JP2693227B2 - Recording device - Google Patents

Description

Description: TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a recording apparatus, and more specifically, a recording liquid (hereinafter referred to as ink) is attached to a recording medium such as recording paper to record characters, images, and the like. Recording device.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION This type of recording apparatus is generally used in printers, facsimiles, copiers, etc., and has a structure in which a recording head is in a predetermined direction (hereinafter referred to as a main scanning direction).
The recording is carried out line by line with a serial system configuration in which recording is performed line by line while moving to, or a recording head configured by arranging recording elements corresponding to one line of recording in the main scanning direction. There is a line system configuration. With these configurations, each time line recording is completed, the recording medium is conveyed by a predetermined amount in a direction having a predetermined relationship with the main scanning direction, for example, in a direction orthogonal to the main scanning direction (hereinafter referred to as the sub-scanning direction), and, for example, one page of recording is performed. When you exit
The recording medium on which the recording has been completed is ejected.

Further, as a method for attaching the ink to the recording medium, there are an inkjet method, a thermal transfer method, a wire dot method, and the like. Among them, the inkjet method has recently been attracting attention because it enables relatively high-definition and high-speed recording. It is a method.

By the way, in a recording apparatus using a system in which ink is adhered for recording, particularly an inkjet system, ink fixing on a recording medium on which recording is completed may be insufficient due to various recording conditions. As a result, there is a problem that the unfixed ink stains the paper discharge path of the recording device or other recording medium, thereby impairing the quality of the recorded image.

For this reason, various configurations for promoting ink fixing have been conventionally proposed. As a typical configuration thereof, a fixing unit such as a heater is provided on the conveyance path of the recording medium,
With this, there is a configuration that promotes evaporation of water in the ink or the recording medium.

Further, it has been proposed to temporarily stop the conveyance of the recording medium to provide a time for fixing the ink when the recording image has a relatively high recording density.

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] However, in the configuration in which the fixing unit is provided on the recording medium conveyance path to promote the ink fixing, when the recording medium is discharged in synchronization with the recording operation, as described above. The ink may not be sufficiently fixed even by the fixing means due to the presence of a portion having a high recording density, and therefore, the recording is not fixed on the recording medium to be ejected next after the recording is completed. There is a problem that ink may adhere.

Further, in the configuration in which the conveyance of the recording medium is temporarily stopped to provide the time for ink fixing for the reason of preventing such a problem, various problems as described below are derived. Met.

That is, first, it takes a long time after the recording is finished until the user or the like can take out the recording medium on which the recording is finished, giving the user a feeling of inconvenience in handling the apparatus.

Secondly, especially in the case of an inkjet type recording apparatus,
While the conveyance of the recording medium is temporarily stopped and fixing is promoted by the fixing means, the atmosphere of the recording head is saturated by the moisture evaporated from the recording medium, ink, etc., which causes the dew condensation phenomenon of the recording head. Therefore, ejection failure may occur.

Further, when the conveyance of the recording medium is temporarily stopped, for example, while recording one page of the recording medium, the recording state of the recording head such as the ejection state changes before and after the recording medium, and as a result, the image It was sometimes degrading.

Thirdly, in a general recording device system, a host computer or a data transfer device that transfers various commands to the recording device side, such as transferring recording data to the recording device side,
While the recording device is performing the recording operation, it is not possible to transfer commands and the like, so that, for example, the recording data of the next page cannot be transferred. Therefore, if the time for fixing as described above exists during the recording operation and the recording operation time becomes long, there is a problem that the overall recording speed is reduced.

The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned conventional problems, and an object thereof is to record a recorded data in which an area having a recording density higher than a predetermined value exists in the recorded data. After the medium is ejected, the next recording is held for a time corresponding to the position where the high density area exists, so that the time for stopping the conveyance of the recording medium for fixing is reduced and the unfixed ink is used. An object of the present invention is to provide a recording device capable of solving a problem such as soiling a recording medium.

[Means for Solving the Problem] Therefore, in the present invention, in a recording apparatus that performs recording by adhering ink to a recording medium as the recording medium is conveyed, the recording data The density determining means determines the recording density, which is the density, for each area partitioned for recording, the determining means for determining the level of the recording density determined by the density determining means for each area, and the determining means has a high recording density. Storage means for storing the position of the determined area,
The storage means further comprises a holding means for holding the recording on the next recording medium for a time corresponding to the position stored in the storage means.

[Operation] According to the above configuration, when there is an area having a recording density higher than a predetermined value in the recording data, the next recording is suspended for a time corresponding to the position where the area having a high recording density exists.

Embodiment An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of an inkjet recording apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Reference numeral 101 in the drawing denotes a host computer or a data transfer device that transfers print data for printing line by line in the main scanning direction. The recording data for each line from the host computer or the data transfer device 101 to the recording device is the trigger signal 1 from the control unit 102 of the recording device described later.
11 transfers at a clock rate of a predetermined frequency.

Reference numeral 102 denotes a control unit that controls the entire ink jet recording apparatus, and includes a MPU 102A such as a microprocessor, a control program by the MPU 102A, a ROM 102B that stores control procedures, data, and the like shown in a flowchart described later in FIG.
An area used for a work area, which stores a count value obtained by counting the number of data according to the paper width or the paper width of a recording medium, and a total value obtained by counting the total number of receiving lines according to the count value, Further, the density RA described later in relation to the present invention
RAM 102C including area for M area and high density counter, etc., counter 102D for counting the number of paper feed and carriage feed pulse, and timed corresponding to the instruction of MPU102A. It has a timer 102E as a time measuring means for outputting an interrupt signal, an I / O port 102F for inputting / outputting various data and control signals, and the like.

Reference numeral 103 denotes print data transferred from a host computer (hereinafter, description of a data transfer device is omitted) 101, at least a number of data corresponding to one scan of the print head, that is, 128 ejection ports of the print head in this example. The print data transferred to the image buffer memory 103 is the image buffer memory that stores the number of data corresponding to one scan by the control unit 102 is sequentially stored under the control of the control unit 102.

A receiving circuit 104 receives the recording data from the host computer 101, and a counter for counting the number of image data of one line which can be set by the control unit 102.
When the control unit 102 receives the number of data set by the control unit 102, the detection signal 113 is output to the control unit 102. The receiving circuit 104 also includes a black dot discriminating circuit 104B capable of discriminating the presence / absence of black dots in the image data according to the present invention, that is, data for ejecting ink.

105 indicates the printhead 10 from the image buffer memory 103.
A data converter that sequentially reads 128 pieces of data corresponding to the ejection ports arranged in the sub-scanning direction in 6 and outputs the read data in accordance with the print position by the print head 106. That is, the recording head 106 of this example is arranged in the sub-scanning direction 128.
The recording head has a plurality of ejection ports and ejection energy generation elements corresponding to the ejection ports, and scans and moves in the main scanning direction to perform recording. The ejection energy generating element of this example is
It is an electrothermal conversion element that generates bubbles in the ink by the generated thermal energy and ejects ink droplets from the ejection port according to the change in the state of the ink due to the bubbles.

Reference numeral 107 denotes a head driver that drives the electrothermal conversion element of the recording head 106 based on the recording data from the data converter.

Reference numeral 108 denotes a carriage motor that moves a carriage having the recording head 106 in the main scanning direction, a carriage motor driver that drives the carriage motor based on data from the control unit 102, and a pitch of the ejection port array of the recording head 106. The motor drive unit includes a paper feed motor and a paper feed motor driver for feeding paper correspondingly, a cassette motor for the cassette feeder, and a cassette motor driver. The carriage motor, paper feed motor and cassette motor are constituted by stepping motors in this example.

Reference numeral 109 is an information input unit for inputting various information to the control unit 102, and the input information is output to the control unit 102 as a detection signal 112. The information input unit 109 is, for example, a key panel capable of instructing a paper size, a paper END sensor used for positioning the front end of the recording medium (hereinafter referred to as recording paper or sheet) at the time of feeding, and detecting the rear end. including. 110
Is a command signal such as the paper size of the recording paper instructed by the host computer 101, and the paper size and the like can be specified not only from the information input unit 109 but also from the host computer 101.

2 is a perspective view of the ink jet recording apparatus whose structure is shown in FIG. 1, and FIG. 3 is a side sectional view thereof.

In FIGS. 2 and 3, a chassis 1 of the recording apparatus main body has a sheet feed roller 2 rotatably driven by a sheet feed motor (not shown), and sandwiches the sheet feed roller 2 and the sheet conveying path. A guide shaft 3 and a rail 4 are arranged in parallel with each other at positions opposed to each other, and the carriage 5 is supported by these guide means 3 and 4 so as to be movable in the main scanning direction.

A recording head 106 is mounted on the carriage 5, and the recording head 106 has 128 ink ejection ports arranged in the sub-scanning direction as described above and electrothermal conversion elements corresponding to each of them. Drive means.

A pinch roller 8 for applying a frictional conveyance force to the sheet 7 is pressed against the sheet feeding roller 2 so as to be separated from each other.

The downstream side of sheet conveyance of the sheet feed roller 2 (upper side in the figure)
Is provided with a fixing device 9 for accelerating the fixing of the ink on the sheet 7, and further with a sheet discharging roller 10 and a plotter roller 11 which rotate in synchronization with the sheet feeding roller 2 on the downstream side. .

The fixing device 9 also has a function of a guide plate that supports the sheet 7 from the back surface, and is configured by a planar heater corresponding to the sheet width.

The upstream side of the sheet conveyance of the sheet feed roller 2 (the lower side in the figure)
Is provided with a cut sheet feeder 12 for automatically feeding the sheets 7 one by one. The cut sheet feeder 12 includes a pressure plate 13 and a spring 15 for biasing the pressure plate 13 upward.
By the action of the sheet feeding roller 14 and the sheet feeding roller 14, a plurality of sheets 7 are fed between them one by one from the uppermost layer.
The separation pads 17 are pressed against each other to separate them one by one.

In the vicinity of the sheet path on the sheet feeding roller 14, a sheet end sensor 18 that detects the entry, passage, and trailing edge of the sheet 7 is arranged. On the carriage 5, stay 19
The sheet width sensor 20 is mounted via the. The sheet end sensor 18 and the sheet width sensor 20 can be configured by, for example, a photo sensor including a light emitting element and a light receiving element, and the head 106 on the carriage 5 and the sheet width sensor 20 are connected to a control circuit by a flexible cable 21. ing.

FIG. 4 relates to an embodiment of the present invention, and when a high-density portion exists in a recording sheet, a control for changing the time to hold the execution of the next recording instruction after the paper is discharged according to the position where the high-density portion exists. It is an explanatory view for explaining, and will be described below with reference to the drawings.

The horizontal axis in FIG. 4 represents the time until the next recording command is executed after the sheet is discharged, and is positive from the left to the right in the figure. The left end fixing time T1 is the minimum waiting time required after the sheet is discharged when a high-density portion exists in the sheet, and this value is set in advance.

The case where the shortest fixing time is the waiting time will be described below.
The sheet in the figure is divided into 1 to N, which is a boundary for discriminating whether the recording density is high or low. Actually, it shows an area printed by one scan of the print head 106.
The length in the horizontal axis direction corresponds to the length of the ejection port array. In short, the length of the sheet is N times the length. In this configuration, when only the first portion (also referred to as a block) has a high density (high density portion 1), the second to Nth portions are recorded before the sheet is discharged thereafter. Since the ink is fixed in the meantime, the waiting time may be the shortest fixing time T1 after the paper is discharged. In other words, the time T for fixing the high density portion can be expressed as the recording time of the shortest fixing time T1 + N-1 portions. However, the shortest fixing time does not exist when no high-density portion is found in the sheet.

Also, the high density part 2 at the Nth (the last part in the page)
In the case of a sheet in which is present, the fixing time in this case is as follows since the sheet is ejected immediately after the last portion 2 of the sheet is recorded.
The recording time of N-1 portions must be added to the shortest fixing time T1.

Therefore, assuming that the K-th portion is the last high-density portion 3, adding the recording time for one page x (K-1) / N to the shortest fixing time T1 yields the waiting time after ejection. Will be.

Here, when the recording time corresponding to the length of the ejection port array is t, the recording time for one page is t = 1 / N. In the present embodiment, the recording speed is constant regardless of the recording density in the sheet, so the time t is a value that can be set in advance.

From the above, when the high-density portion is present in the sheet, the time T _K during which the execution of the next recording command is suspended after the paper is discharged can be expressed by the following equation.

T _K = T1 + (K-1) × t (1) FIG. 5 is a flow chart showing the operation procedure of the recording apparatus shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, and the control explained in FIG. A description will be given along FIGS. 5A and 5B.

In FIG. 5 (A), when the control procedure of the recording apparatus is started in step S, the above-mentioned values of T1 and t are set in step S2, and the last high density of the recording sheet is set in step S3. It is determined whether or not the high-density counter indicating the data of which block the part is is 0. When this counter is 0, it indicates that there is no high-density portion on the recording sheet, and the control shifts to step S9. When this counter is not 0, the counter indicates the number of the last high-density block on the recording sheet, and the time T during which the execution of the next recording command is suspended in step S4 is given by the above equation (1). Calculated based on
In step S5, the predetermined time T is set in the timer and the timer is started.

Next, in step S6, it is monitored whether or not the predetermined time T has elapsed, and if it has not elapsed, in step S7, control is performed to suspend execution of the recording command from the host computer 101. Further, during this period, processing such as reception of the recording data of the next page may be performed from the host computer side.

When the predetermined time T has elapsed, the process moves to step S8, the high density counter is cleared, and it is determined in step S9 whether or not recording is started, and if printing is not started, the process proceeds to step S3. When printing is started, the control shifts to step S10 to perform the paper feeding operation, the head counter indicating the number of recording processes is cleared in step S11, and the RAM 102C for counting the number of recording lines for one page in step S12. The page counter area formed in the RAM is cleared, and in step S13, the raster count area formed in the RAM 102C for counting the number of recording lines and the density RAM for recording the recording density of one line recording data. To clear. Next, in step S14, 1
The line recording data is received, the raster counter is incremented by 1 in step S15, and the recording density in one line data is determined to be high or low in step S16.

The density of the density is determined by the black dot determination circuit 104B built in the receiving circuit 104. The details of this circuit will be described with reference to FIG.

In FIG. 6, 51 is an up / down counter, 52 is a comparator, 53 is a flip-flop, and 54 is an output buffer.

The recording data is sent by the image data signal VDO and the clock signal VDOCK which are serially transferred from the host computer 101. The up-down counter 51 counts up when the image data signal VDO is black, that is, the data indicating that dots are to be formed on the sheet by ejecting ink, and when the image data signal VDO is white, the count-down counts up, so black dots continue. The larger the counter value is. comparator
52 compares the output value of the counter 51 with the output of the D flip-flop 53, and only when the output value of the counter 51 is larger than the value of the D flip-flop 53 itself, the output value of the counter 51 of the flip-flop 53 is inverted. Update the output.

Therefore, the D flip-flop 53 stores the maximum value of the output of the counter 51 in one line data, and the output value is read out to the MPU 102A through the output buffer 54. The signal OE is an output control signal of the output buffer 54.

Returning to FIG. 5 again, then in step S17, the density R
AM is shifted by 1 bit, and it is determined in step S18 whether the density in one raster is high. If the density is high, step is performed.
The least significant bit of the density RAM is turned on in S19, and if it is low, it is cleared in step S20.

Next, as shown in FIG. 5B, in step S21, the raster counter is compared with the number of ejection ports, that is, the number of lines printed in one scan, and the raster counter has reached the number of ejection ports. If not, the process proceeds to step S14 to receive 1 line data again. If the raster counter has reached the number of ejection openings, the recording head 106 is scanned to perform recording processing in step S22, and the head counter is incremented by 1 in step S23. Then, in step S24, the number of ejection openings (128 in this example) is added to the page counter.
In step S25, the total number of black bits or the continuous number of the density RAM in which the data density of the number of ejection openings is recorded is checked,
In step S26, it is determined whether the density is high or low. For example, if there are 16-bit black in 128 bits, or if there are four black bits in a row, it is determined that the density is high, and in step S27, the contents of the head counter are substituted into the high-density counter, and the density is low. In this case, the process directly proceeds to step S28, and it is determined whether or not one page has been completed. If it is completed, the paper discharge process is performed in step S29, and if it is not completed, the process proceeds to step S13.

In the above-mentioned embodiment, the recording speed is constant regardless of the density of the sheet. However, especially when the recording apparatus for performing recording while scanning the recording head in a predetermined direction with respect to the recording medium is used, The printing time is reduced by changing the distance and speed of the carriage movement depending on the density and the recording position on the sheet. Therefore, in this embodiment, the execution of the next recording command is suspended by taking the control procedure of measuring the time from the time when the recording of the last high-density portion in the sheet is completed until the sheet is discharged. The time is set after the paper is discharged.

The operation procedure of the recording apparatus according to another embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the flowcharts shown in FIGS. 7 (A) and 7 (B).

When the control procedure of the recording apparatus is started in step S201 of FIG. 7 (A), measurement is performed from the time when the recording of the last high density portion of the recording sheet is completed to the time when the recording sheet is discharged in step S202. Counter 1 for starting the timer 1 for recording and inputting the recording time of the last high density portion of the recording sheet, and counter T3 for inputting the time of paper ejection
To clear. Also, set the shortest fixing time T1.

In step S203, it is determined whether T2 is 0 or not. When the counter T2 is 0, it indicates that there is no high-density portion in the recording of the previous page or the recording operation is not performed, and the process proceeds to step S209. If T2 is not 0, the time T during which the execution of the next recording command is suspended is determined based on the following equation in step S204. Here, T can be expressed by the following equation.

T = T1 + (T3-T2) (T3> T2) T1: Shortest fixing time T2: Time when recording of the final high density portion of the recording sheet is finished T3: Time when discharging is finished Next, at the step S205 The timer 2
Then, the timer 2 is started. In step S206, it is monitored whether or not the predetermined time T has elapsed, and if it has not elapsed, control is performed to suspend the execution of the recording command from the host computer 101 in step S207. Further, during this period, processing such as reception of recording data for the next page from the host computer side may be performed. When the predetermined time T has elapsed, the control is shifted to step S208, the high density recording time counter T2 and the paper discharge time counter T3 are cleared, and it is determined in step S209 whether or not recording is started. If recording is not started, the process proceeds to step S203. When recording is started, the paper feeding operation is performed in step S210, and the page counter that counts the number of recording lines for one page is cleared in step S211. Next, in step S212, the raster counter for counting the number of recording lines and the density RAM for recording the high and low density in one line data are cleared. Step S213
In step S214, the reception processing of 1-line data is performed, and the raster counter is incremented by one in step S214. Further, step S2
At 15, the level of the recording density in one line data is determined in the same manner as in the above embodiment. Next, in step S216, the density RA
By shifting M by 1 bit, it is determined in step S217 whether the density in one raster is high.

If the density is high, the least significant bit of the density RAM is turned on in step S218, and if it is low, it is cleared in step S219. Next, as shown in FIG. 7B, in step S220, the raster counter is compared with the number of ejection ports, and if the raster counter has not reached the number of ejection ports, step S2.
The process shifts to 13 and 1-line data is received again. If the raster counter has reached the number of outlets, step S2
In step S222, the recording process is performed, and in step S222, the page counter is incremented by the number of ejection ports. In step S223, the total number of black bits or the continuous number of the density RAM in which the recording data density corresponding to the number of ejection openings is recorded is checked, and in step S224, the density is determined. For example, if 16-bit black out of 128 bits exists or if there are four black bits in a row, it is determined that the density is high, and the value of timer 1 is substituted into the high-density time counter T2 in step S225, and the values are sequentially calculated. , The time at which the recording of the final high density area is completed is updated. If the density is low, the process proceeds to step S226 as it is, and it is determined whether or not one page has been completed. If it is completed, the paper discharge process is performed in step S228. If not completed, the process proceeds to step S212.

The above-described embodiment is a recording head of a type that ejects ink by using thermal energy, and recording is performed while the recording head is scanningly moved.
The application of the present invention is not limited to this type of recording head, but can be applied to recording heads of other ejection systems, recording systems using inks other than ink jet systems, and even full line type recording heads.

[Effects of the Invention] As is clear from the above description, according to the present invention, when there is an area where the recording density is higher than a predetermined value in the recording data, the time corresponding to the position where the area where the recording density is high exists. , Hold next record.

As a result, the length of the waiting time after the recording medium is ejected can be minimized, and the problem of stains and the like on the next page due to the adhered ink can be solved. In addition, since it is not necessary to temporarily stop the conveyance of the recording medium during recording to improve the fixing property, it may take too much time for fixing which occurs when the entire recording medium has a high density. Can be resolved,
The user etc. can get the recording result quickly,
In addition, it is possible to obtain a recording device that can perform processing such as transferring the data of the next page without causing the host computer to hang up after discharging the paper.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a schematic structure of a recording apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a schematic perspective view showing an appearance of the recording apparatus shown in FIG. 1, and FIG. FIG. 4 is a side sectional view of the device shown in FIG. 4, FIG. 4 is an explanatory view for explaining control according to one embodiment of the present invention, and FIGS. 5 (A) and 5 (B) are control procedures according to one embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 6, FIG. 6 is a circuit block diagram showing an example of the black dot discrimination circuit shown in FIG. 1, and FIG. 7 is a flow chart of a control procedure according to another embodiment of the present invention. 2 ... Sheet feeding roller, 5 ... Carriage, 7 ... Sheet, 9 ... Fixing device, 101 ... Host computer or data transfer device, 102 ... Control unit, 102A ... MPU, 102B
... ROM, 102C ... RAM, 102E ... timer, 103 ... image buffer memory, 104 ... reception circuit, 104A ... counter, 104B ... black dot discrimination circuit, 106 ... recording head.

Claims (4)

(57) [Claims] 1. In a recording apparatus for performing recording by adhering ink to a recording medium as the recording medium is conveyed, a recording density, which is a density of data to which the ink is adhered, is calculated from recording data. Density determining means for determining each area partitioned for the recording, determining means for determining the level of recording density determined by the density determining means for each area, and the determining means determined that the recording density is high. At this time, a storage means for storing the position of the discriminated area and a holding means for holding the recording on the next recording medium for a time corresponding to the position stored in the storage means are provided. Recording device. 2. The recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the time corresponding to the stored position includes a time measured along with the recording from the time when the area of the position is recorded. . 3. The recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the ink is attached to the recording medium by ejecting the ink using thermal energy. 4. The fixing means for accelerating the fixing of ink adhered to the recording medium as the recording medium is conveyed, according to any one of claims 1 to 3. Recording device.