JP5531535B2 - Recording device - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a recording apparatus that records an image on a recording medium by discharging droplets.

  In an ink jet printer, paper on which an image has been printed is dried by ejecting ink droplets, and then discharged onto a paper discharge tray or the like. By increasing the printing speed, the drying time becomes longer than the printing time, and it may not be possible to print the next sheet until the previously printed sheet is dried. The throughput, which is the execution time from the print request to the completion of the discharge of the paper on which the image related to the print request is printed, tends to decrease. In this regard, a technique is known in which the drying time is predicted for each sheet to be continuously printed, and the sheets are sequentially discharged to a plurality of discharge destinations while printing is performed in the order of long drying time (see Patent Document 1). . According to this technique, since the printing on the next sheet can be performed while the sheet having a long drying time is being dried, the throughput is improved.

JP 2007-296702 A

  However, in the above-described technique, the sheets may be discharged in an order different from the order desired by the user. Therefore, the user must confirm the order of the ejected sheets and rearrange them in the desired order. It is complicated.

  An object of the present invention is to provide a recording apparatus capable of discharging a recording medium on which images are recorded in a desired order while improving the throughput of image recording when images are continuously recorded on the recording medium. There is.

  The recording apparatus according to the present invention includes a recording head that records an image on a recording medium, a plurality of holding units that hold the recording medium, and a recording medium on which an image is recorded by the recording head is one of the plurality of holding units. A supply distribution mechanism; a discharge unit that is a discharge destination of the recording medium held in the holding unit; a discharge mechanism that discharges the recording medium held in any of the plurality of holding units to the discharge unit; Command storage means for storing image data relating to an image recorded on each recording medium, and a recording command including a discharge order that is the order in which each image is discharged to the discharge unit, and the holding unit A holding time relation value calculating means for calculating a holding time relation value, which is a value related to the holding time of the recording medium in the image data, and the holding time relation value calculated by the holding time relation value calculating means. Holding time relation value storage means, supply control means for controlling the distribution mechanism so that each recording medium on which an image is recorded is supplied to the holding section not holding the recording medium, and the plurality of holding sections A discharge control means for controlling the discharge mechanism so that each recording medium held in the recording medium is discharged to the discharge section in the discharge order according to the recording command, and based on the recording command and the holding time relation value When the image is recorded on a plurality of recording media using the discharge order according to the recording command as a recording order, the image is recorded on a plurality of recording media in one or a plurality of recording orders different from the discharge order according to the recording command. When at least one of the recording media related to the recording command is supplied to the holding unit, all the recording media on which the image related to the recording command is recorded are discharged to the discharging unit. Recording command execution time predicting means for predicting a recording command execution time including time, and among the recording command execution times predicted by the recording command execution time predicting means, the discharge order related to the recording command is used as the recording order. Determining means for determining to record images on the plurality of recording media in a recording order related to the recording command execution time shorter than when recording images on a plurality of recording media; and in the recording order determined by the determining means Recording control means for controlling the recording head so that the plurality of images are recorded on a plurality of recording media.

In a recording apparatus having a plurality of holding units, the holding time of the recording medium by the holding unit tends to be a factor that increases the throughput during printing (recording medium supply time to the recording head, recording time, from the recording head to the discharging unit) Since the recording medium conveyance time is sufficiently shorter than the holding time), it is important to improve the throughput by changing the recording order in consideration of the holding time. According to the present invention, since the recording order is determined so as to shorten the recording command execution time based on the holding time, the throughput can be improved. Furthermore, since the recording medium on which the image is recorded is ejected in the ejection order desired by the user, it is not necessary for the user to rearrange the recording media after the recording is completed.
In the present invention, the recording command execution time predicting means may perform recording on a recording medium in order from an image having a larger retention time relationship value in a recording order different from the discharge order according to the recording command. After the provisional determination, when the plurality of images are allocated to the respective holding units so that the difference in the total of the holding time relation values between the holding units is minimized, before and after the images allocated for each holding unit When the relationship is determined to be the same as the order of the discharge order related to the recording command, the recording command execution time related to these images is predicted. According to this, it is possible to determine a recording order that can improve the throughput with a simple algorithm.

  In the present invention, when the command storage means stores a plurality of the recording commands in which the discharge order is continuous, the number of recording media on which an image related to each recording command is to be recorded is a predetermined number or less. It is preferable. By dividing the recording command, the data processing time until the recording order is determined can be shortened.

  At this time, it is more preferable that the predetermined number is the number of the holding portions. According to this, the data processing time until the recording order is determined can be further shortened.

  According to the present invention, since the recording order is determined so as to shorten the recording command execution time based on the holding time, the throughput can be improved. Furthermore, since the recording media on which the images are recorded are ejected in the ejection order, the user does not need to rearrange the recording media.

1 is a schematic side view of an inkjet printer according to a first embodiment of the present invention. It is a functional block diagram of the control apparatus shown in FIG. It is a flowchart of the data processing part shown in FIG. It is a flowchart of the engine control part shown in FIG. 6 is a flowchart of print data reception processing shown in FIG. 4. It is a table | surface which shows the example of the drying time sort shown in FIG. It is a table | surface which shows the example of the discharge order sort shown in FIG. (A) It is a time chart at the time of printing in the same printing order as the discharge order which shows the prediction result of printing execution time prediction shown in FIG. (B) It is a time chart at the time of printing in the recording order which the printing order production | generation part showed the prediction result of printing execution time prediction shown in FIG. 5 is a flowchart of print reception processing shown in FIG. 4. It is a flowchart of the discharge process shown in FIG. It is a functional block diagram of the control apparatus which concerns on 2nd Embodiment of this invention. 12 is a flowchart of print data reception processing according to the control device shown in FIG. 11. It is a flowchart of the print data reception process by 3rd Embodiment of this invention.

<First Embodiment>
Hereinafter, a first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the inkjet printer 101 includes a conveyance unit 20, four inkjet heads 1 that eject magenta, cyan, yellow, and black ink droplets onto a sheet P conveyed by the conveyance unit 20, and a guide. 31, nip rollers 32 and 33, a distribution mechanism 34, four drying stages 41 a to 41 d, a discharge mechanism 43, a discharge tray 55, and a control device 16. In the present embodiment, the sub-scanning direction is a direction parallel to the transport direction when the paper P is transported by the transport unit 20, and the main scanning direction is a direction orthogonal to the sub-scanning direction and along the horizontal plane. Direction.

  The transport unit 20 includes two belt rollers 6, 7, an endless transport belt 8 wound around the rollers 6, 7, and four inkjet heads 1 in a loop of the transport belt 8. And a platen 19 arranged to face each other. The belt roller 6 is a driving roller, and rotates when a driving force is applied from a conveyance motor (not shown). The belt roller 7 is a driven roller and rotates as the conveyor belt 8 travels as the belt roller 6 rotates. The paper P placed on the outer peripheral surface of the transport belt 8 is transported to the right in FIG.

  The four inkjet heads 1 each extend along the main scanning direction and are arranged in parallel to each other in the sub-scanning direction. That is, the ink jet printer 101 is a line type color ink jet printer in which a plurality of ejection openings for ejecting ink droplets are arranged in the main scanning direction. The lower surface of each inkjet head 1 is an ejection surface on which a plurality of ejection ports from which ink droplets are ejected are arranged.

  The platen 19 is disposed so as to be in contact with the inner peripheral surface of the upper loop of the conveyor belt 8, and supports this from the inner peripheral side of the conveyor belt 8. As a result, the outer peripheral surface of the upper loop of the conveyor belt 8 and the ejection surface of the inkjet head 1 are parallel to each other, and a gap having a predetermined interval suitable for image formation is formed. When the paper P transported by the transport belt 8 passes immediately below the four ink jet heads 1, ink droplets of each color are sequentially ejected from the respective ink jet heads 1 toward the upper surface of the paper P, and are then onto the paper P. A desired color image is formed. The sheet P on which the image is formed is further transported to the right in FIG. 1 by the transport unit 20 and reaches the guide 31.

  The guide 31 guides the paper P on which the image transported by the transport unit 20 is formed to the distribution mechanism 34. The nip rollers 32 and 33 apply a conveying force to the paper P by driving the paper P guided by the guide 31 while pinching it.

  The distribution mechanism 34 selectively supplies the paper P on which the image guided by the guide 31 is formed to one of the four drying stages 41a to 41d.

  The drying stages 41a to 41d hold the paper P for drying the paper P on which an image is formed. The paper P distributed by the distribution mechanism 34 is conveyed to the left in FIG. 1 by the nip rollers 42a to 42d corresponding to the drying stages 41a to 41d that are the supply destinations, and reaches the drying stages 41a to 41d. The drying stages 41a to 41d have a holding area where the paper P is placed. The sheet P is held in this holding area by electrostatic adsorption with the printing surface facing the lower open space. This prevents the paper P from curving when it dries. In the inkjet printer 101, each mechanism is arranged so that air flows on the holding regions of the drying stages 41a to 41d and the drying of the paper P held on the holding regions is promoted. In some cases, a drying heater or the like is installed.

  The discharge mechanism 43 has four nip rollers 43a to 43d corresponding to the drying stages 41a to 41d, and is held by any of the drying stages 41a to 41d by selectively driving the nip rollers 43a to 43d. The paper P is discharged to the discharge tray 55.

  The discharge tray 55 is disposed on the left side of the drying stages 41 a to 41 d in FIG. 1, and receives the paper P discharged from the drying stages 41 a to 41 d by the discharge mechanism 43. In the discharge tray 55, the sheets P are stacked in the order discharged from the drying stages 41a to 41d.

  Next, the control device 16 will be described with reference to FIG. The control device 16 includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit), a program executed by the CPU, and an EEPROM (Electrically Erasable and Programmable Read Only Memory) that stores data used for these programs in a rewritable manner. It includes RAM (Random Access Memory) for temporary storage. Each functional unit constituting the control device 16 is constructed by cooperation of these hardware and software in the EEPROM. As shown in FIG. 2, the control device 16 includes a data processing unit 61 and an engine control unit 62.

  The data processing unit 61 receives and processes print data transmitted from an upper computer connected to the inkjet printer 101 so as to be able to perform data communication. The engine control unit 62 controls the operation of the inkjet printer 101 so that printing is executed based on the print data processed by the data processing unit 61.

  The data processing unit 61 includes a reception processing unit 70, a print command storage unit 71, a drying time calculation unit 72, and a print information generation unit 73. From the print data received from the host computer, the reception processing unit 70 outputs image data relating to an image to be printed on each sheet P and one or a plurality of sheets P, and the sheet P on which each image is printed on the discharge tray 55. A print command including a discharge order that is the order of discharge is extracted. At this time, the extracted image data (for example, gradation data of 256 gradations) is multi-valued according to the specifications of the inkjet printer 101. In the present embodiment, since the inkjet printer 101 prints an image with four gradations of large droplets, medium droplets, small droplets, and 0, the image data is converted into four values. The print command corresponds to the recording command in the present invention. Note that the print command may be an aggregate of a plurality of print commands. For example, when a set of two print commands is used, the discharge order for each print command is the order in which the print commands are received. Furthermore, the print command may be a part of one print command. For example, when one print command is so large that it cannot be stored in the print command storage unit 71, the print command is separated into a part of the print command and processed. In some cases, it is suitable to divide one print command and apply the present invention from the viewpoint of data processing.

  The print command storage unit 71 stores the print command extracted by the reception processing unit 70.

  The drying time calculation unit 72 is required for the paper P on which the image related to the image data is printed from the image data included in the print command stored in the print command storage unit 71 to be dried in the drying stages 41a to 41d. The drying time which is time (the holding time for which the drying stages 41a to 41d hold the paper P) is calculated. The drying time is calculated from, for example, the dot density per unit area for forming the image printed on the paper P. The drying time becomes longer as the dot density increases. If there is an area where the dot density is high even in a part of the paper P, the time required for drying becomes long. This drying time is one of the retention time-related values of the present invention, and the other is the retention time-related value such as the time for performing curl correction in the holding portion based on the dot density distribution. The holding time-related area is configured so that it can be calculated by the drying time calculation unit. In addition, when the temperature and humidity of a drying part and a heater, an air blower, etc. are provided in the drying part, holding | maintenance time is calculated also considering heater temperature, an air volume, etc.

  The print information generation unit 73 generates print information of an image related to the print command based on the print command stored in the print command storage unit 71. The print information includes the monochrome / color type and the number of pixels of the image, the discharge number indicating the discharge order in which the printed paper P is discharged to the discharge tray 55, the drying time calculated by the drying time calculation unit 72, and A print table ID for specifying print information is included. When the print information of all the images related to the print command is generated, the print information is transmitted to the engine control unit 62.

  The engine control unit 62 includes a print table storage unit 74, a print order generation unit 75, a print time prediction unit 76, a print order determination unit 77, a print control unit 78, a supply control unit 79, and a discharge control unit 80. And have. The print table storage unit 74 stores the received print information as a print table when the print information transmitted from the print information generation unit 73 is received.

  Based on the print table stored in the print table storage unit 74, the print order generation unit 75 generates a print order that is the order in which printing of each image on the paper P is started and is different from the discharge order. Specifically, the printing order generation unit 75 provisionally determines the printing order so that printing on the paper P is started in order from the image with the longest drying time (sorting the drying time: see FIG. 6). Further, the printing order generation unit 75 outputs a plurality of images to be printed on the paper P according to the printing order temporarily determined so that the difference in the total drying time among the four drying stages 41a to 41d is minimized. Assign to 41a-41d. Thereafter, the printing order generation unit 75 sorts the temporarily determined printing order so that the order of the images assigned to each of the drying stages 41a to 41d is the same as the order of the discharge order according to the printing information. The printing order is determined (sorting discharge order: see FIG. 7).

  The printing time predicting unit 76 starts each time when printing each image on the paper P in the same printing order as the discharging order and when printing each image on the paper P in the printing order generated by the printing order generating unit 75. The time from when the paper P on which the image is printed is supplied to any one of the drying stages 41a to 41d until the paper P on which the image relating to all print information is printed is discharged to the discharge tray 55 according to the discharge order. Is predicted (see FIG. 8). The start time of the print execution time may be when printing on the paper P is first started or when the paper P to be printed first is fed from the paper feed tray.

  The print order determination unit 77 determines the print order corresponding to the short print execution time among the print execution times in the two print orders predicted by the print time prediction unit 76 as the print order for actual printing. The determined printing order is added to the printing table.

  The print control unit 78 conveys the images of each print information on the paper P in order in the print order determined by the print order determination unit 77 based on the print table stored in the print table storage unit 74. The unit 20 and the inkjet head 1 are controlled. Note that when all the drying stages 41 a to 41 d hold the paper P, the print control unit 78 discharges any of the paper P held by the drying stages 41 a to 41 d to the discharge tray 55. Until then, printing on the next paper P is temporarily stopped.

  The supply control unit 79 controls the distribution mechanism 34 so that the paper P on which the image is printed is supplied to the drying stages 41a to 41d that do not hold the paper P among the four drying stages 41a to 41d. . At this time, the supply controller 79 preferentially supplies the paper P in the order of the drying stages 41a to 41d.

  The discharge controller 80 controls the discharge mechanism 43 so that the paper P held by the drying stages 41a to 41d is discharged to the discharge tray 55 in the discharge order obtained from the printing table.

  Hereinafter, the operation of the inkjet printer 101 will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. As shown in FIG. 3, when print data is transmitted from a host computer, the reception processing unit 70 of the data processing unit 61 of the control device 16 receives the print data (step S101: hereinafter referred to as S101, The same applies to the other steps). When the reception processing unit 70 receives the print data, the reception processing unit 70 performs data processing on the received print data and extracts a print command including the quaternized image data and the discharge order (S102). The print command extracted by the reception processing unit 70 is stored in the print command storage unit 71 (S103).

  When a new print command is stored in the print command storage unit 71, the dry time calculation unit 72 calculates the dry time related to the image related to the image data from the image data included in the print command (S104). Then, the print information generation unit 73 generates print information for each image related to the print command (S105) and transmits it to the engine control unit 62 (S106).

  As shown in FIG. 4, the engine control unit 62 sequentially repeats the print data reception process (S201), the print process (S202), and the discharge process (S203). Hereinafter, the print data reception process, the print process, and the discharge process will be described in order. As shown in FIG. 5, when the print data reception process is started, the engine control unit 62 determines whether or not the print information transmitted from the print information generation unit 73 has been received (S301). If the print information has not been received (S301: NO), the engine control unit 62 determines that print data has not been transmitted from the host computer, and ends the print data reception process.

  If the print information has been completed (S301: YES), the engine control unit 62 initializes various data (for example, sets a discharge counter described later to an initial value 1) and stores the received print information in a print table. The data is stored in the section 74 as a print table (S302). Based on the print table stored in the print table storage unit 74, the print order generation unit 75 changes the print order, which is the order in which printing of each image on the paper P is started, from the image with the longest drying time. A temporary determination is made so that printing on the paper P is started (S303: drying time sorting).

  As a specific example of sorting the drying time, a case where printing is continuously performed on eight sheets of paper P will be described. 6 and 7 show images printed on eight sheets of paper P with discharge numbers 1 to 8, respectively. As illustrated in FIG. 6, the printing order generation unit 75 temporarily determines the printing order by sorting the images managed in the discharge order in descending order of drying time. In the case of FIG. 6, the print order is set so that the corresponding images are printed in the order of discharge number 6 → discharge number 4 → discharge number 2 → discharge number 3 → discharge number 1 → discharge number 5 → discharge number 7 → discharge number 8. Provisionally determined. Note that the front-rear relationship between images having the same drying time (discharge numbers 1, 5, 7, and 8) is maintained.

  As shown in FIG. 5, the printing order generation unit 75 then prints on the paper P in accordance with the printing order provisionally determined so that the difference in the total drying time between the four drying stages 41 a to 41 d is minimized. Are assigned to each of the drying stages 41a to 41d. Thereafter, the printing order generation unit 75 determines the printing order by sorting the temporarily determined printing order so that the order of the images assigned to the drying stages 41a to 41d is the same as the order of the discharging order. (S304: Sort in discharge order).

  A specific example of sorting in discharge order will be described. As shown in FIG. 7, first, the printing order generation unit 75 converts the images of the discharge numbers 1 to 8 into the drying stages 41 a to 41 d (the drying stage A in FIG. 7) in the printing order provisionally determined by the drying time sorting. To D)). At this time, the allocation is performed so that the difference in the total drying time between the four drying stages 41a to 41d is minimized. That is, after the image of discharge number 6 is assigned to the drying stage 41a, the image of discharge number 4 is assigned to the drying stage 41b, the image of discharge number 2 is assigned to the drying stage 41c, and the image of discharge number 3 is assigned to the drying stage 41d. The next image of discharge number 1 is assigned to the drying stage 41d having the smallest drying time between the drying stages 41a to 41d. Further, the subsequent images with the discharge numbers 5 and 7 are similarly assigned to the drying stage 41d. Then, the image with the last discharge number 8 is assigned to the drying stage 41c.

  When all the images are assigned to the drying stages 41a to 41d, it is confirmed whether or not the order of the images assigned to the drying stages 41a to 41d is different from the order of the discharge order related to the print information. In the case of FIG. 7, the order of the images of the discharge numbers 1 and 3 assigned to the drying stage 41d is different from the order of the discharge order. The printing order is determined by sorting so that the order is changed.

  As shown in FIG. 5, the printing time predicting unit 76 prints an image on the paper P when printing the image on the paper P in the same printing order as the discharging order and in the printing order generated by the printing order generating unit 75. In each of these times, it is the time from when the paper P on which an image is first printed is supplied to the drying stages 41 a to 41 d to when all the paper P on which an image is printed is discharged to the discharge tray 55. The print execution time is predicted (S305).

  As shown in FIG. 8A, in the previous specific example (see FIG. 7), when images are printed on the paper P in the same print order as the discharge order, the paper on which the images of the discharge numbers 1 to 4 are printed. After P is supplied to the drying stages 41a to 41d, the paper P on which the images of the discharge numbers 5 to 8 are printed is supplied to the drying stages 41a to 41d. At this time, since the paper P on which the images with the discharge numbers 2 and 6 having a long drying time are printed is held on the same drying stage 41b, the discharge number to be discharged after the paper P on which the image with the discharge number 6 is printed. The waiting time until the paper P on which the images 7 and 8 are printed becomes longer. At this time, the printing time prediction unit 76 predicts the printing execution time as 21 seconds. Note that “IN” in FIGS. 8A and 8B indicates the timing at which printing on the leading paper P is started.

  On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 8B, when an image is printed on the paper P in the printing order generated by the printing order generation unit 75, the difference in the total drying time is the largest among the four drying stages 41a to 41d. Since it is assigned to be smaller, the waiting time is reduced, and the printing time prediction unit 76 predicts the printing execution time as 15 seconds.

  As shown in FIG. 5, the printing order determination unit 77 actually prints the printing order in which the short printing execution time is predicted, out of the printing execution times in the two printing orders predicted by the printing time prediction unit 76. The printing order is determined (S306). In the previous specific example, the print execution time (15 seconds) related to the print order generated by the print order generation unit 75 is shorter than the print execution time (21 seconds) related to the same print order as the discharge order. Determines the printing order generated by the printing order generation unit 75 as the printing order for actual printing. The determined printing order is added to the printing table. The print data reception process is thus completed.

  As shown in FIG. 9, when the printing process is started, it is determined whether or not a printing table is stored in the printing table storage unit 74 (S401). If no print table is stored in the print table storage unit 74 (S401: NO), it is determined that print data has not been transmitted from the host computer, and the printing process is terminated.

  If the print table is stored in the print table storage unit 74 (S401: YES), the print control unit 78 follows the print order determined by the print order determination unit 77 from the print table stored in the print table storage unit 74. A print table ID of print information to be printed is specified, and image data corresponding to the specified print table ID is transferred to the inkjet head 1 (S402). Further, the print control unit 78 controls the transport unit 20 and the inkjet head 1 so that the image related to the image data is printed on the paper P (S403). The supply control unit 79 controls the distribution mechanism 34 so that the paper P on which the image is printed is supplied to the drying stages 41a to 41d that do not hold the paper P among the four drying stages 41a to 41d. (S404). Thus, the printing process is finished.

  As shown in FIG. 10, when the discharge process is started, the discharge control unit 80 determines whether or not the paper P corresponding to the same discharge number as the discharge counter is held in any of the drying stages 41a to 41d. (S501). The discharge counter is a counter whose initial value is 1 (see S302 in FIG. 5), and is incremented every time the paper P is discharged, as will be described later. That is, the discharge counter indicates the discharge number related to the paper P to be discharged. If the discharge control unit 80 determines that the paper P is not held by the drying stages 41a to 41d (S501: NO), the discharge process ends.

  If the discharge control unit 80 determines that the paper P is held on the drying stages 41a to 41d (S501: YES), the discharge control unit 80 performs drying corresponding to the time since the paper P was held on the drying stages 41a to 41d. It is determined whether or not the time has passed (S502). If the drying time has not elapsed (S502: NO), the discharge process is terminated.

  If the drying time has elapsed (S502: YES), the discharge controller 80 controls the discharge mechanism 43 so that the paper P is discharged to the discharge tray 55 (S503). Then, the engine control unit 62 deletes the print information related to the print table ID corresponding to the paper P that has been discharged from the print table (S504), and increments the discharge counter (S505). This completes the discharge process.

  In this way, by repeating the print data reception process, the print process, and the discharge process, the paper P on which images relating to all print information in the print table are printed is sequentially discharged to the discharge tray 55, and printing is completed. At this time, since the corresponding print information is deleted every time the paper P is discharged to the discharge tray 55, the contents of the print table are all cleared when the printing is completed.

  As described above, according to the ink jet printer 101 of the present embodiment, the printing order is determined so as to shorten the printing execution time, so that the throughput can be improved. Further, since the paper P on which the image is printed is discharged in the discharge order desired by the user, it is not necessary for the user to rearrange the paper P after the printing is completed. In addition, the printing order when the printing order determination unit 77 actually prints the printing order in which the short printing execution time is predicted among the printing execution times in the two printing orders predicted by the printing time prediction unit 76. Therefore, the throughput does not decrease.

  In addition, after the printing order generation unit 75 temporarily determines the printing order so that printing on the paper P is started in order from the image with the longest drying time, the difference in the total drying time among the four drying stages 41a to 41d. A plurality of images to be printed on the paper P are assigned to the respective drying stages 41a to 41d, and the tentatively determined printing order is printed based on the context of the images assigned to the respective drying stages 41a to 41d. The printing order is determined by sorting so as to be the same as the order of the discharge order related to the information. Thereby, it is possible to determine the recording order in which the throughput is improved with a simple algorithm.

<Modification>
In the above-described first embodiment, the configuration in which the reception processing unit 70 extracts one print command from one print data has been described. However, the reception processing unit 70 divides one print data into a plurality of print commands. It may be configured to. In this case, each print command is sequentially executed according to the above-described processing. The print command is preferably divided when the data capacity of the print data is larger than the data capacity of the print table storage unit 74 or when the number of sheets P (number of images) to be printed is larger than a predetermined value. The predetermined value is more preferably the number of drying stages 41a to 41d. Thereby, it is possible to shorten the data processing time until the printing order is determined.

Second Embodiment
A second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 11 and 12. Note that the second embodiment is different from the first embodiment only in the configuration of the control device 116, and therefore the control device 116 will be mainly described. Components and functional parts that are substantially the same as those in the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals, and description thereof is omitted.

  As shown in FIG. 11, the control device 116 includes a data processing unit 161 and an engine control unit 162. The data processing unit 161 includes a reception processing unit 170, a print command storage unit 71, a drying time calculation unit 72, and a print information generation unit 73.

  The reception processing unit 170 receives, from the print data received from the host computer, the image data relating to the image to be printed on each sheet P and the sheet P on which each image is printed on one or a plurality of sheets P. A print command including a discharge order that is the order of discharge is extracted. At this time, the extracted image data is binarized. Further, when the extracted print command has image data relating to the paper P exceeding 4 that is the number of the drying stages 41a to 41d, the reception processing unit 170 outputs the print command to the paper P of 4 or less. The image data is divided into a plurality of continuous print commands having the image data. Each divided print command is stored in the print command storage unit 71.

  The engine control unit 162 includes a print table storage unit 74, a print order determination unit 177, a print control unit 78, a supply control unit 79, and a discharge control unit 80.

  The print order determination unit 177 sets the print order, which is the order in which printing of images on each paper P is started, based on the print table stored in the print table storage unit 74 in order from the image with the longest drying time. Decides to start printing.

  The operation of the control device 116 will be described. Since only the procedure for determining the printing order in the print data reception process is different from that of the first embodiment, only the print data reception process will be described below. As shown in FIG. 12, when the print data reception process is started, the engine control unit 162 determines whether or not the print information transmitted from the print information generation unit 73 has been received (S601). If the print information has not been received (S601: NO), the engine control unit 162 determines that print data has not been transmitted from the host computer, and ends the print data reception process.

  If the engine control unit 162 has received the print information (S601: YES), the engine control unit 162 stores the received print information in the print table storage unit 74 as a print table (S602). Based on the print table stored in the print table storage unit 74, the print order determination unit 177 changes the print order, which is the order in which printing of images on each sheet P is started, in order from the image with the longest drying time. It is determined that printing on the paper P is started (S603: drying time sorting). A specific example of the drying time sorting is substantially the same as in the first embodiment. This is the end of the printing process.

  As described above, according to the ink jet printer of the present embodiment, since the paper P on which images are printed in the order of the longest drying time is supplied to the drying stages 41a to 41d, the drying stages 41a to 41d operate efficiently, Throughput can be improved. Further, since the paper P on which the image is printed is discharged in the discharge order desired by the user, it is not necessary for the user to rearrange the paper P after the printing is completed.

  In addition, when the print command extracted by the reception processing unit 170 has image data that exceeds four, which is the number of drying stages 41a to 41d, the print command is set to a plurality of continuous images having four or less image data. Therefore, the paper P on which the image has been printed can be reliably discharged in the discharge order desired by the user. In addition, the data processing time until the printing order is determined can be shortened.

<Third Embodiment>
A third embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. The third embodiment is different from the second embodiment only in the function of the print order determining unit and the procedure for determining the print order in the print data receiving process. Therefore, only the print order determining unit and the print data receiving process will be described below. To do. Members and functional parts that are substantially the same as those in the first and second embodiments are assigned the same reference numerals, and descriptions thereof are omitted.

  The printing order determination unit of the present embodiment sets the printing order, which is the order in which printing of images on each sheet P is started, based on the printing table stored in the printing table storage unit 74 to a drying time greater than a predetermined value. It is determined that printing on the paper P is started in order from the image corresponding to.

  The operation of the print data reception process will be described. As shown in FIG. 13, when the print data reception process is started, the engine control unit 162 determines whether or not the print information transmitted from the print information generation unit 73 has been received (S701). If the print information is not received (S701: NO), the engine control unit 162 determines that the print data is not transmitted from the host computer, and ends the print data receiving process.

  If the engine control unit 162 has received the print information (S701: YES), the engine control unit 162 stores the received print information in the print table storage unit 74 as a print table (S702). Then, the printing order determination unit reads out the printing information of the printing table stored in the printing table storage unit 74 in the order of the discharge number, and determines whether or not the drying time of the read printing information is longer than a predetermined value (S703). ). When the drying time is longer than the predetermined value (S703; YES), the printing order determination unit increases the priority related to the printing order of the image related to the drying time (S704), and whether there is next printing information. Is determined (S705). If the drying time is not longer than the predetermined value (S703: NO), it is determined whether there is next print information as it is (S705). If there is next print information (S705: YES), the print order determination unit repeats the above-described processing. If there is no next print information (S705: NO), the print order determination unit selects an image with a high priority and a normal image. Each is sorted in the order of the discharge number, and the printing order is determined so that the sorted high-priority images are printed on the paper P before the sorted normal images (S706). This is the end of the printing process.

  As described above, according to the ink jet printer of the present embodiment, the paper P on which images are printed in the order of the longest drying time is preferentially supplied to the drying stages 41a to 41d. Therefore, the drying stages 41a to 41d are efficiently used. It can be operated and throughput can be improved. Further, since the paper P on which the image is printed is discharged in the discharge order desired by the user, it is not necessary for the user to rearrange the paper P after the printing is completed.

  The preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described above. However, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications can be made as long as they are described in the claims. In the first embodiment described above, the print order generation unit 75 is configured to generate the print order by performing the drying time sort and the discharge order sort. However, even if the print order is generated by another algorithm, Good. For example, the printing order may be generated by replacing only a part of the discharging order. The print order generation unit 75 may generate two or more print orders different from the discharge order. At this time, the print time prediction unit 76 predicts the print execution time for each of the two or more print orders and the same print order as the discharge order, and the print order determination unit 77 predicts the print time prediction unit 76. Of all the print execution times, the print order for the shortest print execution time is determined as the print order for printing.

  In the first to third embodiments described above, the printing order is determined based on the drying time. However, the printing order may be determined based on other parameters related to the drying time. For example, the total amount of ink ejected on the paper P or the maximum amount per unit area may be calculated from the image data, and the printing order may be determined based on the calculated value. Further, the drying time may be calculated in consideration of the time for performing the curl correction in the holding unit according to the dot density distribution.

  Furthermore, in the above-described first to third embodiments, the example in which the present invention is applied to the inkjet printer 101 having the drying stages 41a to 41d has been described. However, other mechanisms for holding the paper P, for example, the paper P The present invention is also applicable to an ink jet printer having an anti-curl mechanism that prevents the ink from being bent.

  The present invention is also applicable to a recording apparatus that ejects liquid other than ink. Further, the present invention is not limited to a printer, and can be applied to a facsimile, a copier, and the like.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Inkjet head 16,116 Control apparatus 20 Conveyance unit 34 Distribution mechanism 41a-41d Drying stage 43 Discharge mechanism 55 Discharge tray 61,161 Data processing part 62,162 Engine control part 70,170 Reception process part 71 Print command memory | storage part 72 Drying Time calculation unit 73 Print information generation unit 74 Print table storage unit 75 Print order generation unit 76 Print time prediction unit 77, 177 Print order determination unit 78 Print control unit 79 Supply control unit 80 Discharge control unit 101 Inkjet printer

Claims (3)

A recording head for recording an image on a recording medium;
A plurality of holding units for holding the recording medium;
A distribution mechanism for supplying a recording medium on which an image is recorded by the recording head to any of the plurality of holding units;
A discharge unit as a discharge destination of the recording medium held in the holding unit;
A discharge mechanism for discharging the recording medium held in any of the plurality of holding units to the discharge unit;
Command storage means for storing, for a plurality of recording media, image data relating to an image recorded on each recording medium, and a recording command including a discharge order that is a discharge order of each image to the discharge unit;
Holding time relationship value calculating means for calculating a holding time relationship value, which is a value related to the holding time of the recording medium in the holding unit, from the image data;
Holding time relation value storage means for storing the holding time relation value calculated by the holding time relation value calculating means;
Supply control means for controlling the distribution mechanism so that each recording medium on which an image is recorded is supplied to the holding unit not holding the recording medium;
Discharge control means for controlling the discharge mechanism so that each recording medium held by the plurality of holding units is discharged to the discharge unit in the discharge order according to the recording command;
Based on the recording command and the holding time relationship value, the case where an image is recorded on a plurality of recording media using the discharging order according to the recording command as a recording order is different from the discharging order according to the recording command. All images recorded with an image according to the recording command after at least one of the recording media according to the recording command is supplied to the holding unit when images are recorded on a plurality of recording media in a plurality of recording orders. A recording command execution time predicting means for predicting a recording command execution time including a time until the recording medium is discharged to the discharge unit;
Of the recording command execution time predicted by the recording command execution time predicting means, the recording command execution time is shorter than when recording images on a plurality of recording media with the discharge order related to the recording command as the recording order. Determining means for determining to record images on the plurality of recording media in a recording order;
Recording control means for controlling the recording head so that the plurality of images are recorded on a plurality of recording media in a recording order determined by the determining means ,
The recording command execution time predicting means is tentatively determined so that the recording order different from the discharging order related to the recording command is recorded on the recording medium in order from the image having the larger retention time relation value. When the plurality of images are allocated to the respective holding units so that the difference in total of the holding time relation values between the holding units is minimized, the order of the images allocated to the respective holding units is determined by the recording command. A recording apparatus for predicting the recording command execution time for these images when it is determined to be the same as the order of the discharge order .   When the command storage means stores a plurality of the recording commands in which the discharge order is continuous, the number of recording media on which an image related to each recording command is to be recorded is a predetermined number or less. The recording apparatus according to claim 1.   The recording apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the predetermined number is the number of the holding units.

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