JPH07117330A - Color ink jet recording method and its recorder - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To suppress bleeding without changing a tone by a method wherein ink jet recording is formed by color ink of a plurality of determined colors, the color ink based on a mask pattern formed, in a pseudo-random number manner, is used. CONSTITUTION:A boundary is detected by taking the AND of color bold data and a Bk original data at Step-4, which is extracted as a Bk data wherein it is converted to PCBK of a boundary part. At Step-5, the AND of the extracted data to be converted and PCBk mask pattern respectively set per each color is taken, and a data to be newly added for generating PCBk is respectively generated. At Step-6, Step-7, and Step-8, the OR of PCBk data of each color newly generated and the original data, is taken to be made a final image data. At Step-9, PCBk data is processed by inverting, and the PCBk data is removed from the original data.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a color ink jet recording method capable of recording a color image clearly and with high density, and more specifically, a color ink using color inks such as yellow, magenta and cyan and a black ink. The present invention relates to an inkjet recording method and a recording apparatus.

The present invention is applicable to paper, cloth, non-woven fabric, and OHP.
It can be applied to all devices that use recording media such as paper, and specific applicable devices include office equipment such as printers, copiers, and facsimiles, and mass production equipment.

[0003]

2. Description of the Related Art Ink jet recording methods are used for printers, copying machines, facsimiles, etc. because of their low noise, low running cost, easy downsizing of devices, and easy colorization.

By the way, when the ink jet recording method is applied to a color recording apparatus, it is necessary to use "special paper" having an absorption layer in order to obtain a color image of high color development without ink bleeding. In recent years, improved inks have been put into practical use that have been made suitable for printing on "plain paper". However, at present, the printing quality on "plain paper" is still at an insufficient level.
The biggest cause of this is ink bleeding between colors and black recording quality (especially black character recording quality).
Is both compatible.

[0005]

Usually, when a color image is obtained on a plain paper by an ink jet recording method, a quick-drying ink having a high penetration rate into the plain paper is used. For this reason, the color image portion has a high-quality image with no ink bleeding between colors, but the black image portion has a low density, and the ink bleeds along the fibers of the paper, so-called feathering occurs.

For example, when there is a black image in the background of the color image portion, the problem of the black image portion described above is relatively unnoticeable and does not significantly deteriorate the quality, but the black image portion is colored. If it exists independently of the image area, the quality is degraded. Furthermore, when the black image is a character, it becomes an unclear character lacking sharpness, and therefore the quality is unavoidably poor.

In order to obtain a high-quality image in which the density of the black image area is high and feathering does not occur, it is necessary to eject a large amount of ink having a relatively slow penetration speed into plain paper. However, in this case, bleeding of the black ink and the color ink occurs at the adjacent boundary portion between the black image portion and the color image portion, which significantly impairs the quality.

Although the problem relating to ink bleeding is improved to some extent by the so-called fine mode in which an image is formed by dividing the image into a plurality of main scans, the above-mentioned problem of black image quality is not essentially solved. is the current situation.

Therefore, the present applicant has filed Japanese Patent Application No. 4-20554.
No. 8, Japanese Patent Application No. 4-293022, etc., a method for preventing bleeding in the boundary area between black and color by forming a black area along the boundary area between black and color by overlapping color ink Proposed. The black formed by using the color ink in this way is called PCBk (Process Color Bk). In this method, the color tone becomes a problem in the black part formed by the color ink, and the part formed by mixing black and color at a certain ratio.

In the method of replacing Bk at the boundary portion with PCBk, the simplest method is to form a specific mask pattern when replacing black data with color data. An example thereof is shown in FIG. this is,
It is a substitution mask pattern when substituting Bk100% with the ratio of Bk-50% C-50% M-25% Y-50%. When a constant replacement mask pattern as shown in FIG. 10 is used,
The color tone of the PCBk formed by the black data to be replaced changes. FIG. 11 shows a specific example.

Black data of 50% DUTY to be replaced (see FIG. 1)
1 (a)), the mask shown in FIG.
(B)) to create PCBk, Y, M, C
PCBk is formed only by this (FIG.11 (c)).
In the case of PCBk containing Bk, the hue may be slightly deviated, but in the case of PCBk of only Y, M and C, the deviation is large. This deviation depends on the black data at the boundary and is recognized by the user as a harmful effect on the image.

The present invention has been made to solve the above problems, and when recording a black image area in contact with a color image area, it is possible to suppress bleeding without changing the color tone. An object of the present invention is to provide a recording method and a recording device.

Further, not only the excellent recording quality without ink bleeding between each color of black and color, but also the excellent recording quality with less feathering in the black image area, that is,
An object of the present invention is to provide a color inkjet recording method and a recording apparatus that can realize both high-quality black recording and high-quality color recording.

[0014]

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention uses a black ink and a plurality of color inks having different recording medium penetration characteristics from the black ink, and uses the black ink according to the print data. A color inkjet recording method and recording apparatus for recording a color image on a recording medium by determining whether or not a color image area exists near the black image area of the recording data, and according to the determination result, When it is determined whether the black image area is formed by the black ink or the color inks of a plurality of colors, and when it is formed by the color inks of a plurality of colors as a result of the determination, a pseudo random number is created. It is characterized by using color ink based on a mask pattern.

Further, when the color inks of a plurality of colors are formed as a result of the determination, a color ink based on a mask pattern in which a basic pattern and a pattern obtained by inverting the basic pattern are alternately used is used.

Further, it is judged whether or not color image areas continuously exist in the vicinity of the black image area of the recording data, and the black image area is formed by the black ink according to the judgment result. Alternatively, it is characterized in that it is determined whether to form the color inks of the plurality of colors.

[0017]

According to the above construction, when the black image area is formed by a plurality of color inks, the color tone is not changed in the PC.
Bk can be formed. Further, when determining whether to form with color inks, if the black image area adjacent to the color image area is not continuous, replacement is not performed, and thus it is possible to prevent a large change in color tone.

[0018]

Embodiments of the present invention will now be described in detail with reference to the drawings. First, the premise of each embodiment will be described.

FIG. 1 shows a perspective view of a recording apparatus for carrying out the ink jet recording method of the present invention.

The carriage 101 has a recording head 102 and a cartridge guide 103 mounted thereon, and guide shafts 104, 1
05 can be scanned.

The recording paper 106 is fed into the main body by a paper feed roller 107, is pinched by a paper feed roller 108 and a pinch roller (not shown), and is pinched by a paper holding plate 109 to be fed to the entire surface of the paper feed roller 108 for printing. It There are two types of ink cartridges, a color ink cartridge 110 containing three colors of yellow, magenta, and cyan, and a black ink cartridge 111, which are separately inserted into the cartridge 103 and communicate with the recording head 102.

The yellow, magenta, and cyan inks stored in the color ink cartridge 110 are those that have a high penetration speed into the recording paper so that ink bleeding does not occur at color boundaries when forming a color image. Used. On the other hand, the black ink stored in the black ink cartridge 111 is relatively high in recording paper as compared with the above three types of color inks so that the black image has high density and high quality with less ink bleeding. Those with a slow penetration rate are used.

FIG. 2 shows the recording head 102. Yellow, magenta, cyan, and black ejection port groups are arranged in a straight line on the front surface of the recording head 102. Each group has 24 discharge ports for yellow, magenta, and cyan, and 64 discharge ports for black, and the intervals between colors are equal to or greater than the nozzle pitch.

Each of these ejection ports is provided with an ink liquid passage communicating with the ejection port, and a common liquid for supplying ink to these liquid passages is provided behind the portion where the ink liquid passage is provided. A room is provided. The ink liquid path corresponding to each of the ejection ports is provided with an electrothermal converter that generates thermal energy used for ejecting ink droplets from these ejection ports and electrode wiring for supplying electric power to the electrothermal converter. ing. These electrothermal converters (discharge heaters) and electrode wirings are formed on the 201 substrate made of silicon or the like by a film forming technique. Further, on this substrate, a partition made of resin and glass material,
The ejection port, the ink liquid path, and the common liquid chamber are formed by stacking the top plate and the like. Further on the rear side, a drive circuit for driving the electrothermal converter based on a recording signal is provided in the form of a printed circuit board.

Alternatively, without using the glass material, a grooved top plate (orifice plate) provided with partition walls or a common liquid chamber for partitioning a plurality of ink flow paths, and the substrate are bonded together. You may make it the structure formed. The grooved top plate is integrally molded, and polysulfone is preferable as the integrally molded material, but other molding resin materials may be used.

The silicon substrate and the printed circuit board 202 are parallel to the same aluminum plate 203, and the protruding pipe 2
Reference numerals 04 to 207 project from a plastic member 208 called a distributor that extends in a direction perpendicular to the silicon substrate, and further communicates with a flow path inside thereof, which flow path communicates with a common liquid chamber.

There are four channels in the distributor, one for yellow, one for magenta, one for cyan, and one for black, and each common liquid chamber is connected to a pipe.

In this embodiment, the color ink and the Bk ink can be replaced independently of each other, but a disposable type recording head in which the ink tank and the print head are integrated may be used. .

About 40 ng from the yellow, magenta, and cyan discharge ports provided in the recording head 102.
Ink is about 80n from the black discharge port.
g of ink is ejected.

The components of the ink used in this example are as follows.

1. Y (yellow) C.I. I. Direct Yellow 86 3 parts Diethylene glycol 10 parts Isopropyl alcohol 2 parts Urea 5 parts Acetylenol EH (Kawaken Chemical) 1 part Water balance

2. M (magenta) C.I. I Acid Red 289 3 parts Diethylene glycol 10 parts Isopropyl alcohol 2 parts Urea 5 parts Acetylenol EH (Kawaken Chemical) 1 part Water balance

3. C (cyan) C.I. I Direct Blue 199 3 parts Diethylene glycol 10 parts Isopropyl alcohol 2 parts Urea 5 parts Acetylenol EH (Kawaken Chemical) 1 part Water balance

4. Bk (black) C.I. I Direct Black 154 3 parts Diethylene glycol 10 parts Isopropyl alcohol 2 parts Urea 5 parts Water balance

As described above, cyan, magenta, and yellow have improved penetrability by adding 1% of acetylenol EH to black. The addition is
Other than this, there are other surfactants, alcohols and the like.

FIG. 3 is an electrical control block diagram of the color ink jet printer described above.

Reference numeral 301 denotes a system controller for controlling the entire apparatus, which has a storage element (RO) in which a control program including a microprocessor is housed.
M), a memory element (RAM) and the like used when the microprocessor performs processing are arranged. Reference numeral 302 denotes a driver for driving the print head in the main scanning direction,
Similarly, 303 is a driver for moving in the sub-scanning direction. Motors 304 and 305 correspond to the driver, and operate by receiving information such as speed and moving distance from the driver.

A host computer 306 is a device for transferring information to be printed to the printing device of the present invention. A reception buffer 307 temporarily stores the data from the host computer 306, and stores the data until the data is read from the system controller 301. A frame memory 308 expands data to be printed into image data, and has a memory size for printing. In this embodiment, a frame memory capable of storing one print sheet will be described, but the present invention is not limited to the size of the frame memory.

Reference numeral 309 denotes a storage element for temporarily storing the data to be printed, and the storage capacity changes depending on the number of nozzles of the recording head. Reference numeral 310 denotes a print control unit for appropriately controlling the print head according to a command from the system controller, and a print control unit for controlling the ejection speed, the number of print data, and the like. Reference numeral 311 denotes a nozzle (head) 312Y for ejecting yellow ink, a nozzle (head) 312M for ejecting magenta ink, and a nozzle (head) 312 for ejecting cyan ink.
C, a nozzle (head) 31 for ejecting black ink
A driver for driving 2Bk, which is controlled by a signal from the print control unit 310.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a boundary detection sequence for detecting a black image area in contact with a color image area in this embodiment.

In Step-1, among the image original data (Bk, Y, M, C) of each color to be recorded, Y, M, C
The OR of the data is taken as the color data area. In Step-2, OR data of Y, M, and C is temporarily stored in the buffer as color data.

In Step-3, the color data is 4 vertically and horizontally.
Generates bold data expanded bit by bit and temporarily stores it in a buffer. This work is performed by using the drag shift function of the gate array, and while ORing the basic data while shifting the address, the basic data is bolded in the shifted direction. By performing this in 4 directions of up, down, left and right, 4 bits at a time, 4 bits of up, down, left and right, bolded color data is generated.

In Step-4, the color bold data and the Bk original data are ANDed to detect the boundary, and this is extracted as Bk data to be converted into PCBk at the boundary.

In Step-5, the extracted data to be converted is ANDed with the PCBk mask pattern (conversion mask) set for each color to generate new data to be added to generate PCBk. I am letting you. The PCBk mask pattern in this case will be described later.

In Step-6, Step-7 and Step-8, the newly generated PCBk data of each color and the original data are ORed.
To obtain the final image data. Also, PC
Since Bk is originally generated from Bk data, PCBk
It is necessary to remove the data that has been replaced with from the original data. In Step-9, the PCBk data is inverted and ANDed with the original data of Bk to remove the PCBk data from the original data, and
The final Bk image data is obtained by ORing with the PCBk data of Bk.

In this sequence, the width (area) replaced by PCBk can be controlled by changing the bold amount of color data. Further, by performing this sequence in multiple stages, it is possible to detect the directionality at the boundary between the black image area and the color image area. Furthermore, each color and B
By detecting the boundaries with k separately, it is possible to set an appropriate PCBk for each color.

(Embodiment 1) As a first embodiment, a PCB
A case will be described in which a random mask is used when generating k, and the contents of PCBk are arranged in a random order to make it difficult to recognize a change in color tone.

FIG. 5 shows a block diagram of random mask pattern generation. In this embodiment, a case of generating 25% mask pattern will be described. First, a mask with a specific size is set, and the same number of four parameters (a,
Fill with b, c, d). Then, a parameter is randomly selected from the parameters and replaced (replaced). This is repeated multiple times to create a mask in which each parameter is randomly arranged. The number of replacements is arbitrary as long as the mask has randomness, but in this embodiment, it is 25,000 × 15.

The state of the parameters of this random array is stored in the ROM. From there, create thinning masks for each. For example, parameters: a, b, c, d
Correspond to masks A, B, C, and D respectively, and a mask is created by setting bits only at positions where the corresponding parameters are present. Since the positions of the respective parameters are originally randomly arranged, the created mask also has a random mask pattern having a random arrangement. Moreover, since it is originally created from one mask, it is 100% sure
It becomes a complementary random mask pattern. This scanning is performed by the CPU, and the created mask is stored in the RAM for use.

Further, in FIG. 5, one parameter and one mask are made to correspond, but Bk shown in FIG.
When creating a PCBk containing 0%, one mask may be generated from a plurality of parameters. Specifically, in FIG. 5, a mask of Bk is generated from the parameters: a and b. One parameter is 25%, so 50% B
A k-mask pattern is created. Also, parameters: c, d
To generate a mask of 50% of Y and C, and parameters:
A mask of 25% of M is generated from one of c and d. The PCBk thus generated is as shown in FIG. 10, Bk: 50%, C: 50%, M: 25%, Y: 50%.
PCBk of.

The random mask described above is applied to the PCB.
By using it as a k mask pattern, it is possible to make it difficult to understand the change in color tone of PCBk. It is expected that the data that will be replaced by PCBk will be of various forms. If a PCBk is created with a mask pattern having a specific cycle for the print data, the print data and the mask pattern may be in sync with each other.
The color is unevenly distributed. In particular, in an image in which Bk, which is often used in business graphics and the like, is mixed with a certain ratio of colors to produce a color tone, the synchronization appears as a color tone shift.

However, in the case of PCBk generated by a random mask, there may be a part to be tuned when viewed partially (micro), but since it is not continuous, it is totally (macro). PCBk set if you see
The color tone is maintained. Therefore, the color tone of the finally formed image can be maintained.

As a concrete example, FIG. 6 shows an example of PCBk generated by a random mask pattern. The mask pattern is generated by the same method as in FIG. 5 (FIG. 6B).
As shown in FIG. 11, when the specific mask pattern is used, the data is biased, but in FIG. 5, it is generated at the ratio of each color. As long as the mask does not synchronize with the print data, that is, as long as the random mask of this embodiment is used, the print data is not biased in each color in the generated PCBk (FIG. 6C).

As described above, by using a random mask pattern as a PCBk generation mask, when recording a black image area in contact with a color image area, PCBk is generated so as not to change the color tone. Then, bleeding can be suppressed. Further, in the normal black image area, it is possible to use the Bk ink which has excellent recording quality with less feathering. That is, it is possible to achieve both high-quality black recording and high-quality color recording.

(Second Embodiment) As a second embodiment, a PCB is used.
A case will be described in which the basic mask is inverted to form the PCBk mask when the data to be replaced with k is binarized, particularly when it has a Bayer type data form. The present embodiment is a PCBk creating method suitable when print data that has been binarized by the Bayer type, which is a general binarization process, becomes PCBk data.

The basic boundary detection sequence is the same as in the first embodiment. Inversion processing is performed on the mask used when creating the PCBk. The basic PCBk mask is the mask pattern of 50% PCBk shown in FIG. It is this basic mask that is stored in the ROM or the like, and when used, the original mask and the inverted mask are combined and used as one mask pattern. By using this inversion mask, it is possible to prevent the PCBk data and the mask pattern from synchronizing. Moreover, the basic mask pattern is the most basic 2 × 2 mask pattern.

FIG. 7 shows an example of PCBk replacement using a specific inversion mask. The PCBk data is the same as that of FIG. 11, but the final print data (FIG. 7C) is obtained only by performing the inversion process (FIG. 7B) despite using the same basic mask pattern. The ratio is set for each color, and there is no bias in the print data as shown in FIG.

As described above, by performing the inversion process from the basic mask pattern as the PCBk generation mask, the color tone is not changed in the PCBk when the black image area in contact with the color image area is recorded. The data of each color to be printed can be divided. As a result, it is possible to suppress the bleeding at the boundary portion and prevent the change in the color tone of the PCBk. The mask pattern used has a simple structure, and it is not necessary to increase the storage capacity of the ROM or the like, which is advantageous in terms of cost.

(Embodiment 3) As a third embodiment, the PC is recognized by recognizing whether or not the pattern of black data detected as the boundary between the color image area and the black image area is continuous.
A case where it is determined whether to perform Bk replacement will be described.

In this embodiment, the basic 2 × 2 mask shown in FIG. 10 is used as the PCBk mask pattern. Therefore, the print data to be replaced with PCBk may be in sync with the PCBk mask. In addition, isolated points at the boundary may be replaced.

Border bleeding is unlikely to occur if the amount of continuous black ink is small, and even if it occurs, it is not noticeable. Therefore, when the black boundaries are not continuous, it is not necessary to perform PCBk replacement, and it is preferable not to perform PCBk replacement in order to retain the color tone.

In this embodiment, print data to be replaced with PCBk is detected in the boundary detection sequence shown in FIG. In other words, Bk is converted to PCBk by performing Step-4 in FIG.
Extract the data. The sequence shown in FIG. 8 is performed on the Bk data. In FIG. 8, Bk data converted into PCBk is shown as replacement original data.

First, in Step-11, the replacement original data is shifted upward by one dot. The shifted data and the replacement original data are ANDed, and in step-12, the continuous dots below the target dot are detected, and the temporary ROM
Etc. in the storage area.

Similarly, in Step-13 and Step-14, upward continuous dots are set, and in Step-15 and Step-16, rightward continuous dots are set.
ep-17 and Step-18 detect continuous dots to the left.

O of all consecutive dots detected in Step-19
R is extracted and extracted, and the continuous dots extracted in Step-10 are
Store as CBk replacement data.

In this sequence, as shown in FIG. 9, it is possible to detect only one dot which is continuous at least one dot above and below and to the left and right of the dot of interest. It does not detect diagonal directions. Therefore, in this sequence, only dots that are continuous in the nozzle row direction of the print head or in the scan direction of the carriage are detected and used as PCBk replacement data. By performing this sequence, one dot of isolated points can be removed from PCBk replacement. Also, Chidori,
The inverse zigzag pattern can also be removed from the PCBk replacement. In other words, Bayer type data is 50%
The following DUTYs are removed from the PCBk substitution, and for the DUTYs higher than that, the PCBk substitution dots increase as the DUTY increases.

The low DUTY data that is likely to be synchronized with the PCBk replacement mask pattern is removed from the PCBk replacement, and the high DUTY data that is liable to cause boundary blur is PC.
Bk substitution can be performed.

As described above, the PCBk replacement data is detected by detecting continuous dots on the upper, lower, left and right sides and replacing only the continuous dots by PCBk.
It is possible to prevent a change in color tone due to k substitution in advance. Moreover, even if PCBk replacement is performed, high DUT
Since the print data to be replaced is Y, and bias is unlikely to occur in the replaced print data, the change in color tone is relatively inconspicuous. With this sequence, proper PCBk replacement can be performed.

(Embodiment 4) FIG. 12 is a schematic view of another color ink jet printer to which the present invention is applicable. 1y is a yellow ink recording head, 1m is a magenta ink recording head, and 1c is a recording head. Cyan ink recording head, 1b is a first black ink recording head, 1k is a second black ink recording head, 2 is a carriage carrying the recording head, and 3 is for sending an electric signal from the printer body to the recording head. 4 is a cap unit having recovery means, 5y, 5m, 5c, 5k are cap members corresponding to the recording heads 1y, 1m, 1c, 1k, and 6 is a wiper blade made of a member such as rubber.

The nozzles of the recording heads 1y, 1m, 1c, and 1k have basically the same structure as the recording head 102 shown in the above embodiment, and each head has 128 ejection ports. About 40 ng of ink is ejected from each nozzle of the recording heads 1y, 1m, and 1c, and about 80 ng of ink is ejected from the nozzle of the recording head 1k. For the recording heads 1y, 1m, and 1c, ink having a high penetration speed into the recording paper is used, and for the recording head 1k, an ink having a low penetration speed into the recording paper is used.

The present invention can be applied to the above printer. The feature of this embodiment is that the recording heads of the same size are arranged side by side in parallel so that the recording time can be shortened.

In each of the above-described embodiments, image determination /
The control processing means such as the judgment processing, the image expansion processing, the replacement processing, and the like are collectively controlled by the control unit in the recording apparatus based on the data received from the host computer, but the present invention is not limited to this. It is not limited.

For example, it is possible to extend all of the control / processing means to a system in which an external device is executed by a printer driver or the like to receive the actual recording data after the pixel replacement processing is completed. Often the external device connected to the recording device is a host computer,
The host computer is superior in the processing capacity and RAM capacity of the CPU for performing the above processing.

The host computer may share the image determination processing, and the printer may share the image development processing.

The above-described embodiments have been described by using the so-called bubble jet recording method in which the electrothermal converter is used to generate bubbles in the ink and the ink is ejected by the action of the bubbles. It goes without saying that the present invention can also be applied to a so-called piezo system inkjet recording system in which ink is ejected by an electromechanical converter.

The present invention is particularly effective in a recording apparatus using an inkjet recording head for recording by forming flying droplets by utilizing thermal energy among the inkjet recording methods.

Regarding its typical structure and principle, see, for example, US Pat. Nos. 4,723,129 and 4740.
What is done using the basic principles disclosed in 796 is preferred. This method is a so-called on-demand type,
It can be applied to any of the continuous type, but especially in the case of the on-demand type, it can be applied to the sheet holding the liquid (ink) or the electrothermal converter arranged corresponding to the liquid path. By applying at least one drive signal that corresponds to the recorded information and gives a rapid temperature rise exceeding nucleate boiling, heat energy is generated in the electrothermal converter, and film boiling occurs on the heat acting surface of the recording head. Liquid (ink) that is generated and eventually responds to this drive signal as a single unit
It is effective because bubbles can be formed inside. The liquid (ink) is ejected through the ejection openings by the growth and contraction of the bubbles to form at least one droplet. It is more preferable to make this drive signal into a pulse shape because bubbles can be immediately and appropriately grown and contracted, so that liquid (ink) ejection with excellent responsiveness can be achieved. As the pulse-shaped drive signal, those described in US Pat. Nos. 4,463,359 and 4,345,262 are suitable. If the conditions described in US Pat. No. 4,313,124 of the invention relating to the rate of temperature rise on the heat acting surface are adopted, more excellent recording can be performed.

As the constitution of the recording head, other than the combination constitution of the ejection port, the liquid passage, and the electrothermal converter (the linear liquid passage or the right-angled liquid passage) as disclosed in the above-mentioned respective specifications. U.S. Pat. No. 4,558,333 and U.S. Pat. No. 44, which disclose a configuration in which a heat acting portion is arranged in a bending region.
The structure using the specification of No. 59600 is also included in the present invention. In addition, Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 59-123670 discloses a configuration in which a common slit is used as a discharge portion of the electrothermal converter for a plurality of electrothermal converters, and an opening for absorbing a pressure wave of thermal energy is provided. The effect of the present invention is effective even if the configuration corresponding to the ejection portion is disclosed in JP-A-59-138461. That is, according to the present invention, recording can be surely and efficiently performed regardless of the form of the recording head.

Further, the present invention can be effectively applied to a full line type recording head having a length corresponding to the maximum width of a recording medium which can be recorded by the recording apparatus. Such a recording head may have a configuration that satisfies the length by a combination of a plurality of recording heads or a configuration as one recording head integrally formed.

In addition, even in the case of the serial type as in the above example, the recording head fixed to the apparatus main body, or the electrical connection with the apparatus main body or the ink from the apparatus main body by being attached to the apparatus main body The present invention is also effective when a replaceable chip-type recording head that can be supplied or a cartridge-type recording head in which an ink tank is integrally provided in the recording head itself is used.

Further, as the constitution of the recording apparatus of the present invention, it is preferable to add ejection recovery means of the recording head, preliminary auxiliary means and the like because the effects of the present invention can be further stabilized. Specifically, heating is performed by using a capping unit, a cleaning unit, a pressure or suction unit for the recording head, an electrothermal converter or a heating element other than this, or a combination thereof. Examples thereof include a preliminary heating unit for performing the discharge and a preliminary discharge unit for performing discharge different from the recording.

Regarding the type and number of recording heads to be mounted, two or more recording heads may be provided corresponding to a plurality of inks having different recording colors and densities. That is, for example, the recording mode of the recording apparatus is not limited to the recording mode of only the mainstream color such as black, but it may be either the recording head is integrally formed or a plurality of combinations may be used. The present invention is also extremely effective for an apparatus provided with at least one of full-color recording modes by color mixing.

In addition, in the above-described embodiments of the present invention, the ink is described as a liquid, but an ink that solidifies at room temperature or lower and that softens or liquefies at room temperature may be used. Or, in the inkjet system, it is common to adjust the temperature of the ink itself within the range of 30 ° C. or higher and 70 ° C. or lower to control the temperature so that the viscosity of the ink is within the stable ejection range. Sometimes, a liquid ink may be used. In addition, the temperature rise due to thermal energy is positively prevented by using it as the energy of the state change of the ink from the solid state to the liquid state, or in order to prevent the evaporation of the ink, it is solidified and heated in the standing state. You may use the ink liquefied by. In any case, by applying thermal energy such as ink that is liquefied by applying thermal energy according to the recording signal and liquid ink is ejected, or that begins to solidify when it reaches the recording medium. The present invention can be applied to the case where an ink having a property of being liquefied for the first time is used. In this case, the ink is
JP-A-54-56847 or JP-A-60-7
As described in Japanese Patent No. 1260, it may be configured to face the electrothermal converter in a state of being held as a liquid or a solid in the concave portion or the through hole of the porous sheet. In the present invention, the most effective one for each of the above-mentioned inks is to execute the above-mentioned film boiling method.

In addition, as a form of the ink jet recording apparatus of the present invention, in addition to the one used as an image output terminal of information processing equipment such as a computer, a copying apparatus combined with a reader or the like, and a facsimile apparatus having a transmitting / receiving function can be used. It may be a form or the like.

[0085]

According to the present invention, when PCBk replacement is performed at the boundary between the color image area and the black image area, it is possible to make the color tone change due to the replacement inconspicuous. In addition, it is possible to prevent the change in color tone in advance by limiting the data for performing the PCBk replacement. This makes it possible to achieve excellent recording quality with less feathering in the black image area, and to achieve excellent recording quality without ink bleeding between each color of black and color, resulting in high-quality black recording and high-quality color. It is possible to achieve compatibility of recording.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an inkjet recording apparatus to which the present invention can be applied.

FIG. 2 is a head mechanism diagram of an inkjet recording apparatus to which the present invention can be applied.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram of a control circuit of an inkjet recording apparatus to which the present invention can be applied.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a boundary detection sequence for implementing the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram illustrating a method of generating a random mask pattern performed in the first embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of a case where PCBk replacement by a random mask pattern is performed in the first embodiment.

FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating an example of PCBk replacement by an inversion mask pattern performed in the second embodiment.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing a continuous dot detection sequence for carrying out Example 3;

FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating continuous dots detected in a third embodiment.

FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a basic pattern of a PCBk mask used for PCBk replacement.

FIG. 11 is a diagram for explaining synchronization between print data and PCBk mask when replacing PCBk.

FIG. 12 is a perspective view of another ink jet recording apparatus to which the present invention is applicable, which is used in the fourth embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

101 carriage 102 recording head 103 cartridge 110 color ink cartridge 111 black ink cartridge 301 system controller 306 host computer 307 reception buffer 308Y, 308M, 308C, 308Bk frame memory for each color 309Y, 309M, 309C, 309Bk data buffer 310 for each color 310 print control unit 311 Print driver 312Y, 312M, 312C, 312Bk Recording head for each color

 ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (72) Toshiharu Inui, Canon 3-30-2 Shimomaruko, Ota-ku, Tokyo Canon Inc. (72) Innovator Isao Ebisawa 3-30-2 Shimomaruko, Ota-ku, Tokyo Canon Incorporated (72) Inventor Nobuyuki Kuwahara 3-30-2 Shimomaruko, Ota-ku, Tokyo Canon Inc. (72) Inventor Nao Yaegashi 3-30-2 Shimomaruko, Ota-ku, Tokyo Canon Inc. ( 72) Inventor Atsushi Arai 3-30-2 Shimomaruko, Ota-ku, Tokyo Canon Inc. (72) Inventor Kentaro Yano 3-30-2 Shimomaruko, Ota-ku, Tokyo Canon Inc. (72) Inventor Iwasaki Admiral 3-30-2 Shimomaruko, Ota-ku, Tokyo Canon Inc. (72) Inventor Daigoro Kanematsu 3-30-2 Shimomaruko, Ota-ku, Tokyo Roh down in the Corporation

Claims (8)

[Claims] 1. A black ink and a plurality of color inks having different recording medium penetration characteristics from the black ink are used.
A color inkjet recording method for recording a color image on a recording medium according to print data, wherein it is determined whether or not a color image area exists near a black image area of the print data, , Determining whether the black image area is formed by the black ink or the color inks of a plurality of colors, and as a result of the determination, the color inks of a plurality of colors are formed,
A color ink jet recording method, characterized in that color ink based on a mask pattern generated in a pseudo-random number is used. 2. A black ink and a plurality of color inks having different recording medium penetration characteristics from the black ink are used,
A color inkjet recording method for recording a color image on a recording medium according to print data, wherein it is determined whether or not a color image area exists near a black image area of the print data, , Determining whether the black image area is formed by the black ink or the color inks of a plurality of colors, and as a result of the determination, the color inks of a plurality of colors are formed,
A color ink jet recording method comprising using a color ink based on a mask pattern in which a basic pattern and a pattern obtained by reversing the basic pattern are alternately used. 3. A black ink and a plurality of color inks having different recording medium penetration characteristics from the black ink are used,
A color inkjet recording method for recording a color image on a recording medium according to recording data, wherein it is determined whether or not a color image area is continuously present in the vicinity of a black image area of the recording data. According to the above, it is determined whether the black image area is formed by the black ink or the color inks of a plurality of colors. 4. The color inkjet recording method according to claim 1, wherein each of the inks is ejected by thermal energy. 5. A black ink and a plurality of color inks having different recording medium penetration characteristics from the black ink are used.
A color ink jet recording apparatus for recording a color image on a recording medium according to recording data, the detecting means for detecting the presence of a color image area in the vicinity of the black image area of the recording data; A color ink jet recording apparatus, comprising: a conversion unit that converts the recording data of the black image area into a color ink based on a mask pattern created in a pseudo-random number according to a detection result. 6. A black ink and a plurality of color inks having different recording medium penetration characteristics from the black ink are used.
A color ink jet recording apparatus for recording a color image on a recording medium according to recording data, the detecting means for detecting the presence of a color image area in the vicinity of the black image area of the recording data; A conversion unit for converting the recording data of the black image area into color ink based on a mask pattern in which a basic pattern and a pattern obtained by inverting the basic pattern are alternately used according to a detection result; A color inkjet recording device. 7. A black ink and a plurality of color inks having different recording medium penetration characteristics from the black ink are used,
A color ink jet recording apparatus for recording a color image on a recording medium according to recording data, the detecting means for detecting the presence of continuous color image areas in the vicinity of the black image area of the recording data, A color ink jet recording apparatus comprising: a conversion unit that converts the recording data of the black image area so that color ink is used according to the detection result of the detection unit. 8. The color ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 5, wherein each ink is ejected by thermal energy.