JP2003202713A - Printer and its method - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To reduce the number of times of calibration work which is troublesome because it takes time to perform without impairing an effect thereof. <P>SOLUTION: Outside air temperature and humidity measured by a panel thermometer 109 and a panel hygrometer 110 are read and are recorded in a ROM 104. The inside temperature of a printer engine 107 is measured by using an engine thermometer 112, and the time elapsed after previous calibration is performed is measured by using a timer 113. It is referred whether a result file at the time of performing the previous calibration is left in a nonvolatile memory 114 or not. Ambient environmental information such as the outside air temperature and humidity, engine temperature and the elapsed time is compared with those at the time of performing the previous calibration. The calibration work is performed by using a previous calibration result read at the time of actually performed calibration. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2003,JPO

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a printing device,
More specifically, it relates to a color or monochrome multi-valued printer.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Generally, in a color printing apparatus typified by a color LBP, it is difficult to always maintain a constant color tone recorded on an output medium.
As an example, in the case of color LBP, there are the following factors. In LBP, the color depth is expressed by the area where the toner, which is fine particles, is fixed on the printing paper. Here, the image is developed by adhering toner to the electronic latent image created by irradiating the photosensitive drum with laser, but in the case of LBP, the minimum dot size of the electronic latent image is
It is determined by the frequency characteristics with which the laser emitting section can be turned on / off, the spot size of the laser irradiated on the photosensitive drum, and the toner diameter.

In color LBP, the spot size of the laser is changed in order to obtain a halftone, but the ON / OFF characteristics of the laser diode that generates the laser are not very accurate. Further, this ON / OFF characteristic greatly varies depending on the temperature of the element and the applied voltage. Further, the toner having a minute diameter may drop off when the toner image formed on the photosensitive drum is finally transferred and fixed on the printing paper.

Generally, in the color LBP, since the halftone is generated by the dither pattern of the small-diameter dots, the small-diameter dots and the fluctuation of the dot diameter cause a great loss of the image quality. Therefore, the conventional color LB
At P, a work called calibration is performed. The calibration is executed immediately after the power of the printer is turned on or after the toner cartridge is replaced, or after a certain time has passed since the power was turned on.

In the calibration, first, a test pattern having a reference gradation is created on the photosensitive drum. Next, in the case of a printer having an intermediate transfer body, the density distribution of the test pattern formed on the intermediate transfer body is measured using a photosensitive element. In the case of a printer that does not have an intermediate transfer member, the density distribution is measured using a photosensitive element after printing on printing paper.

Next, the measured density distribution is compared with the density distribution set in the initially created test pattern to extract the difference. The fetched difference is used as a coefficient when actually printing. In this way, the print quality is maintained in the color LBP by the calibration work.

[0007]

In the conventional color LBP described above, it is inevitable to perform the calibration for maintaining the printing quality, but since the test data is actually sent to the printing process for the calibration, the calibration is performed. The process of the application took a long time. In particular, even when printing is required immediately, such as immediately after the power is turned on, execution of calibration is unavoidable, which greatly impairs convenience.

The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object thereof is to reduce the number of time-consuming and troublesome calibration operations without impairing the effect thereof. It is to provide the printing device.

[0009]

In order to achieve such an object, the present invention according to claim 1 provides an appropriate printing density in a multi-value printing device capable of taking multi-valued ink density. A printing apparatus having proofreading means for calibrating the test printout so that uniform printing output can be obtained even when the printing characteristics of the printing section are changed by the energization time of the multivalue printing apparatus or the temperature of the printing section. In the storage unit for storing the environment such as the energization time and the temperature of the printing unit and the calibration result at that time, and the calibration result and the environment stored in the storage unit when the printer needs to be calibrated. It is characterized in that it is provided with a printing means for using the calibration result close to the environment as the latest calibration result from the information.

The invention described in claim 2 is the same as claim 1.
In the invention described in (4), the calibration result is recorded in a host computer that generates print information and is transferred to a printing device at appropriate times.

The invention described in claim 3 is the same as claim 1.
In the invention described in, the toner characteristic indicated by the toner cartridge ID is obtained from the plurality of toner characteristics recorded in the printing device in advance by referring to the toner cartridge ID code recorded in the ROM incorporated in the toner cartridge. Is selected, and printing is performed using the selected toner characteristics.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, a multi-valued printing device capable of taking multi-valued ink densities calibrates an appropriate print density by test printing, and the printing characteristics of the printing portion are the multi-valued printing device. In the printing method in the printing apparatus that obtains a uniform print output even when it changes depending on the energization time and the temperature of the printing unit, first, when a calibration request is generated, the measured outside air temperature and humidity are measured. The first recording step of reading and recording the data, the second recording step of measuring and recording the in-machine temperature of the printer engine, and then the time elapsed since the previous calibration was performed. And a third recording step for recording the ambient environment information such as the outside air temperature and humidity, the engine temperature, and the elapsed time recorded in each recording step, and the previous recording step. If there is no environment information at the time of calibration and the comparison step that compares the surrounding environment information when the abrasion was executed, or if there is no significant approximation between the previous information and this information, the normal If a writing step of executing calibration and writing to the recording means and a significant approximation to the environment information at the time of executing the calibration are seen, the previous calibration result is read and the previous calibration result is actually read. It is used as a result obtained when the calibration is performed, and an execution step of executing the calibration is provided.

The invention described in claim 5 is a program for executing each step described in claim 4 using a computer.

The invention according to claim 6 is the same as claim 4
It is a computer-readable recording medium in which a program for executing the steps described in 1. is recorded.

With this configuration, when the calibration is performed, information about the ambient environment such as the ambient temperature / humidity and the elapsed time after the power is turned on is recorded in the printer together with the calibration data. When the surrounding environment such as the temperature condition or the elapsed time is significantly different, the surrounding environment information and the calibration data are additionally recorded and a correspondence list of the calibration data and the surrounding environment information is created.

From the time when a certain amount of list can be created, the calibration is not actually executed for the calibration request, but for the current calibration request based on the accumulated calibration and surrounding environment information. By calculating the expected calibration coefficient and substituting the calculated value, the same effect as when the calibration is performed without actually performing the calibration is obtained.

[0017]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a printer to which the first embodiment of the present invention is applied.
A CPU that controls the entire printer. This CPU1
01 is connected to the system bus 102. Code 1
Reference numeral 03 is a ROM. The ROM 103 is connected to the system bus 102, and the CPU 101 is configured to be able to access the ROM 103 via the system bus 102.

In the ROM 103, a printer program describing the operation contents of the printer and character information are recorded. Reference numeral 104 is a RAM that temporarily stores image data and the like, and is connected to the system bus 102. Reference numeral 105 is an interface. The interface 105 is connected to a host computer (not shown), and the image information created by the host computer is input to the printer via the interface 105.

The image information taken in via the interface 105 is expanded as actual image data in the RAM 104 according to the program written in the ROM 103 by the CPU 101. The image data expanded in the RAM 104 is the engine interface 10
It is output to the printer engine 107 via 6 and printed on the paper.

Reference numeral 108 is an operation panel. The operation panel 108 is composed of switches for operating the printer and a display panel for displaying the operation status. Operation panel 1
Reference numeral 08 denotes a CPU connected to the system bus 102.
The operation panel 108 is controlled by 101.

Next, the operation at the time of calibration will be described. Reference numeral 109 is a panel thermometer. The panel thermometer 109 is installed adjacent to the operation panel 108 and measures the outside air temperature near the operation panel 108. The panel thermometer 109 is connected to the system bus 102, and the CPU 101 can read the outside air temperature measured by the panel thermometer 109.

Reference numeral 110 is a panel hygrometer. The panel hygrometer 110 is also installed in the vicinity of the operation panel 108 like the panel thermometer 109, and measures the outside air humidity. The panel hygrometer 110 is connected to the system bus 102 and, like the panel thermometer 109, the CPU 101.
Can read the outside air humidity measured by the panel hygrometer 110.

A print counter 111 is connected to the engine interface 106. The print counter 111 counts the number of prints of the engine interface 106, and the print counter 111
It is connected to the system bus 102.

Reference numeral 112 is an engine thermometer. The engine thermometer 112 measures the temperature inside the printer engine 107. Reference numeral 113 is a timer. This timer 113 is also connected to the system bus 102, and measures time such as printing operation intervals and calibration intervals.

Reference numeral 114 is a non-volatile memory. The non-volatile memory 114 has a function of retaining the stored contents even when the power is turned off, and is used for storing calibration data. Non-volatile memory 11
4 is also connected to the system bus 102, and the CPU 10
Controlled by 1.

FIG. 3 is a flow chart for explaining the operation at the time of executing the calibration in this embodiment. First, a calibration request is generated in S101. In the next step S102, the CPU 101 reads the outside air temperature / humidity measured by the panel thermometer 109 and the panel hygrometer 110 of FIG. 1 according to the contents programmed in the ROM 103. The read data is R
It is temporarily recorded in the AM 104.

In the next step S103, the temperature inside the printer engine 107 is measured using the engine thermometer 112. The measured result is recorded in the RAM 104 as in S102.

In the next step S104, the time elapsed since the previous calibration was performed is measured using the timer 113. The measurement result is recorded in the RAM 104 as in the previous step.

In the next step S105, reference is made to the non-volatile memory 114 to see if any result file from the previous calibration execution remains. In the next step S106, the RAM1 is executed in steps S102, S103 and S104.
04 outside air temperature, humidity, engine temperature
The peripheral environment information such as the elapsed time and the peripheral environment information when the previous calibration recorded in the non-volatile memory 114 is executed are compared.

Here, if there is no environment information at the time of executing the calibration in the non-volatile memory 114 or if there is no significant approximation between the previous information and the current information, S1
Go to step 07. If a remarkable approximation is found, the process proceeds to step S110.

In step S107, normal calibration is executed. In the next step S108, the environment information collected in steps S102 to S104 is recorded in the non-volatile memory 114.

In the next step S109, the calibration sequence ends. S106 to S11
When shifting to 0, the previous calibration result recorded in the non-volatile memory 114 is read in step S110.

In the next step S111, rather than actually performing the calibration, the previous calibration result read in step S110 is used as the result obtained when the actual calibration is performed, and the calibration is performed. Work. In the next step S112, the calibration sequence ends.

In general, the characteristic drift of the printer engine is found to be correlated with the surrounding environment and the elapsed time. Therefore, in this embodiment, the surrounding environment information obtained when the calibration was performed before is changed to the surrounding environment of this time. When a strong correlation is found, the time-consuming calibration is not performed, and the data obtained before is used as the result to reduce the processing time when the calibration sequence is requested.

Although not particularly mentioned in the above-mentioned operation steps, when the comparison with the approximate data is performed in step 106, a plurality of pieces of surrounding environment information at the time of the calibration performed previously is used to actually perform the operation in the current surrounding environment. Perform an analogy with the calibration results that will be
Increasing the accuracy of the calibration parameter setting performed in step 111 is also included as the operation content.

Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described. In the second embodiment, the configuration of the printer is the same as that of the above-mentioned embodiment. In the first embodiment, immediately after the printer is installed, the non-volatile memory 114 does not record the environmental information at the time of executing the calibration. Therefore, the effect of the present invention becomes effective only after the calibration is executed a certain number of times and the environment information is gathered.
Therefore, in the present embodiment, representative environmental information and calibration coefficients are recorded in advance in the host computer, and the numerical values are also used to estimate the calibration coefficients during use.

In the case of the present embodiment, the number of conditions in which the calibration has to be actually performed to calculate the coefficient is reduced, so that the effect can be obtained with a smaller amount of calibration as compared with the first embodiment.

When the host computer and the printer are connected one-to-one, the nonvolatile memory 114 inside the printer is deleted by recording all the calibration environment information in the host computer without using the nonvolatile memory 114. It is also possible to do so.

Next, a third embodiment of the present invention will be described. FIG. 2 is a configuration diagram of a printer according to the third embodiment of the present invention. The configuration is the same as that of the first embodiment except for the printer engine 107B. Reference numeral 101 is a CPU, 102
Is a system bus, 103 is a ROM, 104 is a RAM, 1
Reference numeral 05 is an interface, 106 is an engine interface, 108 is an operation panel, 109 is a panel thermometer, 11
0 is a panel hygrometer, 111 is a print counter, 112
Is an engine thermometer, 113 is a timer, and 114 is a non-volatile memory.

In this embodiment, the printer engine 10
The toner cartridge ID 107C is built in the toner cartridge used for 7B. In the toner cartridge ID 107C, the representative value of the calibration coefficient represented by the toner cartridge is recorded. When the toner cartridge is replaced, the representative value of the calibration coefficient recorded in the toner cartridge ID 107C is read to the non-volatile memory 114.

For the calibration, the analogy of the calibration result is carried out by using the coefficient recorded in the toner cartridge ID 107C and the surrounding environment information measured using various sensors such as the thermometer described in the first embodiment. The calibration coefficient also differs depending on the shape of the toner, the content rate of the pigment, and the like.

It is possible to more effectively suppress variations in the calibration characteristics that differ for each toner by shipping the toner cartridge ID107C in which the differences in the characteristics that differ depending on the toner are recorded in advance.

[0043]

As described above, according to the present invention, storage means for storing the environment such as energization time and temperature of the printing portion and the calibration result at that time, and the calibration of the printing device are required, Based on the calibration results and environmental information stored in the storage means, the printer has a printing means that uses the calibration results close to the current environment as the latest calibration results. The effect can be reduced without impairing the effect, and the color printer can be used more easily.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram of a printer according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a configuration diagram of a printer according to a third embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a flowchart at the time of executing calibration in the first embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

101 CPU 102 System Bus 103 ROM 104 RAM 105 Interface 106 Engine Interface 107 Printer Engine 107B Printer Engine 107C Toner Cartridge ID 108 Operation Panel 109 Panel Thermometer 110 Panel Hygrometer 111 Print Counter 112 Engine Thermometer 113 Timer 114 Nonvolatile Memory S101 Calibration Request S102 Outside air temperature / humidity measurement S103 Engine temperature measurement S104 Calibration interval evaluation S105 Determine if there is calibration under similar conditions S106 Perform normal calibration S107 Record environment information during calibration in non-volatile memory S108 Calibration Read the calibration result before the sequence end S109 And S110 substitutes S111 calibration sequence ends previous results as the calibration coefficient

─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁷ Identification code FI theme code (reference) G03G 21/00 510 G03G 21/00 510 G06F 3/12 G06F 3/12 K L F term (reference) 2C061 AQ05 AQ06 AR01 HH03 HK09 HK10 HK19 HN05 HN15 KK04 KK12 KK18 KK25 KK35 2H027 DA09 DA13 DA14 DA27 DA38 DD05 DE02 EB04 EC03 EE08 EJ08 EJ15 HA02 HA07 HA11 2H077 AA02 DA05 DA18 DA32 DA62B07 GA08 GA13 GA04 GA04 GA04 GA03

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. A multi-valued printing device capable of taking multi-valued ink densities has a calibrating means for calibrating an appropriate print density by test printing, and the printing characteristics of the printing portion are such that the multi-valued printing device has an energization time and In a printing device configured to obtain a uniform print output even when it changes depending on the temperature of the printing unit, a storage unit that stores the environment such as the energizing time and the temperature of the printing unit and the calibration result at that time, When the printer needs to be calibrated, it is equipped with a printing unit that uses the calibration result close to the current environment as the latest calibration result based on the calibration result and environmental information stored in the storage unit. Printing device. 2. The printer according to claim 1, wherein the calibration result is recorded in a host computer that generates print information and is transferred to the printer at a proper time. 3. An R built in a toner cartridge
Referring to the ID code of the toner cartridge recorded in the OM, the toner characteristic indicated by the toner cartridge ID is selected from the plurality of toner characteristics recorded in the printing device in advance, and printing is performed using the selected toner characteristic. The printing device according to claim 1, wherein 4. A multi-valued printing device capable of taking multi-valued ink densities is calibrated by test printing to obtain an appropriate print density, and the printing characteristics of the printing part are such that the energization time of the multi-valued printing device and the temperature of the printing part. In the printing method in the printing apparatus that obtains a uniform print output even when the change occurs due to the above, firstly, when the calibration request is generated, the measured outside air temperature and humidity are read out and recorded. Steps, a second recording step of measuring and recording the temperature inside the printer engine, and a third recording step of measuring and recording the time elapsed since the previous calibration was performed. Then, the surrounding environment information such as the outside air temperature and humidity, the engine temperature, and the elapsed time recorded in each recording step, and the previous calibration were executed. If you do not have any environment information at the time of calibration and the comparison step that compares the surrounding environment information of the environment, or if there is no remarkable approximation between the previous information and this information, perform normal calibration, When the writing step of writing to the recording means and the environment information at the time of executing the calibration were remarkably close, the previous calibration result was read and the previous calibration result was actually calibrated. Used as a result obtained when
A printing method comprising: an execution step of executing calibration. 5. A program for executing each step according to claim 4 by using a computer. 6. A computer-readable recording medium recording a program for executing each step according to claim 4.