JP2009160745A - Recording system - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To solve the problem that a good image quality cannot be necessarily obtained because an image density differs or the like by recording speeds, recording densities of recording images, kinds of media to be recorded in a fixed method even if image processing is carried out to a bordering overlap part in the case of printing in a large size by a plurality of recorders. <P>SOLUTION: In a control method of the recording system capable of recording the image to the medium by the plurality of recorders, an overlap region of the adjacent recorder can be increased and decreased in a width direction of the medium, and moreover an ink placement amount (number of recording pixels) to the region is made changeable. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a recording system that performs recording on a single recording medium using a plurality of recording devices.

  Currently, image forming devices such as printers, copiers, and facsimiles use an ink jet recording system that forms images by ejecting ink droplets onto a recording medium because of the advantages of ease of color recording, high speed, and quietness. The ones that have been used are widespread.

  In order to record a full-color image, normally, four inkjet recording heads for ejecting yellow (Y), magenta (M), cyan (C), and black (K) inks are arranged in each recording apparatus. To do.

  Conventionally, a technique has been disclosed in which overlap areas are provided by a plurality of recording heads and image processing is performed on the overlap areas (see Patent Document 1).

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2002-210942

  By the way, a recording system for business use has been studied which can cope with a large recording width by using a plurality of recording apparatuses having a line head having a predetermined width.

  In such a recording system, when recording on a recording medium, even if the image processing is performed on the overlap portion as disclosed in Patent Document 1, the recording method and the recording density of the recording image are not possible with a fixed method. Depending on the type of recording medium, the image density and the like of the overlap region may differ, and a constant image quality may not always be obtained.

  Therefore, the present invention provides a recording system for recording on a large recording medium using a plurality of recording devices, and the overlap area is varied depending on various conditions such as recording speed, recording density of recorded images, and types of recording media. The purpose is to keep the image quality constant.

To achieve the above purpose,
The present invention comprises a transport means for transporting a recording medium, and a plurality of recording devices for recording an image on the recording medium being transported, having an overlap area for recording images in the width direction of the recording medium, Enabled to change overlap area.

  In the recording system of the present invention, the number of recording pixels in the overlap area can be increased or decreased.

  According to the present invention, the image quality of the overlap area between the recording apparatuses can be kept constant depending on the recording speed, the recording density of the recording image, and the type of the recording medium.

  DESCRIPTION OF EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 is a diagram showing the overall configuration of a recording system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

  The recording (printing) system 200 according to the present invention includes a plurality of recording (printing) devices 116 a to 116 n and a medium transport device 117 common to them. A recording (printing) system 200 is connected to the information processing apparatus 100 and performs recording according to instructions from the information processing apparatus 100. In this specification, the term “recording (printing) system” does not include the information processing apparatus 100 in a narrow sense, but can include the information processing apparatus 100 in a broad sense.

In FIG. 1, a CPU 101 is a central processing unit that controls system control of the information processing apparatus 100 in general. This CPU 101 is an operating system (Operating
Under the control of (System), an image forming application, an image division program according to the present invention, a program for correcting a boundary portion between recording apparatuses, that is, a connecting portion, a control program (device driver) for a plurality of recording apparatuses, etc. Execute.

  The system bus of the CPU 101 is connected to various hardware via, for example, a PCI bus and an ISA bus as a local bus, and a hierarchical bus via the host / PCI bridge 102 and the PCI / ISA bridge 105.

The system bus includes an SRAM (Static Random Access) that constitutes the cache memory 120.
It has a high-speed memory that uses (Memory), and stores code and data that the CPU 101 can always access.

A video controller 106 connected to the PCI bus is a display memory VRAM 10.
The display data of RGB written in 7 is continuously and continuously called, and the screen is refreshed on a display (display device) 108 such as CRT (Cathode Ray Tube), LCD (Liquid Crystal Display), PDP (Plasma Display Panel), etc. Transfer continuously as a signal.

The plurality of recording devices 116a to 116n are connected to the information processing device 100 via the communication interface 109 connected to the PCI bus. As this communication interface, for example, IEEE1284 (bidirectional Centronics), USB (Universal Serial Bus),
A network or the like can be used.

  In the present embodiment, the wired type interface 109 is used, but a communication interface such as a wireless LAN may be used.

An ISA bus is connected to the PCI bus via a PCI / ISA bridge 105.
ROM 112, EEPROM 113, FDD 110, CDD 111, keyboard 114, and mouse 115 are connected to the ISA bus. The ROM 112 includes a keyboard 114, a mouse 115, a BIOS (Basic Input Output System) program for controlling input / output devices such as the CDD 111 and the FDD 110, an initialization at power-on, a self-diagnosis program, etc. Non-volatile rewritable memory to store. An EEPROM (Electronic Erasable Read Only Memory) 113 stores various changeable parameters for permanent use.

A hard disk drive (HDD) 104 connected to the PCI / ISA bridge 105
Is a large-capacity external storage device that stores various programs and data in a nonvolatile manner.

The main memory 103 is an operating system, an application program according to the present invention, printer drivers for a plurality of recording devices 116a to 116n, etc. (n is an integer of 2 or more), a temporary storage area for execution programs, and for executing each program Used as a working memory area. These execution programs are read from the HDD 104, for example.

For the image recording operation, a recording program stored in the HDD 104 is stored in the main memory 10.
3 is realized by the CPU 101 executing this program.

  In the present embodiment, the recording program sets n recording devices 116a to 116n (n is an integer of 2 or more: that is, the number of divisions for dividing an image of one page) connected to the information processing device 100. And means for setting a recording area (divided width) to be recorded by each of the recording devices 116a to 116n, and an association setting means for a recording person in charge indicating which part of the recording width direction each recording device shares. To do. One page image is divided based on the contents set by these various setting means, and the recording data is transferred to the recording devices 116a to 116n and recorded.

In this way, the recording program performs recording data generation and recording data transfer processing for the plurality of recording devices 116a to 116n. Therefore, the program itself or the recording data generation process and the recording data transfer process in the recording program can be processed at high speed by operating in parallel (multi-process, multi-thread).

  Next, FIG. 2 shows a schematic perspective view of the recording system in the present embodiment.

  The information processing apparatus 100 and a plurality (five in the figure) of recording (printing) apparatuses 116a to 116e and the transport apparatus 117 are connected by a USB cable 201 as an example of a communication interface, and each recording from the information processing apparatus 100 is performed. Data, operation start, end command, etc. are transferred. Note that the number of recording devices is not limited to five.

Each of the recording devices 116a to 116e and the transport device 117 transmit and receive a signal for cueing the recording medium, synchronizing the transport speed and recording by a cable (not shown).

Each of the recording devices 116a to 116e includes, for example, four recording heads each having a recording width of about 4 inches (
K, C, M, Y). Therefore, in this embodiment, a color image having a maximum recording width of 20 inches can be continuously recorded.

Here, K, C, M, and Y are the colors of ink to be recorded and indicate K: black, C: cyan, M: magenta, and Y: yellow.

Ink to each of the recording devices 116a to 116e is supplied from a common ink tank 203K to 203Y through the ink tube 204.

Thus, by using a plurality of independent recording devices as the recording (printing) system 200,
By setting the recording width of one recording apparatus as a unit recording width (for example, 4 inches) and changing the number of recording apparatuses to be used, recording systems corresponding to various paper widths can be configured. In addition, when a failure or malfunction of an individual recording apparatus occurs, only the recording apparatus can be replaced. Therefore, even if the whole system becomes large, the maintenance cost can be made relatively small.

FIG. 3 shows a configuration example of a recording apparatus 116a that is a part of the recording system 200 of FIG. Further, the information processing apparatus 100 and the medium transport apparatus 117 are shown together. Recording devices 116b-11
Each configuration of 6e is the same as that of the recording device 116a.

The CPU 210 constitutes a control unit that controls the overall operation of the recording device 116a, and a memory controller 212, an interface controller 213, a program RO via a bus.
M214, work RAM 215, EEPROM 216, printhead control circuit 219, I /
O port 221 is connected.

The memory controller 212 is connected to a VRAM 211 that is a memory for storing recording data, writes recording data to the VRAM 211 under the control of the CPU 210, and reads out from the VRAM 211 in synchronization with an output signal from the synchronization circuit 217. I do.
The synchronization circuit 217 has a function of generating a signal to the memory controller 212 in synchronization with the recording medium conveyance state in the medium conveyance device 117.

The interface controller 213 is controlled by the CPU 210 under the information processing apparatus 100.
And data communication via a communication interface (USB example in the figure).

The program ROM 214 is a non-volatile memory that stores a program for realizing the operation of the recording device 116a. The work RAM 215 is the CPU 210.
Is a readable / writable memory that provides a work area and a temporary storage area for data. The EEPROM 216 is a rewritable nonvolatile memory, and is used to record user setting data in a nonvolatile manner, for example.

The recording head control circuit 219 receives the recording data from the memory controller 212 under the control of the CPU 210 and transfers the corresponding recording data to the recording heads 220 for each color of CMYK.
The I / O port 221 gives a control signal to the motor driving unit 222 under the control of the CPU 210 to control an external output device such as the capping motor 223 or the pump motor 224. The capping motor 223 is a power source that drives a mechanism that caps the recording head 220 to prevent ink drying when not in use. The pump motor 224 is a power source for applying pressure to the ink in the recording head to perform a recovery operation of the recording head.

FIG. 4 is a diagram for setting a mask pattern that is ANDed with print data in each overlapping portion (connecting 1 to 5) between the print heads of the printing apparatuses 116a to 116e in the present embodiment. An example of the mask setting screen 300 constituting the user interface means is shown. The mask pattern is a dot pattern for setting whether or not to allow ink ejection from each ejection port of both recording heads, and is configured to be selectable for each ink color. This mask setting screen 300 is displayed on the display 108 of the information processing apparatus 100 having a recording program.

  A pull-down menu 301 is a menu for allowing the user to select an ink color to which the mask pattern is applied. The display field 302 is an area for displaying an image that is explicitly shown in order to inform the user of the position of the connecting portion when recording is performed by a plurality of recording devices.

  The menu list columns 303a to 303e are display columns for presenting a list (option) of mask patterns that can be selected by the user for each connecting portion.

The ink colors that can be selected here are 4 provided in each of the recording apparatuses 116a to 116n.
The inks K: black, C: cyan, M: magenta, and Y: yellow are common to all colors (all four colors of ink are selected).

  The mask pattern held by the information processing apparatus 100 can be set to the same pattern for all the connecting portions between the recording apparatuses, or the mask pattern can be set independently for each recording apparatus. It is also possible to do.

  The mask pattern data is held in the information processing apparatus 100, but may be held on the recording apparatus side. The masking process of the recording data by the mask pattern is executed in the information processing apparatus 100. Alternatively, mask processing can be performed on the recording apparatus side. In this case, the data of all mask patterns is stored in advance in a storage device (for example, 214, 215, 216, etc.) in each recording device, and information specifying the mask pattern set to be used from the information processing device 100 side together with the recording request Notify each recording device. Alternatively, it is possible to transfer the mask pattern data to the printing apparatus each time.

A mask pattern set, which is a set of a mask pattern applied to one of the adjacent recording apparatuses and a mask pattern applied to the other, is prepared in response to a change in the positional relationship between the adjacent recording apparatuses. Even if a set of mask patterns suitable for the positional relationship is selected, the recording of the overlapping portion of the recording head of one recording apparatus and the recording of the overlapping portion of the recording head of the other recording apparatus complement each other. It is assumed that they meet each other.
“Complement each other” means that there are no overlapping or missing portions of recording dots by both recording apparatuses (heads) in the recording result of the overlapped portion on the recording medium.

An OK button 304 is an instruction unit on the screen for determining that the mask pattern selected in the menu list fields 303a to 303e is to be applied to a connection portion between recording apparatuses.

  A cancel button 305 is an instruction unit on the screen for canceling the setting contents before the user confirms the setting contents with the OK button on the mask setting screen.

  FIG. 5A conceptually shows a state where images 410 are continuously drawn by the recording devices 116a to 116e on the recording medium 206 conveyed in the arrow conveying direction.

  The recording medium 206 is conveyed in the arrow direction at a substantially constant speed during the recording operation. Each of the recording devices 116a to 116e has a line head of four colors K, C, M, Y (K: black, C: cyan, M: magenta, Y: yellow).

  FIG. 5b shows an enlarged view of the overlap area 400 of the recording devices 116a and 116b located on the left side of the four overlap areas in the recording width direction.

  In the enlarged overlap area 401, first, an image thinned in a checkerboard pattern is recorded by the recording device 116b located on the upstream side in the transport direction, and the remaining checkerboard pattern is complemented and recorded by the downstream recording device 116a.

  An example of a recording system further evolved with respect to FIG. 5a will be described with reference to FIG. 5c.

  In addition to the recording devices 116a to 116e, recording devices 516a to 516e are arranged on the downstream side in the transport direction of the recording medium 206.

  The recording medium 206 is also conveyed at a constant speed during the recording operation, and images 510 are continuously recorded. In such a system, if the upstream recording devices 116a to 116e handle odd rasters (lines) and the remaining even rasters are complemented by the downstream recording devices 516a to 516e, recording with the same recording performance is possible. If it is a head, compared with FIG. 5a, a conveyance speed can be raised about 2 times. If a plurality of sets are arranged in this way, even if one set stops the recording operation due to the recovery operation, the recording operation can be continued with the other set.

  In this case, paying attention to the overlap region 500, the span in the transport direction until the recording is completed becomes long, and the ink from the ink jet landing from the most upstream recording device 116b to the ink from the most downstream recording device 516a depends on the transport speed. The time difference until dripping is increased.

  With reference to FIG. 5a, the image processing method for the overlap region 401 portion according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to FIG. In the present embodiment, the same processing is performed not only on the overlap area 401 but also on other overlap areas.

In FIG. 6a, the overlap area 401 in the width direction between the upstream recording apparatus 116b and the downstream recording apparatus 116a in the conveyance direction is designed to have 16 dots. If the recording resolution of the nozzle array that ejects ink from each recording head of the recording apparatus is 600 [dpi] (dpi: dot / inch),
The actual size of the overlap region corresponds to about 0.68 [mm].

  In FIG. 6a, the overlap area is thinned out in a checkerboard pattern by two recording devices and complemented with each other, but this can be said to be a basic process for making the boundary portion of the image inconspicuous.

  In general, a better recording result can be obtained when the overlap area is wider. However, in the line printer type recording system as in the embodiment of the present invention, the overall recording width has a considerable influence. In other words, the narrower the overlap area, the wider the maximum recording width can be obtained.

Focusing on the overall density and type (variation) of recorded images,
In the next FIG. 6b, the overlap area is 12 dots, and in the next FIG. 6c, the overlap area is reduced to 8 dots.

  Conversely, in FIG. 6d, the overlap area is increased to 24 dots. This is suitable for recording photographic images on non-heavy coated paper, but even in this case, the actual size of the overlap area is only about 1 [mm].

  Next, FIGS. 7a to 7c show an example in which the amount of implantation (number of recording pixels) in the overlap area is increased as compared with the case of FIG. 6a. It may be used for boundary processing of high-density images on highly penetrable paper.

  In FIG. 7 a, the driving amount is added in the row direction (conveying direction) of 701 to 703.

  In FIG. 7 b, the driving amount is added in the row direction (conveyance direction) of 704 to 708.

  In FIG. 7 c, the driving amount is added in the row direction (conveying direction) of 709 to 716.

  It should be noted that even if the amount of printing (the number of recorded pixels) is added, these are added for the first time in a solid pattern image, and are added when the AND condition of the original image data “printed” is satisfied. Needless to say.

  Next, FIGS. 8a and 8b show an example in which the amount of implantation (number of recording pixels) in the overlap area is reduced as compared with the case of FIG. 6a. Suitable for boundary treatment of paper with low permeability.

FIG. 8a reduces the driving amount in the row direction (conveying direction) of 801 to 803,
In FIG. 8b, the driving amount in the row direction (conveyance direction) of 804 to 811 is reduced.

  In connection with the description of FIGS. 8a and 8b, the movement of ink predicted from the difference in recording timing by a plurality of recording apparatuses will be described in detail with reference to FIG.

  FIG. 9A shows a state after the ink droplets 901 and 902 ejected from the recording apparatus on the upstream side in the transport direction with respect to the recording medium 206 have landed.

  Then, ink droplets 903 and 904 from the downstream recording apparatus land and penetrate as shown in 903a and 904a as shown in FIG. 9b.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 9c, each ink drop approaches a fixed state as in 901b to 904b, but a streak that slightly increases in density may occur between the penetrated ink drops 902b and 903b due to a difference in landing time. There is.

  In a line printer that pursues high speed as in the embodiment of the present invention, the deviation (interval) of the landing time of ink droplets is usually as short as several hundreds [msec], and the above problem is hardly manifested. If the difference in landing time is large, such as when designing a long conveying path, setting the conveying speed of the recording medium small, or operating several recording devices in tandem in the conveying direction, the above color It is conceivable that streaks are conspicuous.

  Therefore, the method for reducing the driving amount described in FIGS. 8a and 8b is also effective.

  The operation flow of the CPU 101 in the recording system embodying the present invention will be described with reference to FIG.

  It is determined whether the transport speed by the medium transport device 117 is set to 400 [mm / sec] or more. If not (No in S1001), it is then determined whether the transport speed is 200 [mm / sec] or more. (No in S1002) Subsequently, it is determined whether the conveyance speed is 100 [mm / sec] or more. If this is also not possible (No in S1003), the thinning pattern shown in FIG. 8b is selected.

  If Yes in S1001, the number of recorded pixels is slightly increased (FIG. 7a).

  If Yes in S1002, the number of recorded pixels is not corrected.

  If Yes in S1003, the thinning pattern according to FIG. 8a is selected.

  As described above, the determination based on the above flow corresponds to the time from the recording by the recording device on the most upstream side in the transport direction to the recording by the recording device on the most downstream side.

  The present invention is mainly applicable to a large-format, high-speed, high-quality recording system using a plurality of recording apparatuses.

1 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of an entire recording system embodying the present invention. 1 is a schematic perspective view of a recording system embodying the present invention. It is an electrical block diagram of the recording apparatus which comprises a recording system. It is a figure which shows an example of the mask setting screen of an overlap area | region. It is an image figure which records an image with the recording system which implemented this invention. Fig. 5b is an enlarged view of the overlap region in Fig. 5a. FIG. 5 b is an image diagram for recording an image with the recording system evolved from FIG. 5 a. It is a figure which shows the image processing method of the overlap area | region in FIG. It is a figure which shows an example at the time of narrowing an overlap area | region. It is a figure which shows an example at the time of narrowing an overlap area | region. It is a figure which shows an example at the time of expanding an overlap area | region. It is a figure which shows an example which increased the implantation amount to an overlap area | region. It is a figure which shows an example which increased the implantation amount to an overlap area | region. It is a figure which shows an example which increased the implantation amount to an overlap area | region. It is a figure which shows an example which reduced the implantation amount to an overlap area | region. It is a figure which shows an example which reduced the implantation amount to an overlap area | region. FIG. 6 is a diagram for explaining streaking caused by a shift in recording timing. 3 is an operation flow of the recording system according to the present invention.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 100 Information processing apparatus 108 Display 116 Recording apparatus 117 Medium conveyance apparatus 206 Recording medium 210 CPU
220 Recording Head 400 Overlap Area 410 Image 500 Overlap Area 510 Image 901
~ 904 Ink drops 905 Color streaks

Claims (3)

In a recording system having conveying means for conveying a recording medium and a plurality of recording devices for recording an image on the recording medium being conveyed,
The plurality of recording devices have overlapping areas for recording images in the width direction of the recording medium,
The recording system further comprising an overlap area changing means for changing the overlap area. The recording system according to claim 1, wherein the overlap area is changed in a width direction of the recording medium. The recording system according to claim 2, wherein the number of recording pixels in the overlap area is changed based on a temporal difference in ink droplet landing from the plurality of recording apparatuses to the overlap area.

Images