JPH099037A - Picture recording device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: To execute balanced printing corresponding to the request of a user by judging the size of a mounted recording material and setting the position of a picture as against a maximum valid printing area based on the judged result. CONSTITUTION: When the valid printing area of recording paper to be used is narrower than the maximum valid printing area of a picture recording device, MPU 10 controls a system so that the center of the picture is automatically printed or the balance of the picture which the user prints can be set from a host computer 3 or a control panel 9. Namely, whether recording paper to be mounted is recording paper A having the maximum valid printing area or a recording paper B whose valid printing area is small is judged. When it is recording paper B, the center of the picture in recording paper A can be printed.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an image recording apparatus capable of printing an image on a plurality of types of recording materials (hereinafter referred to as recording paper) having different effective printing areas, and in particular, outputting according to the size of the recording paper. The present invention relates to an image recording device capable of printing images in a well-balanced manner.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As a printing method for an image recording apparatus, an ink jet method, a laser method, a thermal transfer method, a sublimation method and the like are known. Many of these image recording devices
For example, it is possible to print on several types of recording papers such as A3, A4, and postcards having different effective recording ranges. Then, the user can print an image created by a computer or an image input by an input device such as a scanner on a large-sized recording paper, or on a postcard when printing as a direct mail. The print size is output by changing the paper size according to each application.

In such a case, the image recording apparatus has an internal storage device for storing image data for the maximum effective printing range of the largest size recording paper which can be printed, and is stored therein. The image data is edited according to the size of the recording paper and the print output is performed.

[0004]

In the image recording apparatus as described above, when image data for the maximum effective printing range of a large size recording paper is stored in the storage device,
When printing on a small recording paper such as a postcard, a part of the image data cannot be printed, so it is necessary to edit it.

However, in the conventional image recording apparatus,
The only editing method that can be used is to cut out one side of the image in the vertical direction and one side in the horizontal direction. For this reason, there is a problem that the balance of the output image greatly changes depending on the size of the recording paper used, and the user feels uncomfortable. Also,
Since it does not have the function of setting the balance of the output image, there is a drawback that it is impossible to print according to the user's request.

The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and image recording capable of performing well-balanced printing according to a user's request even if the size of the recording paper attached changes. The purpose is to provide a device.

[0007]

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention can print an image on a plurality of types of recording materials (for example, recording papers A and B in FIG. 2) having different effective printing areas. Image recording apparatus, a determination means for determining the size of the attached recording material (for example, the MPU 1 in FIG. 1).
0) and setting means (for example, MPU 10 in FIG. 1) for setting the position of the image with respect to the maximum effective printing area of the recording material based on the determination result of the determination means.

[0008]

In the image recording apparatus having the above structure, the determining means determines the size of the recording material mounted, and the setting means records the mounted recording on the maximum effective printing area based on the determination result of the determining means. The position of the material image is set to a position according to the user's request. As a result, the vertical and horizontal balance of the output image can be arbitrarily changed.

[0009]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the image recording apparatus of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 shows the configuration of an embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 1, an image recording apparatus 1 forms a color image by superposing and printing three colors of Y, M, and C from an ink ribbon on a recording paper. A host computer 3 is connected to the image recording apparatus 1 via an interface circuit section 2, and transmits image data and each command to the image recording apparatus 1 and receives a status message from the image recording apparatus 1.

In the image recording apparatus 1, a page memory 4,
An EPROM 5, an SRAM 6, an EEPROM 7, a printing mechanism unit 8, a control panel 9 and an MPU 10 for controlling each of these units are provided. The input image data is stored in the page memory 4. The EPROM 5 stores an operation program, and the SRAM 6 serves as a work area for the program. Further, the EEPROM 7 stores the operating conditions of the apparatus and parameters for maintenance.

The printing mechanism section 8 is provided with a thermal head for printing an image on recording paper and its control circuit, a motor for feeding the recording paper, and its control circuit. The control panel 9 is provided with a switch 11 for starting a printing operation, setting the number of printings, printing conditions, and the like, and a display device 12 for displaying the state and setting contents of the apparatus to the user. Then, the image recording apparatus uses Y color, M color
An ink ribbon composed of colors C and C is sublimated by a thermal head to form a color image for one image on the recording paper.

FIG. 2 shows the effective print areas of recording papers A and B of two sizes used in this embodiment. The effective print area of the recording paper A shown in (a) is 1,000 dots in the vertical direction × 1,200 lines in the horizontal direction, and the effective print area of the recording paper B shown in (b) is 500 dots in the vertical direction × horizontal direction. The direction is 600 lines. Therefore, when the recording paper B is positioned at the center of the recording paper A, the recording paper B has a total of 500 dots with 250 dots at both ends in the vertical direction and a total of 600 lines with 300 lines at both ends in the horizontal direction. It is smaller by the line. The user properly uses these two types of recording papers A and B according to the purpose.

FIG. 3 shows the image data storage format in the page memory 4 of FIG. In this embodiment, the maximum image data amount for one screen is 1,000 dots in the vertical direction for the effective printing range of the recording paper A.times.1, the horizontal direction.
200 lines x 3 colors of YMC makes 360,000 bytes. FIG. 3 shows the image data transmitted when the image data transmission command is received from the host computer 3.
As shown in (a), YMC color frame sequential from the lower address,
And within each color, as shown in FIG.
Vertical sequence from the line, and each line is shown in Figure 3.
As shown in (c), the data is stored from the first dot from the lower address. The portions enclosed by double lines in the central portions of FIGS. 3B and 3C show the storage format of the image data in the case of the recording paper B.

FIG. 4 is a waveform diagram showing an interface between the MPU 10 and the thermal head control circuit in the mechanical section 8 and the page memory 4 at the time of YMC color printing. When the thermal head prints on the recording paper, a pulse L_CK is generated for each color from the thermal head control circuit unit in the mechanism unit 8 to request the MPU 10 for image data for each line. In the case of printing in the order of YMC color, after feeding the recording paper, first, the image data of the first line of Y color is requested to L
The MPU 10 detects that _CK has fallen, and the dot image data D of the first line of the Y color from the page memory 4 is detected.
_DAT is transmitted to the thermal head control circuit unit from the first dot in synchronization with D_CK which is a pulse for each dot.

In this embodiment, the MPU 10 DMA
Using the (Direct Memory Access) function, transfer was performed from the address of the first dot to the address of the last dot by using the fall of L_CK as a trigger. As a result, the thermal head control circuit unit transmits the received image data to the thermal head and prints one line on the recording paper. This control is repeated until the final line, and the image for Y color is printed.
After that, the recording paper is repeatedly fed for the M color and the C color, and the above processing is performed to finally print a color image of one screen.

In the case of recording paper A, L_CK generates a total of 3,600 pulses for the number of lines of 1,200 pulses × three colors, and vertical image data corresponding to each line of each color for one L_CK. Send 1,000 bytes per minute. In the case of the recording paper B, the size is smaller than that of the recording paper A and the effective printing range is narrowed.
Generates a total of 1,800 pulses for the number of lines 600 pulses × 3 colors and transmits 500 bytes of vertical image data corresponding to each line of each color for one L_CK.

Here, with respect to the recording paper A, the image data for one screen (recording paper A effective printing range) is received from the host computer 3 and stored in the page memory 4 in the storage format. When printing is performed, as described above, the MPU 10 outputs 1,200 pulses from the first line of each color from the thermal head control circuit to the L_CK of a total of 3,600 pulses from the first dot of image data corresponding to each line of each color. By transmitting 1,000 bytes to the thermal head control circuit, an image as shown in FIG. 5A was output.

Next, when the material is changed to the recording paper B and printing is performed, the effective printing range of the recording paper B is 250 dots at the both ends in the vertical direction as compared with the recording paper A, a total of 500 dots, and the both ends in the horizontal direction. There are a total of 600 lines of 300 lines each. Expressed in terms of the number of image data, the recording paper A has 1200 dots per color of 1,000 dots × 1,200 lines.
The recording paper B has a difference of 900,000 bytes with respect to 0 bytes and 300,000 bytes of 500 dots × 600 lines. Here, the MPU 10 determines which part of the image data for one screen should be deleted. Then, it is necessary to transmit the image data to the thermal head control circuit.

At this time, the MPU 10 transmits from the first line to L_CK of 600 pulses of each color from the thermal head control circuit as in the case of printing the recording paper A, and one dot of image data corresponding to each line of each color. When only the image can be transmitted from the eye, the horizontal direction is deleted from 601 to 1,200 lines and the vertical direction is deleted from 501 dots to 1,000 dots, so that only the printing result as shown in FIG. 5B can be obtained. However, the balance of the image is changed by changing the size of the material, which gives the user a feeling of strangeness. Further, since the balance of the image cannot be set, there is a problem that it is not possible to print according to the request of each user.

Therefore, in the present invention, when the effective printing area of the recording paper to be used is narrower than the maximum effective printing area of the apparatus, the central portion of the image is automatically printed, and the user can also print. The MPU 10 controls so that the balance of the images printed by can be set from the host computer 3 or the control panel 9. The control is shown in the flowchart of FIG. This flowchart is premised on that the image recording apparatus has received image data from the host computer and is in a printable state in which the material is mounted.

In step S00, the printing start command by the switch 11 on the host computer 3 or the control panel 9 is awaited. When you receive the print start command,
In step S01, the MPU 10 determines whether the currently loaded recording sheet is the recording sheet A or the recording sheet B by a known determination method.

When the recording paper A is loaded, image data of 1,000 dots in the vertical direction and 1,200 lines in the horizontal direction can be printed for one screen. Therefore, in step S02, each color of the internal parameters is printed. The print start line is set to the first line, and each line start dot is set to the first dot. Then, in step S03, every time L_CK for 1,200 lines from the first line of Y color is activated, the dot data in the line corresponding to the L_CK is used for the page memory 4 of the first dot by using the DMA function of the MPU 10. The address of 1,000 dots is transmitted to the thermal head control circuit unit to print. Step S0
4 is M color, step S05 is C color, and step S0 is
Printing is performed in the same manner as 3 to form one image.

When the recording paper B is loaded, as described above, 500 dots in the vertical direction × 600 lines in the horizontal direction, 500 dots in the vertical direction and 60 dots in the horizontal direction in one screen.
The 0 line printing area becomes narrow. That is, the print start dot in the vertical direction can be moved from the first dot to the 500th dot, and the print start line in the horizontal direction can be moved from the first line to the 600th line.

Therefore, when it is determined in step S01 that the recording paper B is loaded, step S0
6, the printing start line of the internal parameter is the 301/2 line of 600/2 + 1 so that the central portion of the image is printed, and the printing start dot in each line is 2 of 500/2 + 1.
Set the 51st dot and set Y color to 3 in step S07.
Every time L_CK for 600 lines from the 01st line is activated, dot data in the line corresponding to the L_CK is transmitted to the thermal head for 500 dots from the 251st dot by using the DMA function of the MPU 10 to perform printing. . In the same manner as in step S07, the M color is printed in step S08 and the C color is printed in step S09 to form one screen.

According to the above-described embodiment, the center portion of the image is printed even when the recording paper B is printed as shown in FIG. 5C, and the size of the material is larger than that of FIG. 5A. It became possible to remove the feeling of strangeness in the balance of the image due to the change of. In step S06, the default values are the 301st line for each color printing start line and the 501st dot for each line printing start dot, but these parameters can be arbitrarily set by the host computer 1 via the standard interface. It is possible to print with the balance of the image according to the user's request by providing or by setting arbitrarily with the control panel 9.

[0027]

As described above, according to the image recording apparatus of the present invention, the size of the mounted recording material is judged, and the position of the image with respect to the maximum effective printing area is set based on the judgment result. By doing so, the balance of the output image can be adjusted, and the user can record the image without feeling uncomfortable.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of an embodiment of an image recording apparatus of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing effective print areas of two types of recording paper used in this embodiment.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram showing a format of image data stored in a page memory of FIG.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an interface waveform between an MPU, a printing mechanism unit, and a page memory during one-color printing in this embodiment.

FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of image output according to the present embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing a control means of this embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Image Recording Device 9 Control Panel 10 MPU (Control Unit) 11 Switch A, B Recording Paper (Recording Material)

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. An image recording apparatus capable of printing an image on a plurality of types of recording materials having different effective printing areas, the determining means determining the size of the mounted recording material, and the determination made by the determining means. An image recording apparatus comprising: a setting unit configured to set an image position with respect to a maximum effective print area of the recording material based on a result. 2. The image recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the setting unit is provided in a control unit built in the image recording apparatus. 3. The image recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the setting unit is a switch on an operation panel provided in the image recording apparatus.