Incremental printing of symbolic information – Ink jet – Ejector mechanism
Reexamination Certificate
1998-01-02
2001-10-16
Le, N. (Department: 2861)
Incremental printing of symbolic information
Ink jet
Ejector mechanism
C347S015000, C347S040000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06302520
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a printer and a printer driver capable of moving a recording medium in the form of an individually-cut sheet a rolled sheet, e.g., paper, cloth or a special sheet relative to a printing mechanism in different conditions of transport for pitch feed. In particular, the present invention can be applied to recording apparatuses, such as copying machines and facsimile machines, communication apparatuses, office apparatuses, and multipurpose apparatuses, which may include combinations thereof.
2. Description of the Related Art
Generally, in recording apparatuses connected to host computers and other units and capable of recording and outputting images, color recording and monochromic recording are performed separately from each other.
In multi-color recording, ink of three colors, i.e., yellow (Y), magenta (M), cyan (C), or four colors consisting of these colors and black (K) is used and the amount of ink is therefore liable to increase. Accordingly, the quality of a resulting recorded image is liable to deteriorate by blurring or the like. Further, it is necessary to drive recording heads for ejecting inks of three or four colors in a recording apparatus for such multi-color recording. Correspondingly, this necessitates an increase in the size of a power source for the recording apparatus.
A recording method using a fine mode has been provided to solve these problems. In this recording method, a recording portion of a head formed from a multiplicity of printing driver elements is divided into partial regions and an image is recorded on a recording medium in such a manner that one portion of the recording medium is scanned a given number of times with one set of the partial regions. In this recording, a thinned-out image is formed in each scanning cycle so that the corresponding complete image is completed by scanning the given number of times. According to this method, the amount of ink ejected in one scanning cycle is reduced, so that blurring in images is limited. Also, the number of driver elements driven at one time is reduced, which effect allows a reduction in the size of the power source for driving the head.
Even if such driving is performed, the period of time for recording a plurality of colors on a recording medium cannot be reduced, although improvements in image qualities and reductions in the size and the cost of the recording apparatus can be achieved. This is because the width of a portion of the recording medium on which an image is recorded by one scanning cycle is limited to the width of each partial region of the head.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
An object of the present invention is to provide a data printing method, a driver and an ink recording apparatus arranged so that the time taken to perform multi-color or monochromic recording on a recording medium can be reduced substantially.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a data printing method, a driver and an ink recording apparatus arranged so that, even if the apparatus and the driver are originally designed for multi-color printing and recording, monochromic recording of a monochromic image or the like can be performed reliably at a high speed.
Still another object of the present invention is to provide a data printing method, a driver and an ink recording apparatus arranged to efficiently record an image even if the image is formed only by monochromic data or single-color data while a color mode for forming a multi-color image is selected, or even if monochromic data or single-color data of the image exists dispersively without mixing colors.
To achieve these objects, according to one aspect of the present invention, there is provided a recording apparatus for recording on a recording medium by scanning using recording means having plural heads for recording a plurality of colors, the apparatus comprising setting means for setting one of a color recording mode for recording a multi-color image and a monochromic recording mode for recording a monochromic image, drive means for driving, these drive means having a first recording mode for driving having a first recording mode for driving the recording means while reducing the drive load on the recording means and a second recording mode for driving the recording means without reducing the drive load, determination means for determining the drive load with which the recording means is driven in a unit time on the basis of a data signal corresponding to a region of a scanning recording width of the recording means, and changing means for changing the drive means to the first recording mode when the drive load determined by the determination means is large, and to the second recording mode when the drive load is small, if the color recording mode is set by the setting means.
According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method for recording on a recording medium by scanning with recording means for recording having plural heads for recording a plurality of colors, the method comprising the steps of setting either a color recording mode for recording a multi-color image or a monochromic recording mode for recording a monochromic image, determining a drive load with which the recording means is driven in a unit time on the basis of a data signal corresponding to a region of a scanning recording width of the recording means, and driving the recording means in a first recording mode for driving by reducing the drive load on the recording means if the color recording mode is set by the setting step, and if it is determined in the determination step that the drive load is large, or in a second recording mode for driving without reducing the load on the recording means if the color recording mode is set, and if it is determined that the drive load is small.
According to still another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method of recording on a recording medium by scanning with recording means for recording having plural heads for recording a plurality of colors, the method comprising the steps of setting one of a color recording mode for recording a multi-color image and a monochromic recording mode for recording a monochromic image, determining a drive load with which the recording means is driven in a unit time over each of a first region of a scanning recording width of the recording means and a second region adjacent to the first region on the basis of a data signal corresponding to the first and second regions, and driving the recording means in a first recording mode for driving by reducing the drive load on the recording means with respect to the second region if the color recording mode is set by the setting step, and if it is determined in the determination step that the drive load with respect to the second region is large, or in a second recording mode for driving without reducing the load if the color recording mode is set, and if it is determined that the drive load with respect to the first and second regions is small.
According to a further aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method of controlling the recording operation of a recording apparatus for recording on a recording medium by scanning with recording means for recording having plural heads for recording a plurality of colors, the method comprising the steps of setting one of a color recording mode for recording a multi-color image and a monochromic recording mode for recording a monochromic image, determining a drive load with which the recording means is driven in a unit time on the basis of a data signal corresponding to a region of a scanning recording width of the recording means, and driving the recording means in a first recording mode for driving by reducing the drive load on the recording means if the color recording mode is set by the setting step, and if it is determined in the determining step that the drive load is large, or in a second recording mode for driving without reducing the load on the recording means if the color record
Akiyama Yuji
Gotoh Fumihiro
Hirabayashi Hiromitsu
Kanda Hidehiko
Ohnuma Nobuo
Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
Fitzpatrick ,Cella, Harper & Scinto
Le N.
Nguyen Lamson
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