Print system and print method

Details Print system and print method Print system and print method

1999-06-09

2004-09-21

Lee, Thomas D. (Department: 2624)

Facsimile and static presentation processing

Static presentation processing

Attribute control

C358S468000

Reexamination Certificate

active

06795216

ABSTRACT:

This application is based on Patent Application No. 165615/1998 filed on Jun. 12, 1998 in Japan, the content of which is incorporated hereinto by reference.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a printing system and a printing method in which a printing apparatus prints an image according to print data transmitted from a control apparatus.
2. Description of the Prior Art
First Conventional Example
Generally, a print head used in an inkjet printing apparatus ejects ink through ink paths that form a plurality of nozzles or ink ejection orifices. In the printing apparatus using such a print head, there may be minute variations in shape among the nozzles forming ink paths and also errors in the nozzle shapes during the nozzle forming process. Because of these variations, it is often not possible to produce a uniform image by ejecting inks onto a print medium even when a command signal to form a uniform image is issued.
A method for correcting unevenness in print density, the cause of uneven image, and for making the density uniform is already known as head shading (HS).
FIG. 1
is a schematic block diagram of an apparatus that actually employs the head shading (hereinafter also referred to as “HS”) technique. The apparatus shown in
FIG. 1
incorporates three systems, a reading unit (image exposing unit)
101
, an image processing section
102
, and a print (image forming) section
103
. A conventional HS technology will be described below.
In
FIG. 1
, the reading unit
101
reads an original document and inputs a result of printing to obtain a density pattern required to perform HS. The image processing section
102
performs calculation processing on an image read by the reading unit
101
, such as color correction and value determination processing (n=2, 3, 4 . . . ). The HS processing is also included in these calculation processing. The image forming section
103
takes in data, which was read by the reading unit
101
and processed by the image processing section
102
, and then, based on this data, forms an image on a print medium by each print head
104
.
In the printing apparatus of this configuration, the image forming section
103
forms an image on a print medium by using the print heads
104
according to a test pattern that is used to form an image of a specified density. The result of printing is read by the reading unit
101
. The data read by the reading unit
101
is sent to the image processing section
102
where it is used to generate data required to perform HS processing (hereinafter referred to as “HS data”). The HS data
105
is used to correct density-varying spots observed in the printing result produced by each of the print heads
104
. That is, the print heads
104
each have a plurality of ink paths that form nozzles or ink ejection orifices and, when there are variations in the amount of ink ejected from these ink paths, density-varying spots are formed in the printing result. The HS data
105
is used to correct the density-varying spots and make them inconspicuous. That is, the HS data
105
is used as data for directly correcting an image input signal from the reading unit
101
for each print head
104
. Based on the corrected output signal value, the print heads
104
in the image forming section
103
print an image.
Second Conventional Example
There is a print system which has configured independently of each other the original exposing section (reading unit), the image processing system and the image forming section, like a system consisting of an image scanner, a computer terminal equipment and a printer. As to this system a variety of improvement proposals have been made, which include Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Nos. 8-156932, 8-156803, 8-156813, 8-156820, 8-156822 and 8-156802.
One of these proposals deals with a case where a plurality of printing apparatuses are connected to a computer terminal equipment. In this configuration, correction information on all printing apparatuses which may be connected to the computer terminal equipment is constructed into database and stored in advance in a storage device connected to the computer terminal equipment. When printing, the computer terminal equipment sends a serial number to a printing apparatus to check the detail of the printing apparatus. Based on the result of the check, the computer uses the correction information corresponding to that printing apparatus and performs printing. In this way, the printing apparatus to be operated and the corresponding correction information are matched. Of the above proposals some include date information in the management of the correction information.
In the above proposals, however, the correction information unique to a particular printing apparatus exists separately and independently of the printing apparatus. Thus, the user must obtain in advance correction information about all the printing apparatuses that may be connected to the computer terminal equipment and manage these information. Further, as the number of printing apparatuses increases, the correction information on these printing apparatuses is accumulated in the storage device connected to the computer terminal equipment, thus increasing the amount of data stored. An increase in the accumulated data in turn makes erroneous operations and other troubles on the part of the user more likely.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
An object of the present invention is to provide a printing system and a printing method, both capable of simplifying the management of information on individual printing apparatuses.
In a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a printing system comprising:
a printing apparatus capable of printing an image according to print data on a print medium by using a print head having a plurality of print elements; and
a controller for sending the print data to the printing apparatus;
wherein the printing apparatus has first and second holding means for holding first unique information unique to the printing apparatus and second unique information unique to the print head, respectively;
wherein the controller includes:
first and second registration means capable of registering the first and second unique information sent from the printing apparatus, respectively;
a request means for requesting the printing apparatus to send the second unique information when the registered content of the first and second registration means does not agree with the first and second unique information in the printing apparatus; and
a conversion means for converting the print data according to the second unique information registered in the second registration means.
In the second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a printing method comprising the steps of:
sending print data from a controller to a printing apparatus; and
printing an image on a print medium according to the print data by using a print head having a plurality of printing elements;
wherein the printing apparatus sends unique information unique to the print head to the controller, and the controller converts the print data according to the unique information and sends the converted print data to the printing apparatus.
The present invention has stored in individual printing apparatuses correction information unique to each printing apparatus. A controller such as a computer terminal equipment requests unique information as required from a desired printing apparatus connected to it. This can eliminate the work on the part of a user, including preparation and management of unique information corresponding to the individual printing apparatuses.
Further, because individual printing apparatuses hold their unique information respectively, the controller such as a computer terminal equipment does not need to pool the unique information on individual printing apparatuses. The storage device on the controller side needs only to hold unique information on the printing apparatuses currently connected to the controller. For example, when one printing appara

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