JPH11179888A - Image recorder - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an image recorder for suitably protecting information recorded on a recording medium by reducing a printing cost. SOLUTION: A delivery tray 50 for placing sheets 4 as low rigidity recording media is disposed downstream side of a conveying direction of a conveyor belt 20 in an inclined state. A compact disk 2 as a high rigidity recording medium is stopped at an end of a downstream side of the belt 20 so as not to be introduced into the tray 50, then the belt 20 is driven reversely, and hence the disc 2 immediately after recording is finished is moved to a safe region on the belt 20.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

The present invention relates to an image recording apparatus for recording an image on the surface of a rigid recording medium such as a compact disk.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Generally, a recording medium such as a compact disk has rigidity and hardly any flexibility. Therefore, as a means for recording an image such as a label on the surface of such a rigid recording medium, a printing method such as screen printing or offset printing has been conventionally used.

[0003] However, in such a conventional printing method, it is necessary to prepare a screen plate or an offset plate for each color used in the original image to be printed. For this reason, as the number of original images increases, the number of screen plates and offset plates increases, and it is necessary to attach these multiple plates to a printing apparatus while performing fine alignment. Further, while the number of colors is limited due to the configuration of the printing apparatus, it is necessary to newly prepare ink of a color corresponding to the required color.

[0004] Therefore, a screen version or an offset version is required as an expense, and it takes days to produce.
In particular, the preparation process before starting printing is troublesome. For this reason, when printing a lot with a small number of prints, there is also a disadvantage that the printing cost per recording medium is relatively high.

[0005] Further, after the printing is completed, it takes time and effort to wash the ink and to treat the waste liquid, and special treatment facilities are required. In addition, since the size of the device increases in proportion to the number of plates to be used, an installation space for a large device is required, and when storing a printed plate for reprinting or the like, It also needed space for plate storage.

Further, in the above-described conventional method, when performing test printing such as test printing, or when preparing a color sample or the like, it is necessary to form an image of an actual size in all cases. Improvement was required.

[0007]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention provides an image recording apparatus which can solve the problems caused by the conventional methods such as the above-mentioned screen printing and can appropriately protect information recorded on a recording medium. I do.

[0008]

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides an image recording apparatus for recording an image based on recording information by using recording means for performing a recording operation on a recording surface of a recording medium. A transport path for selectively transporting at least two types of recording media having different rigidities, a recording medium transport unit that transports the recording medium, and a recording medium transported by the recording medium transport unit. A holding unit for holding, a selecting unit for selecting a recording medium conveyed by the recording medium conveying unit, and when performing recording by selecting a relatively rigid recording medium among the at least two types of recording media, Control means for transporting the recording medium after the recording operation by the recording means is performed from the holding unit in a direction opposite to a transport direction with respect to a recording position by the recording means. And wherein the Rukoto.

Here, the recording medium conveying means may include a sending means for sending the recording medium to a predetermined position on the conveying path.

The distance between the sending means and the recording means may be longer than the length of the relatively rigid recording medium in the transport direction.

[0011] A recording medium mounting means for mounting the recorded recording medium having relatively low rigidity may be provided downstream of the recording medium conveying means in the conveying direction.

The distance between the recording means and the recording medium placement means may be shorter than the length of the relatively rigid recording medium in the transport direction.

The recording medium having a relatively low rigidity may be paper, and the recording medium having a relatively high rigidity may be a disk medium.

The transport path of the recording medium transport means may be a flat transport path for transporting the relatively rigid recording medium, and a curved surface for transporting the relatively low rigid recording medium. It may be a transport path.

The flat transport path and the curved transport path may be switchable, and the flat transport path and the curved transport path may have a common part that shares a part with each other. The shared portion may include the recording unit provided downstream of the recording medium transport unit in the recording medium transport direction.

The recording means of the image recording apparatus may be an ink jet recording means, and the ink jet recording means may have a heat energy generator for generating heat energy used for discharging ink. The thermal energy generator may be an electrothermal converter that generates thermal energy that causes film boiling of the ink.

In the present invention, an image can be recorded on a rigid recording medium by a direct recording method such as an ink jet recording means, and a test print as a trial print is performed on a sheet based on information recorded on the rigid recording medium. You can also.

In the present invention, since an image is directly recorded on a disk-shaped recording medium by digital image information, a printing plate is not required, the number of printing steps and the number of days can be greatly reduced, and the apparatus can be downsized.

Further, image information for printing can be stored on a tape, a flexible disk, an optical disk, or the like, and therefore, the image information is excellent in storability. In addition, processing such as color change, layout change, enlargement, and reduction of the original image can be easily performed. In particular, image recording can be performed on paper and a rigid recording medium having different characteristics, and the paper feeding means is retracted to feed the rigid recording medium. The device can be downsized because it is returned to the maximum.

[0020]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, an embodiment of an image recording apparatus according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

FIGS. 1 and 2 show a schematic configuration of an example of an image recording apparatus according to the present invention. In the example shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, an optical disc-shaped recording medium as a high-rigidity recording medium, for example, a compact disk or a laser disk 2, or a conveying unit 6 for conveying a sheet 4 as a low-rigidity recording medium. And the direction indicated by the arrow X shown in FIG.
And a tray member 8 that is rotatably supported at both ends along the transport direction of the sheet 4 and on which the sheet 4 is placed. A rotation mechanism unit 10 that is separated from the transport unit 6 to transport the compact disc 2 and selectively maintains a standby state position to transport the compact disc 2 to the transport unit 6; An inkjet recording head 12 as recording means for performing a recording operation on the label portion 2PA of the compact disc 2 or the recording area of the paper 4, which is disposed to face the compact disk 2 and the paper 4 conveyed in the downstream portion; The lifting mechanism 14 is disposed below the unit 6 and appropriately adjusts the mutual distance between the recording head 12 and the surface of the recording medium on the transport unit 6 according to the thickness of the recording medium.

As shown in FIG. 8 (A), the compact disc 2 has, for example, a circular hole of 120 mm and a through hole 2H of about 15 mm mounted in a compact disc player (not shown) at the center thereof. Have. Around the through hole 2H of the compact disc 2, a lead-in area 2RI in which a tune of recorded audio information or its address is recorded, a program information recording area 2RA in which audio information is recorded, a lead-out area 2RO
Are formed.

As shown in FIGS. 8B and 8C, the lead-in area 2RI and the program information recording area 2RA are formed by a writing light beam modulated based on a reproduced audio signal to be recorded. Pits formed 2 pi
2B is spirally arranged and formed on one surface portion
And a protective film 2F that covers one surface of the substrate 2B.

For example, each pit 2pi in the substrate portion 2B made of a transparent polycarbonate resin is, for example,
0.5 μm width, 0.9-3.3 μm length, 0.1 μ depth
m. A reflection film 2rf made of an aluminum alloy is provided on the bottom surface of each pit 2pi.

FIG. 8A shows the peripheral portion of the through hole 2H.
As shown in FIG. 2, a bar code 2BC representing the content of image data to be printed on the label unit 2PA is formed.

Further, the lead-in area 2RI and the program information recording area 2 of the substrate 2B in the protective film 2F are provided.
A portion facing the RA includes a program information recording area 2R.
A label section 2PA is provided in which the contents of the music recorded in A, the production company, and the like are printed in characters and graphics.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the transport section 6 includes a driving roller 18 and a driven roller 16 which are arranged at a predetermined interval in parallel with each other, and a winding section between the driving roller 18 and the driven roller 16. It is configured to include a transport belt 20 as an endless belt to be mounted, and a transport motor 26 with a speed reduction mechanism connected to one end of the drive roller 18.

The transport belt 20 is driven in such a manner that the drive roller 18 and the transport belt 20 are integrally driven by the frictional force of the drive roller 18 and that the transport belt 20 is prevented from expanding and contracting due to the drive force of the drive roller 18. Made of relatively hard rubber material. Therefore, the transport belt
There is no problem if it is made of metal or another material such as a resin film. As shown in FIG.
As shown in FIG. 5, when the compact disc 2 is placed on the transport belt 20, markings 20MA and 20MB indicating a predetermined position along the width direction of the transport belt 20 on which the compact disc 2 is to be placed are displayed. It is drawn. The markings 20MA and 20MB are drawn along the transport direction of the transport belt 20 in parallel with each other with a predetermined interval, for example, a dimension substantially the same as the diameter of the compact disc 2.

Frame members 22A and 22B are provided opposite to each other at both ends along the conveying direction of the conveyor belt 20, respectively. At a position on the downstream side of the transport belt 20 and facing a recording head section 35 described later, a platen member 40 is provided inside the transport belt 20 so as to straddle the frame members 22A and 22B. The platen member 40 maintains the position facing the recording head unit 35 on the outer surface of the transport belt 20 in a flat state.

The driven roller 16, the surface of which is covered with a rubber material, has a bearing portion provided at both ends 16a at an upstream portion of the frame member 22A and a bearing portion provided at an upstream portion of the frame member 22B. , And are rotatably supported.

The drive roller 18, the surface of which is covered with a rubber material, has a bearing portion provided at the downstream portion of the frame member 22A and a bearing portion provided at the downstream portion of the frame member 22B. , And are rotatably supported. The transport motor 26 connected to one end of the drive roller 18 is, for example, a stepping motor, and its rotation direction is selectively forward or reverse according to a drive control signal from a drive circuit unit described later. Is controlled as follows.

The recording means 12 includes guide shafts 30 and 32 whose both ends are supported by frame members 22A and 22B, a carriage portion 34 slidably supported by the guide shafts 30 and 32, And a serial recording head unit 35 detachably mounted on the unit 34.
In the present embodiment, a serial recording head is used as the recording unit 12, but the present invention is not limited to this, and a full line recording head extending in the width direction of the transport belt 20 is employed. May be.

The recording head unit 35 has, for example, an ink ejection unit of a bubble jet type. The ink ejecting section moves along the transport direction of the compact disc 2,
For example, it has 64 ink ejection ports arranged in a row facing the surface of the compact disc 2 to be conveyed. Although not shown, an ink tank for storing ink of a predetermined color is attached to the ink ejection unit of the recording head unit 35. Thereby, the recording head unit 3
The ink is supplied to the fifth ink ejection unit at a predetermined timing according to the recording operation. Further, the recording head unit 35
Is controlled based on a drive control pulse signal group KP from a printing operation control unit 90 described later.

The carriage section 34 is connected to a belt 38 extending along the width of the conveyor belt 20. The belt 38 has pulleys 36A and 36B opposed to each other at both ends along the conveying direction of the conveying belt 20.
It is wound around. The pulley 36A is fixed to an output shaft 92a of the carriage driving motor 92. Pulley 3
6B is fixed to a rotating shaft 36b provided in the apparatus. Thus, when the carriage driving motor 92 is activated, the carriage unit 34 is reciprocated in the direction indicated by the arrow Y.

On the downstream side of the transport section 6 and in the vicinity of the drive roller 2, there is a discharge tray 50 for stacking the recorded paper 4.
Is provided. One end of the discharge tray 50 on the drive roller 2 side is inclined toward the lower side of the transport belt 20. On the conveyor belt 20 between the driving roller 18 and the recording means 12, a rotating shaft 42 having a spur 42A for suppressing lifting of the recorded paper 4 during the conveying and a rotating shaft 44 having a paper discharging roller 44A are conveyed. It is provided along the Y direction orthogonal to the direction X.

A plurality of spurs 42A on the rotating shaft 42 are arranged at predetermined intervals along the axial direction, and a plurality of discharge rollers 44A on the rotating shaft 44 are also arranged at predetermined intervals along the axial direction. Are arranged. Both ends of the rotating shaft 42 and the rotating shaft 44 are connected to each other by a lever 46 as shown in FIG.

The lever 46 is connected to the rotating shaft 42 and the rotating shaft 4.
The ends commonly connected to the bifurcated portions that support the end portions 4 are rotatably supported by the support shaft 46a. A rod of a solenoid portion 48 is connected to a forked portion of the lever 46 that supports the ends of the rotating shaft 42 and the rotating shaft 44, respectively.

The solenoid section 48 is selectively controlled based on a drive control signal from a drive circuit section 102, which will be described later, so that the rod can be in an extended state or a contracted state. When the rod of the solenoid portion 48 is extended, as shown by the solid line in FIG. 1, the spur 42A and the paper discharge roller 44A press the surface of the conveyor belt 20 with a predetermined pressure, so that the recorded data having a small thickness is recorded. The paper 4 can be reliably discharged. On the other hand, when the rod of the solenoid portion 48 is contracted, the spur 42A and the paper discharge roller 44A are separated from the surface of the transport belt 20 as shown by a two-dot chain line in FIG. In order to avoid contact with the recording medium, it is possible to prevent the sharp portion of the spur 42A from damaging the surface of the recording medium, thereby ensuring safe conveyance.

The elevating mechanism 14 includes eccentric cam members 52 and 54 which are respectively in contact with predetermined positions in an upstream portion in a lower portion of the transport portion 6 and a downstream portion.
It is configured to include support shafts 56 and 58 to which the eccentric cam members 52 and 54 are fixed, respectively, and a drive motor 124 connected to one ends of the support shafts 56 and 58, respectively.

The transport section 6 is supported by a guide support member (not shown) so as to be movable in the vertical direction. The gap between the ink ejection unit of the recording head unit 35 and the recording surface of the recording medium on the transport unit 6 is usually set to 0.5 mm even if the thickness of the recording medium is different. For example, while the thickness of the paper 4 is about 0.1 mm, the thickness of the compact disc 2 is about 1.2 mm,
When printing on the protective surface of the compact disc 2,
It is necessary to lower the transporting unit 6 by the difference of 0.7 mm so that the gap is 0.5 mm. Therefore, by controlling the amount of rotation of the eccentric cam members 52 and 54 of the elevating mechanism unit 14, the transport unit 6 that follows the cam surfaces of the eccentric cam members 52 and 54 by its own weight can be lowered by a desired amount.

The pivoting mechanism 10 pivotally supports the arm members 60A and 60B, one end of which is connected to both sides of the lower end of the tray member 8, and the other end of the arm member 60A. And a support base 76B having a support shaft 76b rotatably supporting the other end of the arm member 60B.

One end of the tray member 8 is connected to the arm members 60A and 60B in a state where the tray member 8 is inclined obliquely upward with respect to the surface on which the sheet 4 is placed on the transport belt 20. .

The portions of the thin plate-shaped arm members 60A and 60B to which the tray member 8 is connected are respectively
A separation roller 64 and a separation pad member 68 for feeding out the sheets 4 stacked on the tray member 8 one by one are provided. The separation pad member 68 is made of, for example, a rubber material. Further, the outer peripheral surface of the separation roller 64 and the separation pad member 6
8 are in contact with each other. Separation roller 64
Has one end connected to a driving motor 94 (not shown in FIGS. 1 and 2), and is rotatable clockwise. The drive motor 94 is connected to a drive circuit 1 described later.
06 is controlled based on the drive control signal.

When the separation roller 64 rotates in response to the drive control signal, one of the uppermost sheets of the stacked sheets 4 is separated by friction with the outer peripheral surface of the separation roller 64 and is led out while being separated from the outer peripheral surface. By being inserted between the surface of the separation pad member 68 and the guide belt 68a disposed on the delivery side of the separation roller 64, the conveyance belt 20 is guided.
Placed on top. At this time, it is avoided that the plurality of sheets 4 are simultaneously guided by the frictional force of the surface of the separation pad member 68 and placed on the transport belt 20.

Further, on the downstream side of the separation roller 64 in the conveyance direction, the feed roller 6 which is in contact with the surface of the conveyance belt 20 is provided.
2 and a backup roller 66 that is disposed to face the feed roller 62 with the transport belt 20 interposed therebetween and that presses the back surface of the transport belt 20. Feed roller 62
Is brought into contact with the surface of the conveyor belt 20 at a predetermined pressure, so that the feed roller 62 is rotated following the movement of the conveyor belt 20. The paper 4 guided by the guide plate 68a is applied to the surface of the transport belt 20 and the feed roller 6
2 and is transported.

The support bases 76A and 76B are provided with stopper members 74a and 74b for retaining and holding the arm member 60 when the arm member 60 is in an inverted state, as shown by a two-dot chain line in FIG. ing.

At a position directly below the separation pad member 68 in the frame member 22A, the tray member 8 and the arm member 60 are turned in the direction indicated by the arrow to be compact in the inverted state shown by the two-dot chain line in FIG. A tray member arrangement state detector 2 for detecting whether the disk 2 is being conveyed, or whether the tray 4 is being conveyed in a state where the tray member 8 and the arm member 60 are indicated by solid lines in FIG.
4 are provided.

When the tray member 8 and the arm member 60 are placed on the conveyor belt 20, as shown by a solid line in FIG. 1, the tray member arrangement state detector 24 outputs a detection output signal St that takes a high level. It is sent to a control unit 80 described below, while the tray member 8 and the arm member 60 are
, A low-level detection output signal St is sent to the control unit 80.

At both ends of the arm members 60A and 60B and downstream of the portion where the feed roller 62 is provided, both ends thereof are frame members 22A and 22A, respectively.
2B supports the guide shaft 3
It is arranged parallel to 0 and 32.

An imaging section 72 is fixed to the support plate 70. The distance between the imaging unit 72 and the recording unit 12 is, for example, a distance at which the recording unit 12 can perform a recording operation after the outline of the compact disk 2 is photographed, that is,
The distance is substantially the same as the radius of the compact disc 2.

The imaging section 72 is, for example, a CCD (char)
It has a solid-state image sensor such as a Ge coupled device. Conveyor belt 20 in imaging section 72
6A is longer than the diameter of the compact disc 2, for example, as shown in FIG.
For example, it is set to about 140 mm. In such a case, the compact disc 2 is
Of the compact disc 2 and the label portion 2 even if it is not arranged between the marking 20MA and the marking 20MB and is slightly offset in one direction.
The PA is captured by the imaging unit 72 and can be detected. Also in this case, the position and outer shape of the compact disc 2 conveyed by the conveyance belt 20 can be photographed and detected.

The conveying belt 20 in the image pickup section 72
6B is shorter than the diameter of the compact disc 2 as shown in FIG.
It may be set to about 70 mm. In such a case, the bar code 2BC provided on the through hole 2H and its peripheral portion, and a part of the label portion 2PA are used as the imaging portion 7A.
2 enables shooting. Thereby, the transport belt 20
The position of the compact disk 2 conveyed by the camera and the barcode 2BC can be photographed and detected.

The image pickup section 72 takes an image of the outer shape of the sheet 4 or the compact disk 2 which is arranged and conveyed on the conveyor belt 20, and supplies the obtained image pickup signal Sv to a signal processing section 120 described later at a predetermined timing.

An example of the image recording apparatus according to the present invention further includes a control unit 80 as shown in FIG.

The control unit 80 has a label 2PA of the compact disc 2 from the host computer 82.
A data group HD including recording data and recording control data to be recorded in a recording operation start request or a recording start request signal Sr from the operation unit 84 in which a test recording mode selection operation is performed, and a mode representing a test recording mode. Based on a selection signal Sma, a mode selection signal Smb representing a thinning test recording mode, a detection output signal St from the tray member arrangement state detector 24, and an imaging signal Sv from the imaging unit 72, predetermined signal processing, for example, digital Image data D from the signal processing unit 120 that performs the conversion process
V is supplied.

When controlling the operation of the recording means 12, the control unit 80 executes the recording data DR for each scan in the data group HD from the host computer 82.
Is supplied to the storage unit 86 connected at a predetermined timing. The storage unit 86 writes the data in accordance with the write timing signal from the control unit 80 and reads the recording data MDR in response to the read timing signal from the control unit 80, and supplies it to the image processing unit 88. The storage unit 86 stores the label 2P of the compact disc 2
Data MDO representing the outline of the area A is also stored.

For example, as shown in FIG. 4, the image processing unit 88 is selected by the data selection and transmission unit 112 to which the recording data MDR and the data MDO from the storage unit 86 are supplied and by the data selection and transmission unit 112 A multi-valued / binary conversion unit 118 that performs a binarization process based on the recording data MDR that is multi-valued data, and records based on the binarized record data DDN1 obtained by the multi-value / binary conversion unit 118. A printing operation control unit 90 that forms a drive control pulse signal group KP according to the ink ejection port arrangement of the head unit 35 and supplies the same to the printing unit 12 is configured.

The image processing unit 88 additionally performs an enlargement / reduction operation on the recording data MDR and MDO in accordance with a predetermined scale to obtain data MDS. , Data MDS
Alternatively, it includes an image synthesizing unit 116 that synthesizes an image based on the MDR and the data MDO.

Label section 2PA of compact disc 2
In recording the data, the data selection transmitting unit 112
Selects the recording data MDR based on the data selection signal Cc representing the data to be selected from the control unit 80, and supplies it to the multi-value / binary conversion unit 118. The multi-value / binary conversion unit 118 performs a density gradation conversion process based on the recording data MDR and performs a binarization process based on, for example, an area gradation method, to obtain binarized recording data DDN1. The multilevel / binary conversion unit 118 sends the obtained binarized recording data DDN1 to the recording operation control unit 90 at a predetermined timing. Accordingly, when the carriage unit 34 reciprocates with the recording unit 12, ink is ejected from the recording unit 12 at a predetermined timing, so that a character or a figure corresponding to the recording data is recorded on the label unit 2PA of the compact disc 2. It is formed.

When recording on the recording surface of the sheet 4 based on the mode selection signals Sma and Smb,
The data selection transmitting unit 112 converts the recording data MDR and MDO based on the data selection signal Cc into an image synthesizing unit 116.
To supply. The image synthesizing unit 116 performs a synthesizing process based on the recording data MDR and MDO, and supplies the obtained synthesized image data DC to the multi-value / binary conversion unit 118. The multi-value / binary conversion unit 118 performs the same binarization processing as described above, and obtains the binary record data DDN2. The multi-level / binary conversion section 118 sends out the binary recording data DDN2 to the recording operation control section 90 at a predetermined timing.

As a result, when the carriage section 34 reciprocates with the recording means 12, ink is ejected from the recording means 12 at a predetermined timing, and as shown in FIG. Between the outer diameter line OL and the inner diameter line IL corresponding to the area of the portion 2PA, a character Wo corresponding to the recording data is formed on the recording surface of the paper 4.

At this time, the control unit 80 changes the thinning-out processing command signal Cb according to the mode selection signal Smb to a multi-value /
When supplied to the binary conversion unit 118, the multi-value / binary conversion unit 118 performs a binarization process in the same manner as described above using the data of about 50% in the recording data MDR, and outputs the binary recording data. Obtain DDN2. Thereby, the carriage section 34
Reciprocates with the recording means 12, the recording means 1
The ink is ejected at a predetermined timing from 2 onward, and FIG.
As shown in (B), the outer diameter line OL and the inner diameter line IL corresponding to the area of the label portion 2PA of the compact disc 2
In between, a character Wo ′ having a resolution lower than that of the character Wo is formed on the recording surface of the sheet 4.

In the decimation process, for example, in order to avoid losing the characteristics of the recorded image, for example, the decimation amount of the data of the outline portion is reduced in a solid image, and the decimation amount is increased in the solid region. doing. Further, a thin line image, a thin character, or the like is not thinned out at all, or the thinning amount is reduced so that the printing amount is averaged to about 50%. Thereby, the arrangement of the characters to be recorded in the label unit 2PA is confirmed, and the ink consumption is reduced.

Further, mode selection signals Sma and Sm
When recording is performed on the recording surface of the sheet 4 based on b, when the control unit 80 supplies a display command signal CS for enlargement or reduction to the enlargement / reduction operation unit 114, the enlargement / reduction operation unit 114 The arithmetic processing is performed on the recording data MDR and data MDO according to the scale represented by the command signal CS. Data M reduced or expanded from a standard scale according to a predetermined scale
DS is obtained.

The enlargement / reduction operation unit 114 sequentially
An arithmetic process is performed for each of the supplied recording data MDR or data MDO, and the obtained data MDS is supplied to the image synthesizing unit 116.

The image synthesizing unit 116 performs a synthesizing process based on the sequentially supplied data MDS according to a predetermined operation program, and supplies the obtained synthesized image data DC to the multi-value / binary conversion unit 118. As a result, the binarized recording data D
DN2 is obtained. When the recording means 12 is driven based on the drive control pulse signal group KP, the recording means 12 shown in FIG.
As shown in (A), the binary recording data DDN
2 is recorded on the recording surface of the sheet 4.

FIG. 7A shows a case where four different types of recording data are respectively reduced to a predetermined scale, and each image is recorded on the recording surface of one sheet of paper 4.

That is, characters WSa, WSb, WSc reduced based on four different types of recording data, and
WSd that is represented between the outer diameter line OLS and the inner diameter line ILS corresponding to the area of the label portion 2PA of the compact disc 2 is formed at predetermined four positions in the recording surface of the paper 4 respectively. You.

FIG. 7B shows a case where the same type of recording data is reduced to a predetermined scale, and each image is recorded on the recording surface of one sheet of paper 4.

Characters WSa ', WSb', WSc ', and WSd' reduced based on the same type of print data
Are formed between the outer diameter line OLS and the inner diameter line ILS corresponding to the area of the label portion 2PA of the compact disc 2 and are formed at predetermined four positions in the recording surface of the sheet 4 respectively. . This makes it possible to examine the arrangement of images recorded on the label unit 2PA with reference to the image formed on the recording surface of the sheet 4.

When the control unit 80 performs recording on the label unit 2PA of the compact disc 2 based on the recording start request signal Sr from the operation unit 84, the tray member 8 As shown by the dashed line, in the case of the inverted state, the elevating mechanism 14 based on the detection output signal St from the tray member arrangement state detector 24.
A control signal Cd is formed to lower the transport unit 6 to a predetermined position, and the control signal Cd is supplied to the drive circuit unit 122.
In addition, the control unit 80 forms a control signal Cd in the drive circuit unit 102 so as to rotate the lever member 46 as shown by a two-dot chain line in FIG. 1 to raise the paper discharge roller 44A and the spur 42A, and to generate the control signal Cd. Supply. As a result, the discharge roller 44A contacts the unfixed image recorded on the label surface of the compact disk 2 to disturb the image, or the data stored in the compact disk 2 at the sharp portion of the spur 42A is inadvertent. Can be prevented from being destroyed.

Next, as shown in FIG. 2, the control unit 80 determines that the outer periphery of the compact disc 2 has a marking 20MA and a marking 20MB on the conveyor belt 20.
And the label 2PA is positioned on the conveyor belt 20 with its relative position to the recording head 35 positioned. The control signal Cb is driven to move the conveyor belt 20 at a predetermined speed. Circuit section 10
Supply 0. Even if the compact disc 2 is slightly roughly placed on the conveyor belt 20, the imaging section 72 is provided in a slightly larger size than the outer diameter of the compact disc 2, so that the outer shape of the compact disc 2 Information such as the diameter can be detected.

Subsequently, when the transport belt 20 is moved and the compact disc 2 passes directly below the image pickup section 72, the control unit 80 controls the label section 2PA of the compact disc 2 based on the image pickup data DV from the signal processing section 120.
The predetermined recording start position of the label unit 2PA of the compact disc 2 is determined by the position of the end of the label unit 2PA in the traveling direction of the compact disc 2 and the position of the label unit 2PA and the set distance between the ink ejection unit of the recording head unit 35 and the imaging unit 72 Calculate the time to reach. The control unit 80 measures the movement elapsed time of the transport belt 20 from the passing time point, and repeats the supply and stop of the control signal Cb at a predetermined timing at the time point when the arrival time has elapsed, and print data for one scan. The MDR is sequentially read from the storage unit 86 and supplied to the image processing unit 88. The control unit 80
Is a control signal C for causing the carriage section 34 to reciprocate.
f is supplied to the drive circuit unit 104.

At this time, the control unit 80 checks the bar code data 2BC against the record data DR to be recorded based on the image data DV, and outputs the bar code data 2B.
If C does not match the recording data DR to be recorded, a warning signal Ca is issued to the display signal forming unit 11 in order to prompt the exchange of the compact disc 2 for an appropriate compact disc 2.
Supply 0. The display signal forming unit 110 outputs the warning signal Ca
On the basis of the above, and supplies it to the warning display section 98. Thus, a warning display is performed by the warning display unit 98. The warning display section 98 may be, for example, a CRT or a liquid crystal display.

The compact disk 2 of the recording head unit 35
When the recording operation on the label section 2PA is completed and the transport belt 20 is stopped and the end of the compact disc 2 in the traveling direction protrudes from the downstream portion of the transport belt 20 by a predetermined amount, the control is performed. The unit 80 is configured to reverse the moving direction of the transport belt 20 to the opposite direction.
The control signal Cb is supplied to the drive circuit unit 100. Thereby, the compact disc 2 recorded on the label unit 2PA is conveyed back from the downstream side toward the upstream side, and as a result, is obtained on the upstream side of the conveying belt 20. By such an operation, the compact disc 2 on which an image has been recorded can be obtained at or near the position where the compact disc 2 is first placed on the conveyor belt 20, and the working efficiency can be improved.

While the compact disk 2 is moved to the upstream side of the conveyor belt 20, the label unit 2PA recorded when the compact disk 2 passes just below the image pickup unit 72 is photographed by the image pickup unit 72, and the control unit 80 is controlled by the control unit 80. The image data DV and the recording data may be collated to perform an image quality inspection. At that time, the control unit 80 may be configured to supply a warning signal to the effect that the recorded image on the label unit 2PA is defective to the display signal forming unit 110.

In the present embodiment, after the position of the compact disc 2 is detected by the imaging unit 72, the recording head unit 3
5, the image recording is performed by detecting the position of the compact disc 2 by the imaging unit 72, that is, at least the compact disc 2 The position is farther than the radius of.

When the control unit 80 performs recording on the recording surface of the sheet 4 based on the recording start request signal Sr from the operation unit 84, the tray member 8 As shown by the solid line, the transport belt 20
In the case where the conveying unit 6 is brought close to the surface, a control signal Cg is formed based on the detection output signal St from the tray member arrangement state detector 24 so that the transport unit 6 is raised to a predetermined position by the lifting mechanism 14. Is supplied to the drive circuit unit 122. Further, the control unit 80 rotates the lever member 46 as shown by the solid line in FIG.
And the drive circuit unit 102 to lower the spur 42A.
To form a control signal Cd and supply it.

Next, the control unit 80 controls the separation roller 6
The control signal Ci is supplied to the drive circuit unit 106 in order to rotate the sheet 4 and place the sheets 4 on the transport belt 20 one by one.

Subsequently, when the transport belt 20 is moved and the leading end of the sheet 4 in the traveling direction passes directly below the image pickup section 72, the control unit 80 records the sheet 4 based on the image pickup data DV from the signal processing section 120. The predetermined recording start position on the recording surface of the sheet 4 is determined by the position of the end of the surface in the traveling direction and the distance between the ink ejection unit of the recording head unit 35 and the imaging unit 72 set at the predetermined recording start position. Is calculated. The control unit 80 measures the movement elapsed time of the transport belt 20 from the passing time point, and repeats the supply and stop of the control signal Cb at a predetermined timing at the time point when the arrival time has elapsed, and print data for one scan. The MDR is sequentially read from the storage unit 86 and supplied to the image processing unit 88. Further, the control unit 80 supplies a control signal Cf to the drive circuit unit 104 to reciprocate the carriage unit 34. At this time, the control unit 80 supplies the thinning-out processing command signal Cb to the multi-value / binary conversion unit 118 according to the mode selection signal Smb.

After the end of the recording operation on the recording surface of the paper 4, the control unit 80 sends a control signal Ce to the drive circuit unit 1 to discharge the recorded paper 4 to the paper discharge tray 50.
08.

(Others) It should be noted that the present invention includes a means (for example, an electrothermal converter or a laser beam) for generating thermal energy as energy used for discharging ink, particularly in an ink jet recording system. An excellent effect is obtained in a recording head and a recording apparatus of a type in which the state of ink is changed by the thermal energy. This is because according to such a method, it is possible to achieve higher density and higher definition of recording.

The typical configuration and principle are described in, for example, US Pat. Nos. 4,723,129 and 4,740.
It is preferable to use the basic principle disclosed in the specification of Japanese Patent No. 796. This method is a so-called on-demand type,
Although it can be applied to any type of continuous type, in particular, in the case of the on-demand type, it can be applied to a sheet holding liquid (ink) or an electrothermal converter arranged corresponding to the liquid path. By applying at least one drive signal corresponding to the recorded information and giving a rapid temperature rise exceeding the nucleate boiling, heat energy is generated in the electrothermal transducer, and film boiling occurs on the heat acting surface of the recording head. Liquid (ink) corresponding to this drive signal on a one-to-one basis.
This is effective because air bubbles inside can be formed. The liquid (ink) is ejected through the ejection opening by the growth and contraction of the bubble to form at least one droplet. When the drive signal is formed into a pulse shape, the growth and shrinkage of the bubble are performed immediately and appropriately, so that the ejection of a liquid (ink) having particularly excellent responsiveness can be achieved, which is more preferable. As the pulse-shaped drive signal, those described in US Pat. Nos. 4,463,359 and 4,345,262 are suitable. Further, if the conditions described in US Pat. No. 4,313,124 relating to the temperature rise rate of the heat acting surface are adopted, more excellent recording can be performed.

As the configuration of the recording head, in addition to the combination of the discharge port, the liquid path, and the electrothermal converter (linear liquid flow path or right-angled liquid flow path) as disclosed in the above-mentioned specifications, U.S. Pat. No. 4,558,333 and U.S. Pat.
A configuration using the specification of Japanese Patent No. 59600 is also included in the present invention. In addition, Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 59-123670 discloses a configuration in which a common slit is used as a discharge portion of an electrothermal converter for a plurality of electrothermal converters, and an aperture for absorbing a pressure wave of thermal energy is provided. The effect of the present invention is effective even if the configuration is based on JP-A-59-138461, which discloses a configuration corresponding to a discharge unit. That is, according to the present invention, recording can be reliably 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 on which a recording apparatus can record. 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 integrally formed recording head.

In addition, even in the case of the serial type as described above, the recording head fixed to the apparatus main body or the electric connection with the apparatus main body and the ink from the apparatus main body when 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 provided integrally with the recording head itself is used.

Further, it is preferable to add ejection recovery means for the recording head, preliminary auxiliary means, and the like as the configuration of the recording apparatus of the present invention since the effects of the present invention can be further stabilized. If these are specifically mentioned, the recording head is heated using capping means, cleaning means, pressurizing or suction means, an electrothermal transducer, another heating element or a combination thereof. Pre-heating means for performing the pre-heating and pre-discharging means for performing the discharging other than the recording can be used.

The type and number of recording heads to be mounted are, for example, not only one provided for single color ink, but also a plurality of inks having different recording colors and densities. A plurality may be provided. That is, for example, the printing mode of the printing apparatus is not limited to a printing mode of only a mainstream color such as black, but may be any of integrally forming a printing head or a combination of a plurality of printing heads. The present invention is also very effective for an apparatus provided with at least one of the recording modes of full color by color mixture.

In addition, in the embodiments of the present invention described above, the ink is described as a liquid. However, an ink which solidifies at room temperature or lower and which softens or liquefies at room temperature may be used. In general, the ink jet method generally controls the temperature of the ink itself within a range of 30 ° C. or more and 70 ° C. or less to control the temperature so that the viscosity of the ink is in a stable ejection range. Sometimes, the ink may be in a liquid state. In addition, in order to positively prevent temperature rise due to thermal energy by using it as energy for changing the state of the ink from a solid state to a liquid state, or to prevent evaporation of the ink, the ink is solidified in a standing state and heated. May be used. In any case, the application of heat energy causes the ink to be liquefied by the application of the heat energy according to the recording signal and the liquid ink to be ejected, or to start solidifying when it reaches the recording medium. The present invention is also applicable to a case where an ink having a property of liquefying for the first time is used. In such a case, the ink
JP-A-54-56847 or JP-A-60-7
As described in Japanese Patent Publication No. 1260, it is also possible to adopt a form in which the sheet is opposed to the electrothermal converter in a state where it is held as a liquid or solid substance in the concave portion or 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.

Further, the form of the ink jet recording apparatus of the present invention is not limited to the one used as an image output terminal of an information processing apparatus such as a computer, a copying apparatus combined with a reader or the like, and a facsimile apparatus having a transmission / reception function. It may take a form.

[0091]

As described above, according to the present invention,
By changing the feeding method and the discharging method in accordance with the characteristics such as the rigidity of the recording medium, the information recorded on the recording medium can be appropriately protected.

The present invention has the following effects by detecting the shape of the disk-shaped recording medium.

Before recording an image on the surface of a disc-shaped recording medium as a rigid recording medium, recording can be performed on paper to check the arrangement and color of the image, so that error-free image recording is possible.

Since an image can be directly recorded on a disk-shaped recording medium without the need for a plate or the like, the cost for recording can be reduced, and the number and time required for recording can be shortened.

In order to detect the position of the disk-shaped recording medium placed on the transport means and determine the recording position of the image, the operator simply places the disk at an approximate position to perform proper image recording. Even in an apparatus having a means for automatically placing, even if there is an error in the placement position, image recording can be performed accurately.

Further, since the recorded image is compared with the recorded data to check for an abnormality, a stable recorded image can be obtained. Further, since the means for detecting the position also serves as the means for detecting an abnormality in the image, the apparatus can be configured to be inexpensive and simple.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic sectional view showing an embodiment of an image recording apparatus of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a plan view of the image recording apparatus shown in FIG.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a control block in an embodiment of the image recording apparatus of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of an image processing unit illustrated in FIG. 3;

FIGS. 5A and 5B are plan views showing examples of images obtained by image recording with the configuration shown in FIG. 3;

FIGS. 6A and 6B are plan views showing the relationship between a sensor and a recording medium in the configuration shown in FIG. 3;

FIGS. 7A and 7B are plan views showing examples of images obtained by image recording with the configuration shown in FIG. 3;

FIG. 8A is a plan view showing a compact disc as a rigid recording medium to which an image recording apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention is applied and recorded, and FIG. 8B is a plan view showing the compact disc shown in FIG. It is a top view which expands and shows the principal part of a disk, (C) is sectional drawing which expands and shows the principal part of the compact disk shown to (A).

[Explanation of symbols]

 2 Compact disk (recording medium) 4 Paper (recording medium) 6 Conveying unit (recording medium conveying unit) 8 Tray member (recording medium conveying unit) 10 Rotating mechanism unit 12 Recording unit (recording unit) 20MA, 20MB Marking (holding unit) ) 24 tray member arrangement state detector 35 recording head unit (recording means) 72 imaging unit 80 control unit (control means) 86 storage unit

Claims (14)

[Claims] 1. An image recording apparatus for recording an image based on recording information by using recording means for performing a recording operation on a recording surface of a recording medium, wherein at least two types of recording media having different rigidities are selectively used. A recording medium transport unit that has a transport path for transporting the recording medium, transports the recording medium, holds a recording medium transported by the recording medium transport unit, and is transported by the recording medium transport unit Selecting means for selecting a recording medium; and selecting a recording medium having a relatively high rigidity from among the at least two types of recording media to perform recording, the recording medium after the recording operation is performed by the recording means. An image recording apparatus, comprising: a control unit configured to convey the recording medium from the holding unit in a direction opposite to a conveying direction with respect to a recording position of the recording unit. 2. An image recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said recording medium transport means includes a transmitting means for transmitting a recording medium to a predetermined position on said transport path. 3. The image recording apparatus according to claim 2, wherein a distance between the sending unit and the recording unit is longer than a length of the relatively rigid recording medium in a conveying direction. 4. A recording medium mounting means for mounting a printed recording medium having a relatively low rigidity is provided downstream of the recording medium conveying means in the conveying direction. The image recording apparatus according to any one of Items 1 to 3. 5. The image recording apparatus according to claim 4, wherein a distance between the recording unit and the recording medium placing unit is shorter than a length of the relatively rigid recording medium in a conveying direction. 6. The recording medium according to claim 1, wherein the recording medium having relatively low rigidity is paper, and the recording medium having relatively high rigidity is a disk-shaped medium. Image recording device. 7. The image recording apparatus according to claim 6, wherein a conveyance path of said recording medium conveyance means is a plane conveyance path for conveying said relatively rigid recording medium. 8. The image recording apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the transport path of the recording medium transport unit is a curved surface transport path for transporting the relatively rigid recording medium. . 9. The image recording apparatus according to claim 8, wherein the flat transport path and the curved transport path are switchable. 10. The image recording apparatus according to claim 8, wherein the flat transport path and the curved transport path have a common part that shares a part with each other. 11. The image recording apparatus according to claim 10, wherein the shared portion includes the recording unit provided downstream of the recording medium conveying unit in a recording medium conveying direction. 12. An image recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said recording means of said image recording apparatus is an ink jet recording means. 13. An image recording apparatus according to claim 12, wherein said ink jet recording means has a thermal energy generator for generating thermal energy used for discharging ink. 14. The image recording apparatus according to claim 13, wherein the thermal energy generator is an electrothermal converter that generates thermal energy that causes film boiling of the ink.