position of the image data has not reached the blank data position stored in the memory, the process returns to step S105 to continue printing.

  In step S107, the operation of the recording head during the recording operation is temporarily stopped. Further, in step S108, a cleaning operation is performed on the recording head whose operation is temporarily stopped. After completion of the cleaning operation, in step S109, printing is resumed from the position where the recording operation was temporarily stopped, and the recording operation is executed until the end of the image data.

  Next, details of blank data search processing will be described. This is the details of the processing in step S104 in the recording apparatus 301.

  FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing blank data search processing.

  In step S201, the number of blank data lines to be searched from the image data is set. The number of lines can be arbitrarily registered by the user in addition to the value held on the recording apparatus side as a specified value. In that case, the value is set by the user in the printer driver setting in the information processing apparatus 310, and the setting value by the user is registered in the recording apparatus 301 by transmitting the setting value to the recording apparatus 301.

  In step S202, blank data having the number of lines or more specified in step S201 is searched from the image data currently used for recording. In step S203, it is checked whether or not there is blank data exceeding the number of lines. If it is determined that such blank data exists, the process proceeds to step S204. If it is determined that such blank data does not exist, the process proceeds to step S208.

  In step S204, the position information where the detected blank data exists is stored. The value stored here is, for example, the distance (number of lines) from the first line of the image data of the print job being recorded, the distance from the end line of the image data, or the like.

  In step S205, it is checked whether the image data corresponding to the image to be recorded is blank. If it is determined that the current image data is blank data having a predetermined number of lines, the process proceeds to step S208, and the recording operation is temporarily stopped. On the other hand, if it is determined that the current image data is not blank data having a predetermined number of lines, the process proceeds to step S206 and printing is continued. In step S206, image data is read from the VRAM to the position where the blank data stored in step S204 exists, and printing is continued.

  In step S207, it is checked whether the position of the image data used for the image (VRAM storage position) has reached the data position stored in step S204. If it is determined that the read position of the image data has reached the position of blank data, the process proceeds to step S208. If it is determined that the position has not yet reached the blank data position, the process proceeds to step S208. Returning to S206, printing is continued.

  In step S208, the recording operation by the recording head is temporarily stopped. This is because, in addition to the case where the read position of the image data reaches the stored blank data position in step S207, the blank data does not exist or the read position of the image data corresponding to the currently recorded image is blank data. Also included when there is.

  In step S209, the recording operation by the recording head is temporarily stopped, and then the cleaning operation is performed on the recording head. Since this cleaning operation is a known one, its description is omitted.

  Simultaneously with the start of the cleaning operation, in step S210, the dot count value started in step S101 is reset to prepare for storing the dot count in printing that is resumed after completion of cleaning.

  In step S211, after completion of the cleaning operation, reading of image data is resumed from the position stored in step S204, reading of image data corresponding to the position where printing is temporarily stopped is resumed, and recording is resumed.

  Finally, in step S212, it is checked whether the image data of the print job has reached the end. If the end of the image data is detected, the search for blank data ends. If the end of the image data is not detected, the process returns to step S202 to continue the search.

  Therefore, according to the embodiment described above, even when a cleaning request is generated for the recording head during the recording operation, printing is continued to the blank data position, and the cleaning operation is performed when the blank data position is reached. Can do. As a result, it is possible to perform cleaning in a place that does not affect the quality of image recording and maintain high-quality recording.

  In the embodiment described above, an example has been described in which the recording device receives from the information processing device and specifies the presence and position of blank data exceeding the preset number of lines from the image data bitmap-developed in the VRAM. However, the present invention is not limited thereby. For example, the information processing apparatus that generates image data specifies the presence and position of blank data that is equal to or more than the preset number of lines, and transmits the specified information to the recording apparatus together with the image data. Anyway.

  In this case, the processing in steps S202 to S203 in FIG. 2 is not necessary, and the position information of the blank data transmitted from the information processing apparatus may be stored in step S204. Then, it is preferable to temporarily stop printing and execute the cleaning operation by comparing the reading position of the image data corresponding to the image currently recorded and the position information of the blank data.

  The present invention can also be realized by executing the following processing. That is, software (program) that realizes the functions of the above-described embodiments is supplied to a system or apparatus via a network or various storage media, and the computer (or CPU, MPU, etc.) of the system or apparatus executes the program. It is a process to read and execute.

Claims (8)

A recording apparatus that records on the recording medium using a recording head while conveying the recording medium based on image data received from a host,
Storage means for storing image data received from the host;
In the image data stored in the storage means, specifying means for specifying whether or not blank data that does not cause recording by the recording head continuously exists for a preset number of lines or more,
Cleaning means for cleaning the recording head;
When it is determined by the specifying means that the blank data continuously exists for the preset number of lines or more, the cleaning means is arranged to temporarily stop the recording operation and clean the recording head. And a control means for controlling the operation of the recording apparatus.   The specifying means determines that the blank data is continuously present more than the preset number of lines based on information specifying the presence and position of the blank data received from the host together with the image data. The recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the recording apparatus is specified. The storage means is a page memory;
The specifying unit specifies whether or not the blank data exists continuously for a predetermined number of lines or more by checking a value of image data bitmap-expanded in the page memory. The recording apparatus according to claim 1. The recording head is an inkjet recording head;
The ink jet recording head discharges ink according to the received image data, and further includes a counting unit that counts the number of dots recorded.
If it is determined that the number of dots counted by the counting unit has reached a predetermined number, the control unit operates the specifying unit so that the blank data is continuously stored in advance. 4. The recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein control is performed so as to specify whether or not there are more than a set number of lines. 5.   The recording apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the number of dots counted by the counting unit is reset when cleaning is performed by the cleaning unit. The storage device further stores a position where the blank data specified by the specifying means exists continuously for a predetermined number of lines or more.
The control means is a position where the reading position of the image data stored in the storage means used for recording by the recording head is continuously present for a predetermined number or more of the blank data stored in the storage means. 6. The recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the recording is controlled to continue recording by the recording head until reaching the value.   The recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the control unit performs control so that the temporarily stopped recording operation is resumed after the cleaning by the cleaning unit is completed. A method for controlling a cleaning operation in a recording apparatus that performs recording on a recording medium using a recording head while conveying the recording medium based on image data received from a host,
In the image data received from the host and stored in the page memory, a specifying step for specifying whether or not blank data not to be recorded by the recording head continuously exists in a predetermined number or more,
In the specifying step, when it is specified that the blank data continuously exists for the preset number of lines or more, the recording operation is temporarily stopped and the recording head is cleaned. And a control step for controlling the operation.