JPH09160445A - Recorder - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To urge operator to exchange cartridge by reducing the printing dot pulse width, for making a printing density low, when the nearly end of toner is detected, even in a state where an economy mode is set. SOLUTION: In a facsimile equipment 20, image information transmitted from another facsimile equipment is received by a communication control part 1 through a line, and the received image information is demodulated in a MO DEM part 2. When the facsimile equipment 20 is brought into a recording mode, the image information is extended in a page memory 4 for every page and sent to a recorded image processing part 5 at a prescribed timing, subjected to a toner saving processing and a toner near-ending processing in the processing part 5, and then sent to a recording part 6 such as a laser plotter to print-output an image onto a paper sheet. All these consecutive operations are controlled by a system control part 7.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a recording apparatus which prints out a predetermined image using toner, and more particularly, an electrophotographic system which prints while suppressing the toner usage amount of an output image by setting a toner saving mode. Recording device.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Recently, in an electrophotographic recording apparatus represented by a laser plotter or the like, there has been proposed a method of thinning out dot data of image information to be printed out by setting a toner saving mode. For example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2-
As shown in Japanese Patent No. 144574, a toner saving mode (hereinafter referred to as "econo mode") is set by a designating unit, and the dot data stored in the image buffer is thinned out at a predetermined ratio by the mode setting (hereinafter, dot processing). It is known to perform thinning processing) and print out. Here, as the setting method of the econo mode,
In addition to the method of input setting from the operation unit such as the operation panel, as shown in, for example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 1-133075, the toner remaining amount detecting means detects a toner remaining amount of a predetermined value or less to automatically Switch to Econo mode,
A method is known in which a developing width is reduced to reduce (thinner) a print density to avoid a problem caused by a shortage of toner.

[0003]

It is known to perform the toner saving processing by thinning dots as described above, and to operate the toner saving processing means by detecting the toner near end (toner consumption remaining amount). However, in recent years, for the purpose of reducing running costs, etc., there is a usage situation in which the econo mode is set and recorded even in the normal state.In such a case, the print density is reduced in advance by the toner saving process to reduce the print density. Because it is decreasing
Even if the toner near end is detected, the output image does not change at all, and there is a problem in that it is not possible to visually prompt the operator to replace the toner cartridge.

Further, since toner is generally supplied by a cartridge, it is generally thought that the operator wants to use the toner until the toner in the cartridge is used up. Even if the prompt was made, the actual replacement was rare unless the output image changed. Therefore, the phenomenon that the output image becomes abruptly thin due to the lack of toner in the cartridge occurs, and especially when the image data is transmitted by a facsimile machine or the like, the image data is updated and erased after the print output. However, there is a problem that the image cannot be reproduced by the operation only on the receiving side.

In order to solve the above problems, the invention according to claim 1 reduces the print dot pulse width to reduce the print density when the toner near end is detected even in the econo mode setting state. The purpose is to encourage the operator to replace the toner cartridge. Further, according to the second aspect of the invention, in the toner saving process after the toner near end detection, the print density is gradually reduced to prevent a rapid change in the print density, and the operator can surely replace the toner cartridge. The purpose is to encourage.

Further, by switching the switching of the print dot pulse width with the estimated toner usage amount, the gradual change in the print density in the toner saving process is brought into close contact with the remaining toner amount, and the remaining toner amount is more accurately changed. The purpose is to estimate and request the time to replace the toner cartridge.

[0007]

In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, the invention according to claim 1 is arranged according to dot data.
In a recording device that prints out using toner, the dot data is thinned out by a toner saving process designating unit that designates a toner saving process and a toner saving process designation from the toner saving process designating unit at the time of printing output. However, the toner saving processing means for saving and adjusting the toner usage amount, the pulse width adjusting means for adjusting the pulse width of the clock that defines the width of the dot data, and the remaining toner amount are detected, and the remaining toner amount is set to a predetermined value. Toner near-end detecting means for generating a near-end signal when a value less than a reference value is detected, and input / output of the toner saving processing means and output of the pulse width adjusting means based on the near-end signal output from the toner near-end detecting means. And an output switching means for switching to and outputting to the recording unit.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the recording apparatus according to the first aspect, the pulse width adjusting means includes pulse width selecting means for selecting an arbitrary pulse width from a plurality of preset pulse widths. A toner usage amount estimating means for estimating a toner usage amount based on an input / output signal of the toner saving processing means and a preset correction coefficient, and the pulse width based on an output of the toner near-end detecting means. It is characterized in that the output of the selection means is switched.

Further, the invention according to claim 3 is the invention according to claim 2.
In the recording apparatus described above, a correction coefficient selection unit that has a plurality of the correction coefficients input to the toner usage amount estimation unit and that selects an arbitrary correction coefficient is provided, and the pulse width selected by the pulse width selection unit. The correction coefficient selecting means selectively outputs an arbitrary correction coefficient in accordance with the above.

With such means, in the invention according to the first aspect, when the toner saving processing designating means sets the econo mode, the toner saving processing means performs the thinning processing of the dot data of the image information. ,
The pulse width adjusting means adjusts the pulse width of the clock that defines the width of the thinned dots. The toner saving means and the pulse width adjusting means are connected in series, each output is selected by the selector, and the normal printing processing, the toner saving processing and the toner near end processing are individually executed and combined. With such control,
When the toner near end is detected, the output with the reduced pulse width from the pulse width adjusting means is selected, the print density is reduced, and the operator is visually prompted to replace the toner cartridge. According to the second aspect of the present invention, the remaining toner amount is estimated by providing the pulse width setting means with the pulse width selecting means and the toner use amount estimating means for estimating the toner use amount after detecting the toner near end. However, the pulse width is gradually reduced to reduce the print density to visually prompt the replacement of the toner cartridge.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, by providing the correction coefficient selecting means, the correction coefficient can be selected according to the reduction of the pulse width, and the toner near-end processing can be performed while estimating the remaining toner amount more accurately. Run.

[0012]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a first embodiment in which a recording apparatus common to the inventions described in claims 1 to 3 is applied to a facsimile apparatus. In FIG. 1, the facsimile device 20 receives image information transmitted from another facsimile device (not shown) at the communication control unit 1 via a line,
The received image information is demodulated by the modem unit 2. When the facsimile device 20 enters the recording mode, the image information is developed page by page in the page memory 4 and sent to the recording image processing unit 5 at a predetermined timing, where the toner saving process and the toner near end process are performed, and then the laser is used. The image is sent to the recording unit 6 such as a plotter and the image is printed out on the paper. The series of operations are all controlled by the system controller 7. Further, in the facsimile apparatus 20 as described above, when performing a copy operation, the image information read by the scanner unit 8 is expanded into the page memory 4 described above for each page and is output at a predetermined print density. Reference numeral 3 denotes an I / O port for inputting / outputting external information from the toner near-end detection unit 10 or the like and internal information that has been subjected to predetermined processing. Reference numeral 9 denotes an operation for performing various input settings from an operator and displaying device status and the like. A section (corresponding to toner saving processing designation means) 10 is a toner near-end detection section that detects the amount of toner remaining in the toner cartridge mounted in the recording section 6.

Next, FIG. 2 shows an example of a block diagram showing the configuration of the recording image processing unit 5. In FIG. 2, image data (parallel data) sent from the page memory 4 to the recorded image processing unit 5 via the system bus 11 is subjected to predetermined image processing such as linear density change and smoothing by another image processing unit 21. Then, the serial data PLDAT is output in synchronization with the pixel clock (PLCLK). The I / O port 3 is connected to the I / O port 3 via the system bus 11.
The selector setting signals SEL1, SEL2, and SELPW determined by the system controller 7 are set. SEL
1 sets the I ₀ input side of the selector 26 in the normal mode, and I ₁ when the econo mode is set by the operation unit 9 or the like.
Switch to the input side. Further, the SEL 2 sets the I ₀ input side of the selector 27 in the normal state in which the detection signal is not output from the toner near end detection unit 10, and switches to the I ₁ input side when the detection signal is output. The SELs 1 and 2 correspond to output switching means. Reference numeral 22 is an econo-mode clock generator, which generates and outputs an econo-mode clock (ECNCLK) based on PLCLK. A
The ND logic gate (hereinafter abbreviated as AND gate) 23 is
PLDAT is synchronized with ECNCLK, and dot thinning processing is performed. Economode clock generator 22 and A
The ND gate 23 constitutes toner saving processing means.
The flip-flops FF24 and 25 hold the outputs from the PLDAT and the AND gate 23 at the timing of PLCLK, and the selector 26 selects one of them.
That is, the flip-flop 24 holds the normal-mode image data, and the flip-flop 25 holds the eco-mode image data. The SEL1 is set according to the eco-mode setting input, and the selector 26 is switched to switch the image data. select. The image data (VIDEO1) selected by the selector 26 is directly input to the I ₀ input side of the selector 27, and is subjected to pulse width adjustment processing by the pulse width adjusting unit 28 (corresponding to pulse width adjusting means). It is input to the I ₁ input side of the selector 27 as VIDEO 2). One of these data is selected by the selector 27. That is, SEL2 is set in accordance with the detection signal from the toner near end detection unit 10 (corresponding to toner near end detection means), the selector 27 is switched, and image data (VIDEO) output to the recording unit 6 is output.
Select 3). The counter 29 is the VID of the E terminal input.
PLCL when EO1 is "High level (black)"
It is a counter that counts up with K, and can count the number of black dots.

Next, each component in the recorded image processing section 5 will be described in detail. FIG. 3 shows an example of the configuration of a clock generator that is provided in another image processing unit 21 and that generates various clocks. In the figure, the output of the oscillator 11 is waveform-shaped by a well-known waveform-shaping synchronization circuit 30, and a source oscillation (XINCLK) is generated at a timing with a line synchronization signal. A pixel clock (PLCLK) is generated by dividing the frequency of XINCLK by 7, for example, by the frequency dividing circuit 31. An econo-mode clock (ECNCLK) is generated by PLCLK and a line synchronization signal in an econo-mode clock generator 22 described later, and a pulse width adjustment clock (PWTCLK) is generated by PLCLK and XINCLK in a pulse-width adjustment clock generator 28a. It

Next, the dot thinning process (econo mode clock generator 22 and AND gate 23 in FIG. 2) in the recorded image processor 5 will be described with reference to FIG.
It is assumed that a dot thinning filter as shown in FIG. 4A is set in the econo mode. In this filter, the first line (L1) and the third line (L3) perform thinning processing in which the phases are shifted by a half cycle, and
The line (L2) and the fourth line (L4) indicate thinning processing for all dots white (Low level).
T is subjected to dot thinning processing by taking an AND logic at the timing of the signal ECNCLK corresponding to this filter. A timing chart of the first line (L1) of the filter is shown in FIG. As for the output of the AND gate 23, both PLDAT and ECNCLK (L1) are "High".
Only when it becomes "level", it becomes "High level" and a predetermined dot thinning process is performed. Here, ECNCLK corresponding to the dot thinning filter is an eco-mode having a well-known logic circuit as shown in FIG. The clock generator 22 generates a logical output based on PLCLK and a line synchronization signal.

Next, the VI selected by the selector 26
An example of the configuration of the clock pulse width adjusting unit 28 that defines the DEO1 dot width will be described with reference to FIG.
In the figure, in a 6-bit shift register composed of flip-flops FF1 to FF6 having XINCLK as a clock input, PLCLK is sequentially delayed to generate delayed pixel clocks (DCLK1 to 6). PLC
LK and delay clocks (DCLK) 1 to 6 are selectors SE
One of the clocks is selected by L, and at the timing of the selected clock PWTCLK, the VIDEO1 held by the flip-flop FF7 and the VIDEO
The AND gate 32, which receives the original signal of O1, inputs A
Selector 2 with ND logic and output as VIDEO2
Input to the I ₁ side of 7.

Next, the operation of the pulse width adjusting section 28 will be described with reference to the timing chart of FIG. As described above, PLCLK is generated by dividing XINCLK by 7, and this PLCLK is XINCed by FF1 to FF6.
By delaying at the rising timing of LK, DCLK1 to 6 are generated as shown in FIG. On the other hand, since VIDEO2 is held and output at the timing of PLCLK in the FF 23, as shown in FIG. 7B, it rises at the timing of rising of PLCLK.
Performs a fall operation. Here, if DCLK3 is selectively set in the SEL of the pulse width adjustment clock generator 28a and input to the clock of the FF7, the selector 2
VIDEO1 output from 6 is DCLed in FF7
It is held at the timing of K3 and the original signal of VIDEO1 and A
When the ND logic gate 32 takes the logic, the pulse width of 2 dot black which VIDEO 1 has, like VIDEO 2, is reduced by a half dot (D1).

In the communication apparatus having such a structure, when the normal recording is performed by inputting the econo mode for the normal recording, the system control section 7 controls the selector by the SEL1 and SEL2 from the I / O port 3. 26 to I ₁
On the input side, the selector 27 is selectively set on the I ₀ input side.
In this state, when the toner near end detection unit 10 detects the toner near end in the cartridge, the system control unit 7 switches the SEL2 of the I / O port 3 and selects the I ₁ input side of the selector 27. As a result, as described above, the selector SEL of the pulse width adjustment clock generator 28a is
, DCLK3 is selected, the output VID in which the black dot width is waveform-shaped to 4/7 of the original signal VIDEO1.
EO3 can be obtained.

As described above, in the pulse width adjusting clock generating section 28a, the pulse width adjusting clocks (DCLK1 to DCLK6) having a predetermined delay are selected and set, and the logic gate circuit for reducing the pulse width is constituted, VIDEO3 having a desired dot width can be obtained. In the present embodiment, since the selectors 26 and 27 for switching the circuit configuration are incorporated in the recording image processing unit 5, these selectors are used as the econo mode setting input (SEL).
1) and toner near end detection (SEL2), the pulse width can be set individually for normal printing, econo mode, and toner near end processing.
It is possible to visually prompt the operator to detect the toner near end and replace the toner cartridge in the econo mode setting state.

Next, a second embodiment of the recording apparatus according to the present invention will be described. In the first embodiment described above,
The detection signal from the toner near end detection unit 10 causes I /
Set the selector setting signal SEL2 from O port 3,
A method has been described in which the selector 27 in the recorded image processing unit 5 is switched to select the output from the pulse width adjusting unit 28, for example, VIDEO2 having the pulse width adjusted by DCLK3.

In the present embodiment, in addition to the configuration shown in the first embodiment, the number of black dots of VIDEO 1 after toner near end detection detected by a counter 29 provided in the recording image processing unit 5 is used as a system. It is monitored by the control unit 7. When the count value of the counter 29 exceeds the preset constant S1, the pulse width adjustment clock generator 28 is generated by the SELPW sent from the I / O port 3.
The signal selected by the selector SEL (corresponding to pulse width selection means) in a is switched from DCLK3 to DCLK4.
At the same time as this SELPW setting, the counter 29 is reset, and the number of black dots of VIDEO 1 is counted again.
When the count value exceeds the predetermined constant S2 (may be S1), the signal SELPW is reset and the signal selected by the selector SEL is changed from DCLK4 to DCLK as described above.
Switch to 5.

Such a pulse width adjusting clock generating section 2
By setting and switching the selector SEL in 8, the black dot width of the output VIDEO3 is gradually changed to 3/7 (for DCLK4), 2/7 (for DCLK5) of the original signal VIDEO1, ... It is possible to obtain the output VIDEO3 whose waveform is shaped so as to be thin. That is, in this embodiment, the VI counted by the counter 29 is
Amount of toner used (remaining amount of toner) by comparing the number of black dots of DEO1 by a constant (S1, S2) by the system controller
And the toner near-end processing is performed. Here, the count value of the counter 29 is a theoretical number of dots and does not correlate accurately with the actual toner usage amount. Therefore, a correction coefficient K obtained experimentally in advance is introduced, and the correction coefficient K is introduced.
By configuring the system control unit 7 to monitor the comparison between the count value multiplied by and the constants S1 and S2, it is possible to more accurately estimate the toner usage amount. The counter 29 and the system control unit 7 correspond to toner usage amount estimating means.

In this way, when the toner near end is detected during the operation of the econo mode and the toner near end is displayed on the operation section 9 or the like, but the toner cartridge cannot be properly replaced (replacement failure). Even if it is possible to receive a large amount of light at night, etc.), the visibility of the output image can be appropriately maintained, and
By gradually thinning the output image, the operator can be visually prompted to replace the toner cartridge.

Next, a third embodiment of the recording apparatus described in claim 3 will be described. In this embodiment, a plurality of correction coefficients K by which the count value of the counter 29 shown in the second embodiment is multiplied are held, and the pulse width adjustment clock generator 28 is provided.
For example, the system control unit 7 or the recording image processing unit 5 is provided with a correction coefficient selecting unit that operates in conjunction with switching of the selector SEL of a, that is, setting of SELPW sent from the I / O port 3.

In such a structure, by switching the correction coefficient Kj selected according to the switching of SELPW, it is possible to realize the toner near-end processing which is more correlated with the toner usage amount. Here, the counter 29
It is also possible to set a predetermined limit on the count value of, and when the limit value is reached, display the toner end and perform control such as forcibly stopping the recording unit 6.

The operation control in this embodiment will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. First, the system control unit 7
Sets the recording mode and determines the setting status of the toner near end flag (hereinafter, abbreviated as near end flag) (S101). If the near end flag is not set, the toner near end detection unit 10 is checked to detect the toner remaining amount (S102). here,
When the near end is not detected (S103), the normal recording operation is performed (S108), and the print output for one page is performed (S109). Toner near end detection unit 10
When the near end is detected from (S103), the near end flag is set (ON) (S104), and at the same time, the counter 29 is reset (S105). Then SE
LPW is set to select the clock (DCLKi) of the pulse width adjustment clock generator 28a (S106). Next, the input of the selector 27 is set to the I ₁ side (S10
7), VIDEO2 output from the pulse width adjusting unit 28
Is output as VIDEO 3, and the recording operation for one page is executed in the recording unit 6 (S108, S109). If there is a next page to be printed out (S110), the setting status of the near end flag is judged again (S101). Here, if the near end flag is set (S1
01), immediately execute the following near end processing (S1)
11). The system control unit 7 reads the number of black dots (total: SUM) of the VIDEO 1 counted by the counter 29 (S112), and a constant S for setting the correction coefficient Kj and SELPW for correcting the count value.
j is read (S113, S114). The count value SUM of the counter 29 is multiplied by the correction coefficient Kj to obtain the constant Sj.
Is compared and monitored (S115). Correction count value (Kj
XSUM) does not reach the constant Sj (S11)
5) The normal recording operation is performed (S108), and the constant S
When it reaches j (S115), SELPW is set to set the clock (D
CLKj) is a clock (DCL) with a small pulse width
Kj + 1) (S116). At this time, at the same time, the correction coefficient Kj is also correlated with the corresponding clock to obtain Kj + 1.
(S117), the counter 29 is reset (S118), and the waveform-shaped output VIDEO is output.
The recording operation is performed according to No. 3 (S108).

Here, in the present embodiment, the method of reducing the pulse width of the clock in the near-end processing step by step (for example, by 1/7 dot) to reduce the print density is shown. The present invention is not limited to this, and may be set to, for example, 2/7 dot, that is, j ← j + 2. Further, the frequency division of the clock is not limited to the frequency division by 7.

In the present embodiment, an example in which the present invention is applied to a facsimile device has been shown, but the present invention is not limited to this, and if the recording device of the present invention is applied, an equivalent configuration and operation are obtained. It goes without saying that you get
Further, the recording apparatus is also targeted for the electrophotographic laser plotter, but may be an inkjet method or a thermal method as long as it uses a pulse signal for image data at the time of print output.

[0029]

As described above, according to the first aspect of the present invention, the toner saving means and the pulse width adjusting means are provided, and by the operation input and the toner near end detection signal,
Since these means are controlled to be switched appropriately, even if the toner saving process is activated during normal use, the pulse width is adjusted by the toner near end detection and the print density is set to gradually decrease. It is possible to visually prompt the replacement of the toner cartridge, and it is possible to prevent deterioration of the image quality such as blurring of the output image due to a sudden decrease in print density.

According to the second aspect of the invention, there is provided a toner usage amount estimating means and a pulse width selecting means, and the pulse width output from the pulse width adjusting means is switched stepwise by the toner near end detection. The print density can be finely controlled according to the remaining amount of toner by removing the unstable element of the processing at the toner near end. Further, according to the invention described in claim 3, there is provided a correction coefficient selecting means,
Since the correction coefficient that determines the toner usage amount estimated by the toner usage estimation unit is selected from a plurality of numbers in conjunction with the pulse width adjustment unit, it is possible to more accurately estimate the toner usage amount, and the toner near end It is possible to reliably perform the processing in.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an example in which a recording apparatus according to the present invention is applied to a facsimile apparatus.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a recorded image processing unit of the recording apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a clock generator of the recording apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a signal generated in the econo mode of the recording apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a circuit diagram showing an economode clock generator of the recording apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a circuit diagram showing a pulse width adjusting unit of the recording apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a timing chart explaining waveforms of various clock signals of the recording apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of the recording apparatus according to the present invention when the econo mode is set.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Communication Control Section 2 Modulation / Demodulation Section 3 I / O Port 4 Page Memory 5 Recording Image Processing Section 6 Recording Section (Plotter) 7 System Control Section 8 Scanner Section 9 Operating Section 10 Toner Near End Detection Section 11 System Bus 20 Fax Machine 21 Other Image processing unit 22 Econo-mode clock generating unit 23, 32 AND logic gate 24, 25 Flip-flop 26, 27 Selector 28 Pulse width adjusting unit 29 Counter 30 Waveform shaping synchronization circuit 31 Dividing circuit

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A recording apparatus which prints out by using toner according to dot data, in a print output, a toner saving process designating unit for designating a toner saving process, and a toner from the toner saving process designating unit. Toner saving processing means for thinning the dot data to adjust the toner usage amount according to the saving processing designation, pulse width adjusting means for adjusting the pulse width of the clock defining the width of the dot data, and toner remaining amount. And a toner near-end detecting means for generating a near-end signal when the remaining toner amount is below a predetermined reference value, and the toner saving processing means based on the near-end signal output from the toner near-end detecting means. And output switching means for switching the output of the pulse width adjusting means and outputting to the recording section. Recording device for the butterflies. 2. The pulse width adjusting means, a pulse width selecting means for selecting an arbitrary pulse width from a plurality of preset pulse widths, an input / output signal of the toner saving processing means, and a preset correction coefficient. 2. A recording method according to claim 1, further comprising: a toner usage amount estimating means for estimating a toner usage amount based on the above, and switching the output of the pulse width selecting means based on the output of the toner near-end detecting means. apparatus. 3. A pulse width selected by said pulse width selecting means, comprising a plurality of said correction coefficients inputted to said toner usage amount estimating means, and comprising correction coefficient selecting means for selecting an arbitrary correction coefficient. 3. An arbitrary correction coefficient is selectively output from the correction coefficient selection means in accordance with the above.
The recording device according to any one of the preceding claims.