JP2015116776A - Recording device and recording method - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To solve the problem that, in a method for calculating an ink consumption used for recording by using a discharge amount stored on a body beforehand, an accurate ink consumption cannot be calculated because a fabrication tolerance of a recording head or discharge amount fluctuation upon use is not taken into consideration.SOLUTION: A measurement result of a test pattern is acquired, and a discharge amount from a recording head based on the acquired measurement result is acquired, and thereby an ink consumption used for image recording can be derived highly accurately.

Description

  The present invention relates to a recording apparatus and a recording method.

  2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, an ink jet recording apparatus having a function of accurately measuring consumption of ink used for printing has been known in order to meet a user's request to manage the running cost of the ink jet recording apparatus. In particular, in an inkjet recording apparatus used for business use, in addition to running cost management, application to a system that charges for each print job or page according to ink consumption is also required.

  On the other hand, in an ink jet recording apparatus, the amount of ink per droplet is very small and varies depending on various factors such as manufacturing variations of recording heads and ink temperature. For such a variation factor, Patent Document 1 describes that the ink consumption is measured by counting the number of recording dots from print data and multiplying by a variable coefficient corresponding to the temperature of the recording head. Has been.

JP-A-9-11491

  However, in the method described in Patent Document 1, since the ink consumption is calculated using a coefficient relating to the ejection amount of the recording head stored in advance on the main body, there is a manufacturing tolerance of the recording head and a variation in ejection amount due to use. Not considered. Therefore, when the recording head is replaced or when the ejection amount changes due to aging, it is not possible to calculate the accurate ink consumption.

  In view of such problems, the present invention is a recording apparatus that records an image on a recording medium by applying ink using a recording head including a recording element that ejects ink droplets, and uses the recording element. A first acquisition unit that acquires a measurement result of the recorded test pattern, acquires information relating to an amount of ink droplets ejected from the recording element based on the acquired measurement result, and records the image on a recording medium; Ink consumption consumed in the recording of the image is derived on the basis of the second acquisition means for acquiring the number of ink droplet ejections and the information and the number of ejections acquired by the second acquisition means. And derivation means.

  With the above configuration, the present invention can provide an apparatus that can derive the ink consumption with high accuracy in consideration of the discharge amount variation of the recording head.

It is a schematic diagram which shows an inkjet recording device. It is an electrical block diagram of an inkjet recording device. FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a discharge port surface of a recording head. It is a flowchart which shows the process of 1st Embodiment. It is a figure which shows the area | region which performs dot count. It is a flowchart which shows the process which acquires discharge amount. It is a figure which shows the test pattern for acquiring discharge amount. It is a figure which shows the discharge amount for every acquired nozzle group. It is a figure which shows head temperature and a discharge amount conversion coefficient. It is a figure which shows a user image, head temperature, and a discharge amount conversion coefficient. It is a schematic diagram which shows the nozzle structure of the recording head in 2nd Embodiment. It is a figure which shows the discharge amount conversion coefficient according to a nozzle structure. It is a figure which shows the flowchart in 3rd Embodiment. It is a figure which shows a drive frequency and a discharge amount conversion coefficient.

(First embodiment)
(Device configuration)
FIG. 1 is a plan view showing an ink jet recording apparatus according to the present embodiment. Reference numeral 1 denotes a recording apparatus body including various mechanisms including a transport system unit (not shown) that transports a recording medium. An ink jet recording apparatus (hereinafter simply referred to as a recording apparatus) is configured by the recording apparatus main body 1 and a control system unit which will be described later. The recording apparatus of this embodiment is a so-called serial recording apparatus. Ink is applied onto the recording medium while moving the carriage 2 on which the recording head 3 is mounted in the X direction (main scanning direction), and the recording medium is moved by the transport system unit during the movement of the carriage 2 in the X direction. It is conveyed in the Y direction (sub-scanning direction) that intersects the X direction. The recording apparatus main body 1 has a configuration in which the size in the X direction is increased so that an image can be recorded on a relatively large recording medium such as an A0 size. Although the details will be described later, the recording head 3 of the present embodiment is a connecting head in which two ejection substrates (recording heads 31 and 32) are arranged so as to be shifted in the main scanning direction.

  The carriage 2 is supported so as to be movable along a guide shaft 4 arranged along the X direction, and is fixed to an endless belt 5 that moves substantially parallel to the guide shaft 4. The endless belt 5 reciprocates by the driving force of a carriage motor (hereinafter referred to as CR motor), and the carriage 2 reciprocates in the X direction and the −X direction accordingly. The carriage 2 includes a carriage elevating mechanism 7 that elevates the carriage 2 and a density sensor 8 for detecting a recording medium and density.

  Further, the recording apparatus main body 1 includes a recovery processing apparatus for normally ejecting ink from a plurality of ejection openings provided in the recording head 3. The recovery processing apparatus is held at a predetermined position of the recording apparatus main body 1 and includes a suction recovery mechanism 9, a wiping recovery mechanism 10, and a preliminary ejection ink receiving box 11.

  The position of the carriage 2 is detected by a main control unit 200 (to be described later) counting pulse signals output from the encoder sensor 215 as the carriage 2 moves. The encoder sensor 215 outputs a pulse signal to the main control unit 200 by detecting the detection units formed at regular intervals on the encoder film 6 arranged along the main scanning direction. The main control unit 200 detects the position of the carriage 2 by counting the pulse signals. Based on the signal from the encoder sensor 215, the carriage 2 moves to the home position and other positions.

  FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a control system mounted on the recording apparatus main body 1 of the ink jet recording apparatus according to the present embodiment. Reference numeral 200 denotes a main control unit connected to the host computer 217 via the interface circuit 216. The main control unit 200 includes a CPU 201 that executes processing operations such as calculation, control, determination, and setting, a ROM 202 that stores a control program to be executed by the CPU 201, a RAM 203 that temporarily stores data, an input / output port 204, and the like. Prepare. The RAM 203 is used as a buffer for storing binary recording data corresponding to ink recording (ejection) or non-recording (non-ejection), and a work area for processing by the CPU 201.

  Connected to the input / output port 204 are a drive circuit 205 for a carriage motor (CR motor) 211 in the transport unit, a drive circuit 206 for driving a transport motor (LF motor) 212, and a drive circuit 207 for driving the recording heads 31 and 32, respectively. Has been. Further, a drive circuit 208 of the recovery processing device and a drive circuit 209 of the carriage lifting mechanism 7 are connected to the input / output port 204, respectively. Sensors such as a temperature / humidity sensor 214 for detecting the temperature / humidity of the surrounding environment and an encoder sensor 215 fixed to the carriage 2 are also connected to the input / output port 204. The recording head 3 is provided with a temperature sensor as temperature acquisition means for acquiring the surface temperature of the recording chip on which the nozzles are arranged.

  Next, a recording operation executed by the ink jet recording apparatus according to the present embodiment will be described. When recording data is received from the host computer 217 via the interface circuit 216, the recording data is developed in the print buffer of the RAM 203. When a recording operation instruction is received, the carriage 2 on which the recording heads 31 and 32 are mounted is reciprocated in parallel with the guide shaft 4 by a carriage motor (not shown) and the endless belt 5. The recording heads 31 and 32 eject ink from nozzles (ejection ports) while moving, and form an image corresponding to the nozzle width on the recording medium. Next, the recording medium is conveyed by a predetermined amount in the sub-scanning direction. By repeating the recording operation for applying ink onto the recording medium during the movement of the recording heads 31 and 32 in the main scanning direction and the conveying operation for the recording medium in the sub-scanning direction in order, An image can be formed.

  FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating the recording head 3 of the present embodiment. As described above, the recording heads 31 and 32 are disposed in the recording head 3 so as to be shifted in the sub-scanning direction (Y direction), and the end portions of the nozzle regions of each head are adjacent to each other in the main scanning direction (X direction). Has been placed.

  The recording head 31 can eject a plurality of colors of ink, and includes nozzle rows 311, 312, 313, and 314 in which a plurality of nozzles are arranged. The nozzle array 311 ejects cyan (C) ink, the nozzle array 312 ejects magenta (M) ink, the nozzle array 313 ejects yellow (Y) ink, and the nozzle array 314 ejects black (K) ink. The nozzle rows 311, 312, and 313 that discharge CMY color inks are provided in one chip (hereinafter referred to as a color chip), and each nozzle row has 1280 nozzles at a density of 1200 dpi (dots / inch). Arranged in a staggered arrangement. The nozzle row 314 that discharges K ink is provided in a chip (hereinafter referred to as a black chip) different from the nozzle rows 311 to 313, and 640 nozzles are arranged in a staggered arrangement at a density of 600 dpi. Each chip is provided with temperature sensors 315 and 316 for measuring the temperature of the substrate on which the nozzle is provided. As with the recording head 31, the recording head 32 includes a color chip including nozzle rows 321 to 323 that discharge CMY inks and a temperature sensor 325, and a nozzle row 324 that discharges K ink and a temperature sensor 326. A black chip is provided.

  A color image is formed on the recording medium by ejecting CMYK four color inks from the ejection ports provided in these recording chips.

  Each chip is provided with an energy generating element (hereinafter referred to as a recording element) that generates energy for ejecting ink from the nozzles. In the present embodiment, an electrothermal converter is used as the energy generating element. The electrothermal transducer locally heats the ink to cause film boiling, and the ink can be ejected from the nozzle by the pressure. The recording element that ejects ink is not limited to the electrothermal transducer, and an electromechanical transducer may be used.

(Feature configuration)
Next, the characteristic configuration of the present embodiment will be described. In this embodiment, the density measurement pattern is recorded, and the amount of ink droplets ejected from the recording head (ejection amount) is acquired from the read value obtained by reading the density measurement pattern. Then, a coefficient is determined based on the head temperature at the time of image recording, and the ink consumption required for image recording is calculated by multiplying the determined coefficient by the number of ejections of ejected ink droplets (number of ejection data) by the ejection amount. Deriving the quantity.

  FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing a process for calculating the ink consumption amount in the present embodiment. When a job instructing image recording is received from the user, this processing is executed in parallel with image recording.

  In step S401, based on the recording data developed on the print buffer of the RAM 203, the number of times (number of dots) of ejecting ink droplets for each unit area is counted for each ink color. The following flow is performed independently for each ink color. However, since the same flow is used for each ink, a cyan ink will be described as an example.

  FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram for explaining a method of counting the number of ejections for each unit region. In the recording data developed in the print buffer, a recordable area 501 (hereinafter referred to as one scanning area) while the recording head 3 scans once in the main scanning direction is further divided into a plurality of unit areas 502. The entire scanning area 501 has a size of 2560 pixels in 1280 nozzles × 2 columns in the sub-scanning direction and 28800 pixels in a resolution of 1200 dpi (1200 pixels per inch) with respect to a width of 24 inches in the main scanning direction. The unit area 502 is 160 pixels in the sub-scanning direction and 32 pixels in the main scanning direction. In step S401, the dot count number is acquired for all the unit areas in the entire scanning area 501.

  In step S402, the head temperature at the timing when an image is recorded in each unit area is acquired based on the recording data developed in the print buffer. That is, the head temperature when ink is ejected from the nozzle at a position corresponding to each unit area on the recording medium is acquired.

  In step S403, the amount of ink consumed for each unit area is calculated. In the present embodiment, a process for acquiring a discharge amount, which will be described later, is executed before image recording, and the amount of ink droplets (discharge amount) discharged from each nozzle row is acquired and stored in the ROM 202. In step S403, the ejection amount stored in the ROM 202 is read, and the amount of ink consumed for each unit area is calculated.

  FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating a process for acquiring the ejection amount of each nozzle row. This processing is performed at the timing of user instruction, calibration execution, head shading pattern recording, recording head replacement, registration tone pattern recording, and the like, and the result is stored in the ROM 202. Note that when the predetermined time has elapsed or when the ink consumption exceeds a predetermined amount, the user may be notified of the execution of this processing.

  In step S601, a recording medium for printing a test pattern for density measurement is fed, and in step S602, the light amount of the density sensor 8 which is a measuring means for measuring the test pattern is adjusted. In step S603, a test pattern is printed.

  FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a test pattern for density measurement used in this process. A plurality of patterns are arranged with respect to the recording heads 31 and 32. The test pattern 71 in the upper half of the figure is recorded by the recording head 31, and the test pattern 72 in the lower half of the figure is recorded by the recording head 32.

  The test pattern 71 includes gradation patterns 711, 712, 713, 714, 715, 716, 717, and 718 having eight different densities. Further, each gradation pattern is composed of eight patches arranged in a staggered pattern. As shown in the figure, these eight patches are patches recorded by each of eight nozzle groups formed by dividing the recording head 31 into eight in the sub-scanning direction. Similarly, the test pattern 72 is a pattern in which eight patches are recorded by the eight nozzle groups of the recording head 32 at a density of 8 gradations.

  In step S604, each patch is measured by the density sensor 8 to obtain a measurement result. In step S605, the ejection amount of each nozzle group is acquired based on the measurement result of each patch. Here, for each nozzle group, the ejection amount is acquired for each of the eight gradation patches based on a table indicating the relationship between the patch density and the ejection amount held in advance, and the average value is calculated. Thereby, it is possible to calculate the discharge amount at the time when the test pattern is recorded for each nozzle group. FIG. 8 shows a discharge amount calculation result for each recording nozzle group of the recording head 31. The reference discharge amount of the recording head in this embodiment is 4.5 pl.

  Note that, by recording a plurality of test patterns with a plurality of gradations and obtaining an average value as in the present embodiment, the accuracy in calculating the ejection amount from the measurement result can be improved. A method of deriving the ejection amount from one pattern may be used, but since there is a possibility that an ejection amount calculation error may occur due to an ink dot landing error on the recording medium and an error at the time of reading, a plurality of gradations may be used. It is preferable to record a patch. Although the calculation accuracy improves as the number of gradations increases, an optimum number of patterns may be appropriately adopted depending on the system configuration in consideration of the usage amount of the recording medium, the pattern recording time, and the reading time.

  Next, a method of calculating the ink amount (ink consumption amount) used when recording an image instructed by the user based on the ejection amount for each nozzle group calculated from the test pattern will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 9 is a table showing the relationship between the ejection amount and the head temperature, and is stored in the ROM 202 in advance. This table defines the correspondence between the head temperature detected by the temperature sensor and the ejection amount conversion coefficient K1, which is a ratio obtained by experimentally determining the amount by which the ejection amount varies as the head temperature rises. The higher the head temperature during ink ejection, the lower the viscosity of the ink and the greater the ejection amount. Therefore, the higher the head temperature, the larger the value of K1.

  Here, an example of a process for calculating the discharge amount will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 10A shows a user image. FIG. 10B shows the head temperature detected by the temperature sensor in step S402 at the time of user image recording. It can be seen that the head temperature is higher in a region where the number of recorded dots of the user image is larger. FIG. 10C shows the discharge amount conversion coefficient K1, which is a value acquired from the head temperature in FIG. 10B based on the table in FIG. Here, for the sake of explanation, only a part of the recording area of the recording head 31 is shown, but the same processing is performed for all areas recorded using the recording heads 31 and 32. In addition, a simple pattern of one color is used as the user image, but the same procedure may be applied to any image. The size of each area is the same as that of the unit area 502 described with reference to FIG.

  Returning to step S403 in FIG. 4, the ink consumption for each unit region and each ink is calculated. First, for the unit area of interest, the discharge amount corresponding to the nozzle group that records the unit area is acquired. In this embodiment, it is any one of 4.3 to 4.6 pl shown in FIG. Next, a discharge amount conversion coefficient K1 is acquired from the head temperature acquired in step 402 based on the table of FIG. 9, and the acquired discharge amount is multiplied. As a result, the ejection amount per ink droplet ejected to the unit area of interest can be calculated. Next, the dot count number of each unit area acquired in step S401 is multiplied by the calculated ejection amount per droplet. Accordingly, it is possible to calculate the ink consumption amount used for image formation for the unit area of interest.

  In step S <b> 404, the ink consumption for each ink and for each unit area is summed, and the ink consumption for one scanning whole area 501 is calculated.

  In step S405, steps S401 to S404 are repeated until the recording operation is completed, and the ink consumption amount of each scan is integrated to calculate the ink consumption amount in the image recorded by the user.

  In step S406, the user is notified of the calculated ink consumption, and the process ends. The notification method may be displayed on the screen of the PC controlling the printer or on the main body panel. Further, the information to be displayed may be displayed for each job and for each recording medium, or the accumulated job for a certain period and the ink consumption of the accumulated number of prints may be displayed. In the above process, since the ink consumption amount is calculated for one color of ink, it is possible to notify the ink consumption amount for each of a plurality of inks. Note that the notification may be in the form of notifying the total of all colors, or the notification may be performed separately for the sum of CMY color inks and K ink. Further, the user may be notified of the remaining amount of ink calculated based on the cumulative value of ink consumption, or may be notified when the remaining amount of ink becomes less than a predetermined value.

  The present embodiment has been described using an example of one-pass recording in which a unit area is recorded by one scan of the recording head. However, the present invention is also applicable to so-called multi-pass recording in which a unit area is recorded by a plurality of scans. Can be applied. For each of a plurality of scans, the ink consumption in multipass printing can be calculated by repeating the above process after dividing the data into data to be printed in each scan.

  In this embodiment, the case where the recording head 3 includes two ejection substrates has been described as an example. However, the present invention is not limited to this embodiment. A configuration in which a plurality of recording heads are arranged with regions overlapping in the sub-scanning direction, a configuration in which a plurality of recording heads are arranged apart in the sub-scanning direction, a configuration in which a plurality of recording heads are arranged in the main scanning direction, Furthermore, a configuration including one recording head may be used.

  In this embodiment, the discharge amount is acquired using the test pattern for density measurement, but the method for deriving the discharge amount is not limited to this. In the case of a printer equipped with a color calibration function, the discharge amount may be calculated when performing color calibration using a calibration pattern for color calibration. In such a configuration, the ejection amount of the recording head can be updated each time color calibration is periodically executed. Further, in the case of a printer equipped with a head shading function that performs correction processing for nozzle discharge amount variation for each nozzle or for each of a plurality of nozzles, the discharge amount may be calculated from the reading result of the head shading pattern. . In the above example, the nozzles included in one nozzle row are divided into eight nozzle groups, but the number of nozzles is not limited to this. When the head shading process is executed, the number of nozzles as one unit in the head shading process may be the same, or one nozzle unit may be used.

  In the present embodiment, the process of further multiplying the ink consumption obtained from the ejection amount per ink droplet × the dot count number by the ejection amount conversion coefficient K1 corresponding to the head temperature at the time of recording has been described. A configuration using a coefficient corresponding to the head temperature is not essential.

  As described above, according to the present exemplary embodiment, it is possible to acquire the ejection amount of the ink ejected from the recording head at a timing such as head replacement or calibration execution. Accordingly, an appropriate value can be used as the discharge amount used for calculating the ink consumption amount according to the manufacturing tolerance for each individual print head, the discharge amount variation for each nozzle, and the discharge amount fluctuation. As a result, it is possible to calculate the ink consumption with higher accuracy than in the case of using a preset ejection amount, and to notify the user of the calculated ink consumption.

  In this embodiment, the mode of acquiring the number of ejections after image recording has been described as an example. However, the mode of acquiring the number of ejections based on recording data before image recording may be used. In addition, the recording data may not be counted, and the ink droplets actually ejected from the recording head may be captured with a camera or the like to acquire the ejection number. In addition, either the acquisition of the discharge amount or the acquisition of the number of discharges may be performed first. Moreover, the form which can discharge the ink droplet of several sizes from one recording chip may be sufficient. In that case, the same coefficient may be used, and a coefficient corresponding to the size may be prepared.

(Second Embodiment)
In the present embodiment, the ink consumption is calculated in consideration of the nozzle configuration of the recording head in addition to the configuration of the first embodiment. The recording head of the present embodiment is different in the nozzle ejection method for ejecting CMY color ink and the nozzle ejection method for ejecting black ink.

  FIG. 11A is a diagram illustrating the nozzle configuration of the nozzle rows 311 to 313 of the recording head 31 and the nozzle rows 321 to 323 of the recording head 32, and FIG. 11B is a diagram illustrating the nozzle rows 314 of the recording head 31. 3 is a diagram illustrating a nozzle configuration of a nozzle row 324 of the recording head 32. FIG. That is, FIG. 11A shows nozzles that discharge cyan ink, magenta ink, and yellow ink, and FIG. 11B shows nozzles that discharge black ink.

  In the nozzle of FIG. 11A, the distance between the electrothermal transducer 33 and the nozzle opening 34 is relatively short. When the electrothermal transducer 33 is heated, the ink is ejected and the bubbles are discharged from the ink. This is a so-called BTJ-type nozzle that communicates with the outside via the discharge port. In the case of this BTJ type nozzle, the amount of ink pushed out by the generated energy is relatively small. In the present embodiment, the central discharge amount in this nozzle configuration is 4 pl.

  On the other hand, in the nozzle of FIG. 11B, the distance between the electrothermal transducer 35 and the nozzle opening 36 is relatively long, and the quarterly report is trapped in the ink when the electrothermal transducer 33 is heated to foam the ink. This is a so-called bubble jet (registered trademark) (BJ) type nozzle. In the case of this BJ type nozzle, the amount of ink pushed out by the generated energy is relatively large. In the present embodiment, the central discharge amount in this nozzle configuration is 30 pl.

  Here, in the present embodiment, the discharge amount conversion coefficient indicating the ratio of the discharge amount variation due to the head temperature is set according to the nozzle configuration. FIG. 12 is a table showing the head temperature and the discharge amount conversion coefficient according to the nozzle configuration. The discharge amount conversion coefficient K2-M corresponds to a recording chip having a BTJ-type nozzle configuration shown in FIG. In the present embodiment, a recording chip that discharges cyan ink, magenta ink, and yellow ink corresponds to this configuration, and the central discharge amount is 4 pl. The discharge amount conversion coefficient K2-L corresponds to a recording chip having a BJ nozzle configuration shown in FIG. In this embodiment, the black ink recording chip corresponds to this configuration, and the central ejection amount is 30 pl.

  In the present embodiment, when calculating the discharge amount for each unit area in step S403 of FIG. 4, the CMY color ink is further multiplied by the discharge amount conversion coefficient K2-M, and for the black ink. The discharge amount conversion coefficient K2-L is further multiplied. Note that the coefficient K2-L corresponding to the black ink having a large discharge amount is a larger value than the coefficient K2-M corresponding to the color ink, and the ratio of the discharge amount variation accompanying the change in the head temperature is large. It is shown that.

  As described above, in this embodiment, when a recording head having a plurality of types of nozzles with different ejection methods is used, it is possible to calculate the ejection amount with high accuracy by multiplying the coefficient corresponding to the nozzle configuration. Become.

(Third embodiment)
In the first embodiment, the form in which the head temperature is acquired using the temperature sensor provided in the print head chip has been described, but in the present embodiment, the ink consumption is calculated based on the drive frequency of the print head. Note that detailed description of the same processing as in the first embodiment is omitted.

  FIG. 13 is a flow for measuring ink consumption in this embodiment. Processes other than steps S1202 and S1203 are the same as those in FIG.

  In step S1202, the timing for printing the data developed in the print buffer and the head drive frequency at the nozzle position are acquired for each predetermined area. Next, in step S1203, a discharge amount for each unit region is calculated. Here, a coefficient corresponding to the head drive frequency is multiplied.

  FIG. 14 is a table showing the relationship between the head drive frequency and the ink droplet ejection amount. The ratio of the ejection amount fluctuation due to the head driving frequency is held in advance as an ejection amount conversion coefficient K3 obtained experimentally. Since the ejection amount increases as the head driving frequency during recording increases, K3 is set larger as the driving frequency increases. That is, in the user image, since the head drive frequency increases as the number of recording dots increases, the discharge amount conversion coefficient K3 representing the discharge amount also increases. The discharge amount conversion coefficient K3 corresponding to the head drive frequency is multiplied by the discharge amount for each recording nozzle group, and the discharge amount is calculated for each unit region.

  Thereafter, as in the first embodiment, the ink consumption for one scanning area is calculated, the same calculation is repeated until the printing operation is completed, the ink consumption for each scanning is integrated, and the ink consumption for the entire image recorded by the user. Is calculated.

  As described above, in the present embodiment, the discharge amount variation due to the head drive frequency is taken into account by using the discharge amount variation due to the head drive frequency from the head drive frequency during recording as the discharge amount conversion coefficient and multiplying the discharge amount. Ink consumption can be calculated.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Recording device main body 2 Carriage 31, 32 Recording head 71, 72 Test pattern

Claims (18)

A recording apparatus that records an image on a recording medium by applying ink using a recording head including a recording element that discharges ink droplets,
First acquisition means for acquiring a measurement result of a test pattern recorded using the recording element, and acquiring information relating to an amount of ink droplets ejected from the recording element based on the acquired measurement result;
Second acquisition means for acquiring the number of ink droplet ejections for recording the image on a recording medium;
A recording apparatus comprising: a derivation unit that derives an ink consumption amount consumed in the recording of the image based on the information and the number of ejections acquired by the second acquisition unit. The information is a value indicating the amount of ink droplets ejected from the recording element,
The recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the derivation unit derives the ink consumption amount by multiplying the value by the number of ejections.   The recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the recording head includes a plurality of the recording elements.   The recording apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the first acquisition unit acquires the information for each group including a predetermined number of the recording elements.   The recording apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the predetermined number is one.   The second acquisition unit acquires the number of ejections for each of a plurality of unit areas on a recording medium, and the derivation unit derives the ink consumption amount for each unit area. The recording apparatus according to any one of 5.   The recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the recording head is capable of discharging a plurality of colors of ink, and includes the recording element for each of the plurality of colors of ink.   The recording apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the deriving unit derives the ink consumption for each of the plurality of colors of ink.   9. The test pattern according to claim 7 or 8, wherein the test pattern includes a patch recorded for each of the plurality of colors of ink, and the measurement result includes a result for each of the plurality of colors of ink obtained by measuring the patch. The recording device described.   The recording apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a measurement unit for measuring the test pattern, wherein the first acquisition unit acquires a measurement result by the measurement unit. .   11. The apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a control unit that controls the recording head to record the test pattern and controls the first acquisition unit to acquire a measurement result of the test pattern. The recording apparatus according to item 1.   The control means receives the measurement result of the test pattern at any timing when receiving an instruction from the user, performing calibration, recording a head shading pattern, recording a registration tone pattern, or replacing a recording head. The recording apparatus according to claim 11, wherein the recording head and the first acquisition unit are controlled so as to be acquired. A temperature acquisition means for acquiring the temperature of the recording head;
The recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the deriving unit derives the ink consumption based further on the temperature. A storage means for storing a coefficient corresponding to the temperature in advance;
The recording apparatus according to claim 13, wherein the deriving unit obtains the coefficient based on the temperature, and derives the ink consumption using the obtained coefficient. Drive frequency acquisition means for acquiring the drive frequency of the recording head;
The recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the deriving unit derives the ink consumption based further on the driving frequency. A storage means for storing a coefficient corresponding to the drive frequency in advance;
The recording apparatus according to claim 15, wherein the deriving unit obtains the coefficient based on the drive frequency, and derives the ink consumption using the obtained coefficient.   The recording apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a notification unit that notifies the user of the ink consumption amount derived by the deriving unit. A recording method for recording an image on a recording medium by applying ink using a recording head including a recording element that discharges ink droplets,
Obtaining a measurement result of a test pattern recorded using the recording element;
Obtaining information on the amount of ink droplets ejected from the recording element based on the obtained measurement results;
Obtaining the number of ejections of ink droplets for recording the image on a recording medium;
Deriving the ink consumption consumed in the recording of the image based on the information and the acquired number of ejections. A recording method comprising:

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