JPH0482763A - Recording device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To eliminate wasteful ramp-up or ramp-down and improve throughput of recording process by a method wherein after performing image output for one line portion, whether subsidiary scanning is possible or not is determined, based on image data for the next line. CONSTITUTION:A carriage motor is made to ramp up first, and when it has acquired a fixed speed at timing T1, character image 'ABC' is printed. Then, while the carriage motor is operated at the fixed speed, paper feed is performed by timing T3 by driving a paper feed motor. When the paper feed is completed, and the carriage reaches the left end position of character image to be printed for the second line, at the point T4, printing of character image 'DEFGH' is started. In this case, if a period of time by which the carriage runs an interval L from a printing completed position of the first line to a printing start position of the second line is taken as T(L), and the paper feed time is taken as TPF, when the period of time T(L) is longer than the time TPF, such a printing method is possible, and time required for paper feed or ramp-up of the carriage again can be saved.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Field of Industrial Application] The present invention relates to a printing apparatus that performs printing by scanning a printing head.

[Prior Art] Conventionally, in a serial type printing apparatus, a carriage equipped with a printing head is moved in the main scanning direction to print one line of characters or images. Recently, dot printers that record in the form of dot images have become mainstream.

Conventionally, in this type of recording apparatus, a carriage starts moving from a home position, accelerates to a constant speed, and then performs recording. After recording is completed, the carriage is decelerated and stopped at a fixed stop position, and then relatively moved in the sub-scanning direction to return to the home position for the next recording scan.

One recording operation like this requires acceleration and deceleration periods called ramp-up and ramp-down when the carriage starts moving and when it stops.

Since no image recording operation is performed during this acceleration/deceleration period, it is desirable to reduce the number of ramp-up/down operations as much as possible in order to improve the recording processing time (throughput).

Therefore, if there is blank information for one line in one page of recorded information, the main scanning of that line is not performed, and by moving the recording paper in the sub-scanning direction (relatively moving the carriage), A recording device has also been proposed in which the number of ramp-up/down operations is reduced.

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] However, in conventional devices of this type, if sub-scanning is performed in the middle of the image as shown in FIG. 4, multiple lines can be recorded in one recording scan in the main scanning direction. Even though printing can be performed, since the stop and start positions of the carriage are fixed, if there is even a small amount of image information to be printed in one line, printing scanning must be performed for each line.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In view of the above-mentioned points, an object of the present invention is to make it possible to record multiple lines by moving the recording paper in the sub-scanning direction midway through recording scanning in the main scanning direction. An object of the present invention is to provide a recording device capable of detecting image information and performing the above recording operation when receiving image information from the outside.

[Means for Solving the Problems] In order to achieve such an object, the present invention provides at least the first recorded information of the line to be recorded and the second recorded information of the next line.
By moving a carriage carrying a storage means for storing recording information and a recording head in the main scanning direction, it is possible to cause the carriage to perform sub-scanning relative to the recording paper during one-way or round-trip recording. determining means for determining whether or not the first record information and the second record The apparatus is characterized by comprising a recording control means for variably setting the timing of the sub-scanning in relation to the recording position of information.

[Function] The present invention focuses on the fact that it is possible to relatively sub-scan the carriage during movement of the carriage in the main-scanning direction depending on the recording position of recorded information in adjacent rows.
A plurality of lines of recorded information are stored in a storage means, and based on the recording position of this recorded information, it is determined whether sub-scanning is possible during main scanning. As a result, as the number of sub-scanning processes during main scanning increases, the processing time for blank printing and the number of ramp-down processes decrease, contributing to a reduction in recording processing time.

[Example] Hereinafter, an example of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 shows the basic configuration of an embodiment of the present invention.

In FIG. 1, 100 is a storage means for storing first recording information of a row to be recorded and second recording information of the next row.

200 stores information as to whether or not it is possible to sub-scan the carriage relative to the recording paper once during one-way or reciprocating recording by moving the carriage on which the recording head is mounted in the main scanning direction. The determining means makes a determination based on the recording positions of the first recorded information and the second recorded information of the means.

Reference numeral 300 denotes recording control means for variably setting the timing of the sub-scanning in relation to the recording positions of the first recording information and the second recording information when the determination result of the determination means is affirmative.

FIG. 2 shows the structure of the main parts of the printing mechanism according to the embodiment of the present invention.

In FIG. 2, 1 indicates a recording head, and 2 indicates a carriage on which the recording head is mounted. 3 indicates a carriage motor, and 4 indicates a flexible cable for transmitting electrical signals. 5 indicates a paper feed roller, and 6 indicates a paper feed motor. 7 indicates a recording paper, and 8 indicates a head cap.

The recording head 1 is provided with 64 inkjet nozzles arranged vertically, and the tip opening (orifice) of each nozzle faces the recording paper 7. A minute heater is provided inside each nozzle, and by energizing this heater, the ink inside the nozzle is heated and foamed, and the ink is ejected from the tip of the nozzle. Further, the recording head 1 has an ink tank built therein.

A carriage 2 carries a recording head 1 and is reciprocated in the horizontal direction by a carriage motor 3. The flexible cable 4 transmits a drive signal for the recording head 1. The paper feed roller 5 is rotated by a paper feed motor 6,
The recording paper 7 is conveyed in the vertical direction.

The head cap 8 prevents ink from drying by covering the front surface of the recording head when printing is not performed. The head cap 8 is also equipped with a suction function, so that when ejection failure occurs due to foreign matter adhering to the front surface of the head or air bubbles inside the head, the printing function is restored by suctioning ink from the entire surface of the head.

FIG. 3 shows the circuit configuration of the main part of the control circuit according to the embodiment of the present invention.

In Figure 3, 11 is a microprocessor (MPU)
12 indicates an interface circuit. 13 indicates random access memory (RAM).

Reference numeral 14 indicates a head control circuit, and reference numeral 15 indicates a driver for driving the carriage motor. Reference numeral 16 indicates a driver for driving the paper feed motor, and reference numeral 17 indicates a driver for driving the head.

The microprocessor 11 analyzes commands and recording information sent from a host computer (not shown) through the interface circuit 12, creates recording data expanded into a dot image, and stores it in the RAM 13. The microprocessor 11 also controls the operation of the printer mechanism.

The RAM 13 has a memory capacity capable of storing at least two lines of image data. Head control circuit 14
controls the driving energization time of the recording head l via the driver 17.

In this embodiment, when an image signal of an image as shown in FIG. 4 is received, after printing the character string "ABC" on the first line,
Perform sub-scanning and write the character string “DE” on the second line with an interval.
"FGH" is printed.

Next, FIG. 5 shows a motor control procedure when outputting the above-mentioned character image in a printer embodying the present invention.

In Figure 5, the carriage motor ramps up first, and when it reaches a constant speed at timing T1, the character image "AB" appears.
C" is printed. Next, while the carriage motor is running at a constant speed, the paper feed motor is driven and the paper is fed at timing T3. When the paper feed is finished, the carriage moves to the left edge of the character image scheduled to be printed on the second line. position (at that time T4
to start printing the character image "DEFGH".

In Figure 5, the time T required for the carriage to travel in the interval from the printing end position of the first line to the printing start position of the second line.
(v, 1, paper feeding time is TPF, time T f
When Ll is larger than time TPF, such a printing method is possible, and the time required for paper feeding and ramping up the carriage again can be saved.

FIG. 6 shows an outline of the printer control procedure according to the present invention. This control procedure is executed by MPU II.

In step 101, the carriage is ramped up, and in step 102, the head is driven to print one line. In step 103, it is determined whether the paper can be fed without stopping the carriage. T fLl, which serves as this criterion, is calculated in advance by a procedure described later. In other words, if the time T (L+) for the carriage to run at the interval is greater than the paper feed time TPF, it is determined that multiple lines can be printed without ramping down, and the process proceeds to step 104, where the characters on the current line are printed while the carriage is running. The paper is fed at the end position.The MPUI 1 at this time operates as the determination means and recording control means of the present invention.

Thereafter, in step 102, printing is performed from the character start position of the next line. On the other hand, in step 103, the time T
If it is determined that the ILI is smaller than the time Tpr, the process proceeds to step 105, where the carriage is ramped down at a predetermined position for normal recording, and the paper is fed in step 106. In step 107, it is determined whether it is necessary to return the carriage in case printing for one line is completed. If it is necessary to return the carriage, the process proceeds to step 10g, and in steps 108 to 112, the moving direction of the carriage is switched to return it by a predetermined amount, and the process returns to step 101. If it is determined in step 107 that there is no need to return the carriage, the process directly returns to step 101.

Is it possible to print multiple lines without ramp down?
That is, in order to determine whether sub-scanning is possible during main scanning, in this embodiment, the character end position of the line to be recorded and the character start position of the next line are detected. This position detection process is performed when converting the received character code into a character image.
This is done by PUII. A control procedure for this process is shown in FIG.

That is, the end position of a character is detected by detecting the character position where a line feed code exists in the character code information of the line to be recorded (first line). 2 lines), the start position of a character is detected by detecting the position of the character code that appears for the first time after consecutive blank character information (steps 154 to 2).
155 loop processing). Thereafter, the interval between the last character position on the recording line and the character start position on the next line is determined and converted to time T (Ll) (step 156).

In this embodiment, the printer side detects the start and end positions of characters in the line direction, but when receiving character information to actually be printed and information indicating the character start and end positions from the host computer, There is no need to perform the above position detection process.

(Other Embodiments) Next, as another embodiment of the present invention, a case will be described in which the stop position of the carriage is variably set using a printer capable of bidirectional printing.

The main components and control circuitry of the printer may be substantially the same as in the previous embodiment.

FIG. 8 shows an example of image output that clearly shows the features of this embodiment. When outputting such an image, the microcomputer 11 causes the carriage to scan in the forward direction on the first line, prints "ABCDE", then feeds the paper near the final character position on the second line, and then moves the carriage forward. is scanned in the reverse direction and printed in the order of "KJIHGF".

Note that FIG. 9 schematically shows the position of the output image.

In Figure 9, let PIR be the rightmost character position of the first line,
Let PIL be at the leftmost position. Further, the rightmost character position of the second line is set to P2R, and the leftmost character position is set to P2L. Let Ll be the distance from the right end of the first line to the left end of the second line, and L2 be the distance from the right end of the first line to the right end of the second line.

The motor control procedure when outputting an image as shown in FIG. 9 is shown in FIG. 1θ.

In Figure 1O, the carriage motor ramps up first, and when it reaches constant speed at timing T21, the character position P
Print the characters "ABCDE" using IL. Turn the carriage motor as it is, and advance the carriage to position P2R, the right end of the second line of characters. At this time point T23, the carriage motor is then ramped down and the paper feed motor is driven to feed the paper. When paper feeding ends (timing T24), the scanning direction of the carriage is reversed and ramped up, and when the speed reaches a constant speed, the characters "KJ" are moved from character position P2R.
"IHGF" is printed.

Therefore, in this embodiment, it is possible to save time for ramping up and down again in order to advance the carriage to the rightmost character position on the second line.

Figure 11 shows the MPUI for performing the above-mentioned buwanto operation.
The control procedure is shown below.

That is, in step 201, the carriage at the home position is ramped up, and in step 202, the head is driven to perform printing up to the final character position PIR on the first line. In step 203, it is determined whether the paper can be fed without stopping the carriage. That is, as shown in FIG. 9, the leftmost character position P2L of the second line is a distance to the right of the rightmost character position PIR of the first line, and the time T (LH is the paper feeding time) for the carriage to travel through the interval. If it is larger than Tpr, proceed to step 204;
As in the first embodiment, paper is fed while the carriage is running. Thereafter, the process returns to step 202 to print the next line.

On the other hand, in step 203, time T (tl is time T
If it is smaller than PF, the process advances to step 205 and the printing direction of the next line is determined. That is, as shown in Fig. 8, the time required for the carriage to travel distance Ll is TI, the time required to travel distance L2 is T2, and the time required for ramp-up is T.
If RA and the time required for ramp down are TRD, then
If the time TRA+TRD+TI is smaller than the time T2, the carriage is returned to the leftmost character position P2L of the second line, and printing is performed in the same way as the first line (in the forward direction).

In that case, the procedure advances to step 206, where the carriage is ramped down at the leftmost character position PIR, and at step 207, the paper is fed. Thereafter, in steps 208 to 212, the moving direction of the carriage is switched and returned to the leftmost character position P2L on the second line.

In the judgment process of step 205, time TRA+TRD
If +TI is greater than time T2, printing will be performed in the reverse direction, and the process advances to step 213. In step 213, as shown in FIG.
When R is to the right of the right end PIR character position on the first line, the carriage is moved idly in step 214 and the carriage is advanced to the right end P2R on the second line. Step 215
At step 216, the carriage is ramped down and the paper is fed at step 216. In step 217, the moving direction of the carriage is reversed to create a reverse printing state, and then the process returns to step 201.

[Effects of the Invention] As explained above, according to the present invention, wasteful ramp-up and Ramp-down can be eliminated and recording processing throughput can be improved.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

Fig. 1 is a block diagram showing the basic configuration of an embodiment of the present invention, Fig. 2 is a perspective view showing the main structure of an embodiment of the invention, and Fig. 3 shows the circuit configuration of a printer control circuit in an embodiment of the invention. FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of image output according to the embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 5 is a timing chart showing a motor control procedure when outputting the image shown in FIG. 4 in the embodiment of the present invention; 6 and 7 are flowcharts showing the control procedure executed by the microprocessor according to the embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram showing another example of image output according to the embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. Figure 1O is a timing chart showing the motor control procedure when outputting the image in Figure 8 in the embodiment of the present invention; Figure 11 is the image in Figure 8 in the embodiment of the present invention. 2 is a flowchart showing a control procedure of a microprocessor when outputting. DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1... Recording head, 2... Carriage, 3... Carriage motor, 5... Paper feed roller, 6... Paper feed motor, 7... Recording paper. Figure ψ Figure Figure 10 Figure 11

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1) a storage means for storing at least first recording information of a row to be recorded and second recording information of the next row; Determining whether or not it is possible to sub-scan the carriage relative to the recording paper during one-way, one-way, or reciprocating recording based on the recording positions of the first recording information and the second recording information of the storage means. a determining means for determining the first
A recording apparatus comprising a recording control means for variably setting the timing of the sub-scanning in relation to recording information and a recording position of the second recording information.