JP3066033U - Printer system - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] The printer system 10 includes an ink jet printer 12 and a PC 14. The inkjet printer 12 executes printing according to an instruction from the PC 14.
In the printer system 10, when printing on an envelope, the vertical width of the nozzle head (the head width in the sub-scanning direction) is used.
Print using part. When printing on other paper, printing is performed using the entire vertical width of the nozzle head.
That is, for thick paper such as an envelope, printing is performed using a part of the nozzle head, and the ink adhering to the paper dries before the printing unit is transported downstream of the nozzle head. Therefore, ink contamination does not occur even if the sheet touches the most downstream portion of the nozzle head due to the thickness and bending of the sheet. [Effect] Ink contamination can be avoided, and there is no need to provide a special mechanism for avoiding ink contamination.

Description

[Detailed description of the invention]

[0001]

[Industrial applications]

 The present invention relates to a printer system, and more particularly to a printer system for printing desired information on paper, for example.

[0002]

[Prior art]

 An example of a conventional printer system of this type is disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. H08-108593 [B41J 19/20, B41J 2/01, B41J 2/51] filed on April 30, 1996 and It is disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 8-156352 [B41J 11/20, B41J 2/01, B41J 11/14] published on June 18, 2008. In the former ink jet printer, the print quality is kept constant even for print papers of different thicknesses by moving the print head up and down in parallel according to the thickness of the print paper. In the latter ink-jet printer, the distance between the recording head and the paper and the print density are adjusted according to the thickness of the paper by rotating the carriage to the elevation angle.

[0003]

[Problems to be solved by the invention]

 In these prior arts, since the distance between the head and the paper is adjusted according to the thickness of the paper, it is possible to eliminate ink stains due to rubbing of the head even on thick paper. However, the mechanism was complicated and expensive.

[0004] Therefore, a main object of the present invention is to provide a printer system that is less expensive and can avoid ink stains due to head rubbing in the case of thick paper.

[0005]

[Means for Solving the Problems]

 This invention is a printer system for printing desired information on paper, wherein printing is performed using a part of nozzles having a head width in the sub-scanning direction.

[0006]

[Action]

 In the printer system, printing is performed in accordance with an instruction from an operator, and the inkjet printer prints desired information on paper in accordance with an instruction from the host. This ink jet printer performs printing using a part of the nozzles having a head width in the sub-scanning direction. In other words, since printing is performed by ejecting a small amount of ink and the ink dries before the paper is fed, ink contamination can be avoided even if the paper touches the nozzle head.

[0007] For example, a part of the head width is on the upstream side of the paper feed, and therefore, even if the printed portion to which the ink is attached rubs against the head, no ink stain occurs.

Further, a nozzle at a position where the ink can be dried before the printing unit is conveyed to the downstream side of the head may be used.

Further, all the nozzles provided in the head width in the sub-scanning direction may be sorted, and the most upstream sorting nozzle may be used.

Furthermore, in the case of thick paper, printing is performed using some nozzles, and otherwise printing is performed using all nozzles. Therefore, in the case of normal printing, the printing speed does not decrease.

[0011]

[Effect of the invention]

 According to this invention, printing is performed using a part of the nozzles having the head width in the sub-scanning direction, so that the ink dries before the printing unit comes to the downstream side of the head. Therefore, it is possible to avoid ink stains due to rubbing of the head. In addition, it is inexpensive because there is no need to provide a special device only by using a part of the nozzles.

The above and other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description of embodiments with reference to the drawings.

[0013]

【Example】

 Referring to FIG. 1, a printer system 10 of this embodiment includes an ink jet printer 12 and a personal computer (PC) 14 as a host. The inkjet printer 12 includes a CPU 16, which is connected to a control circuit 20, a buffer memory 22, and an interface 24 via a bus 18. The control circuit 20 is connected to the carriage motor 26, the carriage 28, and the feed motor 30. The CPU 16 is connected to the PC 14 via the interface 24.

The ink jet printer 12 is shown as in FIG. 2, and an ink cartridge 32 is mounted on a carriage 28. An ink ejection port (nozzle head) 32 a is provided below the ink cartridge 32. Further, the ink jet printer 12 includes a feed roller 34, and the feed roller 34 is provided on the upstream side of the sheet feeding (in the direction of the arrow in the drawing) of the carriage 28. Further on the upstream side of the feed roller 34, a pickup roller 36 and a paper cassette 38 are provided. The paper 40 is stacked on the paper cassette 38. Further, the inkjet printer 12 includes a star wheel 42 and a discharge roller 44, and the star wheel 42 and the discharge roller 44 are provided on the downstream side of the carriage 28. In this embodiment, the feed roller 34 is driven to rotate by the feed motor 30. A step motor is used as the feed motor 30. In this embodiment, the driving force of the feed motor 30 is transmitted to the star wheel 42 and the discharge roller 44 by, for example, a timing belt (not shown), and when the feed roller 34 rotates, the star wheel 42 and the discharge roller 44 are also rotated. Rotate.

Further, as shown in FIG. 3, a connector 46 is provided on the carriage 28, and an FPC cable (not shown) is connected to the connector 46. Therefore, nozzle data corresponding to print data provided via the control circuit 20 and data relating to the ink ejection amount (ejection amount data) are applied to the carriage 28. The carriage 28 is also fixed at a predetermined position on the timing belt 48, and a gear 50 for rotating the timing belt 48 is rotated by the carriage motor 26. Therefore, the carriage 28 is moved (displaced) in the main scanning direction of the paper 40. That is, ink is ejected from the nozzle head 32a based on the nozzle data and the ejection amount data, the carriage 28 is displaced in the main scanning direction of the paper 40, and the nozzle data is printed in both directions. The position of the carriage 28 is known on the PC 14 side, and based on a control signal from the PC 14, the CPU 16 instructs the control circuit 20 to drive the carriage motor 26 to displace the carriage 28.

On the other hand, on the PC 14 side, printing quality (high quality, normal, draft, etc. mode), paper type (plain paper, high quality paper, recycled paper, OHP paper, envelope, etc.), font size, line spacing, up / down Margin and left and right margins can be set. In accordance with the setting of this property, the PC 14 develops the print data into a bitmap using the working area 14a, sets the format, and determines the ink ejection amount preset in the printer driver. Specifically, the PC 14 determines an effective print area based on the upper and lower margins and the left and right margins set by the operator, and sets the format so that the print data falls within the effective print area. When the draft mode is set for the print quality, the PC 14 performs the thinning process of the print data. That is, the PC 14 sets the format so that the thinned print data falls within the effective print area. Further, the ejection amount is determined by a printer driver set in advance based on the print quality and the paper type, and the print data developed in the bit map is converted into nozzle data to be transmitted to the inkjet printer 12. Is done.

More specifically, as shown in FIG. 4A, when the ink cartridge 32 is viewed from below, a nozzle head 32a is provided substantially at the center of the ink cartridge. Also, as can be seen from FIG. 2, the ink cartridge 32 is mounted on the carriage 28 such that the nozzle head 32a is on the upstream side of the sheet feeding. The nozzle head 32a is provided with a plurality of nozzles 1 to 208. As shown in FIG. 4B, the odd-numbered nozzles 1 to 207 and the even-numbered nozzles 2 to 208 are separated into right and left sheets. 40 are arranged side by side in the sub-scanning direction. In addition, the odd-numbered nozzles 1 to 207 and the even-numbered nozzles 2 to 208 are offset from each other, so that the nozzles 1 to 208 are arranged in a straight line.

In the printer system 10, when printing on thick paper 40, especially on an envelope, the paper 40 touches the most downstream portion (nozzle 1 and nozzle 2 side) of the nozzle head 32 a due to the thickness and bending of the paper 40. May cause ink stains. For this reason, printing is performed using all the nozzles 1 to 208 according to the thickness of the paper 40, or all the nozzles 1 to 208 are separated into, for example, two regions, and as shown in FIG. It is determined whether or not printing is to be performed using the nozzles 157 to 208 (of the quarter area) of the set. That is, in this embodiment, when the paper type (paper 40) is an envelope, printing is performed by using some of the nozzles 157 to 208 on the most upstream side, and otherwise, all of the nozzles 1 to 208 are printed. Printed using As described above, when the paper type is an envelope, printing is performed using some of the nozzles 157 to 208 (1/4 of the vertical width of the nozzle head 32a). This is the number of nozzles (the vertical width of the nozzle head 32a) obtained by an experiment in order to dry the ink before the ink is conveyed to the downstream side of the nozzle 32a.

Therefore, the PC 14 converts the print data into nozzle data according to the envelope or other paper 40. That is, in the case of an envelope, since the nozzles 157 to 208 are used, slice data corresponding to the print width to be used (（of the vertical width of the nozzle head 32a) is determined. That is, the nozzles 1 to 208 are provided at an interval of 1/600 inch (approximately 2.2 mm) between adjacent numbers, and the printing width to be used is set to 52/600 inch. One line of print data is sliced according to the print width. The sliced data (slice data) is converted into nozzle data ("0" or "1"), and is assigned to the nozzles 157 to 208 so as to perform bidirectional printing, and the assigned nozzle data is sequentially stored in the memory 14b. Is held. Since the print width is 1/4 of the vertical width of the nozzle head 32a, the width of the slice data is also reduced to 1/4 of the normal width. When the slice data corresponding to the print data is converted into nozzle data and stored in the memory 14b, the nozzle data is grouped into data for each row (1 swath) and sequentially stored in the memory 14c. It is memorized. Therefore, nozzle data corresponding to all print data (print data for one sheet) is stored in the memory 14c for each swath. The nozzles 1 to 208 do not eject ink when the nozzle data is “0”, but eject ink when the nozzle data is “1”. The nozzle data of “0” is assigned to the nozzles 1 to 156 that are not used.

On the other hand, when the paper 40 other than the envelope is used, all the nozzles 1 to 208 are used. Therefore, the print width is set to 208/600 inches (about 8.8 mm). Then, slice data corresponding to the print width is determined. When the slice data is determined, the slice data is converted into the nozzle data, and the nozzle data is assigned to each of the nozzles 1 to 208 so as to print in both directions. The assigned nozzle data is sequentially stored in the memory 14b. Then, the slice data corresponding to all the print data is converted into nozzle data and stored in the memory 14b. The nozzle data is collected for each swath, and is sequentially stored in the memory 14c. Therefore, all print data (print data for one sheet) is stored in the memory 14c for each swath.

Then, the paper feed amount after one slice printing is determined according to the print width to be used. That is, the paper 40a is fed by a distance corresponding to the print width. In the case of an envelope, the paper 40 is fed 52/600 inches (about 2.2 mm). Therefore, in this embodiment, the number of steps given to the feed motor 30 is determined to be 100 steps. On the other hand, in the case other than the envelope, since the paper 40 is fed by 208/600 inches (about 8.8 mm), the number of steps to be given to the feed motor 30 is determined to be 416 in this embodiment. Then, the determined number of steps is stored in the memory 14c.

When the feed amount (the number of steps) is stored in the memory 14 c, a print start command is transmitted from the PC 14 to the CPU 16. When receiving the print start command, the CPU 16 instructs the control circuit 20 to drive the carriage motor 26, and moves the carriage 28 from the home position C shown in FIG. The spit position B is a position for the carriage 28 to wait for printing and to test-spray ink. Subsequently, the CPU 16 drives the pickup roller 36 to take out the paper 40, feeds the paper, and drives the feed roller 34 to convey the paper 40 toward the print start position A.

Subsequently, the PC 14 transmits the nozzle data of one swath and the injection amount data to the CPU 16. Therefore, the CPU 16 instructs the control circuit 20 in accordance with the nozzle data and the ejection amount data transmitted from the PC 14 to perform printing for each slice. When one slice of nozzle data is printed, that is, when the carriage 28 is moved once in the main scanning direction, a sending command (a command of 100 steps or 416 steps) is transmitted from the PC 14 and the next one slice is sent. The paper 40 is fed by the feed roller 34 in order to print the nozzle data. In this manner, when one line (one swath) of nozzle data is printed, a feed command is transmitted from the PC 14 in the number of steps corresponding to the line interval in order to secure the line interval. When such an operation is repeated and printing of one sheet is completed, the PC 14 transmits a print end command to the CPU 16 and subsequently transmits an eject command. In response to this, the CPU 16 recognizes the end of printing and instructs the control circuit 20 to drive the feed motor 30. Therefore, the paper 40 is discharged from the inkjet printer 12 by the star wheel 42 and the discharge roller 44.

The above-described operation is performed by the CPU 16 in accordance with the flowchart shown in FIG. 5, and the PC 14 is processed in accordance with the flowcharts shown in FIGS. 6 and 7. When the main power supply of the inkjet printer 12 is turned on, or at a predetermined cycle, the CPU 16 starts the process, and determines whether or not a print start command has been received in step S1. If "NO" in the step S1, it is determined that the print start command is not received, and the process is ended. On the other hand, if "YES" in the step S1, it is determined that the print start command is received, and in a step S3, the control circuit 20 is instructed to move the carriage 28 to the speed position B, and then the paper 40 is fed. And transport it to the print start position A. In a succeeding step S5, it is determined whether or not the nozzle data and the injection amount data have been received. If "NO" in the step S5, it is determined that the nozzle data and the injection amount data are not received, and the process proceeds to a step S9. On the other hand, if "YES" in the step S5, it is determined that the nozzle data and the injection amount data are received, and the nozzle data is printed in a step S7. That is, the received nozzle data is temporarily stored in the buffer memory 22, and the injection amount data is stored in the memory 16a. When the paper 40 is conveyed to the print start position A or when the paper 40 is sent, the nozzle data is read from the buffer memory 22 and supplied to the carriage 28 via the control circuit 20 and the ejection amount data is transmitted to the control circuit. 20 to the carriage 28. Further, the carriage 28 is moved in the main scanning direction to print the nozzle data.

In a succeeding step S 9, it is determined whether or not a sending command has been received. If "NO" in the step S9, it is determined that the printing is being performed, and the process returns to the step S7. On the other hand, if “YES” in the step S9, it is determined that the sending command is received, and the number of steps (100 steps or 416 steps) indicated by the sending command received in the step S11 is controlled via the control circuit 20. Instruct the feed motor 30 to feed the paper 40. In a succeeding step S13, it is determined whether or not a print end command is received. If "NO" in the step S13, it is determined that the printing is not completed, and the process returns to the step S5. On the other hand, if "YES" in the step S13, it is determined that the printing is completed, and in a step S15, it is determined whether or not the eject command is received. Here, if "NO", it is determined that the eject command has not been received, and the process returns to step S15. If "YES", the control circuit 20 is instructed in step S17, and the feed motor 30 is turned off. After driving, the star wheel 42 and the discharge roller 44 are rotated to discharge the paper 40, and then the process returns to step S1. That is, it is determined whether the next page is printed.

On the other hand, on the PC 14 side, when properties are set by an operator and printing is executed, the PC 14 starts processing, and in step S21, print data is developed into a bit map using the working memory 14a. In a succeeding step S23, it is determined whether or not the paper type is an envelope. If "YES" in the step S23, it is determined that the paper type is the envelope, and the printing width is set to 52/600 inches in a step S25. Subsequently, in step S27, nozzle data ("0") is assigned to the nozzles 1 to 156, and in step S29, one slice of print data (slice data) is converted into nozzle data, and the nozzle data (" "0" or "1") is assigned to print in both directions. Then, the nozzle data assigned in step S31 is stored in the memory 14b, and in step S33, it is determined whether or not there is the next slice data. If “YES” in the step S33, it is determined that there is remaining slice data, and the process returns to the step S27.

On the other hand, if “NO” in the step S33, it is determined that the slice data corresponding to all the print data is converted into the nozzle data and stored in the memory 14b, and in the step S35, the nozzle data is changed every swath. It is stored in the memory 14c. Then, in step S37, the feed amount of the paper 40 is determined to be 100 steps, and the process proceeds to step S51 shown in FIG.

If “NO” in the step S23, it is determined that the paper 40 is other than the envelope 40, the print width is determined to be 208/600 inches in a step S39, and the slice data is converted into the nozzle data in a step S41. Then, nozzle data is assigned to the nozzles 1 to 208 so that printing is performed in both directions. In a succeeding step S43, the allocated nozzle data is stored in the memory 14b, and in a step S45, it is determined whether or not there is the next slice data. If "YES" in the step S45, it is determined that there is remaining slice data, and the process returns to the step S41. On the other hand, if "NO" in the step S45, it is determined that the slice data corresponding to all the print data is converted into the nozzle data and stored in the memory 14b, and in a step S47, the nozzle data is stored in the memory 14c every swath. Remember. Then, in step S49, the feed amount of the paper 40 is determined to be 416 steps, and the process proceeds to step S51.

In step S51, the number of steps determined in step S37 or S49 is stored in the memory 14c, and a print start command is transmitted to the CPU 16 in step S53. Subsequently, in step S55, one swath of nozzle data and injection amount data is transmitted, and in step S57, it is determined whether all nozzle data has been transmitted. That is, it is determined whether or not one nozzle data has been transmitted. If "YES" in the step S57, it is determined that the nozzle data for one sheet has been transmitted, a print end command is transmitted in a step S59, an eject command is transmitted in a step S61, and then the process proceeds to the step S63. .

On the other hand, if “NO” in the step S57, it is determined that there is remaining nozzle data, and it is determined whether or not one slice is printed in a step S65. That is, it is determined whether the carriage 28 has moved once in the main scanning direction. If "NO" here, it is determined that printing is being performed, and the process returns to step S65. If "YES", it is determined that one slice has been printed, and one line (one swath) is printed in step S67. Judge whether it is written. If "YES" in the step S67, it is determined that the nozzle data of one swath has been printed, and in a step S69, the sending command is transmitted with the number of steps corresponding to the space between the lines. That is, the sheet 40 is sent to secure a line gap. On the other hand, if "NO" in the step S67, it is determined that the nozzle data of one swath is not printed, and the sending command is transmitted in the number of steps stored in the memory 14c in a step S71. That is, the sheet 40 is sent in order to print the nozzle data corresponding to the next slice data, and the process returns to step S67.

In step S63, it is determined whether there is a page to be printed next. If "NO" in the step S63, it is determined that there is no next page, and the process ends. On the other hand, if "YES" in the step S63, it is determined whether or not other print data is printed in a step S73. If "NO" in the step S73, it is determined that the same print data (nozzle data) is printed, and the process returns to the step S53. On the other hand, if “YES” in the step S73, it is determined that another print data is to be printed, and in a step S75, the next (other) print data is developed into a bit map by using the working area 14a. Then, the process returns to step S23 shown in FIG.

According to this embodiment, when printing on thick paper such as an envelope, printing is performed using １ ／ of the vertical width of the nozzle head (a part of the head width in the sub-scanning direction). Therefore, the ink dries before the printing portion is sent to the downstream side of the nozzle head. Therefore, it is possible to avoid ink contamination due to friction between the nozzle head and the paper. In addition, since a special mechanism for avoiding ink contamination is not required, the cost is low.

In this embodiment, printing is performed by using a part of the vertical width of the nozzle head only in the case of an envelope. May also be applied. At this time, if the draft mode is set, there is no problem even if ink smears occur, so if the normal mode or high quality mode is set, the vertical width of the nozzle head will be reduced to one. Section may be used. Therefore, the printing speed can be increased as much as possible.

In addition, printing may be performed on all the sheets by using a part of the vertical width of the nozzle head. However, in this case, the printing speed is unnecessarily slowed. Only when the normal mode or the high quality mode is set as described above, a part of the vertical width of the nozzle head may be used.

Further, in this embodiment, in the case of an envelope, printing is performed using １ ／ of the vertical width of the nozzle head. However, in the case of using this ink cartridge, printing is performed at 、 １ or less. If it is, ink stains can be avoided. When another ink cartridge is used, the length of the vertical width may be determined by experiment according to the vertical width of the nozzle head.

[Submission date] September 24, 1999 (September 24, 1999)

[Procedure amendment 2]

[Document name to be amended] Statement

[Correction target item name] 0005

[Correction method] Change

[Correction contents]

[0005]

[Means for Solving the Problems]

The invention of claim 1, wherein, in the printer system for printing on paper using a head arranged a plurality of nozzles in the sub-scanning direction, some effective means for enabling a portion of the nozzle only the head (S27) And a printer system that prints using some of the nozzles . The invention according to claim 2 is the printer system according to claim 1 , wherein the partial activation means activates a part of the nozzles on the upstream side in the paper feeding direction . The invention of claim 3 wherein, a part enabling means for enabling a portion of the nozzle disposed at a position capable of drying to the print unit is sent to the downstream side of the head, according to claim 2 Symbol placement of the printer System. The invention according to claim 4 is the printer system according to claim 3 , wherein all the nozzles in the sub-scanning direction are sorted, and the partial activating means activates the sorting nozzle on the most upstream side. The invention of claim 5 wherein is provided in the al discrimination means (S23) the paper to determine whether heavy paper, some activation means only effective part of the nozzle when the determination means has determined the heavy paper reduction to, Ru printer system der according to any one of claims 1 to 4.

[Procedure amendment 3]

[Document name to be amended] Statement

[Correction target item name] 0006

[Correction method] Change

[Correction contents]

[0006]

[Action]

In the printer system, printing is performed in accordance with an instruction from an operator, and the inkjet printer prints desired information on paper in accordance with an instruction from the host. This ink jet printer prints using some of the nozzles that have been activated using the partial activation means . In other words, printing is performed by ejecting a small amount of ink, and the ink dries before the paper is fed. Therefore, even when the paper touches the nozzle head, ink contamination can be avoided.

[Procedure amendment 4]

[Document name to be amended] Statement

[Correction target item name] 0007

[Correction method] Change

[Correction contents]

For example, some of the nozzles are on the upstream side in the paper feeding direction, and therefore, even if a print portion to which ink has adhered rubs against the head, no ink smear occurs.

[Procedure amendment 5]

[Document name to be amended] Statement

[Correction target item name] 0008

[Correction method] Change

[Correction contents]

Further, some of the nozzles are located at positions where the ink can be dried before the printing unit is transported to the downstream side of the head.

[Procedure amendment 6]

[Document name to be amended] Statement

[Correction target item name] 0009

[Correction method] Change

[Correction contents]

Furthermore, fractionating all the nozzles arranged in the sub scanning direction may be enable separation nozzle of the most upstream side by a portion activation means.

[Procedure amendment 7]

[Document name to be amended] Statement

[Correction target item name] 0010

[Correction method] Change

[Correction contents]

[0010] Furthermore, if the determination means determines thick paper , printing is performed using some of the nozzles. Then, if as printed with all the nozzles if not heavy paper, in the case of normal printing is not possible printing speed is lowered.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an illustrative view showing one embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is an illustrative view showing the ink jet printer shown in FIG. 1 embodiment;

FIG. 3 is an illustrative view of the inkjet printer shown in FIG. 1 viewed from a star wheel (discharge) side.

FIG. 4 is an illustrative view showing the ink cartridge and the nozzle head shown in FIG. 2;

FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing a part of the processing of the CPU shown in the embodiment in FIG. 1;

FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing a part of the processing of the PC shown in FIG. 1 embodiment.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing another part of the processing of the PC shown in the embodiment in FIG. 1;

[Explanation of symbols]

 10 Printer system. DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 12 ... Ink-jet printer 14 ... PC 16 ... CPU 20 ... Control circuit 26 ... Carriage motor 28 ... Carriage 30 ... Feed motor 42 ... Starwheel 44 ... Discharge roller

[Procedure amendment]

[Submission date] September 24, 1999 (1999.9.2)
4)

[Procedure amendment 1]

[Document name to be amended] Statement

[Correction target item name] Claims for utility model registration

[Correction method] Change

[Correction contents]

[Utility model registration claims]

Claims (5)

[Utility model registration claims] 1. A printer system for printing desired information on paper, wherein printing is performed using a part of nozzles having a head width in the sub-scanning direction. 2. The printer system according to claim 1, wherein said some nozzles are on the upstream side of paper feed. 3. The printer system according to claim 2, wherein a nozzle at a position capable of drying before the printing unit is sent to the downstream side of the head is used. 4. A method according to claim 1, wherein all nozzles provided in the head width in the sub-scanning direction are sorted, and a sorting nozzle on the most upstream side is used.
The printer system according to claim 3. 5. A method according to claim 1, wherein said partial nozzles are used when said paper is thick paper, and all said nozzles are used otherwise.
A printer system according to any one of claims 1 to 4.