JP3229414B2 - Inkjet printing device and printing system - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION This invention is, the ink-jet pudding
Printing device and printing system, for example, a recording medium
Printing a color image on the cloth using a cloth
Inkjet printing device and printing system for dyeing
It is about the system.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In some cases, it is desired that another image data is superimposed on recorded original image data (first image data) and recorded on a recording medium. For example, in the field of sewing, in order to cut a cloth material into a shape used at the time of sewing, conventionally, a pattern having the same shape as the cutting pattern is applied to the cloth material, and chaco or the like is formed along the outer shape of the pattern. Was used to form lines in a cutting pattern on the cloth. In addition, the pattern may be transferred onto the cloth by applying the pattern to the cloth via transfer paper such as chaco paper and tracing the stitch pattern drawn on the inner surface of the pattern. .

[0003] Furthermore, information necessary for sewing, such as a sewing position and a type of sewing, is formed on a cloth based on a pattern drawn on a paper pattern or a manual. There is also.

Conventionally, the formation of these cutting patterns, stitch patterns and other information on the cloth has been an operation required in sewing, which is a process after printing, but it uses a pattern or a manual. Therefore, it requires labor and cost on the side of producing and using it. That is, on the creator side , there is a need for a process of designing a pattern by an expert based on a human body figure or computer simulation, and finally producing a pattern and a manual which are finally unnecessary.

[0005] On the other hand, even the user side, requires a complicated task of using the paper draw a cutting pattern or stitch pattern other information in cloth fabric. In addition, stitch patterns and other information cannot be drawn without transfer paper, and preparation of such information is also required. In particular, when a general user performs dressmaking,
After purchasing the paper pattern, it was necessary to perform such a complicated operation at home, so that it took time and effort to start the actual sewing operation. Furthermore, when sewing is performed while referring to sewing information described in a manual or the like, there is a problem that it takes a long time to find a reference portion, and there is a problem that the reference portion is mistaken.

[0006]

In order to solve these problems, a method of recording a new cutting pattern or the like on a cloth on which an image is recorded has been attempted. However, the process of recording on the fabric is performed twice for the main image and the cut image, and the recording liquid for recording the cut image needs to be devised. For example, it is necessary to use a recording liquid with little bleeding or to use a recording liquid that can be completely removed in a later step so as not to affect the main image, and there is a problem in cost and the like.

[0007] The present invention aims to In view of these problems, and ultimately ejects the cornerstone of the creation of paper or the like becomes unnecessary, and so that the work in the post process may be performed easily and reliably And

Another object of the present invention is to reduce the number of processes and the manufacturing cost in a configuration in which information required in a subsequent process is recorded on a recording medium in advance.
In addition, the quality of the original print target image is not deteriorated.
For post-processing of recording media such as cutting patterns and stitch patterns
The purpose of the present invention is to make it possible to print the pattern .

[0009]

For this purpose, the present invention provides:
A color image is printed on a recording medium by ejecting ink of a corresponding color from the plurality of inkjet heads based on image data input from an externally connected computer using a plurality of inkjet heads that eject ink. An ink-jet printing apparatus, comprising: an image memory for storing image data corresponding to an image to be printed; and post-processing data representing a processing pattern of a recording medium after printing the image to be printed. A plurality of post-processing memories for storing corresponding to each ink color; and converting the image data stored in the image memory into binary data corresponding to each ink color used for printing the color image. Converting means for converting the image data input from the computer into the image memory; In addition, the post-processing data input from the computer is stored in the post-processing memory corresponding to the color designated by the computer from the colors printable by the ink used for printing the color image. And combining the binary data corresponding to each color of the ink converted by the conversion means with the post-processing data stored in the post-processing memory for the corresponding color, and the synthesized data. Control means for performing printing by the plurality of ink-jet heads based on the above.

Further, according to the present invention, a plurality of ink jet heads for discharging ink are used, and ink of a corresponding color is discharged from the plurality of ink jet heads.
A printing system, comprising: an inkjet printing apparatus for printing a color image on a recording medium; and a computer connected to the outside of the inkjet printing apparatus and inputting image data used for printing to the inkjet printing apparatus. Is
An interface for inputting image data corresponding to an image to be printed and post-processing data representing a processing pattern of a printed recording medium to the inkjet printing apparatus, and printing the processing pattern Specifying means for specifying a color from colors printable by ink used for printing a color image of the inkjet printing apparatus, the inkjet printing apparatus converts image data corresponding to an image to be printed. An image memory for storing, and a plurality of post-processing memories for storing post-processing data representing a processing pattern of a recording medium after printing the image to be printed, corresponding to each of the ink colors. Using the image data stored in the image memory to print the color image Converting means for converting into binary data corresponding to each ink color, storing the image data input from the computer in the image memory, and specifying the post-processing data input from the computer in the designation The binary data corresponding to each color of the ink converted by the conversion means is stored in the post-processing memory corresponding to the color designated by the means, and the binary data is stored in the post-processing memory of the corresponding color. Control means for combining with the post-processing data and performing printing with the plurality of inkjet heads based on the combined data.

Here, the designating means is the cutting putter.
The size of the application and the recording position can be specified.
Wear.

These ink jet printing apparatuses and
Is the inkjet used in the printing system
The head is the energy used to eject ink
Generates thermal energy that causes film boiling in the ink
Having an element.

Further , an ink jet printing apparatus or
The printing system prints images on cloth as a recording medium.
Can be performed.

The pattern for processing is a cloth cutting.
Patterns, sewing patterns, and the like.

[0015]

[0016]

[0017]

[0018]

[0019]

According to the present invention, an externally connected computer is used.
Image data input from the
And post-processing (cutting, sewing, etc.)
) Data for the post-processing corresponding to the specified color.
Stored in the working memory and obtained by converting the image data
Binary data for each color is stored in the post-processing memory for the corresponding color.
By combining it with the post-processing data
The target image and the post-processing pattern of the recording medium are combined.
Is printed. The color of the post-processing data is
Printing with ink used to print color images
Specified by computer from possible colors. Follow
According to the present invention, printing is performed using original image data.
The image to be rendered and, for example, a cutting pattern of the specified color
And printing can be performed by appropriately synthesizing them. Ma
In addition, the pattern for processing was made inconspicuous after cutting
Color that does not affect the original print target image
For the color that is not specified while forming,
Data corresponding to the pattern is stored in the post-processing memory.
Since the image to be printed is
Printing without causing image quality degradation.
Can do it.

[0020]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings.

Hereinafter, a printing system as a preferred embodiment of the present invention will be described in the following procedure.

(1) Overall system (FIGS. 1 and 2) (2) Host computer (FIGS. 3 to 11) (2.1) Configuration (2.2) Operation (3) Printer (FIGS. 12 to 27) (3.1) Description of printing mechanism (3.2) Description of apparatus configuration (3.3) Print pattern of basic image (3.4) Download of conversion data and parameters (4) Others (1) Overall system FIG. 1 shows an overall configuration of a textile printing system according to an embodiment of the present invention. The host computer H serves as a data supply device that supplies original image data for textile printing and other control commands to a printer P that performs recording (hereinafter also referred to as printing) on a recording medium such as cloth. Using this host computer H, desired corrections can be made to the original image created by the designer and read by the scanner S, and the printer P can be set with necessary parameters for printing. The host computer H can also be connected to a LAN (Local Area Network) 1016 such as Ethernet (by XEROX) to enable communication with other systems and the like.
Further, the printer computer P notifies the host computer H of the status and the like. The details of the host computer H will be described later with reference to FIG.

FIG. 2 shows an example of a printing process that can be performed using the present system. The processing performed in each step is as follows, for example.

Original Image Creation Step This is a step in which the MS1 designer creates an original image, that is, a basic image which is a basic unit of a repetitive image on cloth as a recording medium, using appropriate means. In the creation, required units of the host computer H described in detail with reference to FIG. 3, for example, input means and display means can be used.

An original image input step MS3 a step of reading the original image created in the original creation step MS1 into the host computer H using the scanner S, or a step of reading original image data stored in the external storage of the host computer H, or This is a step of receiving original image data from the LAN 16.

Original Image Correction Step MS5 The printing system in this example allows selection of various repetition patterns for the basic image as described later with reference to FIG. Intentional image misalignment and color tone discontinuity may occur. This step is a step of receiving the selection of the repeating pattern and correcting the discontinuity at the boundary of the repeating pattern according to the selection.
As a mode of the correction, the designer or the operator may use a mouse or other input means while referring to the screen of the display device of the host computer H, and perform the automatic correction by image processing of the host computer H itself. It may be something.

Special color designation step MS7 In the printer P according to this example, basically, yellow (Y),
Printing is performed using magenta (M) and cyan (C), or even black (BK) ink. In printing, other colors such as metal colors such as gold and silver, and vivid red (R) are used. , Green (G), blue (B) and the like. Thus, the printer P of the present embodiment enables printing using inks of these special colors (hereinafter referred to as special colors),
In this step, the special color is specified.

Color Palette Data Creation Step In the MS9 design, the designer creates an original picture while selecting colors from standard color patches. The reproducibility of the selected color at the time of printing greatly affects the productivity of the printing system. Therefore, in this step, data for determining the mixing ratio of Y, M, C or a special color for generating the selected standard color satisfactorily is generated.

Post-process data input step MS11 A cutting pattern or the like used in processing (sewing or the like) in the post-process is input to the original image created and corrected. In this step, the color, size, position, and the like of such a pattern are specified.

Fabric size designation step MS13 Designates the width, length, etc. of the fabric to be printed. Thereby, the scanning amount of the recording head in the main scanning direction and the sub-scanning direction in the printer P, the number of repetitions of the original image pattern, and the like are determined.

Original Image Magnification Designation Step MS15 The magnification at the time of printing the original image (for example, 100%, 2
00%, 400%, etc.).

Fabric Type Designation Step MS17 There are various types of fabric, such as natural fibers such as cotton, silk and wool, and synthetic fibers such as nylon, polyester, and acrylic, which have different properties relating to printing. Although it is considered that this is due to the elasticity of the cloth, when the feed amount during printing is made equal, the appearance of the streaks generated at the boundary portion for each main scan differs. Thus, in this step, the type of cloth to be printed is input, and the printer P is used to set an appropriate feed amount.

Maximum ink ejection amount setting step MS19 Even if the same amount of ink is ejected on the cloth, the image density reproduced on the cloth varies depending on the cloth type. The amount of ink that can be ejected also differs depending on the configuration of the fixing system in the printer P. Therefore, in this step, the maximum ink ejection amount is specified according to the cloth type, the configuration of the fixing system of the printer P, and the like.

Print Mode Designation Step MS21 The printer P designates whether to perform high-speed printing or normal printing, or to perform one or two or more ink ejections for one dot. . Furthermore, when printing is interrupted, etc., it is necessary to control whether the pattern is continuous before and after the interruption, or to specify whether to newly start printing regardless of the continuity of the pattern. Can also.

Head Shading Mode Designation Step MS23 When a recording head having a plurality of discharge ports is used in the printer P, the ink discharge amount or discharge direction for each discharge port of the head may vary depending on manufacturing variations and subsequent use conditions. Variation may occur. Therefore, in order to correct this, a process (head shading) for correcting the drive signal for each discharge port to make the discharge amount constant may be performed. In this step, the timing of the head shading and the like can be designated.

The printing is executed by the printer P based on the designation of the print step MS25 or higher.

In the above, if it is not necessary to perform the designation or the like, the step may be deleted or skipped. Further, a step of performing other designations or the like may be added as necessary.

(2) Host Computer (2.1) Configuration FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing the entire system focusing on the configuration of the host computer according to one embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 10, reference numeral 1011 denotes a CPU for controlling the entire information processing system;
The main memory 1014 stores a program to be executed by the computer 1 and is used as a work area at the time of the execution. The main memory 1014 transfers data between the main memory 1013 and various devices constituting the system without the intervention of the CPU 1011. DMA controller (Direct Memory A)
access controller (hereinafter referred to as DMAC). 1015 is a LAN interface between the LAN 1016 and the present system, 1017 is a ROM, S
It is an input / output device (hereinafter referred to as I / O) having a RAM, an RS232C type interface, and the like. I / O
Various external devices can be connected to 1017. 101
Reference numerals 8 and 1019 denote a hard disk device and a floppy disk device as external storage devices, respectively.
Reference numeral 0 denotes a disk interface for performing signal connection between the hard disk device 1018 or the floppy disk device 1019 and the present system. Reference numeral 1022 denotes a scanner / printer interface for performing signal connection between the printer P and the scanner S and the host computer H, which can be of GPIB specification.
Reference numeral 1023 denotes a keyboard for inputting various types of character information, control information, and the like. Reference numeral 1024 denotes a mouse as a pointing device. Reference numeral 1025 denotes a key interface for performing signal connection between the keyboard 1023 and the mouse 1024 and this system. Reference numeral 1026 denotes a display device such as a CRT whose display is controlled by the interface 1027. Reference numeral 1012 denotes a system bus including a data bus, a control bus, and an address bus for signal connection between the above devices.

(2.2) Operation In the system in which the various devices described above are connected, the designer or the operator performs an operation while corresponding to various information displayed on the display screen of the CRT 26. That is, external devices connected to the LAN 1016, the I / O 1017, a hard disk 1018, a floppy disk 1019, a scanner S, a keyboard 1023, characters and image information supplied from a mouse 1024, etc.
Operation information related to system operation stored in the main memory 1013 is displayed on the display screen of the CRT 1026,
The designer or the operator designates various information and performs an instruction operation to the system while watching the display.

Here, of the various steps shown in FIG.
Some details of processing relating to the main part of the present embodiment performed using the system shown in FIG. 3 will be described.

FIG. 4 shows an example of the special color designation processing procedure in FIG. In this procedure, the pallet conversion created from the host computer H as a pallet conversion table (table indicating the mixing ratio of Y, M, C, BK, and special colors) in the printer P with respect to the pallet data sent from the host computer H to the printer P When this procedure is started, first, a step SS7 is executed.
At -1, it is determined whether or not use of a special color is instructed. If the determination is negative, the procedure is immediately terminated. If the determination is affirmative, the process proceeds to step SS7-3, where information on the current special color in the printer P is displayed on the CRT.
26. In this process, for example, the present applicant proposes that the recording head of the printer has a means (pattern cutting) for presenting its own information, and the printer body can recognize the information from the means. The invention disclosed in JP-A-2-187343 or the like can be used. As means for presenting the information, an EPROM, a DIP switch, or the like may be used. To apply the present embodiment, the information may be the ink color used by the recording head, and the information may be read by the printer P and notified to the CPU 11 of the host computer H. The operator sees the information displayed on the CRT 26 and knows whether or not the recording head for the special color is currently used and the special color that is currently being used.
In 5, a key operation or the like can be performed to determine whether or not a desired spot color is included (that is, whether or not the present condition is acceptable). If a negative determination is made, the process proceeds to step SS7-9, in which a message such as urging the user to mount a print head of a desired color is displayed.
The process returns to step SS7-3 according to the mounting.

In step SS7-5, when an instruction is given that the recording head currently used in the printer P is sufficient,
In step SS7-51, a pallet command for defining a color combination is specified. For example, when three colors C, M, and Y are used for printing, when BK is used, when special colors S1 and S2 are used in addition to the three colors C, M, and Y, and special colors S3 and S4 are used. The case can be designated using, for example, numerical values of “3”, “4”, “6”, and “8”.

In response, in step SS7-53, for example, the pallet conversion table stored in advance in a storage device (main memory 13, external storage devices 18, 19, etc.) is read out, and the operator makes appropriate corrections as necessary. To set the mixing amount of each color (step SS7-5).
5) The table data is sent to the printer P together with the pallet command (step SS7-57). As the pallet conversion table, for example, those shown in FIGS. 5 to 8 can be used.

As a processing circuit on the printer P side for this procedure, a processing circuit described later with reference to FIGS. 15 to 19 can be used.

FIG. 9 shows an example of the detailed processing procedure of the color pallet data generation step MS9 in FIG.

In this procedure, first, in step SS9-1, a standard color patch of the color selected by the designer is read. For this, a scanner S can be used,
Alternatively, a reading unit provided in a printer P described later can be used. Next, in step SS9-3,
First, based on the code corresponding to the standard color patch, pallet conversion data including a special color is calculated from a pallet conversion table set in advance so as to be compatible with the printer P, and an image is formed in accordance with the calculated data including the special color. ,
This is printed in the form of a color patch in step SS9-5.

Next, in step SS9-7, the color patch printed by the printer P is read, and the color data is compared with the color data obtained in step SS9-1. If the difference is less than the predetermined value, the color pallet conversion data at that time is adopted in step SS9-11, and the data is set in the printer P. The pallet data is corrected based on the difference, and the process returns to step SS9-5, and the process is repeated until an affirmative determination is made in step SS9-9. Although the case where the special colors S1, S2, S3 and S4 are used in the special color processing procedure shown in FIG. 4 has been described, the pallet created by the operator is used for each of the cases where the special colors S1, S2, S3 and S4 are used. The conversion table can be modified based on the data obtained in this procedure. According to the present embodiment, it is possible to appropriately select a combination of a plurality of inks including a spot color corresponding to a color patch, that is, a color code selected by the designer.

FIG. 10 shows another example of the detailed processing procedure of the color pallet data generation step.

In this procedure, first, a standard color patch is read in step SS9-21 similar to step SS9-1. Next, in this procedure, in step SS9-23, a plurality of types of color pallet conversion data are prepared, and a plurality of color patches are printed for them. Next, the plurality of color patches are read in step SS9-25, and the color data obtained therefrom is compared with the color data obtained in step SS9-21 in step SS9-27. Then, in step SS9-29, the color data closest to the color data obtained in step SS9-21, that is, the color data having the highest color reproducibility is selected, and the color pallet conversion data is adopted and set in the printer P.

The plurality of color pallet conversion data prepared in step SS9-23 may be such that the ink mixing amount is changed by a predetermined amount for all the color recording heads, or the data obtained in step SS9-21 may be used. A predetermined range centered on the data or centered on the data set by the operator in the procedure of FIG. 4 may be selected, and the ink mixing amount may be slightly changed within that range. In this procedure, the processing of performing correction and reprinting can be omitted as compared with the procedure of FIG. 9, so that the processing of generating color pallet conversion data can be performed at high speed.

FIG. 11 shows an example of the post-processing data input processing procedure in FIG.

In this procedure, first, in step SS11-1, an inquiry is made to the operator as to whether or not cutting data, stitch patterns and other information for post-processing, which are information, are to be inserted into the cloth. In step SS11-3, the designation of the color of the post-processing data to be printed is received. The colors are designated as C, M, Y, BK, special colors S1, S2,
It is possible to select from eight colors S3 or S4.

Next, in step SS11-5, designation of a cutting pattern, a stitch pattern and the like is accepted. This includes
For example, designation of a line type such as a solid line and a broken line, and designation of a line thickness can be included. Further, a selection specification from several types prepared in advance may be accepted.

In step SS11-7, the designation of the size of post-processing data to be printed is received in the main scanning direction (X direction) and the sub-scanning direction (Y direction) of printing.

In step SS11-9, the designation of the print start position of the post-processing data on the cloth is accepted.

Step SS11-
At 13, the host computer H sets post-processing data information in the printer P. The configuration of the printer P corresponding to this setting will be described later with reference to FIG.

(3) Printer (3.1) Description of Printing Mechanism The operation of a serial type ink jet recording apparatus as a printer P applicable to the present invention will be described with reference to FIG.

In FIG. 12, a carriage 1 has color recording heads 2a corresponding to four colors of cyan (C), magenta (M), yellow (Y), and black (BK).
2b, 2c and 2d are mounted, and the guide shaft 3 supports the carriage 1 for moving and guiding. Although illustration is omitted for simplicity, in this example, up to four special color heads can be mounted on the carriage 1 and a mechanism related thereto is also provided. Each head may be detachable from the carriage 1 individually or in units of several heads.

The belt 4 which is an endless belt has a part thereof fixedly connected to the carriage 1 and a carriage drive motor 5 (motor driver 2) which is a pulse motor.
3) is mounted on a gear attached to a drive shaft. Therefore, this carriage drive motor 23
, The belt 4 stretched around the drive shaft is fed, and as a result, the carriage 1 scans the recording surface of the recording medium along the guide shaft 3. Further, a transport roller 7 for transporting the recording medium 6 (recording paper, cloth, etc.), and a guide roller 8 for guiding the recording medium 6
A, 8B and a recording medium transport motor 9 are provided.

The recording heads 2a, 2b, 2c, 2
The d and spot color recording heads are provided with 256 ejection ports for ejecting ink droplets toward the recording medium 6 at a density of, for example, 400 DPI (dots / inch). For each of the recording heads 2a, 2b, 2c, 2d (and also the head for a special color), the corresponding ink tank 1
1a, 11b, 11c, and 11d (and further from the special color ink tank) to supply tubes 12a, 12b, and 12
The ink is supplied via c and 12d (and further a special color supply tube). Each of the head drivers 24a, 24b, 24c, and 24 is provided to an energy generating means (not shown) provided in a liquid path communicating with each of the discharge ports.
An ink ejection signal is selectively supplied from d (and a special-color driver) via the flexible cables 13a, 13b, 13c, and 13d (and further a special-color flexible cable).

Further, each of the recording heads 2a, 2b, 2c,
The head heaters 14a, 14b, 14c, 1
4d (14b, 14c, 14d, etc. are not shown) and temperature detecting means 15a, 15b, 15c, 15d (15b, 15d).
c, 15d and the like are not shown), and detection signals from the temperature detecting means 15a, 15b, 15c, 15d and the like are input to a control circuit 16 having a CPU. The control circuit 16 controls the head heaters 14a, 14b, 14c,
The heating at 14d or the like is controlled.

The capping means 20 comes into contact with the ejection opening surfaces of the recording heads 2a, 2b, 2c, 2d during non-recording,
The drying and the entry of foreign matter are suppressed or the removal is performed. Specifically, at the time of non-recording, the recording heads 2a, 2b, 2c, 2d move to positions facing the capping unit 20. The capping means 20 is driven forward by the cap driver 25, and performs capping by pressing the elastic member 44 against the discharge port surface. It is needless to say that capping means for a special color head which is omitted in the drawing is also provided.

The clogging prevention means 31 includes a recording head 2
a, 2b, 2c, and 2d receive the discharged ink when performing the idle discharge operation. This clogging prevention means 31
Is provided with a liquid receiving member 2 that faces the recording heads 2a, 2b, 2c, 2d, etc., and absorbs and receives the idle-discharged ink, and is disposed between the capping means 20 and the recording start position. I have. In addition, as a material of the liquid receiving member 32 and the liquid holding member 45, a sponge-like porous member, a plastic sintered body, or the like is effective.

A water discharge solenoid valve 61 and an air pump driver 62 are connected to the capping means 20.
Under the control of the control circuit 16, the nozzles for discharging the water for cleaning and the nozzles for jetting the air disposed in the capping means 20 are driven.

FIG. 13 is a plan view for explaining the operation of the recording head according to the present embodiment. The same elements as those shown in FIG. 12 are denoted by the same reference numerals, and description thereof will be omitted.
Also, in this figure, the configuration related to the special color heads 2S1 to 2S4 is not shown.

In FIG. 13, the recording start detecting sensor 34
The capping means detection sensor 36 is for detecting the position of each of the recording heads 2a, 2b, 2c, 2d. The idle discharge position detection sensor 35 detects a reference position of the idle discharge operation performed while the recording heads 2a, 2b, 2c, and 2d move in the scanning direction.

Reference numeral 108 denotes a head characteristic measuring means which can be used not only for head shading (step MS23 in FIG. 2) but also for color pallet data creation (step MS9), and includes a head shading test pattern and a color recorded by the head. It has a transport unit for transporting a recording medium or the like on which the patch is printed, and a reading unit for reading the information. As the head characteristic measuring means, for example, the one shown in FIG. 31 of Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. Hei 4-18358 filed by the present applicant can be used.

Next, the ink jet recording operation will be described.

First, the printer is on standby. In this case, the recording heads 2a, 2b, 2c, 2d
Capped by And the control circuit 16
, The motor 5 is driven by the motor driver 23, and the carriage 1 starts moving. In accordance with this movement, when each of the recording heads is detected by the idle discharge position detection sensor 35, the clogging prevention means 31 performs idle discharge of ink for a predetermined time. Then, thereafter, the carriage 1 moves again in the direction of arrow D, and when it is detected by the recording start detection sensor 34, the recording heads 2a, 2b, 2
Each discharge port of c, 2d, etc. is selectively driven. As a result, ink droplets are ejected, and image recording is performed on the recording width portion p of the recording medium 6 in a dot matrix pattern. In this manner, when printing is performed with a predetermined width (determined by the vertical nozzle interval of the print head and the number thereof), the carriage 1 moves to a position on the right end side in the figure (counts the number of pulses given to the motor 5). However, after detecting this, a pulse corresponding to the width of the recording head is provided, so that the recording head 2a at the rear end of the carriage 1 crosses the recording medium. Thereafter, the carriage 1 is reversed and driven in the direction of arrow E to return to the idle discharge position, and the recording medium 6 is conveyed in the direction of arrow F by the width of the recording width portion p or more, and the operation described above is performed again. Repeated.

(3.2) Description of Apparatus Configuration Next, the configuration of the present apparatus will be described. 14 and 15 show an example of the configuration of the ink jet printer of the embodiment and a configuration example of its operation unit. FIGS. 16 to 18 show an example of the internal configuration of the control board 102 in FIG. 14 in accordance with the flow of data. Is shown.

The print image data is sent from the host computer H to the control board 102 having the control circuit 16 and the like in FIG. 12 via an interface (here, GPIB). The device for sending the image data is not particularly limited, and the transfer form is a network transfer,
Offline via a magnet tape or the like may be used. The control board 102 is composed of a CPU 102A, a ROM 102B storing various programs, a RAM 10C having various register areas and work areas, and various components shown in FIGS. 103
Reference numeral denotes an operation / display unit having an operation unit for the operator to give necessary instructions to the printer P and a display for displaying a message or the like to the operator.
Reference numeral 104 denotes a cloth transporter including a motor or the like for transporting a recording medium such as a cloth to be printed. 105 is FIG.
5 is a driver unit input / output unit for driving various motors (suffixed with “M”) and various solenoids (denoted by “SOL”). Reference numeral 107 denotes a relay board for supplying a drive signal to each head, receiving information about each head (information such as whether or not the head is mounted and the color presented by the head) and supplying the information to the control board 102. The information is transferred to the host computer H as described above.

When the information of the image data to be printed is received from the host computer H, the image data is
The image data is stored in the image memory 505 via the B interface 501 and the frame memory controller 504 (FIG. 16).
reference). The image memory according to the embodiment has a capacity of 124 Mbytes, and the A1 size is configured with 8-bit palette data. That is, 8 bits are assigned to one pixel. 503 is D for speeding up memory transfer.
MA controller. When the transfer from the host computer H is completed, printing can be started after predetermined processing.

As described before and after, the host computer connected to the printing apparatus of the embodiment transfers the image data as a raster image. Since a plurality of ink ejection nozzles are arranged in a vertical direction in each recording head, the arrangement of image data must be converted so as to match the recording head. This data conversion is performed by raster @ BJ conversion controller 5.
06. The data converted by the raster / BJ conversion controller 506 is supplied to the pallet conversion controller 508 through the enlargement function of the next enlargement controller 507 for scaling the image data. The data up to the enlargement controller 507 is data sent from the host computer, and in this embodiment is an 8-bit pallet signal. Then, the pallet data (8 bits) is passed in common to a processing unit (described below) for each recording head and processed.

In the following, when there are eight recording heads,
That is, the description will be made on the assumption that a head for storing specific colors S1 to S4 in addition to yellow, magenta, cyan, and black is provided.

Now, the pallet conversion controller 508 receives a command from the host computer H as shown in FIG.
The conversion table of the palette data and the corresponding color inputted by the processing such as 0 is stored in the conversion table memory 509.
To supply.

In the case of an 8-bit palette, the reproducible color types are 256 from 0 to 255.
The tables as shown in FIGS. 5 to 8 are developed in the table memory 509 corresponding to each color.

As a specific circuit configuration, the pallet conversion table memory 509 performs its function by writing conversion data at an address position corresponding to pallet data. That is, when the pallet data is actually supplied as the address, the memory is accessed in the read mode. The pallet conversion controller 508 manages the pallet conversion table memory 509 and interfaces between the control board 102 and the pallet conversion table memory 509. In addition, a circuit (a circuit for multiplying the output by 0 to 1) for setting the mixed amount of the special color is interposed between the HS controller 510 of the next stage and the HS system including the HS conversion table memory 511 for the special color. May be variable. In that case, FIGS.
Subsequent to the data transmission as shown in (1), the data for making the variable variable may be transmitted and set in those circuits.

The HS conversion controller 510 and the HS conversion table memory 511 store the head characteristic measuring means 108
The correction of the print density or the variation in the ejection direction corresponding to each ejection port of each head is performed based on the data measured by the above. For example, data is converted to a darker density for a discharge port with a low density (small discharge amount), data is converted to a low density for a discharge port with a high density (high discharge amount), and Is performed as it is.

The next γ conversion controller 512 and γ conversion table memory 513 are table conversions for increasing or decreasing the overall density for each color. For example, when nothing is performed, a linear table indicates that 0 input is 0 output, 100 input is 100 output, 210 input is 210 output, 255 output is 255 output.

The next-stage binarization controller 514 has a pseudo gradation function, inputs 8-bit gradation data, and outputs binarized 1-bit pseudo gradation data. is there. The multivalued data is converted into binary data by a dither matrix, an error diffusion method, etc., but these are also adopted in the embodiments, and the detailed description thereof will be omitted. What is necessary is just to express the gradation by the number of dots per area.

Here, the binarized data is stored in the link memory 515 and then used for driving each recording head. Then, the binary data output from each connection memory is output as C, M, Y, BK, S1 to S4. Since the same processing is performed on the binarized signal of each color, the description will be made with reference to FIG. FIG. 3 shows the configuration for the recording color cyan, which has the same configuration for each color. FIG. 18 is a block diagram showing a circuit configuration subsequent to the connection memory 515 shown in FIGS.

The binarized signal C is supplied to a sequential multi-scan generator (hereinafter referred to as an SMS generator) 5
22 is output to the pattern generator 51.
In some cases, test printing of the apparatus alone may be performed by 7, 518, so the data is supplied to the selector 519. Of course, this switching is controlled by the CPU of the control board 102, and the operator
(See FIG. 14)
The data from the binary pattern controller 517 is selected to perform test printing. Therefore, normally, the data from the binary controller 514 (connection memory 516) is selected.

The SMS controller 522 prevents unevenness in image density due to variations in the ejection amount or ejection direction of each nozzle. Multi-scan is proposed, for example, in Japanese Patent Application No. 4-79858. The link memory 524 is a buffer memory for correcting the physical position of the head interval, and temporarily inputs image data here and outputs it at a timing according to the physical position of the head. Therefore, the capacity of the link memory 524 differs for each recording color. In addition, whether to give priority to image quality by performing multi-scan, that is, to perform ink ejection from a plurality of ejection openings for one pixel, or to give priority to high-speed performance without performing such multi-scan, It can be specified in step MS21 of FIG.

After performing such data processing, data is sent to the head via the head relay board 107.

Conventionally, data for pallet conversion, HS conversion, and γ conversion have been fixedly held in a memory provided in the apparatus main body. For this reason, the image data may not match the image data to be output, and an image of sufficient quality may not be obtained. Therefore, in this embodiment, these conversion data can be input from the outside, and are stored in each conversion table memory. For example, pallet conversion data as shown in FIGS. 5 to 8 is downloaded to the conversion table memory 509. That is, the conversion table memories 509, 511, and 513 of the embodiment are all configured by RAM. The data for pallet conversion and γ conversion are sent from the host computer 101.
The data for HS conversion is input from a head characteristic measuring device 108 (see FIG. 14) provided outside, so that data adapted to the state of the head can be always obtained. In order to obtain the head characteristics of each recording color by the head characteristic measuring device 108, test printing (recording of a uniform predetermined halftone density) is performed by each recording head. The measurement is performed by measuring the density distribution corresponding to the recording width. The state of the head is a variation in the ejection state of a plurality of nozzles included in the head, or how much the density of an image printed by the head differs from a desired density.

In this embodiment, even if data is input, the output is set to 0 as shown in FIG. 19 to prevent the output from being abnormal until the conversion parameter is input. Was not done. The same applies to γ conversion and the like.

FIG. 20 shows an example of the configuration of the post-processing data input section 520 in FIG. 18, which is configured corresponding to the processing procedure of FIG.

The print image data undergoes processing such as pallet conversion, HS conversion, and gamma conversion as described above, and is then converted into binary data by the binarization controller 514. On the other hand, the data for post-processing is
Is stored in the post-processing data memory 520A via the CPU. The binarized image data is compared with the post-processing data in the synthesizing circuit 520B, and the data is sent to the SMS generator 522. For example, data is stored in the post-processing data memory of the BK so that the post-processing data is printed with the BK ink. The binarized image data is also sent as data to be printed in the post-processing data portion by the combining circuit 520B, and the post-processing data is printed in BK color. At this time, the colors (C,
M, Y) are not compared with the post-processing data, and the binarized image data is transmitted as it is and printed. Therefore,
Since the print image is drawn as it is, printing can be performed without deteriorating the image quality.

Here, the case where the post-processing data is printed by BK has been described as an example.
The same applies to printing in other colors according to 11-3. Further, a color expressed by a combination of each ink is also possible.

Also, various post-processing data can be printed according to the data stored in the post-processing data memory 520A. For example, a dotted line can be adopted as a cutting pattern, and the thickness of the line can also be changed. That is,
The post-processing data can be drawn by an ink-jet head with inconspicuous thin lines after cutting, or printed in a color that does not affect the main image.

In general, printing is performed by printing on cloth of several tens of meters. According to the apparatus of this embodiment, the presence or absence of printing of post-processing data can be freely selected. Further, since the contents of the post-processing data memory can be changed as appropriate, the cutting data for sewing or the like can be rewritten according to the user's data, and a large number of data can be printed on one fabric.

Further, in FIG. 20, the post-processing data memory 520A and the synthesizing circuit 520B are shown only for Y, M, C, and BK, but it goes without saying that they can be provided for other special colors S1 to S4.

In addition, in the present embodiment, the print image and the post-processing data are individually received from the host computer H, are stored and combined, and are provided for printing. The processing data may be combined, received, and printed. According to this, since the post-processing data is obtained from the host computer H at the same time as the image information, the printer is sufficient for printing the image. In the post-processing data portion, data for not performing printing may be transmitted and received between the host computer and the printer, and the post-processing data may be drawn in a white-like format at the time of printing.

(3.3) Print Pattern of Basic Image When inputting the image data of the basic image, the host computer H sends the input image size (X _in , Y _in ) to the printer P in the form of a command and parameters. . As a result, the CPU 102A of the printer P secures an input area in the image memory 505, and stores the input image size in a predetermined parameter storage unit of the RAM 102C. Next, when the host computer H sequentially transmits the image data to the printer P,
The printer P receives this image data and stores it in the image memory 505 via the FM controller 504. on the other hand,
The host computer H sends the output format of the image data to the printer P. Thereby, the printer P stores the image output format in the parameter storage unit of the RAM 102C. Here, an output type as shown in FIG. 21 is handled as an image output format.

FIGS. 21A to 21E are diagrams showing an image output format in this embodiment.

FIG. 21A shows a format in which the basic image 300 is printed out so as to be periodically repeated in the X direction (the feed direction of the carriage 1) and the Y direction (the feed direction of the recording medium 6) as shown. (Type 1) is shown. FIG. 21B shows a case where a basic image 300 is repeatedly printed, and a predetermined offset amount (shift amount) Δ is set every other basic image 300 in the X direction.
Format for printing out by shifting y in the Y direction (Type 2)
Is shown. FIG. 21C shows a format in which the basic image 300 is printed out while being shifted in the X direction by a predetermined offset amount Δx every other image in the Y direction, almost in the same manner as the type 2 (FIG. 21B) described above. (Type 3) is shown. FIG. 21D shows the rotation of the basic image 300 (9 in FIG. 21D).
0 °), a print format (type 4) is shown in which the print output is shifted in the Y direction by an offset amount (offset “0” in FIG. 21 (D)) in the same manner as type 2 ((B) of FIG. 21). . Finally, (E) of FIG. 21 shows that after the basic image 300 is rotated (90 degrees in FIG. 21 (E)), the offset amount in the X direction (see FIG. )
In this example, a format (type 5) for printing and outputting by shifting by "0") is shown.

As parameters for specifying the output format output from the host computer H, in addition to those described above, output types such as types 1 to 5, the basic image size (X _b , Y _b ), and the total output image size ( X _OUT , Y
_OUT ), an X-direction offset amount Δx, a Y-direction offset amount Δy, a rotation amount (here, in units of 90 degrees), and the like. These parameters are set under the following conditions.

X _in × Y _in ≦ capacity of memory 505, X _b ≦
X _in , Y _b ≦ Y _in , X _OUT ≧ X _b , Y _OUT ≧ Y _b ,
Δx ≦ X _b , Δy ≦ Y _b , etc.

The host computer H transmits a print command for image data to the printer P in step MS25 in FIG. 2, whereby the printer P starts a printing operation.

Specifically, the CPU 102A controls the read timing of the memory 505 of the address control unit provided in the FM controller 504, the activation timing of the motor driver 23, and the activation timing of the head driver 24, so that the CPU 102A can use the recording medium. The printing timing on a certain cloth 28 is controlled. The address control unit sequentially reads out image data from the memory 505 according to the parameters set in the parameter storage unit and outputs the image data to the head driver 24.
Thus, the head driver 24 forms a drive signal for the recording heads 2a to 2d or further for a special color head according to the image data and outputs the signal to each recording head. Thus, each recording head is driven by the drive signal, discharges ink droplets onto the cloth 6, and prints an image corresponding to the image data.

On the other hand, the motor driver 23 drives the transport motor 9 to feed the cloth 6 to a position where the cloth 6 can be printed, and rotates the carriage motor 5 in a predetermined direction to move the carriage 1 in the D direction to perform recording. (Figure 1
3). When printing for one scan is completed in this way,
Next, the carriage motor 5 is rotated in the reverse direction, the carriage 1 is moved in the E direction and returned to the home position, and the cloth 6 is moved by the width of the recorded one scan in the Y direction or at the time of multi-scan. The transport motor 9 is rotated so as to move in the Y direction by an amount smaller than that. The above timing is based on one reciprocation of the carriage 1 and the printing operation speed of the recording head is a reference of the printing timing.

As described above, the printer P repeatedly executes the above-described operation, thereby obtaining the total output image size (X
_OUT , Y _OUT ), when the printing of the image of the size specified by the printer is completed, the operation of the mode driver, the head driver, the FM controller 504, etc. is stopped to end the printing mode. Wait for input.

FIG. 22 is a block diagram showing an example of the internal configuration of the parameter storage unit and the address control unit of this embodiment.

In FIG. 22, reference numerals 830 to 836 denote storage units such as registers in the parameter storage unit, and the register 830 stores the total output image size (X
_OUT, Y _OUT), the basic image size (X _b in the register 831, Y _b), X and Y directions the number of outputs by repeating the basic image is in register _{832 (N x, N y)} ,
Register 833 has output type, and register 834 has X
The direction offset amount Δx, the Y direction offset amount Δy is stored in the register 835, and the rotation amount R is stored in the register 836.

Note that N _x = INT (X _OUT / X _B ), N
_y = INT (Y _OUT / Y _b ). However, INT
(A) indicates that when the number a is a decimal, the first decimal place of the number a is rounded up to an integer. For example, IN
T (1.2) = 2.

These registers are connected to each section of the address control section according to the output format of the input image data (specifically, they are used as reference values of the comparator described below).

In FIG. 22, reference numeral 837 denotes an X address generator A, which is an address (XADR) of the basic image 300 in the X direction.
A) is counted. 838 is a Y address generator A
The address of the basic image 300 in the Y direction (YADRA)
Is counting. Reference numerals 839 and 840 denote an X address generator B and a Y address generator B, respectively, as in the above-described image output types 2 and 3 (FIGS. 21B and 21C).
The X-direction address (XADRB) of the basic image 300 shifted in the X- or Y-direction and the Y-direction address (YADR)
B) is counted. These address generators 837
840 are mainly composed of a counter for actually outputting an address, and a comparator for comparing whether the address exceeds the size of the basic image or the size of all images.

Reference numeral 841 denotes the X direction and Y of the basic image 300.
A block counter that counts each repetition of the direction,
It mainly consists of a counter and a comparator. A selector 842 selects one of the X-direction address (XADRA) and the X-direction shifted X-address (XADRB). 843 similarly has an address (YADR) in the Y direction.
A) and the Y address shifted in the Y direction (YADRB)
Is a selector for selecting. Numeral 844 denotes a timing generator, based on the addresses (XADR) and (YADR) from the selectors 42 and 43, various read signals (CS, ADR, RAS, CAS, WE, etc.) of the memory unit 9 and various timing signals ( IN, OUT, VE, PE, etc.).

Here, the configuration of the memory 505 is configured using one or more commercially available D-RAM (dynamic RAM) modules. In the read signal of the memory section 9, CS is a chip select signal for selecting a module, ADR is a signal in which a row address (YADR) and a column address (XADR) are temporally allocated, RAS is a row address strobe signal, CAS Is a column address strobe signal, and WE is a write enable (write enable) signal. The timing of these signals is shown in detail in FIG.

In the various timing signals described above, IN is a latch timing signal of a latch circuit for temporarily holding image input data, OUT is a latch timing signal of a latch circuit for temporarily holding image output data, and VE is 1
A video enable signal indicating valid image data for each raster, and PE is a page enable signal indicating a valid raster in one page (see FIGS. 23 and 24).

Next, the operation of each part of the address control unit in the case of the type 1 image output shown in FIG.
3 will be described.

When printing is instructed from the host computer H or the operation / display unit 103, the CPU 102A outputs a START signal to the address control unit and clears both the X address generator A837 and the Y address generator A838 (( XADRA) and (YADRA) are both set to "0"), and the address generators 837 and 838 are made operable, and the timing generator 844 and the block counter 841 are also made operable.

Of the output reference timing signal 500 (including the image output clock CLK, the raster synchronization signal HSYNC, the start signal START, etc.), the START signal goes high (enable), and the horizontal synchronization signal HSYNC
When C rises, as shown in FIG. 23, the timing generator 44 sets both the VE signal and the PE signal to a high level (enable). Further, while both the VE signal and the HSYNC signal are at high level, as shown in FIG.
Each signal of AS, CAS, ADR, WE, and OUT is output to the memory 505, and the image data is read from the memory 505. Further, while the VE signal and the PE signal are both at the high level, the address read from the memory 505 is controlled to determine the read position and the output position of the image data.

Next, address control in the address control unit will be described.

The output of X address generator A 837 is cleared to "0" when horizontal synchronization signal HSYNC goes high, and its output (XADR) is synchronized with the rising edge of CLK.
A) is counted up by one, and the count value becomes “X”.
_b "(the length of the basic image size in the X direction), a ripple carry signal (XARC) is output to the block counter 41, and its output address (XADRA) is cleared to" 0 "(timing T1 to T1 in FIG. 23). T3) That is, the carry signal (XARC) is the basic image size “X _b ” stored in the basic image size register 831.
This is the result of comparing the output value of the counter that counts CLK with a comparator (not shown).

During this operation, the block counter 841
The selector 842 selects the address signal (XADRA) from the X address generator A837, and the selector 843 selects the Y signal.
The address signal (YADR) from the address generator A838
The selection signals XSEL and YSEL are both output at a high level so as to select A). And an X address generator 8
Receiving a carry signal (XARC) from 37 When advanced by one block count X in the X direction, if equal to the X-direction of the repetition number N _x (timing T3), the Y address generator 838 1 only for counting up YC
An NT signal is output, and an XEND signal indicating that the output of image data for one raster in the X direction is completed is set to 1 (enable).

In the meantime, the timing generator 844 keeps the address signal (XADR) from the selector 42 and the selector 4
3 based on the address signal (YADR), the address signal ADR of the memory 505 and the chip select signal C
S is generated, and signals such as RAS, CAS, WE, ADR, CS, and OUT are output to the memory 505 in synchronization with the output reference timing signal 500 to read image data. Then, when the XEND signal input from the block counter 841 becomes “1”, the VE signal is set to a low level (disable) (timing T3), and once,
The output of each signal is stopped to stop reading image data from the memory unit 9. Here, when the VE signal goes low, the counts of the X address generator 837, the Y address generator 838, and the block counter 841 also stop.

Next, when the horizontal synchronizing signal HSYNC which is the head of the next raster rises, the above operation is repeated, and the Y address generator A 838 is sequentially counted up. Thus, the printing process of each raster is performed, and the Y address generator A83
When the value of the Y address (YADRA) output from 8 coincides with the basic image size in the Y direction length "Y _b" (timing T5 to T7), the Y-address generator 838, carry signal a (YARC) block counter 841 and clears the signal (YADRA) to "0".

Upon receiving carry signal (YARC) from Y address generator 838, block counter 41 sets Y
Advanced by one direction of the block count Y, indicating that this value is checked whether becomes equal to the number of repetitions N _y, equals the the Y direction read was completed YEND
Set the signal to high level (enable) (timing T
7). When the YEND signal becomes 1, the timing generator 844 sets both the VE and PE signals to low level (disable), stops outputting each signal, and completes the image reading for one unit of cloth. When the PE signal goes low, the counting operations of the X address generator A837, the Y address generator A838 and the block counter 841 also stop.

The number of repetitions N _y may be sent together with the command from the host computer H, or may be calculated according to the step MS13 (FIG. 2).
Further, it may be set on the operation / display unit 103.

Next, the type 2 shown in FIG.
The operation of the address control unit in the case of the image output is described with reference to the timing chart of FIG.

The basic operation of this timing chart is shown in FIG.
3 is the same as the case of the type 1 image output shown in FIG. 3 except that the operation of the Y address generator B 840 is made valid and the selector 843 selects.

[0124] Specifically, the block counter 841
By switching the selector 843 between high level / low level in synchronization with the block count of the block counter 841 in the X direction by the selection signal YSEL, the signal (YADRA) from the Y address generator A 838 and the signal (YADRA) from the Y address generator B 840 ( YADRB) and the Y address YADR is switched for each block.

The Y address generator B 840 does not clear to “0” at the rise of the horizontal synchronization signal HSYNC, but at this timing, the offset amount Δy in the Y direction.
Is loaded. Also, the Y address generator B840
The length “Y _b ” of the basic image size in the Y direction is compared with the output (YADRB) of the Y address generator B840, and (YA)
DRB) is cleared to be equal to "Y _b" "0". At this time, carry signal YBRC is not output, and block counter 41 outputs X address generator A837.
Block counter Y with carry signal (YARC)
Is incremented.

This timing is shown in detail in FIG. 24. For example, when printing the first scan of the basic image 300 shown in FIG.
As for the Y address (YADR) input to the counter 4, the output (YADRA) of the Y address generator A 838 is selected to “0”.
And then the right image area (offset)
When printing the first one scan, the output (YADRB) of the Y address generator B 840 is selected and set to “Δy”. Similarly, in the third image area (there is no offset), the Y address (YADR) returns to “0”, and in the next offset area, “Δy” is returned again.
Becomes

Next, in the second scan for printing these image areas, the output (YADRA) of the Y address generator A 838 is selected to become "1" in the image area where the Y address (YADR) is not offset, and In the offset area, the output (YADRB) of the Y address generator B 840 is selected and becomes “Δy + 1”.

After outputting the line 301 in FIG. 21B, the output (YADR) of the Y address generator B840 is output.
B) is equal to the basic image size “Y _b ”,
Cleared to "0".

Also, the type 3 shown in FIG.
Is different from the type 2 in that the offset is in the Y direction, whereas the type 3 is offset in the X direction. Therefore, in the type 2 described above, the selector 843 selects the output of the Y address generator A 838 and the output of the Y address generator B 840 and selects the Y address (YADR).
Is devised in the formation of the selector 84.
2 is an X address generator A 837 and an X address generator B
839 is selected and the X address (XAD
R) requires control to be output.

More specifically, the block counter 841 switches the selection signal XSEL of the selector 842 between a high level and a low level in synchronization with the Y count value of the block counter 841, so that the address (XADRA) output from the X address generator A 837 is output. ) And X address generator B8
The address (XADRB) output by 39 is switched for each block and output to the timing generator 44 as (XADR). Also, the X address generator B839 has the HSY
Instead of being cleared to “0” at the rise of NC, the offset amount “Δx” in the X direction is loaded at this timing. Further, X address generator B839 includes a width "X _b" of the X direction of the basic image size is compared with its output (XADRB), and (XADRB) exceeds "X _b" ripple Carry (XBRC) Without outputting, the X address generator B839 is cleared to "0". Further, the block counter 41 increments the value of the block counter X by the carry (XARC) from the X address generator A837.

[0131] Type 4 and Type 5, the ratio between the vertical "Y _b" the horizontal "X _b" of the basic image size is beautifully useful for geometrically when an integer. In particular, if X _b = Y _b (the basic image is a square), it can be arranged neatly in a grid pattern, and it is relatively easy in configuration, and it is possible to exchange XADR and YADR,
The counting direction (down / up counting) of the address generators 837 to 840 can be realized according to the rotation amount R.

When rotating the basic image, not only the address control but also a processing unit for rotation can be inserted in a pipeline manner. Further, by the address control, before the image data is actually output, for example, the basic
By creating and storing the rotated images rotated by degrees for the basic image in the image memory, image data including these rotated images can be output more easily and at high speed.

The block counter 841 counts the blocks of the basic image, and calculates the total output image size (X
_OUT , Y _OUT ) is output, but this is not a limitation. In particular, X _OUT, Y _OUT are each X _b, if not a multiple of Y _b is the only count in the block X _OUT, Y _OUT
Can not be specified. Therefore, the remaining pixel _Xr = _XOUT−
N _x × X _b , where N _x = INT (X _OUT / X _b ) −
1 can be introduced, and it can be determined whether or not X _OUT has been reached by comparing the number of repetitions N _x with the remaining pixel X _r . This is the same for the Y direction.

When the printing speed of the recording head is slow and the image output clock is slow, the above-described address formation can be realized by software processing such as a CPU. In particular, it is also possible to replace part of the configuration in FIG. 25 with software by using part of the memory as a counter by software.

In this embodiment, the arrangement of the image data to be output to the recording head is performed in a raster format, and the image data arrangement depending on the recording head is changed by the raster / BJ conversion controller 506 (FIG. 16). However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the arrangement of the image data stored in the memory 505 and the arrangement of the image data output to the recording head may be the same. At the time of output to the driver, it may be adapted to the head arrangement of the recording head.

[0136] Incidentally, as in practice the mechanical structure of the printer P according to this embodiment shown in FIG. 25, to the image output by scanning a recording head having a recording range of the width H _y in the Y-direction in the X-direction I have to.

In such a case, the FM controller 50
4 in the Y direction Y address generator 838, Y address generator B840 of the address control portion included in a counter for counting only H _y (and a comparator), second counter for counting the ripple Carry (and a comparator) It is also possible to realize by a step configuration.

[0138] Further, a width of H _y in the Y direction, X in the X direction
It is also possible to read and print an image in _OUT units (referred to as band units). At this time, the above Y direction Y
Without requiring higher counter of the address generator 838, Y address generator B 840, can be configured with only the lower counter (counter for H _y). Specifically, every time an image is output in band units, the CPU 102
A loads specified address Y direction (Y address of image data at the beginning of turn printing band unit) counter for H _y, may be from there to perform counting up.

(3.4) Download of Conversion Data and Parameters Various types of parameters described above for downloading each conversion data to a conversion table via each conversion controller, or set by the host computer H or the operation / display unit 103 Is stored in the corresponding predetermined register, the apparatus according to the present embodiment processes according to the flowchart of FIG. Hereinafter, the operation will be described. The program for performing the process is stored in the ROM 102B provided in the control board 102, and is executed by the CPU 102A.

First, when power is supplied to the present system,
In step SP1, the printer P is initialized. In this initialization process, conversion tables 509 and 51 for each recording color are used.
1 and 513 are also included.

Then, in the next step SP2, it is determined whether or not a test print instruction has been received from the host computer H or the operation / display unit 103. If it is determined that the instruction has been made, the test print is performed in step SP3.
In this case, as described above, the selector 519 for each recording color outputs an instruction signal to select data from the binary PG controller, and print processing is performed.

If there is no instruction from the host computer H or the operation / display unit 103, the flow advances to step SP4 to determine whether data has been received via the GPIB interface 501, and waits for the reception. If there is data reception, the process proceeds to step SP4, and it is determined whether the received data is image data, data for each conversion table or parameters. Incidentally, whether or not the data is image data is determined by interpreting a control command located at the head of the received data. In particular, in the case of data or parameters for a conversion table, identification data indicating which data to be subsequently transmitted is data for which conversion table of which recording color or which parameter is used for control is added. You.

If it is determined that the received data is image data, the flow advances to step SP6 to execute a printing process based on the image quality.

If it is determined that they are conversion table data and parameters, the process proceeds to step SP7,
The control command is interpreted to determine which conversion table of which recording color is to be used or a parameter. At step SP8, based on the determination result, the received data is converted via the corresponding conversion controller or CPU into the conversion table. Or a register, a post-processing data memory, or the like.

The information set by the host computer H and the operation / display unit 103 and the like are stored in the operation / display unit 103.
Can also be displayed on a display device. FIG. 27 shows an example of the display. The display 103D in the figure displays the printed length of the cloth 6, the total length of the cloth, the feed amount of the cloth, and the like, which are set using the host computer H and the operation buttons of the main operation / display unit. Of course, various parameters, modes, and the like can also be displayed. In FIG. 27, reference numeral 103E denotes various error lamps. Reference numerals 103A and 103B denote a stop button and an emergency stop button, respectively, which can be used to enable selection between a stop mode for protecting the continuity of the print output and a stop mode for not protecting, respectively.

(4) Others The image output apparatus (printer) according to the present invention can employ not only the ink jet recording method but also various recording methods. In a recording head and a recording apparatus of a system including a means (for example, an electrothermal converter or a laser beam) for generating thermal energy as energy used for performing ejection, and causing a change in ink state by the thermal energy. It has excellent effects. 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 respective 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. 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 or the ink from the apparatus main body by being attached to the apparatus main body. The present invention is also effective when a replaceable chip-type recording head that can be supplied or a cartridge-type recording head in which an ink tank is provided integrally with the recording head itself is used.

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.

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 those used as image output terminals of information processing equipment such as computers, copying apparatuses combined with readers and the like, and facsimile apparatuses having a transmission / reception function. It may take a form.

[0154]

As described above, according to the present invention,
An image to be printed with the original image data,
Simultaneously combine the processing pattern of the specified color properly and
To print on the paper, i.e.
The resulting cloth has images and post-processing for post-processing such as cutting and sewing.
Because the data and the data are written,
No need for complicated work such as drawing sewing information on cloth
Cost can be reduced. Also, once printed
Simplifies the process of printing post-processing data on cloth later
Can be Also, after cutting the processing pattern,
Color or affect the original print image.
Colors that are not specified while forming
Indicates that the data corresponding to the processing pattern is stored in the post-processing memory.
The image to be printed is not stored in the
Because it will be printed, image quality will deteriorate
Printing can be performed without the need.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating an overall configuration of a printing system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing an outline of a printing process.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a system centering on a configuration of a host computer according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a special color designation processing procedure in FIG. 2;

FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a pallet conversion table created by the procedure of FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is also an explanatory view.

FIG. 7 is an explanatory view of the same.

FIG. 8 is also an explanatory diagram.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a color pallet data generation procedure in FIG. 2;

FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing another example.

FIG. 11 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a post-processing data input processing procedure in FIG. 2;

FIG. 12 is a perspective view showing a schematic mechanical configuration of a printer applied to the embodiment.

FIG. 13 is a plan view of the same.

FIG. 14 is a block diagram showing an electrical schematic configuration of the printer shown in FIG.

FIG. 15 is also a block diagram.

16 is a block diagram showing a part of the internal configuration of the control board in FIG. 14 focusing on the flow of data.

FIG. 17 is also a block diagram.

FIG. 18 is a block diagram of the same.

19 is an explanatory diagram for describing data set in each memory shown in FIG. 17 to prevent abnormal output until a conversion parameter is input.

20 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration example of a post-processing data input unit in FIG. 18;

FIGS. 21A to 21E are explanatory diagrams showing examples of formation patterns of a basic image on a recording medium.

FIG. 22 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration example of a parameter storage unit and an address control unit.

FIG. 23 is a timing chart showing the output timing of each signal of the memory control unit when outputting an image output (type 1) by the printer of this embodiment.

FIG. 24 is a timing chart showing the output timing of each signal of the memory control unit when outputting an image output (type 2) by the printer of this embodiment.

FIG. 25 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an example of an actual image output by the printer of the present example.

26 is a flowchart showing an example of a processing procedure for setting conversion data and parameters in each memory and each unit register shown in FIG.

FIG. 27 is a plan view illustrating a configuration example of a main part of an operation / display unit in the printer.

[Explanation of symbols]

 S Scanner H Host computer 1011 CPU 1016 LAN 1018, 1019 External storage 1023 Keyboard 1024 Mouse 1026 CRTP printer 2a-2d, S1-S4 Recording head 6 Recording medium (cloth) 16 Control circuit 23 Motor driver 24 Head driver 102 Control board 102A CPU 102B ROM 102C RAM 104 Cloth feeder 501 GPIB interface 504 Frame memory (FM) controller 505 Image memory 509 Pallet conversion table memory 511 HS conversion table memory 513 γ conversion table memory 515 Connection memory 520 Post-processing data 520A Post-processing data Memory 520B synthesis circuit

────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── front page continued (51) Int.Cl. ⁷ identifications FI D06B 11/00 B41J 3/04 101Z (56 ) references Patent Rights 2-14168 (JP, a) Patent Rights 5-116429 ( JP, A) JP-A-62-212880 (JP, A) JP-A-2-165976 (JP, A) JP-A-2-136269 (JP, A) JP-A-3-202372 (JP, A) JP Hei 1-163085 (JP, A) (58) Fields investigated (Int. Cl. ⁷ , DB name) B41J 21/00 B41J 2/01 B41J 11/66 B41J 25/20 B41J 29/40

Claims (9)

(57) [Claims] A plurality of ink jet heads for ejecting ink, and ejecting ink of a corresponding color from the plurality of ink jet heads based on image data input from a computer connected to the outside; An ink-jet printing apparatus for printing a color image on an image, comprising: an image memory for storing image data corresponding to an image to be printed; and a post-processing representing a pattern for processing a recording medium after printing the image to be printed. A plurality of post-processing memories for storing data for each of the colors of the ink, and the image data stored in the image memory for each of the colors of the ink used for printing the color image. Done 2
Converting means for converting the image data input from the computer into the image memory, and printing the post-processing data input from the computer with ink used for printing the color image; Stored in the post-processing memory corresponding to the color specified by the computer from among the possible colors, the binary data corresponding to each color of the ink converted by the conversion unit is converted into the binary data of the corresponding color. Control means for combining with the post-processing data stored in the post-processing memory and performing printing with the plurality of ink-jet heads based on the combined data; . 2. The ink-jet printing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the ink-jet head includes an element for generating thermal energy for causing film boiling of the ink as energy used for discharging the ink. . 3. The ink jet printing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein an image is printed on a cloth as a recording medium. 4. The ink jet printing apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the pattern for processing includes a pattern for cutting or sewing the cloth. 5. An ink-jet printing apparatus for printing a color image on a recording medium by using a plurality of ink-jet heads for discharging ink and discharging ink of a corresponding color from the plurality of ink-jet heads, and the ink-jet printing apparatus A computer connected to the outside of the printer and inputting image data to be used for printing to the inkjet printing apparatus, the computer comprising: an image data corresponding to an image to be printed; and a recording medium after printing. An interface for inputting post-processing data representing the pattern for processing into the ink jet printing apparatus, and a color for printing the pattern for processing, ink used for printing a color image of the ink jet printing apparatus. Therefore, there is provided a designation unit that can designate from among printable colors, the inkjet printing apparatus includes: an image memory that stores image data corresponding to an image to be printed; and an image memory that prints the image to be printed. A plurality of post-processing memories for storing post-processing data representing a processing pattern of the recording medium in correspondence with each color of the ink, and the image data stored in the image memory, 2 for each color of ink used to print color images
A conversion unit that converts the image data input from the computer into the image memory, and the post-processing data input from the computer corresponds to a color specified by the specification unit. Stored in the post-processing memory,
The binary data corresponding to each color of the ink converted by the conversion means is combined with the post-processing data stored in the post-processing memory for the corresponding color, and based on the combined data. Control means for performing printing by the plurality of inkjet heads. 6. The print system according to claim 5, wherein the designating means can designate a size and a recording position of the pattern for processing. 7. The print according to claim 5, wherein the ink-jet head has an element for generating thermal energy for causing film boiling of the ink as energy used for discharging the ink. system. 8. The print system according to claim 5, wherein an image is printed on a cloth as a recording medium. 9. The print system according to claim 8, wherein the pattern for processing includes a pattern for cutting or sewing the cloth.