JP2994211B2 - Image recording method - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an image recording method in which an image is formed by scanning a print head in a main scanning direction and moving a recording object in a sub-scanning direction.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in an image recording apparatus which forms an image by using a method in which a print head is scanned in a main scanning direction and a recording material is moved in a sub-scanning direction, a printing unit is configured as follows. 11A. That is, in the drawing, reference numeral 1 denotes a sheet as a recording material, 2 denotes a platen, 3 denotes a suction hole for sucking the sheet 1 onto the platen 2, 4 denotes a suction pipe for depressurizing the suction hole 3, 5 Denotes a print head arranged to face the platen 2, 6 denotes a head carriage for supporting the print head 5, and 7 denotes a sheet 1.
Are respectively shown as sheet presses for inserting the sheet between the platen 2 and the print head 5. In the figure, the main scanning direction is
This is a direction perpendicular to the paper surface, and the sub-scanning direction is drawn along the up-down direction.

Here, a plurality of suction holes 3 are distributed over the print width of the print head 5. Further, the suction pipe 4 is connected to a suction pump (not shown). When the suction pump is started, the internal space of the platen 2 is set to a negative pressure,
By sucking the paper onto the platen 2, the lifting of the paper is prevented.

On the other hand, FIG. 11B shows a paper suction position one line before the last line when the remaining length of the image area in the sub-scanning direction is exactly divisible by the print width of the print head 5. In FIG. 11B, a hatched portion indicates an area that has already been printed. In the figure, the length along the sub-scanning direction of the arrangement area of the suction holes 3 set to be equal to the printing width is denoted by X, and the area where the suction holes 3 are not provided does not cover the paper presser 7. Assuming that the length of the symbol is Y, X = Y is set.

At this time, the length of the portion of the paper 1 (the lower end portion of the paper 1) pressed by the paper presser 7 is equal to the margin where no image is printed, and is indicated by the symbol Z. In the state where the lower end of the paper 1 is pressed by the paper presser 7, the upper portion of the portion of the paper 1 located on the platen 2 is sucked by the suction hole 3, and the lower portion is pressed by the paper presser 7. Have been. In this way, no lifting of the sheet 1 on the platen 2 occurs. As described above, when the recording scan of the last line is performed in accordance with the print width of the print head, the paper is located in the region of the member for preventing the floating, and the paper jam due to the floating does not occur.

On the other hand, FIG. 11C shows a printing position for printing the last line on the paper 1. Here, the margin Z is not sucked by the suction hole 3, but the width thereof is actually about 2 mm, so that the floating does not substantially occur. Therefore, if the printing of the last line and the preceding line is performed in the above-described pattern, it is possible to prevent a trouble that the print head 5 is entangled when the print head 5 moves in the main scanning direction. .

[0007]

However, the remaining length of the paper in the sub-scanning direction is not necessarily divisible by the print width of the head, but is a half length less than the print width X of the head from the last line to the lower end of the paper 1. There is a possibility that a portion may occur. In this case, in the conventional example, as shown in FIG. 12, in a state in which printing is performed one line before the last line, a half portion is separated from the paper presser 7 and suction is not performed. In this manner, in the scanning of the last line, when recording an odd area that is less than the print width of the head, the end of the sheet 1 is lifted off the area of the member that prevents the sheet 1 from rising. In some cases, a problem such as a jam trouble or damage to a recording element of a head may occur.

Here, it is conceivable to bring the paper presser 7 to the upper part, but it is difficult due to the shape of the print head 5. There is also a method of providing the suction hole 3 over the entire area of the platen 2, but it is necessary to increase the power of the suction pump,
There are drawbacks such as a large structure and an increase in power consumption. There is also a way to bring the odd part to the very first line. However, in this case, it is impossible to cope with the case of the manual feed mode in which the remaining length in the sub-scanning direction is determined near the last line.

[0009] The present invention has been made in consideration of the above prior art, when recording of the last line on the recording material, depending on the end portion of the recording material from the fixing means for pressing the recording material is out
Floating of the recording material can be prevented resulting Te, and an object thereof is to provide an image recording method capable of preventing damage to the jam troubles and recording head that occur during result recording operation <br/> floating of the recording material.

[0010]

In order to achieve the above object, the image recording method of the present invention comprises the following steps.
That is, a recording head having a predetermined recording width, main scanning means for main scanning the recording head relative to the recording object along the main scanning direction, and moving the recording object relative to the recording head. Conveying means for relatively moving in the sub-scanning direction,
A fixing means for pressing said recording material is provided at a position spaced along the sub-scanning direction, wherein the recording of the last line of the recording medium is in a state of leaving a predetermined margin to the recording material An image recording method in a recording apparatus having fixing means provided at a position where a recording object can be pressed when the recording is performed with a recording width of the recording head, wherein a recording region of the recording object is moved in the sub-scanning direction. A calculation step of calculating the recording width of the last row when divided by the recording width of the recording head along, and before the recording of the last row on the recording medium, the width of the width calculated in the calculation step is calculated. Recording and moving the recording medium in the sub-scanning direction, and recording the last row with respect to the recording width of the recording head.

[0011]

According to the present invention constructed as described above, when the recording area of the recording object is divided by the recording width of the recording head along the sub-scanning direction, the recording width of the last row is calculated.
Before printing the last line on the print medium, printing for the calculated width and movement of the print medium in the sub-scanning direction are performed, and then printing of the last line is performed on the print width of the print head. Works like that.

[0012]

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention; FIG.
This will be described in detail.

(Explanation of Outer Shape) FIG. 1 shows an outer shape of a digital color copying machine 10 to which an embodiment of an image recording apparatus according to the present invention is applied.

The digital color copying machine 10 is roughly composed of two components. That is, the copying machine 10 is located at an upper position as one of the major components, reads a document image in color, and outputs digital color image data (hereinafter, abbreviated as a reader unit). 12 are provided. The reader unit 12 includes a controller unit 14 that performs various image processing of digital color image data and has a processing function such as an interface with an external device. The reader unit 12 is a mechanism for reading a three-dimensional or sheet-shaped document placed downward on a document table (not shown) below the document holding plate 16 and for reading a large-sized sheet-shaped document. It also has a built-in. Also, the reader unit 12
An operation unit 18 connected to the controller unit 14 is provided on one side of the upper surface of the printer 1. The operation unit 18 is provided for inputting various information as a copying machine.

The controller unit 14 is configured to instruct the reader unit 12 and a printer unit 20, which will be described later, regarding these operations in accordance with information input via the operation unit 18. Further, when it is necessary to perform complicated editing processing or the like, a digitizer or the like is attached in place of the document holding plate 16 and the digitizer is attached thereto.
4 enables advanced image processing.

The copier 10, as another major element, records color digital image signals output from the controller unit 14 on recording paper in a state of being located below the reader unit 12 below. Printer unit 20 is provided. In this embodiment, a full-color ink jet printer using a recording head of an ink bubble jet recording system described in JP-A-54-59936 is used as the printer section 20. .

The above-mentioned two broad elements can be separated from each other, and can be installed at a remote place by extending the connection cable. (Reader Unit) FIG. 2 is a sectional view schematically showing the internal configuration of the digital color copying machine 10 shown in FIG. 1 when viewed from the side.

First, in the reader section 12 of the copying machine 10, an exposure lamp 22, a lens 24, and an image sensor 26 capable of reading a full-color line image are provided.
The image of the original placed on the original platen glass 28, the image projected by the projector, or the image of the sheet original by the sheet feeding mechanism 30 is read by the CCD (in the present embodiment). Next, in this way, various image processes are performed by the reader unit 12 and the controller unit 14. After that, the read image is recorded on the recording paper by the printer unit 20. (Printer Unit) In FIG. 2, the recording paper is a paper feed cassette 32 for storing cut sheets of a small fixed size (in this embodiment, A4 to A3 size) and a large size (A2 to A2 in this embodiment). (Up to the A1 size).

In addition, paper can be fed from the outside of the apparatus (manual paper feeding) by feeding recording sheets one by one along the paper feeding unit cover 38 from the manual feed slot 36 shown in FIG. ing. A pick-up roller 40 for removing cut sheets one by one from the paper feed cassette 32 is provided above the paper feed cassette 32 mounted on the printer unit 20.
Are arranged. The cut sheet taken out by the pick-up roller 40 is cut by a cut sheet feed roller 42.
To the first paper feed roller 44.

On the other hand, the roll paper 34 is continuously fed out by a roll paper feed roller 46, cut into a fixed length by a cutter 48, and conveyed to the first feed roller 44 described above. Similarly, the recording paper inserted from the manual feed slot 36 is conveyed to the first paper feed roller 44 by the manual feed roller 50.

Here, the above-described pick-up roller 40, cut sheet feed roller 42, roll paper feed roller 4
6. The first paper feed roller 44 and the manual feed roller 50 are driven by a paper feed motor (not shown) (in this embodiment, a DC servo motor is used), and are rotated as needed by an electromagnetic clutch attached to each roller. It is configured so that on / off control of driving can be performed.

Here, the printing operation is performed by the controller unit 1.
4, the recording paper selected and fed from any of the above-described paper feed paths is fed to the first paper feed roller 4
4 transported. In order to remove the skew of the recording paper, at the time of this paper feeding, after forming a predetermined amount of paper loop on the recording paper, the first paper feeding roller 44 is turned on and driven to rotate. The recording paper is conveyed to the paper second roller 52.

A paper feed roller 64 disposed above the recording head 56 and a paper feed roller disposed below are provided between the first paper supply roller 44 and the second paper supply roller 52. In order to perform an accurate paper feed operation with the two rollers 52, the recording paper is slackened by a predetermined amount to form a buffer. The buffer is provided with a buffer amount detection sensor 54 for detecting a buffer amount as a slack amount of the recording paper.

As described above, the buffer is always formed on the recording paper while the paper is being conveyed, so that the load applied to the paper feed roller 64 and the second paper supply roller 52 particularly when a large-sized recording paper is conveyed is reduced. And an accurate paper feeding operation can be performed.

In the printer section 20 having the recording paper transport system as described above, when printing is performed by the recording head 56, the scanning carriage 58 on which the recording head 56 is mounted moves on the carriage rail 60 by the scanning motor. It is configured to reciprocate by 62 to perform scanning in the main scanning direction. Then, in the forward scan, an image is printed on the recording paper by the recording head 56, and in the backward scan, a feed operation in the sub-scanning direction for feeding the recording paper by a predetermined amount by the paper feed roller 64 is performed.

Here, the feed amount along the sub-scanning direction is:
The length is defined as a constant movement amount to be described later. Here, a length corresponding to the width of the recording head 56 in the sub-scanning direction, that is, although not shown, the recording head 56 of the platen 74 is not illustrated.
Is set to a length corresponding to the arrangement width of the suction holes formed over the surface portion facing the surface. The suction holes are the same as the suction holes provided in the suction mechanism according to the related art described with reference to FIGS. 11A to 11C, and a description thereof will be omitted.

On the other hand, at the time of scanning on the return path, while detecting the buffer amount via the buffer amount detection sensor 54, the sheet feeding motor 6 is controlled so as to always maintain a predetermined buffer amount.
2 is set so as to perform the drive control of the drive system.

Then, the printed recording paper is discharged to the paper discharge tray 66, and a series of printing operations is completed. (Configuration around Scanning Carriage) Next, the configuration around the scanning carriage 58 will be described in detail with reference to FIG.

In FIG. 3, a paper feed motor 68 is provided as a drive source for intermittently feeding the recording paper in the sub-scanning direction. The paper feed motor 68 can set and change the rotation amount arbitrarily.
4 and the second paper feed roller 52 via the second paper feed roller clutch 70.

The scanning motor 62 is provided as a driving source for scanning the scanning carriage 58 through the scanning belt 72 in the main scanning direction indicated by arrows A and B. In this embodiment, as described above, a pulse motor is used for the paper feed motor 68 and the scanning motor 62 because accurate paper feed control at an arbitrary feed amount is required.

Although not shown in this embodiment, a paper holding member similar to that described with reference to FIG. 11B in the description of the prior art is provided at a position facing the lower end of the platen 74. Have been.

When the recording paper reaches the second paper feed roller 52, the second paper feed roller clutch 70 and the paper feed motor 68 are turned on, and the leading end of the recording paper is held between the pair of paper feed rollers 64. Until it is transported on the platen 74. The transported recording paper is detected by a paper detection sensor 76 provided on the platen 74 to be transported past the platen 74, and the sensor information is used for position control, jam control, and the like. .

When the leading end of the recording paper reaches the paper feed roller 64, the paper feed second roller clutch 70 and the paper feed motor 6
8 are turned off respectively, and then the inner space of the platen 74 is
Negative pressure is generated by starting a suction motor (not shown), and a suction operation is started. By such a suction operation, the recording paper is brought into close contact with the platen 74.

Here, prior to the image printing operation on the recording paper, the scanning carriage 58 is moved to a position where the home position sensor 78 is provided.
Is performed in the forward direction. In this forward scan, the recording head 56 appropriately applies the respective inks of cyan C, magenta M, yellow Y, and black K from a predetermined position.
Then, recording (printing) of an image is performed.

When the image recording operation for a predetermined length along the main scanning direction is completed, the driving direction of the scanning motor 62 is reversed, and the scanning carriage 58 is moved in the direction indicated by arrow B to return. Start scanning. Then, the scanning carriage 5 is moved to the position where the home position sensor 78 is provided.
The scanning motor 62 is driven in the reverse direction until 8 returns. During this backward scanning, the paper feeding operation for the length along the sub-scanning direction recorded by the recording head 56 (that is, the width of the recording head 56) activates the paper feeding motor 68 to move the paper feeding roller 64. The rotation is performed in the direction along the sub-scanning direction indicated by arrow C.

Although the details will be described later, the above-described paper feed amount, ie, the amount of movement in the sub-scanning direction, is not limited to the above-described width of the recording head 56, ie, only the constant amount of movement. , May be set to the one-side movement amount defined by the final line width.

In this embodiment, the recording head 56 is an ink jet nozzle of the above-described type, and 256 nozzles are assembled for each of Y, M, C, and K.

On the other hand, when the scanning carriage 58 stops at the home position defined by the home position sensor 78, the recovery operation of the recording head 56 is performed.
This recovery operation is a process for performing a stable printing operation. In order to prevent unevenness at the start of ejection caused by a change in viscosity of ink remaining in the nozzles of the printing head 56, a paper feeding time, an apparatus This is a process in which a pressurizing operation is performed on each nozzle of the recording head 56 according to pre-programmed conditions such as an internal temperature and a discharge time, and an idle discharge operation of ink from each nozzle is performed.

By repeating the above operation, the image is recorded over the entire surface of the recording paper. (System Configuration) Next, the processing and control of image signals by the control system in the digital color copying machine 10 of this embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 4A to 4C.

In FIG. 4A, reference numeral 100 denotes a main CP as a main controller for controlling the entire apparatus.
U is shown. The main CPU 100 is connected to a printer control CPU 102 for controlling a printer, a reader control CPU 104 for controlling a reading operation, a main image processing unit 106 for processing an image display operation, and an operation unit 108 as an input unit by an operator. ing. here,
The printer control CPU 102 and the reader control CPU 104 control printer and reader operations, respectively.
The main CPU 100 is set in a master-slave relationship.

The main image processing section 106 is configured to perform processing such as edge enhancement smoothing, masking, black extraction, binarization, and trimming. Also,
A synchronous memory 110 is connected to the printer control CPU 102 and the main image processing unit 106. The synchronous memory 110 is configured to absorb the time variation of the input operation and to correct the delay due to the arrangement of the recording heads described above. This synchronous memory 110 is connected to the recording head 56 as an ink bubble jet head. On the other hand, the printer control CPU 102 is connected to a printer drive system 114 for controlling input driving of the printer.

The reader control CPU 104 includes an input system image processing unit 116 for performing necessary correction processing in a reading system such as shading correction, color correction, and γ correction, and a reader unit driving system 118 for controlling input driving of the reader. And connected to. Further, the CCD line sensor 120 is connected to the above-mentioned input image processing section 116, and this input image processing section 116 is connected to the above-mentioned main image processing section 1
06.

Here, the main CPU 100, the reader control CPU 104, the main image processing unit 106, the operation unit 10
8, input system image processing unit 116, reader unit driving system 118,
And a CCD line sensor 2 as an image sensor
6 constitute a reader unit 12. The printer unit 20 includes the printer control CPU 102, the synchronous memory 110, the recording head 56, and the printer unit driving system 114.

Next, the configuration of the image trimming section 126, which particularly relates to the features of the present invention, in the main image processing section 106 will be described with reference to FIG. 4B.

The image trimming section 126 trims the binarized data by passing it through an AND gate 128, and is connected to the final stage of the main image processing section 126. As shown in FIG. 4B, the image trimming section 126 includes a multiplexer 130 for switching an address signal. The multiplexer 130 has an address counter 1 via an address line 132.
34 and the main CP via the address bus line 136.
U100 is connected. Also, this main CPU
100 is set so that the address bus enable signal 138 is input.

The multiplexer 130 is connected to an editing RAM 142 via an address line 140. Further, the image trimming section 126 includes a data bus gate 144, which is connected to the main CPU 10 via a data bus line 146.
0 is connected, and a data bus enable signal 148 is input from the main CPU 100. Here, reference numeral 150 is the edit RAM 14
2 shows a trimming signal, which is one of the outputs of FIG. Reference numeral 152 indicates a serial binary image input signal, and the output signal 154 is set to be output from the AND gate 128.

The address counter 134 described above
Is based on the CSEL signal corresponding to one image as a clock,
It is cleared every S (Hsync). Where HS
Is a synchronization signal generated at the beginning of each CCD scan. Accordingly, as shown in FIG. 4C, the data bus enable signal 148 and the address bus enable signal 138 are enabled for each scan, and the main C
By writing predetermined data from the PU 100, a trimming operation in the image sub-scanning direction becomes possible.
The description of outputs other than the trimming signal 150 of the editing RAM 142 is omitted.

In the control system configured as described above, the image input from the CCD line sensor 26 is corrected by the input system image processing unit 116, and then sent to the main image processing unit 106. Here, the image is processed and binarized. The binarized image data is sent to the synchronous memory 110 of the printer unit 20.
The image data synchronized in the synchronization memory 110 is sequentially printed on recording paper by the recording head 56. (Control Operation) Next, in one embodiment of the present invention, the contents of the software copy sequence in the main CPU 100 most relevant to the features of the present invention are shown in FIGS.
This will be described with reference to FIG.

As a first example, a case where roll paper and cassette paper are selected as recording paper will be described. First, the operation unit 108
When the start key (shown in FIG. 4) is pressed, the copy sequence task is called and the processing is started. First, in step S1, a copy area is set based on data such as the original size, the magnification in the main scanning direction, the magnification in the sub-scanning direction, and the paper size set by the operation unit 108. Next, in step S2, the area set in step S1 is divided into head print widths in the sub-scanning direction as shown in FIGS. 6A to 6C, and the number of scans in the sub-scanning direction and the print width of the last line are determined. Is calculated. Then, in step S3, data necessary for the initial setting is transmitted to the reader control CPU 104. That is, initial communication to the reader unit 12 is performed.

The details of this are shown in FIG. 6A. That is, in step S3-1, a reader reading mode designation flag is transmitted. This flag is a flag indicating information of a reflection original, a projector, a normal image or a mirror image, or negative or positive. Then, in step S3-2, the magnification in the main scanning direction is calculated.
, The magnification in the sub-scanning direction, the main scanning margin in step S3-4, the sub-scanning margin in step S3-5, the number of main-scanning read lines in step S3-6, and step S3-
In step 7, a leader section next scan area designation command is transmitted.

The details of this command are shown in FIG. 6B. That is, this command is composed of 3 bytes, the first byte is an operation code indicating this command, and the second byte is a reader unit next scanning area mode flag. Here, bit 7 indicates that the copy operation is completed in the next scan when it is 1, and indicates that the copy operation is continued when it is 0. Bit 6 is 0 for requesting sub-scanning by the fixed movement amount specified by the print width and magnification after the next scan, and 1 for sub-scanning requests for other variable movement amounts. Is shown. Further, bits 3 to 0 indicate the area numbers to be scanned next, respectively, and are used when it is necessary to scan a plurality of areas such as for image synthesis. However, for simplicity, the number of scanned areas is limited to one.

The third byte of the command indicates the sub-scanning displacement amount, and indicates the displacement amount when bit 6 of the second byte becomes 1. Here, the amount of displacement is defined as the surplus width Δ as the print width of the last line calculated in step S2 described above.

Then, in the final step S3-8, a prestart command is transmitted, and in response to this, the reader control CPU 104 performs an initial operation.

With the above description, the initial communication to the reader unit 12 in step S3 in FIG. 5 ends.

In the copy sequence described above,
In step S4 following step S3, data necessary for initial setting is transmitted to the printer control CPU 102. Details about this are shown in FIG. 8A.

That is, in step S4-1, the advance amount of the recording paper is transmitted. This is effective when an image is to be printed from a portion after the leading end in the sub-scanning direction. In step S4-2, a paper feed mode command indicating information of roll paper, cassette paper feed, or manual paper is transmitted. In the next step S4-3, a color mode command is transmitted. This gives information on which one of C, M, Y, and K heads is to be enabled. Normally, all colors are enabled. Step S4
At -4, a printer unit next scan mode command is transmitted.

FIG. 8B shows the details of the next scanning mode command of the printer unit. That is, this command is composed of three bytes, the first byte is an operation code for specifying the command, and the second byte is set as a printer unit next scanning mode flag. Where bit 7
Is always set to 0 because communication error information is added. Bit 6 is 0, indicating that the copy operation is continued after the next scan, and 1 is ended, respectively. Bit 2 is for instructing the sub-scanning constant movement and the variable movement, and is of the same quality as that of the leader section next scanning area mode flag. Bit 0 is 0 to indicate that sub-scan is performed after the next scan, and 1 indicates that sub-scan is not performed.
It is used when reducing. The third byte of the command indicates the sub-scanning displacement amount, which is also the same as that in the reader unit next scanning area designation command. That is, the amount of sub-scanning displacement is defined by the surplus width Δ as the printing width of the last line.

Finally, in step S4-5, a printer unit pre-start signal is transmitted, and in response to this, the printer unit 20 starts an initial operation.

Thus, the initial communication to the printer unit 20 in step S4 shown in FIG. 5 is completed, and the next step S5
Proceed to.

In step S5, a parameter set for image processing such as edge enhancement, smoothing, masking, and binarization, and a setting in the editing RAM 142 are performed.
In step S6, a synchronization calculation for determining the start time of each scan is performed to synchronize the reader unit 12 and the printer unit 20. In the next step S7, the reader unit 12, the printer unit 2
0 waits for initial operations such as shading correction and sheet feeding to be completed. If both are in the scan ready state in step S7, a start signal is transmitted in step S8 based on the start time calculated in step S6. Then, in step S9, after confirming that the reader unit 12 and the printer unit 20 have started the main scanning operation, the process proceeds to step S10.

In this step S10, the next scan is performed two scan operations before the last line, in other words, three scans from the bottom.
It is determined whether or not it is the line. If NO, the process proceeds to the reader unit next scanning mode communication in step S12, and then to the printer unit next scanning mode communication in step S13. These are the same as step S3-7 in FIG. 6A and step S4-4 in FIG. 8A, respectively, and in this case, the sub-scanning constant movement is designated in both cases.

Then, after waiting for the main scanning to be completed in step S14, the sub-scanning, that is, the paper feeding operation of the recording paper is started in step S15. Thereafter, in step S16, the process waits until the sub-scan is completed. By ending the sub-scan in this manner, the scanning for one line is completed. Thereafter, step S17
To the image processing parameter set, and the setting for the next scan is performed. Then, in step S18, it is determined whether or not scanning of all areas has been completed. If NO, the process returns to step S9, and if YES, the control operation ends.

On the other hand, in step S10 described above, YES
Is determined, that is, the next scan is the last line 2
If it is determined that the scanning operation has not been performed, the process proceeds to step S11. In this step S11, in order to obtain the last line margin width Δ in the next scan (scan before the last line two-scan operation), in other words, in the next scan, the printing operation is performed by the last line margin width Δ. For this purpose, the next scanning mode of the reader unit 12 and the printer unit 20 is set to the sub-scanning variable movement, and the last line margin width Δ is designated as the variable movement amount. This information is supplied to the reader control CPU 104 and the printer control CPU 1 in steps S12 and S13, respectively.
02.

When the main scanning of this line is completed in step S14, the process proceeds to step S1.
5, and sub-scanning of this line is executed in step S16. In the image processing parameter set in step S17, as shown in FIG.
Set to enable the image by the minute. As a result, in the next scanning operation, printing is performed by the last line margin width Δ, as indicated by reference numeral X3 in FIG. 7B. After the main scanning of the X3 line is completed, sub-scanning is performed by the last line margin width Δ by sub-scanning displacement.
As a result, the recording paper is moved to the next line, that is, the position indicated by the reference sign X2.

The remaining print width in the last two scans (scan for printing the last line X1 and the X2 line immediately before the last line) is the same as when the image is divisible by the width of the recording head 56 in the sub-scanning direction. And X
At the time of two-line main scanning, the margin at the lower edge of the recording paper is pressed by a paper press (not shown). That is, in the main scanning scan state of the X2 line, the printed portion of the recording paper is reliably sucked by the platen 74 via a suction mechanism (not shown), and the lower end of the recording paper is pressed by the paper presser. Therefore, a state in which the recording paper is lifted from the platen 74 does not occur.

At the time of the sub-scanning of the X2 line, the constant movement is performed as described above, so that the final X1 line faces the recording head 56 when the sub-scanning is completed. In this state, the lower end of the recording paper is in a state in which only a margin portion thereof slightly hangs down (falls) from the suction area. That is, at the time of the main scanning scan of the final X1 line, the printing portion of the X1 line on the recording paper is sucked by the platen 74 and the blank portion is not sucked.
Since it is on the order of mm, there is substantially no trouble such as jamming due to the lifting of the paper.

Here, the above-described copy sequence is a case where roll paper or cassette paper is selected as the recording paper. Next, a copy sequence when manual paper is fed will be described with reference to FIG. I do.

In the copy sequence in the manual paper feed state, the paper size is first set from the operation unit. However, the set value does not always match the actual size of the paper. For this reason, if the actual size is shorter, printing on the platen may occur even after the paper runs out. In order to prevent such a situation from occurring, the copying machine 1 of this embodiment is used.
At 0, the printer detects the length of the remaining paper by a sensor seven scans before the last line. Therefore, in the case of a copy sequence in the manual paper feed state, the remaining number of scans and the remaining line width Δ are calculated only when the detection position is reached.

In FIG. 9, a copy area is set in step S1, and a division operation in the sub-scanning direction is performed in step S2. This is a tentative process of calculating based on data from the operation unit. The subsequent steps up to step S14 are the same as the case where roll paper and cassette paper are selected as the recording paper as shown in FIG. 5, and a description thereof will be omitted.

After step S14 is performed, the next step S17 is performed. If YES is determined in step S17, that is, if it is determined that the scan is performed seven scans before the last row, the process proceeds to step S18.
The remaining paper length information is received from the printer unit 20, and the sub-scanning division operation is performed again in step S19. After the execution of step S19, the same control procedure as steps S17 and S18 shown in FIG. 5 is executed. If NO is determined in step S17, that is, if it is determined that the last row is not before seven scans, the process jumps to step S17 described above.

As described above, in this embodiment, even in the case of manual paper feeding in which the paper size cannot be limited, the X1 line is sucked and the blank portion is not sucked at the time of the final scan. Since the margin portion that is not sucked is about 2 mm, in any case, trouble such as jamming due to floating of the paper does not occur, and it is effectively executed as in the case where roll paper or cassette paper is selected as the recording paper. Things.

It is needless to say that the present invention is not limited to the configuration of the above-described embodiment, but can be variously modified without departing from the gist of the present invention.

For example, a configuration shown in FIGS. 10A and 10B as another embodiment may be adopted. That is, in another embodiment, as shown in FIG. 10A, the sub-scan after the scan on the X4th line four lines before the last line is a variable movement,
The trimming signal at the time of scanning the X3 line three lines before the last line is set so as to bring the image effective area to the rear as shown in FIG. 10B, and the remaining line width Δ is printed. ing.

By configuring the other embodiment in this way, in the above-described embodiment, the surplus portion is printed from above the recording head 56, whereas the recording head 5 is printed.
6, the printing operation is performed from below. As described above, there is no limitation on which part of the recording head 56 is used or where the sub-scanning movement is performed in relation thereto.

Further, in the above-described embodiment, the position for printing the last line margin width Δ is not necessarily limited to the line two scans before the last line. As long as assessment movement is possible, it may be in any position. That is, any line may be used as long as it is a line two or more scans before the last line.

In particular, in the above-described embodiment, the relationship between the width of the platen 74 in the sub-scanning direction, the width of the recording paper suction area in the sub-scanning direction, and the position of the paper pressing member will be described in the related art. Since the same relationship as described above is adopted, the position for printing the last line margin width Δ is required to be a line two or more scans before the last line as described above. When the disposition position of the pressing member is within a range shorter than the print width of the recording head 56 from the lower end of the suction area, the restriction of two scans of the last line is removed, and the position for printing the surplus width Δ of the last line is: This may be a line one scan before the last line.

Furthermore, in the above-described embodiment, the last line remaining width Δ is described as moving for one line. However, the present invention is not limited to this. Needless to say, this may be done.

In the above-described embodiment, the printing width in the last line is unconditionally defined as a surplus width.
Although it has been described that the printing is performed by moving to the line above the last line, the printing width in the last line and the printing width in the recording head 56 are not limited to the above. It is also possible to set so that the sub-scanning in all the lines is executed by the constant movement, and only when different, the variable movement control in the sub-scanning is executed.

In the above embodiment, the present invention is applied to a digital color copying machine.
It goes without saying that the present invention is also applied to a printer having a similar printing mechanism by itself.

[0080]

As described above in detail, according to the present invention, printing with a print width smaller than the head print width occurring in the last line is performed by a print scan prior to the scan of the last line, thereby achieving a final print. In a line scan, an odd area less than the print width of the head is not recorded.

[0081] Therefore, according to the present invention, when the recording of the last line on the recording material, the fixed means for pressing the recording material
Occur depending on the end portion of the recorded product is out prevents floating <br/>-out up of the recording material, thus coming to floating of the recording medium
There is an effect that jam trouble and damage to the recording head that occur during the recording operation can be prevented.

[0082]

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view schematically showing an external appearance of a configuration of an embodiment of an image recording apparatus according to the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a side sectional view schematically showing an internal configuration of the image recording apparatus;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing a configuration around an operation carriage in the image recording apparatus;

FIG. 4A is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of a control system of the image recording apparatus;

FIG. 4B is a block diagram showing a configuration of an image trimming unit which is particularly related to the features of the present invention, among main image processing units;

FIG. 4C is a timing chart showing a state in which binary image input data is trimmed;

FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing a copy sequence when roll paper and cassette paper are selected as recording paper;

FIG. 6A is a flowchart showing a detailed procedure of an initial communication subroutine to a reader unit in a copy sequence.

FIG. 6B is a diagram showing a format of a next scanning area designation command in the reader unit;

FIG. 7A illustrates a copy area set on a recording sheet.
Plan view showing a state in which a surplus width Δ is generated below the last line;

7B is a plan view showing a state in which the excess width Δ shown in FIG. 7A has been moved two lines before the last line;

FIG. 7C is a timing chart showing the timing at which the trimming signal is output;

FIG. 8A is a flowchart showing a detailed procedure of an initial communication subroutine to a printer unit in a copy sequence;

FIG. 8B is a diagram showing a format of a next scanning area designation command in the printer unit;

FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing a copy sequence when manual paper is fed;

FIG. 10A is a plan view showing a state where the last line margin width Δ is moved three lines before the last line when a copy sequence according to another embodiment of the present invention is executed;

10B is a timing chart showing a timing at which a trimming signal is output when the copy sequence shown in FIG. 10A is performed;

11A is a side view schematically showing a state of printing on recording paper in the related art;

11B is a side view showing a state in which the lower edge of the recording paper is conventionally pressed by a paper pressing member;

11C is a side view showing a state where the last line is being printed from the state shown in FIG. 11B; and

FIG. 12 is a side view illustrating a state in which the lower edge of the recording paper is detached from the paper pressing member in a state where the last line is being printed.

[Explanation of symbols]

 REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 10 digital color copier 12 reader unit 14 controller unit 16 document holder 18 operation unit 20 printer unit 22 exposure lamp 24 lens 26 image sensor 28 platen glass 30 sheet feed mechanism 32 paper feed cassette 58 roll paper 54 buffer amount detection sensor 56 Recording head 58 Scanning carriage 62 Scan motor 64 Paper feed roller 66 Paper discharge tray 68 Paper feed motor

Claims (1)

(57) [Claims] A recording head having a predetermined recording width; main scanning means for main scanning the recording head relative to a recording object along a main scanning direction; Transport means for moving in the sub-scanning direction relative to the recording medium, and fixing means provided at a position spaced apart along the sub-scanning direction to press the recording material, and In the recording , an image recording method in a recording apparatus having fixing means provided at a position where the recording object can be pressed when the recording is performed with the recording width of the recording head while a predetermined margin is left on the recording object. An operation step of calculating a recording width of a last line when the recording area of the recording object is divided by a recording width of the recording head along the sub-scanning direction; Before the record of Performing the recording of the width calculated in the calculation step and moving the recording medium in the sub-scanning direction, and performing the recording of the last line with respect to the recording width of the recording head. Image recording method.