JPH0361553A - Recording device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To obtain a recording device capable of controlling recording considering the black ratio of the whole recording picture corresponding to one page by providing a control means controlling a recording means on the basis of the rate of black acquired by an arithmetic means. CONSTITUTION:A thermal head 13 has a shift register 130, a latch circuit 131, and a heating element 132 composed of a heating resistor corresponding to one line, and a control program is stored in the ROM 114 of a control section 101. Recording data corresponding to one line are output in serial to the shift register 130, and the table of pulse width is determined on the basis of an output 42 from a temperature sensor 133 and the number of the black dots of the line, the black ratio of all picture data, etc. A latch signal 44 is output, recording data corresponding to one line are stored in the latch circuit 131, an ink sheet 14 is carried only by a section corresponding to a 1/n line, recording paper 11 is carried only by a section corresponding to one line, and electricity is conducted through one block of the heating resistor 132, and a picture is recorded. When conduction to all blocks is completed, the recording of one line is finished and picture recording corresponding to one page is ended, a fixed quantity of recording paper is conveyed in the direction of paper discharge rollers 16a, 16b, and cut at page units. Accordingly, recording can be controlled on the basis of the black ratio of recording pictures corresponding to one page.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Field of Industrial Application] The present invention relates to a recording device used in a facsimile machine or the like, and particularly to a recording device that records an image by transferring ink on an ink sheet to a recording medium.

[Conventional technology]

Conventionally, in recording devices used in facsimile machines and the like, thermal history control is performed in which the pulse width for driving the thermal head is controlled by taking data of the previous line into consideration.

[Problem that the invention is trying to solve]

However, the thermal history control in the conventional example described above is largely dependent on the characteristics of the thermal head, and its specifications are pulse width control determined based on the black rate of a part of the recorded image (for example, only the black rate of the previous line). Ta. For this reason, there is a drawback that delicate pulse width control of the thermal head cannot be performed based on the characteristics of the entire received image. Additionally, thermal transfer printers generally use an ink sheet with heat-melting ink applied to a base film, and a thermal head selectively heats the ink sheet according to an image signal to transfer the molten ink to recording paper. Image recording is in progress. This ink sheet is one in which the ink is completely transferred to the recording paper by one image recording (hereinafter referred to as a one-time sheet).
Therefore, after recording one character or one line, it is necessary to transport the ink sheet by the amount corresponding to the recorded length and to ensure that the unused part of the ink sheet is brought to the next recording position. Ta. For this reason, the amount of ink sheets used increases, and the running cost of thermal transfer printers tends to be higher than that of ordinary thermal printers that record on thermal paper. In order to solve such problems, a thermal transfer printer method using an ink sheet (hereinafter referred to as a multi-print sheet) capable of recording images multiple times is known. However, in the case of recording using such a multi-print ink sheet, there are drawbacks such as trailing, background smearing, etc. compared to the case of using a conventional one-tam sheet.

An object of the present invention is to eliminate the above-mentioned drawbacks of the prior art, and to provide a printing apparatus that can perform printing control in consideration of the black rate of the entire printed image for at least one page.

Another object of the present invention is to prevent the occurrence of trailing, scumming, etc. in a recording device using a multi-print sheet.

[Means and operations for solving the problem] In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, the present invention provides an input means for inputting binary image information of white and black, and a ratio of black to at least one page of image information. a recording means for recording an image by transferring ink on an ink sheet to a recording medium based on the image information; and a recording means for recording an image based on the black ratio obtained by the calculation means. By providing a control means for controlling the recording means, the recording means is controlled based on the ratio of the image to at least one page of image information.

Further, according to the present invention, an input means for inputting binary image information of white and black, a calculation means for calculating a black ratio from the image information input by the input means, and a thermal head based on the image information. a recording device that is driven to transfer ink on a multi-print ink sheet to a recording medium and record an image; and a pulse width for driving a thermal head in the recording device based on the black ratio obtained by the calculation device. By providing a control means for controlling the
When recording using a multi-print sheet, the pulse width for driving the thermal head is controlled based on the black ratio.

〔Example〕

Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[Description of facsimile machine (Figs. 1 to 4)] Figs. 1 to 4 are diagrams showing an example in which a thermal transfer printer using an embodiment of the present invention is applied to a facsimile machine. 2 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of the facsimile device, FIG. 3 is a side sectional view of the facsimile device, and FIG. FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a conveyance mechanism for recording paper and an ink sheet.

First, the schematic structure of the facsimile machine will be explained based on FIG.

In the figure, reference numeral 100 denotes a reading unit that photoelectrically reads an original and outputs it as a digital image signal to a control unit 101, and is equipped with an original conveyance motor, a COD image sensor, and the like. Next, the configuration of this control section 101 will be explained. 110 is an image memory that stores at least one page of image data; when transmitting or copying a document, the image data from the reading unit 100 is stored; when receiving image data, at least the decoded received image data is stored; One page is stored. Image formation is then performed by outputting the stored data to the recording unit 102. Reference numeral 111 denotes an encoding/decoding unit that encodes image information to be transmitted by MH encoding or the like, and decodes received encoded image data to convert it into image data.

At the time of transmission, image data is input directly from the image memory 110 to the encoder/decoder 111 without counting the number of black dots in the image data to be transmitted. When receiving, the decoding unit 111
The received image data decoded by is input to the black dot counter circuit 116 line by line to count the black rate,
The results are stored in the RAM 115. A serial clock synchronized with the received image data is input to the counter circuit 116, and the rise of the serial clock is counted when the image data is "1". FIG. 5 shows an example of this timing.

Here, when the image data is "l" (black data),
Rise of serial clock (timing T1 to T3
) is incrementing the counter. Therefore, the number of black dots in one line can be detected based on this count value, and the same count as described above is performed for all lines of the received image data, and then the black rate of the received image is calculated. I can do it. The result is stored in the RAM 115 in the same way as the data on the number of black dots in one line.

Further, 112 is a buffer memory that stores encoded image data that is transmitted or received. These control parts 1
Each part of 01 is a CPU such as a micro processor.
113. The control unit 101 has this C.
In addition to the PU 113, there is a ROM 114 that stores control programs and various data for the CPU 113, and a RAM 1 that temporarily stores various data as a work area for the CPU 113.
It has 15 etc.

A recording unit 102 includes a thermal line head and records an image on recording paper using a thermal transfer recording method.

This configuration will be described in detail later with reference to FIG. 103 is a key for instructing various functions such as starting transmission, and a key for inputting a telephone number.
103a is the ink sheet 1 to be used.
4. When the switch 103a is on, it indicates that a multi-print ink sheet is installed, and when it is off, it indicates that a normal ink sheet is installed. A display section 104 is usually provided adjacent to the operation section 103 and displays various functions, the status of the device, and the like. 105 is a power supply unit for supplying power to the entire device. Further, 106 is a modem (modulator/demodulator), 107 is a network control unit (NCU), and 108 is a telephone set.

Next, the configuration of the recording section 102 will be explained in detail with reference to FIG. Note that parts common to FIG. 2 are indicated by the same figure numbers.

In the figure, 10 indicates recording paper 11, which is plain paper, as a core 10.
A is a roll of paper wound into a roll. The roll paper lO is rotatably housed in the apparatus so that the recording paper 11 can be supplied to the thermal head section 13 by rotation of the platen roller 12 in the direction of the arrow. Note that lob is a roll paper loading section, and roll paper IO is removably loaded therein. Furthermore, 12 is a platen roller which conveys the recording paper 11 in the direction indicated by the arrow and presses the ink sheet 14 and the recording paper 11 between it and the heating element 132 of the thermal head 13. Thermal head 13
As the platen roller 12 further rotates, the recording paper 11 on which the image has been recorded due to the heat generated by the
(16a.

16b), and when the image recording for one page is completed, the cutters 15 (15a, 15b) are engaged to cut the paper into pages.

17 is an ink sheet supply roll that winds the ink sheet 14, and 18 is an ink sheet take-up roll, which is driven by an ink sheet conveyance motor to be described later and winds up the ink sheet 14 in the direction of arrow a. . In addition,
The ink sheet supply roll 17 and the ink sheet take-up reroll 18 are connected to an ink sheet loading section 70 in the apparatus main body.
It is removably loaded. Furthermore, 19 is a sensor for detecting the remaining amount of the ink sheet 14 and the conveying speed of the ink sheet 14. Further, 20 is an ink sheet sensor for detecting the presence or absence of the ink sheet 14;
is a spring that presses the thermal head 13 against the platen roller 12 via the recording paper 11 and the ink sheet 14. Further, 22 is a recording paper sensor for detecting the presence or absence of recording paper.

Next, the configuration of the reading section 100 will be explained.

In the figure, 30 is a light source that illuminates the original 32;
The light reflected by CCD sensor 2 is input to CCD sensor 31 through an optical system (mirrors 50, 51, lens 52) and converted into an electrical signal. The document 32 is conveyed by conveyance rollers 53, 54, 55, which are driven by a document conveyance motor (not shown).
56, the document 32 is transported in accordance with the reading speed of the document 32. In addition, 57 is a document loading table, and this loading table 57
The plurality of originals 32 loaded on the paper are separated one by one by the cooperation of the conveying roller 54 and the pressing separation piece 58.
It is transported to the reading section 100.

A control board 41 constitutes the main part of the control section 101, and various control signals are output from this control board 41 to each part of the apparatus. Further, 105 is a power supply unit, 106 is a modem board unit, and 107 is an NCU board unit.

Furthermore, FIG. 4 is a diagram showing details of the conveyance mechanism for the ink sheet 14 and the recording paper 11.

In the figure, 24 rotationally drives the platen roller 12;
This is a recording paper transport motor for transporting the recording paper 11 in the direction indicated by the arrow, which is opposite to the direction indicated by the arrow a. Further, 25 is an ink sheet conveyance motor for conveying the ink sheet 14 in the direction of arrow a by means of a capstan roller 71 and a pinch roller 72. Further, 26 and 27 are transmission gears that transmit the rotation of the recording paper conveyance motor 24 to the platen roller 12, and 73 and 74 are transmission gears that transmit the rotation of the ink sheet conveyance motor 25 to the capstan roller 71. Further, 75 is a slip clutch unit.

Here, the ratio of the gears 74 and 75 is set so that the length of the ink sheet 14 wound on the take-up roll 18 by the rotation of the gear 75a is longer than the length of the ink sheet conveyed by the capstan roller 71. By keeping
The ink sheet 14 conveyed by the capstan roller 7I is reliably wound onto the winding roll 18. and,
An amount corresponding to the difference between the amount of the ink sheet 14 taken up by the take-up roll 18 and the amount of the ink sheet 14 fed by the capstan roller 71 is transferred to the slip clutch unit 7.
Absorbed in 5. This prevents the ink sheet 14 from sagging, and also suppresses fluctuations in the transport speed (amount) of the ink sheet 14 due to fluctuations in the winding diameter of the winding roll 18.

FIG. 1 shows a control unit 10 in a facsimile machine according to an embodiment.
1 and the recording unit 102, and parts common to other drawings are indicated by the same figure numbers.

The thermal head 13 is a line head. This thermal head 13 receives the 1547 from the control unit 101.
A shift register 130 for inputting and storing serial recording data 37 and a shift clock 43 for 15 minutes, a latch circuit 131 for latching the data in the shift register 130 by a latch signal 44, and a heating element 132 consisting of a heating resistor for 1547 minutes. We are prepared.

Here, the heating resistors 132 are I32-1 to l32-
It is divided into m blocks indicated by m and driven.

133 is a temperature sensor attached to the thermal head 13 for detecting the temperature of the thermal head 13. The output signal 42 of this temperature sensor 133 is transmitted to the control unit 1
The signal is A/D converted in 01 and input to C, P U 113. As a result, the CPUU 113 uses the thermal head 13
The strobe signal 4 is detected in response to the temperature.
By changing the pulse width of 7 or by changing the driving voltage of the thermal head 13 output to the power line 45,
The energy applied to the thermal head 13 is controlled according to the characteristics of the ink sheet 14. Here, the RA
The CPU 113 analyzes the number of black dots for each line and the black rate value of all image data stored in the M115, and the information on the output 42 of the temperature sensor 133, and uses the results to determine the temperature of the thermal head 13. Try to control the pulse width.

As an example of a method for determining the pulse width, an appropriate pulse width table is experimentally determined under each condition and stored in the ROM 114 in advance. CPU11
3 controls the thermal head using the most suitable pulse width table based on the above information. Needless to say, the more experimental conditions there are, the better, and more delicate control becomes possible.

In this embodiment, the black ratio is calculated and the pulse width is controlled before actually recording, so compared to a system in which the pulse width is controlled every time one line of recording is performed, the pulse width is controlled based on the characteristics of the main body of the image in one screen. The pulse width can be controlled. For example, since it is possible to distinguish between dark images and light images based on the black ratio,
Based on this, the pulse width can be controlled.

Specifically, for an image with a high black rate, the temperature of the thermal head increases at a high rate each time one line is recorded, so the pulse width is set narrowly when recording. On the other hand, for images with a low black rate, the temperature of the thermal head does not rise much even if the images are repeatedly recorded, so the pulse width is set wide when recording.

Further, for an image with a high black rate, the pulse width may be gradually narrowed every line, or for an image with a low black rate, the pulse width may be narrowed every few lines.

Furthermore, in this embodiment, since the ink sheet and the recording medium are moved relative to each other, when recording an image composed of line drawings such as characters, there is a risk that trailing, scumming, etc. may occur. By narrowing the pulse width for line drawing images, it is possible to prevent the above-mentioned trailing and scumming from occurring.

Since character images can be discriminated based on the black ratio, information for narrowing the pulse width is stored in the ROM 114 described above if the black ratio corresponds to the character part.

The type (characteristics) of the ink sheet 4 may be determined by detecting the switch 103a of the operation section 103 described above or a mark printed on the ink sheet 14, or by detecting a mark printed on the ink sheet 14. The determination may be performed by identifying marks, notches, protrusions, etc. attached.

Reference numeral 46 denotes a drive circuit that inputs a drive signal for the thermal head 13 from the control unit 101 and outputs a strobe signal 47 for driving the thermal head 13 in units of blocks. Note that this drive circuit 46 changes the voltage output to the power supply line 45 that supplies current to the heating element 132 of the thermal head 13 in accordance with instructions from the control unit 101 to control the thermal head 13.
The applied energy of can be changed. Reference numeral 36 denotes a drive circuit that engages and drives the cutter 15, and includes a cutter drive motor and the like. 39 is the paper ejection roller 16
This is a paper ejection motor that rotates the paper. 35.48.49
are driver circuits that rotationally drive the corresponding paper ejection motor 39, recording paper conveyance motor 24, and ink sheet conveyance motor 25, respectively. Among these driver circuits,
A signal 61 input to the driver circuit 48 is a control signal 62 that controls the drive current of the recording paper transport motor 24.
is an excitation phase signal that switches between 24 excitation phases of the recording conveyance motor. Note that these paper ejection motor 39, recording paper conveyance motor 24, and ink sheet conveyance motor 25 are stepping motors in this embodiment, but are not limited to this, and may be, for example, DC motors. Also good.

[Explanation of Recording Operation (FIGS. 1 to 6)] FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing the recording process for one page in the facsimile machine of this embodiment. is stored in First, in step Sl, one line of recording data is serially output to the shift register 130. And step S2
In step S3, a pulse width table is determined based on the output 42 of the temperature sensor 133, the number of black dots on the line, and the black rate of all image data.

Next, proceed to step $4, output the latch signal 44,
One line of recording data is stored in the latch circuit 131. Then, in step S5, the ink sheet conveying motor 25
is driven to convey the ink sheet 14 by 1/n947 minutes. Further, in step S6, the recording paper transport motor 24 is driven to transport the recording paper 11 by one line. Next, in step S7, one block of the heating resistor 132 is energized to record an image, and in step S8, the thermal head 1
Check whether all blocks in step 3 have been energized. Step S
If all blocks of the thermal head 13 have not been energized yet in step S8, the process returns to step S7, and after the energization time has elapsed, the next block is energized. The pulse width used to energize each block in step S7 is determined in step S3.

If in step S8 all blocks of the thermal head 13 have been energized and recording of one line has been completed, the process advances to step S9 to check whether image recording for one page has been completed. 1
If the recording for the page has not been completed, the process returns to step S1,
Repeat the recording process described above. When the image recording for one page is completed in step S9, the process proceeds to step SIO, where the recording paper 11
A predetermined amount of paper is ejected from the roller 16a.

16b direction. Then, in step Sll, the recording paper 11 is cut into pages using a cutter. Next, in step S12, the recording paper conveyance motor 24 is reversely driven, the recording paper 11 is returned by a predetermined amount, and the recording process is ended.

As described above, according to this embodiment, black information for at least one page of recording data of received image information to be recorded is determined before recording, and then the black ratio of the received image is determined. Furthermore, temperature data of the thermal head is detected before starting the recording process. By analyzing this series of data, an appropriate pulse width for the thermal head is determined.

Further, in the multi-print sheet described in this embodiment, the recorded image quality is significantly affected by heat accumulation in the thermal head. For this purpose, by controlling the heat accumulation of the thermal head by controlling the pulse width, tailing and
It is possible to reproduce a good image in which background smear and the like are prevented from occurring.

〔Effect of the invention〕

As described above, according to the present invention, recording control can be performed based on the black ratio of at least one page's worth of recorded images.

Further, according to the present invention, when recording is performed using a multi-print sheet, it is possible to prevent the occurrence of trailing, scumming, etc., and to record a good image.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

Fig. 1 is a diagram showing the electrical connection between the control section and the recording section of this embodiment, Fig. 2 is a block diagram showing the schematic configuration of the facsimile machine of this embodiment, and Fig. 3 is a diagram showing the facsimile machine of this embodiment. Fig. 4 is a diagram showing the structure of the ink sheet and recording paper conveyance system, Fig. 5 is a timing diagram showing an example of the counting timing of the counter, and Fig. 6 is the recording process of the embodiment. It is a flowchart which shows. In the figure, IO...rolled recording paper, 11...recording paper,
12...Platen roller, 13...Thermal head, 14...Ink sheet, 15...Cutter, 16...
...Discharge roller, 17...Ink sheet supply roll,
18... Ink sheet winding roll, 19... Ink sheet sensor, 20... Ink sheet presence/absence sensor, 2
1... Spring, 22... Recording paper presence/absence sensor, 2
4... Recording paper conveyance motor, 25... Ink sheet conveyance motor, 34... Count value, 35. 48°49
...Driver circuit, 36...Drive circuit, 37...
Serial data, 39... Paper ejection motor, 43...
Shift clock, 44...Latch signal, 100...
Reading section, 101... Control section, 102... Recording section, 1
03...Operation unit, 104...Display unit, 105...
Power supply, 106...Modem, 107...NCU, 1
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10... Line memory, 111... Encoding/decoding part, 112... Buffer memory, 113... CPU
5114...ROM, 115...RAM, 116.
...Counter, 132...Heating resistor (heating element). TI Ding and Ding 3 Power Tsu; Toy Wataru

Claims (5)

[Claims] (1) An input means for inputting binary image information of white and black, a calculation means for calculating the ratio of black to at least one page of image information, and an ink on an ink sheet to a recording medium based on the image information. A recording device comprising: a recording device that records an image by transferring; and a control device that controls the recording device based on the black ratio obtained by the calculation device. (2) The invention further comprises a memory for storing the image information input by the input means, and the calculation means calculates the percentage of black for each line when storing the input image information in the memory. The recording device according to paragraph (1). (3) The recording means is characterized in that the ink on the ink sheet is recorded on the recording medium by a thermal head, and the control means is characterized in that the pulse width applied to the thermal head is controlled based on the black ratio. A recording device according to claim (1). (4) The recording apparatus according to claim (1), wherein the recording means records the image by relatively moving the ink sheet and the recording medium. (5) an input means for inputting binary image information of white and black; a calculation means for calculating a black ratio from the image information inputted by the input means; multi-printing by driving a thermal head based on the image information; Transfer the ink on the ink sheet to the recording medium,
A recording apparatus comprising: a recording means for recording an image; and a control means for controlling a pulse width for driving a thermal head in the recording means based on the black ratio obtained by the calculation means.