JP2862277B2 - Recording device and method - Google Patents

Description

Description: BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a printing apparatus and method for printing a pattern corresponding to data by discharging ink.

[Problems to be solved by the invention]

The ink jet recording apparatus has many advantages such as extremely low noise at the time of recording and high-density recording, and has been increasingly attracting attention in recent years.

Further, the ink jet recording apparatus has a great advantage that plain paper can be selected as a recording medium.
Depending on the type, a problem may occur in the fixing property.
That is, since the ink jet recording apparatus uses liquid ink as a recording agent, when the ink of the recording medium is poorly absorbed, the ink does not immediately penetrate into the recording medium, and the ink that cannot be completely absorbed is recorded in the liquid state. This is because it remains on the medium.

When such a state occurs, the conveying member such as a roller is contaminated, and the ink contaminating the conveying member is transferred to the surface of a subsequent recording medium, thereby significantly deteriorating the recording quality. Furthermore, when the operator handles the recorded recording medium,
Not only can the hands be contaminated, but also rubbing can cause the ink to flow and disrupt the quality of the image.

Alternatively, when a recorded recording medium is stacked on a tray or the like, such a problem may occur due to rubbing between the recording media.

As one method of preventing such a problem and improving the fixability of the ink to the recording medium, the recording medium is heated using a heater, and the evaporation of the water contained in the ink is promoted so that the ink on the recording medium can be quickly discharged. Some of them are dried and solidified. In response to demands for shortening the length of the recording medium conveyance path and speeding up fixing to prevent contamination of the conveyance member, the fixing heater is positioned near the recording position of the recording head, for example, facing the recording head. Is disposed on a platen for restricting the flatness.

By the way, in the word processing, there are cases where printing that requires a long time for signal processing, such as decoration, illustration printing, and rotation printing, is performed. In this case, there is sufficient time for fixing, but conversely, in normal printing, the signal processing for printing is short, so that fixing may be insufficient. Conversely, if you try to fix enough during normal printing, if the above signal processing takes a long time,
If the same part of the paper is overheated,
There is a drawback in that shrinkage is performed, causing inconvenience such as displacement of ruled lines. Alternatively, when a pattern that requires a long time for processing and a pattern that does not require a long time for the processing coexist, there is a problem that how to deal with the pattern is not considered at all.

In a document processing apparatus provided with a conventional ink jet recording apparatus, various papers having different ink fixing properties are generally heated by the same temperature heater.
In a high-temperature, high-humidity environment, for example, when a high-density pattern such as a graph or an image is printed, the fixability is poor, and the paper is unfixed after printing, and the paper is stained. .

In view of the above points, an object of the present invention is to provide a recording apparatus and a method capable of performing recording at high speed and with sufficient fixing of ink.

Means for Solving the Problems In order to achieve the above object, a recording apparatus of the present invention includes a recording unit that records a pattern corresponding to data by discharging ink, and a pattern that is recorded by the recording unit. According to the content of the data corresponding to the above, the recording unit is controlled so as to normally perform the recording of the pattern recorded by the recording unit, or the ink of the pattern already recorded by the recording unit is fixed. Control means for controlling the recording means so that the recording of the pattern recorded by the recording means is performed with a delay.

In addition, the recording apparatus of the present invention includes: a recording unit that records a pattern corresponding to data by discharging ink; and a recording unit that records the pattern corresponding to the pattern recorded by the recording unit. The recording means is controlled so that the recording of the pattern recorded thereafter is normally performed, or the recording of the pattern subsequently recorded by the recording means is performed to fix the ink of the pattern recorded by the recording means. Control means for controlling the recording means so as to perform the recording with a delay.

Further, the recording method of the present invention is a recording method that uses a recording unit that records a pattern corresponding to data by discharging ink, wherein the content of the data corresponding to the pattern recorded by the recording unit is Accordingly, the recording unit is controlled so that the pattern recorded by the recording unit is normally recorded, or the recording is performed by the recording unit to fix the ink of the pattern already recorded by the recording unit. The recording means is controlled so that the recording of the pattern to be performed is delayed.

Also, the recording method of the present invention is a recording method that uses a recording unit that records a pattern corresponding to data by discharging ink, wherein the content of the data corresponding to the pattern recorded by the recording unit is Accordingly, the recording unit is controlled so as to normally perform recording of a pattern to be subsequently recorded by the recording unit, or the recording unit is configured to fix the ink of the pattern recorded by the recording unit. The recording means is controlled so that recording of a pattern to be recorded thereafter is performed with a delay.

〔Example〕

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

The document processing apparatus according to the present invention may be composed of a plurality of devices, or may be a single integrated device.

FIG. 1-1 shows an example of the configuration in the embodiment of the present invention.

[Example in which output is stopped when processing time is short (longer residence time)] In FIG. 1-1, reference numeral 100 denotes an ink jet recording apparatus 600;
This is an output pattern creating means for creating a pattern to be output to the printer.

Reference numeral 200 denotes a processing time calculating means for calculating a time for generating an output pattern by the output pattern generating means.

Reference numeral 300 denotes processing time determination means for determining whether the time obtained by the processing time calculation means is equal to or shorter than a specified time.

Reference numeral 400 denotes an output processing stop unit that stops the output processing until the specified time is reached when the processing time is determined to be equal to or shorter than the specified time. In this case, data to be output may not be transferred from the print buffer to the output side, or data may not be output from the data buffer to the print buffer. Stopping the transfer, stopping the output, and stopping the transport of the medium are equivalent. The point is that the residence time can be extended.

Reference numeral 500 denotes a pattern output unit that outputs the pattern created by the output pattern creation unit 100 to the inkjet recording apparatus 600.

[Example of lowering temperature when processing time is long] FIG. 1-2 is a diagram showing another example of the configuration in the embodiment of the present invention. The description of the common parts with FIG. 1-1 is omitted. Reference numeral 300 denotes a temperature change unit that determines whether or not the time is equal to or longer than a specified time, and 700 denotes a temperature changing unit that changes the temperature of the fixing heater when the time is equal to or longer than the specified time.

[Transport Control When Image (Long Processing Time) Data and Character (Short) Data Are Mixed] FIG. 1-3 is a diagram showing an example of a configuration in the present embodiment.

In FIG. 1-3, reference numeral 50 denotes document printing means for creating a pattern to be output to the ink jet recording device 55 based on the document data.

Reference numeral 51 denotes extended printing means for creating a pattern for outputting an extended area (graph, image, modified character, etc.) to the ink jet recording device 55.

Reference numeral 52 denotes a print type determination unit that determines whether the printed pattern is a document or an extended area.

Reference numeral 53 denotes a recording material determining unit that determines whether the recording material mounted on the ink jet recording device 55 is a postcard.

Numeral 54 is an output processing stopping means for stopping the processing for a certain period of time according to the results of the printing type determining means 52 and the recording material determining means 53.

[Control of Heater Temperature by Determining Position of Data with Long Processing Time] FIG. 1-4 shows an example of a configuration according to an embodiment of the present invention.

In FIG. 1-4, reference numeral 60 denotes an output pattern creating means for creating a pattern to be output to the ink jet recording device 65.

Numeral 61 denotes an extended area detecting means 1 for determining how many lines before the extended area the line being output by the output pattern creating means.

Reference numeral 62 denotes a fixing heater when the number of rows obtained by the extended area detecting means 1 (61) is a predetermined value (m).
This is the temperature changing means 1 to be turned on.

Reference numeral 63 denotes an extended area detecting means 2 for obtaining the number of lines after the extended area of the line being output by the output pattern creating means.
(63).

Reference numeral 64 denotes a fixing heater when the number of rows obtained by the extended area detecting means 2 (63) is a predetermined value (n).
This is the temperature changing means 2 to be turned off.

[External View] FIG. 2-1 shows an example of the external appearance of the document processing apparatus of the present invention. In FIG. 2, 1 is a keyboard for inputting information.
KB. 2 is a display unit CRT that displays document information
It is. Reference numeral 3 denotes a unit FDD for driving a floppy disk capable of storing document information and a control program, and has a takeout button, an access lamp, and the like.

Reference numeral 4 denotes a power switch of the system, and reference numeral 5 denotes a power plug. Reference numeral 6 denotes a device main body, and reference numeral 7 denotes a brightness adjustment dial.

Reference numeral 600 denotes an ink jet recording apparatus PRT, which is connected to the apparatus main body 7 by an interface cable 9.

[Perspective View] FIG. 2-2 is a perspective view of the ink jet recording apparatus 600. FIG. 2-3 is an explanatory diagram of the operation panel 8.
In FIG. 2-2, reference numeral 10 denotes a paper discharge guard, which prevents the printed paper from being re-inhaled from the manual insertion slot. Reference numeral 11 denotes a power switch, and reference numeral 12 denotes a heater switch, which switches on and off a heater used for drying ink when printing on hard-to-dry paper such as a government postcard. In FIG. 2-3, reference numeral 13 denotes a switch for switching between online and offline. Incidentally, the switching may be performed automatically. Reference numeral 14 denotes a switch for switching between manual paper feeding and paper discharging when the printer is offline. A switch 15 for instructing cleaning is a switch for instructing removal of clogging of a print head when the printer is used for the first time or when it has not been used for a long time, and when it is reused. Lamps 16, 17, and 18 are a lamp 16 indicating a power-on state, a lamp 17 indicating an on-line state, and a lamp 18 indicating a state where an ink cartridge is not mounted or ink is low (low).
It is.

[Schematic vertical section] Fig. 2-4 is a schematic vertical section of the ink jet recording apparatus used in this embodiment.

Reference numeral 21 denotes a cut sheet of a recording medium, which is separated and fed by a feed roller of a separation claw 23 of 22.

Thereafter, the recording medium 21 is sandwiched between 24 friction rollers and 25 pinch rollers pressed against it, and is fed to a predetermined position.

Reference numeral 26 denotes an ink jet head, which is mounted on a carrier 27, and which is configured to be able to move freely in the sub-scanning direction. An ink discharge port (orifice) (not shown) is vertically arranged in the portion 26a. The head 26 moves from one end of the recording medium 21 (in the width direction) and the recording medium is moved by the friction roller 24.
By transporting 21, images or characters can be printed over the entire area of the recording medium 21. Reference numeral 28 denotes a fixing heater, which includes a heater 28a attached to the back surface of the fixing heater so as to be capable of controlling the temperature. The fixing heater 28 has a function of promoting drying of the ink ejected onto the recording medium 1.

The printed recording medium 21 is discharged to a stacker 31 by a discharge roller 29 and a spur 30 provided so as to be pressed against the discharge roller 29.

[Structure of Ink Ejecting Means] In the above-described embodiment, as a means for ejecting ink from a recording head, rapid formation and shrinkage of bubbles in a liquid by thermal energy as described in US Pat. Nos. 4,723,129 and 4,459,600. And a bubble jet method (preferably having an electric / heat / transformer as a constituent requirement) of ejecting liquid as droplets in accordance with the formation of the bubbles. Thus, the above means
Although not shown, the dot recording means includes a plurality of thermal energy generating means provided at positions where thermal energy acts on a part of the liquid in the plurality of orifices communicating with the flow path. . However, it is not limited to this.

Although the present application is a serial type printer in which a head moves, it goes without saying that a line printer having a head of one line length may be used.

[Circuit Configuration] FIG. 3 shows an example of a circuit configuration of the entire system according to the embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 3, KB is a keyboard, which includes an alphabet key ANK, a print start key PRK, and the like.

The CPU is a microprocessor that performs arithmetic and logical judgments for document processing and controls components connected to a common bus BUS described later.

BUS is a common bus used for instruction, control, and data transfer of connected devices. The ROM is a read-only memory, and the control means is stored in advance by a microprocessor CPU described in detail in FIG.

DBUF is a document memory and has a code information area for storing a character string input from the keyboard KB.

PBUF is a printer buffer and is a memory for storing dot pattern data to be output to the ink jet recording apparatus PRT, control commands, and the like.

A CRT is a display using a cathode ray tube or the like. The FDD is a floppy disk drive that can read and write information from the floppy disk FD in which document information, image information, and the like are stored.

CG is a character generator which generates a font-type character pattern from the character code information when outputting characters to the ink jet recording apparatus 600 or the like.

RAM is random access memory, print line counter LCT
And so on.

[Printing Effect] FIG. 4 shows an example of the state of the document memory DBUF and the printing result.

FIG. 4A shows the state of the document memory DBUF in this embodiment. In this embodiment, it is assumed that the number of characters in one line is 20 characters, and each character data in the document memory DBUF is represented by a character code such as JIS C 6226.

In FIG. 4 (a), Is a left and right side, that is, a rectangle having two rows and three digits and a six rows and 10 columns as a diagonal line is an image area.

FIG. 4B shows the result of printing the document shown in FIG. 4A by the ink jet recording apparatus PRT. The image data read from the floppy disk is printed in the image area in FIG.

[Example in which output is output when processing time is short] FIG. 5 is a main flowchart showing a control procedure performed by the microprocessor CPU when a printer activation key PRK is input. In FIG. 5, it is assumed that document data already exists in the document memory DBUF by another document editing process or the like.

In FIG. 5, in step S1, an initialization process is performed.
That is, processing such as setting "1" to the print line counter LCT is performed.

In determination S1.1, the character code of the document memory DBUF corresponding to the print line counter LCT is determined. Where represents the image area If exists, image print processing S5 is performed, and if not, document print processing S2 is performed.

In the document printing process S2, pattern data in a format to be output to the ink jet printer PRT based on one line of document data in the document memory DBUF corresponding to the print line counter LCT,
And edit control commands. Then, step S3
Add 1 to the print line counter LCT.

Since the time required for editing the pattern data of the document is very short, in the subsequent standby processing S4, the processing is stopped for a predetermined time (for example, 5 seconds) to improve the fixing property of the ink.

In the image printing process S5, one line of image data corresponding to the print line counter LCT is read from the floppy disk FD, and pattern data of a format to be output to the ink jet recording apparatus PRT and control commands are edited based on the read image data. Editing the image pattern data requires access to the floppy disk ED and the like, so that the processing time is relatively long. Therefore, there is no need to perform a standby process.

In the printer output process S6, the data created in the document print process S2 and the image print process S5 is output to the inkjet recording device PRT.

In determination S6.1, it is determined whether or not all the document data in the document memory DBUF has been printed. If the printing has been completed, this processing ends. Otherwise, the determination S1.1 is performed again.

[Other embodiments]

In the method of the present embodiment, the editing of the pattern data of the image is generally treated as requiring a long processing time. However, the editing time of the pattern data to be output to the inkjet recording apparatus is calculated actually or in advance, and the output of the data is correspondingly calculated. Stopping may be performed. For example, to create an enlarged character of 10 characters from an outline font, 3 or 4 seconds, and if you modify the shadow etc., 14 seconds etc. The processing time may be calculated based on the processing time. The residence time may be controlled depending on whether it is longer than, for example, 10 seconds.

In the above embodiment, whether or not to stop the transfer is switched, but the transfer speed may be reduced according to the creation time. This can be accurately performed by controlling the pulse motor.

[Example of controlling temperature when processing time is long] FIG. 6 is a main flowchart showing a control procedure performed by the microprocessor CPU when a printer activation key PRK is input. In FIG. 6, it is assumed that document data already exists in the document memory DBUF by another document editing process or the like.

In FIG. 6, an initialization process is performed in step S1.
That is, processing such as setting "1" to the print line counter LCT is performed.

In determination S1.1, the character code of the document memory DBUF corresponding to the print line counter LCT is determined. Where represents the image area If exists, the image printing process S4 is performed, and if not, the document printing process S2 is performed.

In the document printing process S2, pattern data in a format to be output to the ink jet printer PRT based on one line of document data in the document memory DBUF corresponding to the print line counter LCT,
And edit control commands. Then, step S3
Add 1 to the print line counter LCT.

In the image printing process S4, first, the editing of the pattern data of the image involves access to the prop disk FD, etc., so that the processing time is relatively long. Therefore, a control command for lowering the temperature of the fixing heater in the ink jet recording apparatus is provided. Issue When this command is received, the ink jet recording apparatus turns off the fixing heater until the pattern data to be printed next is received, so that the recording material does not dry shrink.

Thereafter, one line of image data corresponding to the print line counter LCT is read from the prop disk FD, and based on the read image data, pattern data in a format to be output to the ink jet recording apparatus PRT, control commands and the like are edited.

In the printer output process S5, the data created in the document print process S2 and the image print process S4 is output to the inkjet recording device PRT.

In determination S5.1, it is determined whether or not all the document data in the document memory DBUF has been printed. If the printing has been completed, this processing ends. Otherwise, the determination S1.1 is performed again.

[Other embodiments]

In the method of the present embodiment, the editing of the pattern data of an image is generally treated as requiring a long processing time. However, the editing time of the pattern data to be output to the ink jet recording apparatus is actually calculated, and the temperature of the fixing heater is accordingly calculated. Changes may be made.

Further, in the method of the present embodiment, the fixing heater is turned off in the case of a print pattern having a long processing time.
The temperature may be prepared in the ROM, and the temperature of the fixing heater may be changed more finely according to the prepared temperature. The control of the temperature of the heater may be performed by changing the amount of current supplied to the heater.

[Control when image (long processing time) data and character (short) data are mixed] As in FIG. 4, FIG. 7 shows the state of the document memory DBUF and an example of the printing result. And the printing order in the present embodiment.

FIG. 7A shows the state of the document memory DBUF shown in FIG. 3 in this embodiment. In this embodiment, it is assumed that the number of characters in one line is 20 characters, and each character data in the document memory DBUF is represented by a character code such as JIS C 6226. In FIG. 7 (b), Are the left and right sides, that is, rectangles having diagonal lines of 2 rows and 3 columns and 6 rows and 10 columns are extended areas. FIG. 7 (a) is characterized in that the extended area is an image area by the character string "Gazo" from two rows and four digits. In addition, areas other than ordinary characters and ruled lines, such as graphs and modified characters, are called extended areas. These data are referred to as data and image data having a long processing time.

FIG. 7 (b) shows the result of printing the document of FIG. 7 (a) with a serial printer and an ink jet recording apparatus PRT. Image data read from the floppy disk is printed in the extended area in FIG. 7 (a).

FIG. 7 (c) shows the order in which the character portion and the extended area are printed when performing the printing of FIG. 7 (b). In the present embodiment, the characters and the extended area are printed by independent printing operations, and are sequentially printed from the upper end of the sheet. Assuming that the number of camulas that can be printed at one time is the same as the number of vertical dots of characters, the printing order is,.

FIG. 8 is a main flowchart showing a control procedure performed by the microprocessor CPU in the document processing apparatus of the present invention. In FIG. 8, it is assumed that document data already exists in the document memory DBUF by another document editing process or the like.

In FIG. 8, in step S1, an initial setting process is performed to make the ink jet recording apparatus PRT and the like usable. Detailed descriptions such as initial settings and printing of a document are omitted.

Next, in step S2, it is determined whether the next print target is a character or an extended area. When a plurality of extended areas are present in parallel in the horizontal direction, it is determined which extended area is to be printed next. Here, if what is to be printed next is a character, a character printing process S4 is selected in determination S2.1. If it is an extended area, determine
The extended print processing S3 is selected by S2.1.

In the extended printing process S3, after the feed and print head of the paper set in the ink jet recording apparatus PRT are moved (if necessary), a pattern corresponding to the corresponding extended area is printed. Thereafter, it is determined in step S3.1 whether the recording material is a postcard or not, and if it is a postcard, the process proceeds to step S6. If it is not a postcard, it is further determined in step S3.2 whether or not it is the last line of the extended area. If so, the flow proceeds to step S5, otherwise to step S6.1.

In the character printing process S4, similarly to S3, the feed and head movement of the paper and the pattern corresponding to the corresponding character string are printed. Thereafter, it is determined whether or not the recording material is a postcard in determination S4.1. If it is a postcard, the process proceeds to step S6, and if not, the process proceeds to determination S6.1.

In steps S5 and S6, the processing is stopped for 10 seconds and 3 seconds, respectively, to give time for the ink of the recording material to dry.

In determination S6.1, it is determined whether or not printing of one page of the document has been completed. If the printing has not been completed, the process returns to step S2. 1
When printing for the page is completed, the type of the recording material is determined in determination S6.2, and in the case of a postcard, the process is stopped for 45 seconds in step S7, and sufficient time is provided for the ink to dry again.

Finally, the recording material that has been printed in step S8 is discharged.

[Other embodiments]

In the present embodiment, the printing of the character portion and the extended area portion are performed independently, but this may be performed by one printing operation. In this case, the diagrams corresponding to FIG. 7 (C) and FIG. 8 are FIG. 9 and FIG. 10, respectively.

In FIG. 10, step S11 is the same as step S1 in FIG. In step S12, the ink jet recording apparatus P
After the feed and print head of the sheet set in the RT are moved, a character string for one line and a pattern corresponding to the extended area are printed at a time. Thereafter, the type of the recording material is determined in determination S12.1, and if it is a postcard, the process is stopped for 3 seconds in step S14. If not a postcard, judge S12.2
Whether or not there is an extended area in
Further, it is determined in step S12.3 whether or not the extended area is the last line. If it is the last line, the process is stopped for 10 seconds in step S13.

The processing after determination S14.1 is the same as the processing after determination S6.1 in FIG. 8, and a description thereof will be omitted.

Although the stop of the head is controlled, the moving speed may be reduced. This can be performed by controlling the pulse motor. The speed also depends on the type of data
You may read from ROM.

As described above, according to the present invention, the type of mixed pattern data to be output to the inkjet recording apparatus is determined, and the data output is stopped for a certain period of time as appropriate. Accordingly, an effect is obtained that the operator can avoid attaching unnecessary stains to the print result sheet without being conscious of the output pattern and the recording material.

[Control of Heater by Determining Position of Data with Long Processing Time] FIG. 11 is a block diagram for executing the present embodiment, and shows the details of the RAM of FIG. In the RAM, LTC is a print line counter, ILC is an extended area counter, and HTF is a heater status flag.

FIG. 12 is a main flowchart showing a control procedure performed by the microprocessor CPU when the printer activation key PRK is input. In FIG. 12, it is assumed that document data already exists in the document memory DBUF by another document editing process or the like.

In FIG. 12, in step S1, an initial setting process is performed, and the ink jet recording apparatus P connected to the common bus BUS is operated.
Make devices such as RT available. Detailed descriptions such as initial settings and printing of a document are omitted.

Next, in step S2, the post-extension area counter ILC is set to “−”.
1 ", the heater status flag HTF is set to" 0 ", and the print line counter LCT is set to" 1 ". In general, the extended area is an area in which data with a long processing time, for example, illustrations, modifier characters, etc. are developed. Yes, after extension area counter ILC
Indicates that "-1" indicates "extended area not detected" and "0" indicates "extended area printing", and the natural number of 1 or more indicates the number of lines after the extended area. As described later, this is because the heater is turned on for a predetermined number of rows after the end of the extension area. The heater status flag HTF is “0”, “heater OFF”, “1”
Represents “heater ON”.

In judgment S2.1, the document memory DB from the first line to the m-th line
Judge the contents of the UF, and if there is an extended area,
S3, if not exist, judgment S4.1 is performed. m is, for example, 5 or the like, so that the heater can be easily controlled by always observing 5 lines ahead.

In step S3, the fixing heater of the ink jet recording apparatus PRT is turned on. Then, in step S4, the value of the heater status flag HTF is set to "1" (heater ON).

In the judgment S4.1, the print line counter is set in the document memory DBUF.
The content of the line obtained by adding m to the LCT value is determined. If an extended area exists, the determination is S4.2; if not, the step S7 is not performed.
I do. Further, in determination S4.2, the heater status flag
The value of the HTF is determined. If the value is "1", the heater has already been turned on, so that step S7 is performed.

When it is "0", the fixing heater of the ink jet recording apparatus PRT is turned on in step S5. Then, step S6
To set the heater status flag HTF value to "1" (heater ON)
To

In step S7, the contents of the document memory DBUF corresponding to the print line counter LTC are converted into pattern data to be output to the ink jet recording apparatus PRT and output. Thereafter, in step S8, "1" is added to the value of the print line counter LTC.

In determination S8.1, it is determined whether or not the pattern output in step S7 is an extension area. Here, if it is the extended area, the value of the post-extended area counter ILC is set to “0” in step S9.
(During extension area printing).

In determination S9.1, the value of the heater status flag HTF is determined, and if "0" (heater OFF), determination S13.1 is performed.
If "1" (heater ON), the value of the post-extension-area counter ILC is further determined in determination S9.2. Where “−1”
If (extended area not detected), determination 13.1 is performed.

Otherwise, in step S10, "1" is added to the value of the post-extension area counter ILC. Further, it is determined whether or not the value exceeds n in determination S10.1. If printing of the extended area has not been completed,
In S9, the value of the post-expansion-region counter ILC is "0", so the value here is "1" and does not exceed n. Therefore, the value exceeds n only when the number of rows becomes n after the completion of the extended area. In this case, the fixing heater of the ink jet recording apparatus PRT is turned off in step S11, and the value of the heater status flag HTF is changed in step S12. “0”
(Heater OFF). Further, in step S13, the value of the post-extension-area counter ILC is set to "-1" (illustration not detected).

In determination S13.1, it is determined whether or not all the contents of the document memory DBUF have been printed.
Return to In the present embodiment, even when the extended area and the character data are present on the same line, the heater is always controlled in consideration of the extended area. In the present example, the peak was turned on and off, but the temperature may be switched to three levels, such as text, expansion, and text + expansion.

As described above, according to the present invention, the pattern output to the ink jet recording apparatus can grasp the existence of the extension area before the predetermined number of rows as the data of the extension area, and by turning on the heater up to the prescribed number of rows, An effect is obtained that unnecessary stains can be prevented from being attached to the printed paper.

〔The invention's effect〕

As described above in detail, according to the present invention, it is possible to perform recording at a high speed and with the ink sufficiently fixed.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1-1, FIG. 1-2, FIG. 1-3, and FIG. 1-4 are block diagrams showing an example of the configuration of the embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2-1 is a perspective view showing an example of the appearance of one embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2-2 is an external view of a printer according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2-3 is an explanatory view of an operation panel. FIG. 2-4 is a schematic vertical sectional view of the printer. FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing an example of a circuit configuration of the embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 4 is an explanatory view showing a state diagram of a document memory DBUF and an example of an output result in the embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing an example of a control procedure according to the embodiment of the present invention, in which an output (transfer) is stopped when a data processing time is short. FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing an example of a control procedure according to the embodiment of the present invention, in which the heater temperature is changed when the data processing time is long. FIG. 7 is a view showing a state where data having a long processing time and data having a short processing time are mixed and outputted independently. FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing the control of the operation of FIG. FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating a state in which one line of data is performed in one printing operation even when data having a long processing time and data having a short processing time are mixed. FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing the control of the operation of FIG. FIG. 11 is a diagram showing details of a RAM in a case where heater control is performed by determining a position of data having a long processing time. FIG. 12 is a control flowchart for controlling a heater by determining the position of data having a long processing time. DBUF: Document memory PBUF: Print buffer CPU: Microprocessor PRT: Ink jet recording device LCT: Print line counter 28: Heater

Claims (8)

(57) [Claims] A recording unit for recording a pattern corresponding to data by discharging ink; and a pattern recorded by the recording unit in accordance with the content of data corresponding to the pattern recorded by the recording unit. The recording means is controlled so as to perform normal recording, or the recording of the pattern recorded by the recording means is performed with a delay in order to fix the ink of the pattern already recorded by the recording means. And a control means for controlling the recording means. 2. The control device according to claim 1, wherein when the content of the data corresponding to the pattern recorded by the recording device is data requiring a long time for processing, recording of the pattern recorded by the recording device is performed normally. When the content of the data corresponding to the pattern recorded in the recording unit is data that does not take a long time for processing, the recording unit is controlled to fix the ink of the pattern already recorded by the recording unit. 2. The recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the recording unit is controlled so as to delay the recording of the pattern recorded by the recording unit. 3. A recording method using recording means for recording a pattern corresponding to data by ejecting ink, wherein the recording method comprises the steps of: The recording means is controlled so as to normally perform recording of the pattern recorded by the recording means, or the pattern recorded by the recording means is fixed to fix the ink of the pattern already recorded by the recording means. A recording method, wherein the recording means is controlled so that recording is performed with a delay. 4. When the content of data corresponding to a pattern recorded by the recording means is data requiring a long processing time, the recording means is controlled so that recording of the pattern recorded by the recording means is normally performed. If the content of the data corresponding to the pattern recorded in the recording unit is data that does not take a long time to process, the pattern recorded by the recording unit in order to fix the ink of the pattern already recorded by the recording unit. 4. The recording method according to claim 3, wherein the recording unit is controlled so that the recording is performed with a delay. 5. A recording means for recording a pattern corresponding to data by ejecting ink, and thereafter recording by the recording means according to the contents of the data corresponding to the pattern recorded by the recording means. The recording unit is controlled so that the pattern is normally recorded, or the recording of the pattern subsequently recorded by the recording unit is performed with a delay in order to fix the ink of the pattern recorded by the recording unit. A control unit for controlling the recording unit as described above. 6. The recording device according to claim 1, wherein, when the content of the data corresponding to the pattern recorded by the recording device is character data, the recording device performs normal recording of a pattern recorded thereafter by the recording device. When the content of the data corresponding to the pattern recorded in the recording unit is image data, the recording of the pattern to be recorded by the recording unit in order to fix the ink of the pattern recorded by the recording unit 6. The recording apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the recording unit is controlled so that the recording is performed with a delay. 7. A recording method using recording means for recording a pattern corresponding to data by ejecting ink, wherein the recording method comprises the steps of: The recording means is controlled so that the recording of the pattern subsequently recorded by the recording means is normally performed, or the pattern subsequently recorded by the recording means to fix the ink of the pattern recorded by the recording means A recording method for controlling the recording means so that the recording is performed with a delay. 8. When the content of the data corresponding to the pattern recorded by the recording means is character data, the recording means is controlled to normally record a pattern recorded thereafter by the recording means, When the content of the data corresponding to the pattern recorded in the recording unit is image data, the recording of the pattern subsequently recorded by the recording unit is performed with a delay in order to fix the ink of the pattern recorded by the recording unit. 8. The recording method according to claim 7, wherein said recording means is controlled as described above.