Facsimile and static presentation processing – Static presentation processing – Detail of image placement or content
Reexamination Certificate
2001-10-22
2004-10-26
Poon, King Y. (Department: 2624)
Facsimile and static presentation processing
Static presentation processing
Detail of image placement or content
C358S001160, C358S001170, C358S001500, C358S001800
Reexamination Certificate
active
06809835
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a printing apparatus for performing printing using a recording head for ejecting ink, thereby forming a plurality of lines constituted of print-dots on a printing paper sheet fed by a paper feeding mechanism, the paper sheet having a predetermined printable area, the head being moved in a direction intersecting to a paper feed direction. More particularly, it relates to a printing apparatus capable of fully preventing the print-dot lines from being formed beyond a last end of the printable area, thereby to make the most use of the printable area in paper.
2. Description of Related Art
Heretofore, there have been known printing apparatuses, e.g., an ink jet printer, etc., for printing characters and the like on a printing paper sheet by moving a print head in a direction intersecting to a paper feed direction after feeding the printing paper by a paper feeding mechanism, thereby forming print lines each constituted of plural print-dots on the printing paper. The print head has printing portions arranged at a predetermined pitch in the paper feed direction.
In the printing apparatus of this type, a maximum area of a paper sheet in which printing can be performed (hereinafter referred to as a printable area) is determined in view of the control of a printing operation, the structural mechanism including a printing mechanism, a paper feeding mechanism, and others. It is preferable to optimize such the printable area when printing of characters and the like is performed.
The conventional printing apparatus, under the above condition, conducts a printing operation in a method shown in FIG.
6
. This printing method of a conventional ink jet printer will be explained with reference to
FIG. 6
, which is an explanatory view schematically showing the printing method of the conventional ink jet printer.
The ink jet printer, as well known in the art, provided with an ink jet head on which a plurality of nozzle orifices are arranged in a vertical direction, performs printing on a printing paper sheet by ejecting ink droplets from the nozzle orifices onto the printing paper while moving the ink jet head in a direction intersecting to a paper feed direction.
FIG.
6
(
a
) indicates a 1-pass print operation for completing printing for a printable width of nozzle orifices in a single pass operation of the ink jet head, and FIG.
6
(
b
) indicates a 2-pass print operation for finishing printing for a printable width of nozzle orifices in two pass operations of the ink jet head. Here, FIG.
6
(
a
) shows an example of printing a vertical line in the 1-pass print operation using the ink jet head having ten nozzle orifices. FIG.
6
(
b
) shows another example of similarly printing a vertical line in the 2-pass print operation using the ink jet head having nine nozzle orifices. Note that in FIGS.
6
(
a
) and (
b
) a character A indicates a paper feed direction and a character B indicates a moving direction of the ink jet head, respectively. A character L shown by a broken line indicates a last end of the printable area in the printing paper and a character E indicates a bottom edge of paper.
In the 1-pass print operation, in FIG.
6
(
a
), the ink jet head ejects ink droplets from ten nozzle orifices to print a print-dot line D
1
and, after the printing paper is fed in the direction A by an amount corresponding to the printable width of the nozzle orifices, prints a next print-dot line D
2
connectedly with the print-dot line D
1
. At this time, any special control operation taking the last end of the printable area into consideration, e.g., selection of the number of nozzle orifices for ejecting ink droplets, is not conducted in the conventional ink jet printer. Accordingly, all of ten nozzle orifices are always caused to eject ink droplets on the printing paper, thus forming a print-dot line beyond the last end L of the printable area. For example, four print-dots are formed beyond the last end L in FIG.
6
(
a
).
In the 2-pass print operation, the ink jet head ejects ink droplets from nine nozzle orifices to print a print-dot line D
3
and, after the printing paper is fed in the direction A by an amount corresponding to half the printable width, print a next print-dot line D
4
so that each print-dot of the line D
4
is positioned between the adjacent print-dots of the line D
3
at a half length of the line D
3
as shown in FIG.
6
(
b
). Concretely, the first print-dot of the line D
4
is positioned between the fifth and sixth print-dots of the line D
3
. Similarly, after the printing paper is fed in the direction A by an amount corresponding to half the printable width, the next print-dot line D
5
is printed so that each print-dot of the line D
5
is positioned between the adjacent print-dots of the line D
4
in a half length of the line D
4
. Regarding the line D
5
, only five print-dots among nine dots are printed to complete the 2-pass printing. As a result, a space is produced between the last print-dot of the line D
5
and the last end L of the printable area in the printing paper.
Meanwhile, the last end L of the printable area in the printing paper is often set to a position capable of assuring print quality and right before the bottom edge E of the paper when it is just released from a supply roller of a paper feeding mechanism. At this time, the part beyond the last end L in the printing paper has already been released from the supply roller. It therefore may not be said that paper is supported in a proper state for a printing operation.
Consequently, in the 1-pass printing, the print-dot line D
2
is printed as the lower print-dots thereof are positioned beyond the last end L, in other words, as the bottom edge E of the printing paper has been released from the supply roller. As a result, printing quality of the print-dot line D
2
printed beyond the last end L can not be assured, causing a problem of extremely deteriorating a print quality of the print-dots printed near the last end L. On the other hand, when the print-dot line D
2
is not printed in order to prevent a print-dot line from being formed beyond the last end L, a large space between the lowest end of the print-dot line D
1
and the last end L of the printable area, resulting in an increase in the area of an unprinted portion in the printable area. It is thus impossible to optimize the printable area in the printing paper.
In the 2-pass printing, the last print-dot line D
5
is required to finishing the 2-pass printing, however, the bottom edge E of the printing paper has already been released from the supply roller at the time of printing of the print-dot line D
5
. The printing quality of the print-dot line D
5
can not be assured accordingly. When only the first through fifth print-dots of the print-dot line D
4
are effectively printed, a large space is produced between the fifth print-dot of the dot line D
4
and the last end L in the printing paper, which prevents the best use of the printable area.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances and has an object to overcome the above problems and to provide a printing apparatus capable of surely preventing print-dot lines from being formed beyond a last end of a printable area in printing paper and of making the best use of the printable area.
Additional objects and advantages of the invention will be set forth in part in the description which follows and in part will be obvious from the description, or may be learned by practice of the invention. The objects and advantages of the invention may be realized and attained by means of the instrumentalities and combinations particularly pointed out in the appended claims.
To achieve the objects and in accordance with the purpose of the invention, as embodied and broadly described herein, a printing apparatus of this invention comprises a paper feed mechanism for feeding a printing paper in a predetermined paper feed direction, a print head having a plurality of printing portions a
Brother Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha
Poon King Y.
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