JP7313864B2 - Information processing device, recording device, information processing method, and program - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to an information processing device, a recording device, an information processing method, and a program.

2. Description of the Related Art It is known to use control parameters according to the type of recording medium when recording in a recording apparatus. Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2002-200001 discloses that in order to perform recording using appropriate control parameters, a plurality of characteristic values of a recording medium to be recorded are measured and compared with reference values to determine the type of recording medium.

JP 2016-215591 A

However, since errors in sensors that measure the characteristic values of recording media, individual differences in recording media, and differences in measurement environments affect measured values, there is a risk that the type of recording medium cannot be determined with sufficient accuracy when a standard prepared in advance is used.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to accurately determine the type of recording medium.

According to the present invention, there are provided: acquisition means for acquiring a measurement result obtained by measuring characteristics of a recording medium used in a recording apparatus; notification control means for extracting a recording medium type as a candidate if the measurement result falls within a first range including the reference value based on the measurement result acquired by the acquisition means and a pre-stored reference value for the characteristic value of the type of recording medium; input means for inputting corresponding information, and change means for expanding or contracting the first range of the type of recording medium input by the input means based on the measurement result.

According to the present invention, the possibility of accurately determining the type of recording medium increases.

1 is a perspective view showing the configuration of a printing apparatus according to an embodiment; FIG. 4A and 4B are diagrams showing a configuration of a carriage according to the embodiment; FIG. It is a figure which shows the structure of the optical sensor in embodiment. 3 is a diagram showing a block configuration of a control system of the printing apparatus according to the embodiment; FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing recording medium determination processing in the embodiment. It is a figure which shows the display form of the input-output part in embodiment. It is a table showing characteristic values stored in an EEPROM in an embodiment. It is a figure which shows the other form of an input-output part. 6 is a flow chart showing correction value update processing in the embodiment. 9 is a flowchart showing extraction range change processing in the embodiment.

(First embodiment)
<Overall composition>
FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the configuration of a recording apparatus 100, in which casters and a basket for ejecting paper are attached. FIG. 1(a) shows the overall appearance, and FIG. 1(b) shows the internal structure when the upper cover is opened. The recording apparatus 100 according to the present embodiment performs recording by applying ink droplets as a recording material onto a recording medium using an inkjet recording method. The recording medium is transported with the Y direction as the transport direction. A carriage 101 on which a print head 102 is mounted reciprocates in the X direction intersecting the Y direction for printing, and an inkjet printing apparatus equipped with a so-called serial print head will be described. However, an inkjet recording apparatus equipped with a so-called line type recording head, in which nozzle rows are arranged over a recording width in the conveying direction of the recording medium, may be used. Also, a multifunctional peripheral device (MFP) in which not only a recording function but also a scanning function, a FAX function, a transmitting function, etc. are integrated may be used. Alternatively, an electrophotographic recording apparatus using powder toner as a recording material may be used. In this embodiment, the recording apparatus 100 is equipped with the function of the information processing apparatus for performing processing for determining the recording medium to be used, which will be described later.

An input/output unit 406 is provided on the top of the recording apparatus 100 . The input/output unit 406 is an operation panel that displays the remaining amount of ink and candidates for the type of printing medium on the display, and allows the user to select the type of printing medium and make printing settings by operating keys.

The carriage 101 has an optical sensor 201 (FIG. 2) and a recording head 102 having an ejection port surface provided with ejection ports for ejecting ink. The carriage 101 is configured to be reciprocally movable in the X direction (the moving direction of the carriage) along the shaft 104 via the carriage belt 103 by being driven by a carriage motor 415 (FIG. 4). In this embodiment, the printing apparatus 100 can acquire the diffuse reflection characteristic value and the regular reflection characteristic value on the surface of the printing medium 105 and measure the distance between the carriage 101 and the printing medium 105 using the optical sensor 201.

A recording medium 105 such as roll paper is transported in the Y direction on a platen 106 by transport rollers (not shown). A printing operation is performed by ejecting ink droplets from the printing head 102 while the carriage 101 moves in the X direction on the printing medium 105 conveyed onto the platen 106 by the conveying roller. When the carriage 101 reaches the end of the printing area on the printing medium 105, the conveying roller conveys the printing medium 105 by a certain amount and moves the next printing scanning area to a position where the printing head 102 can print. An image is recorded by repeating the above operation.

<Carriage configuration>
FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the configuration of the carriage 101. As shown in FIG. The carriage 101 is configured with a translator 202 and a head holder 203 . A head holder 203 includes the recording head 102 and an optical sensor 201 that is a reflective sensor. As shown in FIG. 2, the optical sensor 201 is configured such that its bottom surface is at the same position as or higher than the bottom surface of the recording head 102 .

<Optical sensor configuration>
FIG. 3 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing the configuration of the optical sensor 201. As shown in FIG. The optical sensor 201 includes a first LED 301, a second LED 302, a third LED 303, a first photodiode 304, a second photodiode 305, and a third photodiode 306 as optical elements. The first LED 301 is a light source having an irradiation angle normal (90°) to the surface (measurement surface) of the recording medium 105 . The first photodiode 304 receives the light emitted from the first LED 301 and reflected from the recording medium 105 at an angle of 45° in the Z direction. That is, an optical system for detecting the so-called irregular reflection component of the reflected light from the recording medium 105 is formed.

The second LED 302 is a light source having an irradiation angle of 60° in the Z direction with respect to the surface (measurement surface) of the recording medium 105 . The first photodiode 304 receives the light emitted from the second LED 302 and reflected from the recording medium 105 at an angle of 60° in the Z direction. In other words, the angles of light emission and light reception become equal, forming an optical system that detects the so-called regular reflection component of the reflected light from the recording medium 105 .

The third LED 303 is a light source having an irradiation angle normal (90°) to the surface (measurement surface) of the recording medium 105 . A second photodiode 305 and a third photodiode 306 receive light emitted from the third LED 303 and reflected from the recording medium 105 . The second photodiode 305 and the third photodiode 306 measure the distance between the optical sensor 201 and the recording medium 105 by changing the amount of received light according to the distance between the optical sensor 201 and the recording medium 105 .

Although the optical sensor is installed on the carriage in this embodiment, it may be in another form. For example, it may be fixed to the recording device, or may be a measuring device for measuring characteristic values such as diffuse reflection and specular reflection of the recording medium separate from the recording device, and the characteristic values measured by the measuring device may be transmitted to the recording device.

<Block diagram>
FIG. 4 is a diagram showing the block configuration of the control system of the recording apparatus 100. As shown in FIG. A ROM 402 is a non-volatile memory, and stores, for example, a control program for controlling the printing apparatus 100 and a program for realizing the operations of this embodiment. The operation of the present embodiment is realized, for example, by the CPU 401 reading a program stored in the ROM 402 to the RAM 403 and executing the program. The RAM 403 is also used as working memory for the CPU 401 . The EEPROM 404 stores data that should be retained even when the recording apparatus 100 is powered off. At least, the CPU 401 and the ROM 402 realize the function of an information processing apparatus for performing recording medium determination processing, which will be described later. The EEPROM 404 also stores characteristic values of each recording medium used as predetermined criteria and categories of each recording medium. The category is a broad classification of the types of printing media, and in this embodiment five categories are set: glossy paper, plain paper, coated paper, film paper, and special. For example, if the recording medium is standard glossy paper, it is classified into the category of glossy paper, and if it is premium plain paper, it is classified into the category of plain paper. A recording medium includes a medium other than a paper medium, but in this embodiment, the user is notified using the word "paper". The history information and the characteristic values of each recording medium may be stored in the ROM of the host computer or an external memory such as a server instead of the storage medium in the recording apparatus.

An interface (I/F) circuit 410 connects the recording apparatus 100 and an external network such as a LAN. The printing apparatus 100 transmits/receives various jobs, data, etc. to/from an external device such as a host computer through an I/F circuit 410 .

Input/output unit 406 includes an input unit and an output unit. The input unit receives a power-on instruction from the user, an instruction to execute recording, and an instruction to set various functions. The output unit displays various device information such as a power saving mode and setting screens for various functions executable by the recording device 100 . In this embodiment, the input/output unit 406 is an operation panel provided in the printing apparatus 100, and is connected to the system bus 416 via the input/output control circuit 405 so that data can be transmitted and received. In this embodiment, the CPU 401 controls notification of information from the output unit.

Alternatively, the input unit may be a keyboard of an external host computer, and may be capable of accepting user's instructions from the external host computer. The output unit may be an LED display, an LCD display, or a display connected to a host device. Also, if the input/output unit is a touch panel, it is possible to receive instructions from the user using software keys. Further, the input/output unit 406 may be a speaker and a microphone, and the input from the user may be voice input, and the notification to the user may be voice output.

An information processing apparatus externally connected to the printing apparatus 100 and having a CPU and a ROM having functions similar to those of the CPU 401 and the ROM 402 may perform a printing medium determination process, which will be described later, to determine the printing medium to be used in the printing apparatus 100 .

When performing measurement by the optical sensor 201, the LED control circuit 407 is driven by the CPU 401 and controlled so that a predetermined LED in the optical sensor 201 is lit. Each photodiode of the optical sensor 201 outputs a signal corresponding to the received light, which is converted into a digital signal by the A/D conversion circuit 408 and temporarily stored in the RAM 403 . Data that should be saved even when the recording apparatus 100 is powered off is stored in the EEPROM 404 .

A printhead control circuit 411 supplies a drive signal corresponding to print data to a nozzle drive circuit mounted on the printhead 102 and including selectors and switches, and controls the printing operation of the printhead 102 such as the nozzle drive order. For example, when data to be recorded is transmitted to the I/F circuit 410 from the outside, the data to be recorded is temporarily stored in the RAM 403 . Then, the print head control circuit 411 drives the print head 102 based on the print data converted from the data to be printed into print data for printing. At this time, an LF (line feed) motor drive circuit 412 drives an LF motor 413 based on the bandwidth of print data, etc., and the print medium is transported by rotating a transport roller connected to the LF motor 413 . A CR (carriage) motor drive circuit 414 drives a CR (carriage) motor 415 to scan the carriage 101 via the carriage belt 103 .

The data sent from the I/F circuit 410 includes not only the data to be printed but also the data set by the printer driver. The data to be recorded may be received from the outside via the I/F circuit 410 and stored in the storage unit, or stored in advance in a storage unit such as a hard disk. The CPU 401 reads out the image data from the storage unit and controls the image processing circuit 409 to execute conversion (binarization processing) into print data for using the print head 102 . The image processing circuit 409 executes various image processing such as color space conversion, HV conversion, gamma correction, image rotation, etc., in addition to binarization processing.

<Recording medium determination processing>
FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing a recording medium determination process of acquiring the measurement result of measuring the characteristics of the recording medium 105 to be recorded, notifying the input/output unit 406 of a candidate recording medium based on the measurement result, and determining the type of the recording medium to be recorded. In the following recording medium determination processing, the measured value of the characteristic value of the type of recording medium selected by the user is obtained as new information, and based on this, the predetermined characteristic value is changed so as to be closer to the measured value. Through such learning, characteristic values are obtained that enable more accurate selection of the type of recording medium.

The processes of steps S101 to S114 in FIG. 5 are realized by, for example, CPU 401 shown in FIG. 4 reading a program stored in ROM 402 to RAM 403 and executing the program. Also, the recording medium determination process may be executed by software of the host device. In this embodiment, since the input/output unit 406 is an operation panel provided in the printing apparatus, the candidate of the printing medium is notified by displaying the name of the printing medium on the operation panel. The input/output unit 406 may be a display and host device connected to the host device. If the input/output unit 406 is a speaker with a microphone function capable of inputting/outputting voice, the candidate for the recording medium is notified by the speaker, and the selection of the recording medium is performed by the user inputting the name of the recording medium or the corresponding code into the microphone.

When the CPU 401 receives a user's instruction to start paper feeding from the operation panel, which is the input/output unit 406, the CPU 401 starts the printing medium determination process in FIG. FIG. 6A is a display example of an operation panel for accepting input of an instruction to start paper feeding processing. The operation panel is a touch panel that allows touch input by the user. When the item "Yes" is touched and paper feeding is started, the recording medium 105 is conveyed by the conveying rollers to a position on the platen 106 that can be detected by the optical sensor 201 (step S101).

When the recording medium 105 is conveyed, the carriage 101 moves in the X direction and the optical sensor 201 moves above the recording medium 105 in step S102.

In step S103, the optical sensor 201 acquires the diffuse reflection value V1, the specular reflection value V2, and the thickness value of the recording medium (hereinafter referred to as paper thickness) V3 of the recording medium 105 (step S101). The diffuse reflection value corresponds to the whiteness of the recording medium, and the specular reflection value corresponds to the glossiness of the recording medium. As a characteristic of the recording medium, the width of the recording medium in the X direction may be used to perform the recording medium determination process. The recording medium characteristics may be measured at one position, or the average of the measurement results at a plurality of positions may be taken. Moreover, the measurement of the characteristics may be performed while the optical sensor 201 is stopped, or may be performed while the optical sensor 201 is moving. The measured values are temporarily stored in a memory such as the RAM 403 .

Next, in the processing of steps S104 to S107, the CPU 401 reads out the acquired measurement values from the memory and compares them with the characteristic values of various recording media stored in the EEPROM 404 in advance. As a result, the types of recording media that match the characteristics indicated by the measured values higher than a predetermined degree are extracted. Details are as follows.

In step S104, it is determined whether the comparison with the characteristic values of all the recording medium types stored in the EEPROM 404 has been completed. If it is determined that the process has ended, the process proceeds to step S108.

If it is determined in step 504 that the comparison has not ended, the process advances to step S105 to compare the characteristic value of the type of recording medium and the measured value. FIG. 7A shows characteristic values stored in the EEPROM 404 for each type of recording medium. This characteristic value is set to a predetermined value and is a value that is not changed. As the diffuse reflection value and the specular reflection value, values obtained by A/D converting the output voltage output by the optical sensor 201 upon receiving light with 10 bits are stored. FIG. 7B shows correction values and learning values stored in the EEPROM 404. FIG. The learning value will be described later. The correction value is a value updated by learning. The initial value of the predetermined characteristic value shown in FIG. 7A is corrected by the correction value shown in FIG. In this embodiment, a value obtained by multiplying a predetermined characteristic value by a correction value is used as a reference correction value. For example, the reference value of the specular reflection value of plain paper A is the initial specular reflection value (V1L_a)×correction value (α_a). Based on the reference value of the characteristic value, the type of recording medium is detected using the first range from the positive extraction limit value to the negative extraction limit value shown in FIG. 7C as the extraction range. For example, the positive extraction limit value of the specular reflection value of plain paper A is J1_a, and the negative extraction limit value is J1'_a. In step S105, it is determined whether or not the measured value measured in step S103 is within the extraction range of the predetermined type of recording medium. If not, the process returns to step S104 to determine the next type of recording medium. If it is, the process proceeds to step S106.

In step S106, a judgment distance Dx indicating the closeness between the measured value and the reference value of the characteristic value is calculated. A type of recording medium having a reference value of a characteristic value with a smaller determination distance Dx is closer to the type of recording medium measured. A formula for calculating the determination distance Dx will be shown below using plain paper A as an example.
Dx={V1−(α_a)×(V1L_a) ² +{V2−(β_a)×(V2L_a)} ² +{V3−(γ_a)×(V3L_a)} ²

The method of obtaining the determination distance Dx is not limited to the above formula, and may be any method that can calculate the similarity between the measured value and the reference value of the characteristic value. In the present embodiment, the distances between all measured values to be obtained and the reference values of the characteristic values are obtained collectively. However, if the correlation between the respective characteristic values is low, the distances may be obtained separately for each characteristic value to determine the closeness to the measured value.

In step S<b>107 , the determination distance Dx calculated in step S<b>106 and the type of recording medium are associated and temporarily stored in the RAM 403 .

When the processes of steps S104 to S107 are performed for all types of recording media, the determination in step S104 is YES, and the process proceeds to step S108. In step S108, it is determined whether or not there is a recording medium type stored in the RAM 403. FIG. If there is no recording medium type stored in the RAM 403, all categories are displayed on the operation panel as shown in FIG. 6B (step S111). The categories are arranged and displayed in a predetermined order. When the category is displayed, when the input of the category selected by the user is received, the type of recording medium in the category is displayed as shown in FIG. 6(c). Then, an input of the type of recording medium selected from among the displayed types of recording medium is received. Input is performed by touching an item displaying the name of the recording medium. In FIG. 6B, the item "all" is displayed at the bottom, apart from the category of recording media. When "all" is selected, all recording media are displayed in a predetermined order. The recording media may be displayed in order from the most recent, that is, the most recently used recording medium.

If there are recording medium types stored in the RAM 403 in step S108, the stored recording medium types are prioritized in ascending order of determination distance Dx (step S109).

As shown in FIG. 6D, the names of the types of recording media are displayed in descending order of priority determined in step S109 (step S110).

By touching 40 displayed on the operation panel in FIG. 6(d), the display on the screen can be scrolled downward. When "STOP" is touched, the recording medium determination process is stopped, and the display of FIG. 6A is switched to the home screen display. In FIG. 6D, numbers 1 to 3 are attached next to the names of the recording media in descending order of priority. The type of recording medium is selected by touching the displayed name of the recording medium. Here, the standard semi-glossy paper numbered 1 has the highest priority. Any code may be used as long as the level of priority can be recognized, and a code other than a number may be used. Also, the display method is not limited to this, as long as the user can recognize the order of priority.

In FIG. 6(d), up to three candidate recording media can be displayed from the top, but since there are two types of extracted recording media, only two recording media are displayed in FIG. 6(d). In the third column, "No selection candidate" is displayed in a faint (or dark) manner so as to be less conspicuous than the names of the above two recording media, and the user is informed that there is no third candidate. For example, when the background color of the operation panel is black, the two recording media are displayed in white, and the content "no selection candidate" is displayed in gray, which is a color with a lower luminance than white. The category of paper is displayed below the display of the content "no choice candidate". In this way, when the recording medium desired by the user is not among the recording media displayed on the input/output unit 406, the individual recording medium can be selected in order to select another type of recording medium. In this embodiment, the category to which the first-ranked recording medium type belongs is displayed at the top. By displaying categories with similar characteristics at the top to facilitate selection, even if there is no recording medium desired by the user among the candidate recording media, the effort required to select the category of the desired recording medium can be reduced.

FIG. 8 shows another method of displaying candidates for the type of recording medium in the input/output unit 406 . As shown in FIG. 8A, when all the candidates for the type of recording medium cannot be displayed on the operation panel, the lower candidates may be displayed by a scrolling operation or the like. In addition, it is sufficient if the priority can be recognized by the user even if the candidates are not displayed in descending order. The name of the recording medium with the highest priority may be displayed in the center of the operation panel, or the priority may be expressed by increasing the size of the characters that display the name of the recording medium with the highest priority, making it bold, etc., as shown in FIG. Also, although the category is displayed under the display of "Paper category", the category may be displayed without the display of "Paper category". In addition, the type of recording medium other than the candidate may be displayed below the candidate recording medium instead of the category.

Also, as shown in FIG. 8C, only the recording medium having the first priority may be displayed. If the user wishes to select another extracted recording medium, he or she can select the item of the recording medium displayed as standard plain paper in FIG. 8(c). When this selection is received, a screen such as that shown in FIG. 6D is displayed, and a display method may be used in which another recording medium can be selected.

When the user selects the type of recording medium from the input/output unit 406 in step S112, the correction value is updated to the learned value in step S113. The correction value updating process will be described later.

Next, in step S114, the carriage 101 is moved to the standby position. Then, in step S115, the recording medium 105 is conveyed by the conveying roller to the standby position for recording by the recording head 102. FIG.

As described above, the recording medium determination process is completed, and when a recording job is received from the user, recording is started. If the type of recording medium selected and input by the user from the input/output unit 406 is different from the type of recording medium of the job transmitted from the host computer to the recording apparatus 100, the correction value of the recording medium stored in the EEPROM 404 may not be updated.

<Correction value update process>
FIG. 9 is a flow chart showing the correction value updating process for the recording medium in step S113 of FIG. A case where the user selects plain paper A in step S112 of FIG. 5 will be described as an example.

It is determined whether or not the measured value is within the learning range, which is the second range of the selected recording medium (plain paper A in this case). Here, the learning range will be explained. If learning is performed based on measured values that are significantly different from the reference values of the characteristic values, there is a risk that an incorrect value will be learned. The learning range is a range that is a predetermined distance larger than the extraction range in this embodiment. Using the reference value of the characteristic value as a reference, the range from the positive learning limit value to the negative learning limit value shown in FIG. A different distance can be set as the predetermined distance between the extraction range and the learning range for each type of recording medium. If the measured value is within the learning range of the selected recording medium, the correction value is changed. A predetermined number of measured values are stored in the EEPROM 404 as learned values for plain paper A, and the correction values are updated based on the learned values. In this embodiment, a mode in which two learning values are stored will be described.

In step S201, it is determined whether or not the measured specular reflection value V1 is within the learning range of the specular reflection value of plain paper A. The learning range of the specular reflection value of plain paper A is from (V1L_a)×(α_a)−(L1′_a) to (V1L_a)×(α_a)+(L1_a). If it is not within the learning range, the correction value update process is terminated because the correction value is not updated. If it is within the learning range, the process proceeds to step S202.

In step S202, it is determined whether or not the measured diffuse reflection value V2 is within the learning range of the specular reflection value of plain paper A. The learning range of the specular reflection value of plain paper A is from (V2L_a)×(β_a)−(L2′_a) to (V2L_a)×(β_a)+(L2_a). If it is not within the learning range, the correction value update process is terminated because the correction value is not updated. If it is within the learning range, the process proceeds to step S203.

In step S203, it is determined whether or not the measured paper thickness V3 is within the learning range of the specular reflection value of the plain paper A. The learning range of the specular reflection value of plain paper A is from (V3L_a)×(γ_a)−(L3′_a) to (V3L_a)×(γ_a)+(L3′_a). If it is not within the learning range, the correction value update process is terminated because the correction value is not updated. If it is within the learning range, all the characteristics are within the learning range, so the measured value is stored in the EEPROM 404 as the learning value, and the process proceeds to step S204.

In step S204, in order to update the learning value stored in the EEPROM 404, it is determined whether or not the previously updated learning value is stored in the storage location a2. If the storage position is a2 (step S204: YES), the learned value stored in a1 is updated to the measured value in step S205. If the storage position is a1 (step S204: NO), the learning value stored in a2 is updated to the measured value in step S206. The learning values stored in the EEPROM 404 are the learning values of the previous time and the time before last when the recording medium to be recorded is selected to be the plain paper A and the measured value was within the learning range.

In step S207, the learned values stored in the EEPROM 404 are averaged to calculate the ratio of deviation of the characteristic value from the reference value, which is updated as the correction value. With the above, the correction value update process ends.

<Extraction range change processing>
FIG. 10 shows a flowchart of extraction range change processing. The extraction range change process is executed after the correction value update process of FIG. 9 is completed. This process is a process of expanding or contracting the extraction range according to the measured value. The extraction range is changed for each characteristic of the recording medium. Here, the specular reflection value when the user selects plain paper A will be described. If the measured value does not fall within the extraction range but falls within the learning range, the measured value is made to fall within the extraction range from the next processing. If the measured value is within the extraction range and the extraction range is larger than the measurement value, the extraction range is reduced.

First, in step S301, it is determined whether or not the measured value V1 of specular reflection acquired in step S103 of FIG. 5 is within the learning range. Expressed as a formula, it is as follows.
(V1L_a)×(α_a)−(L1′_a)≦V1≦(V1L_a)×(α_a)+(L1_a)

If the value is outside the learning range, the value is not learned, and the process ends. If it is within the learning range, it is determined in step S302 whether or not the measured value V1 is greater than the reference value (V1L_a)×(α_a) of the characteristic value. Thereby, it is determined whether the measured value V1 is a positive value or a negative value of the reference characteristic value.

If the measured value V1 is greater than the characteristic value reference value (V1L_a)×(α_a) (step S302: YES), the measured value V1 is a positive value from the characteristic value reference value (V1L_a)×(α_a), and in step S303, the measured value is stored in the EEPROM 404 as V1_n. For n, the smaller the number, the newer the measured value is stored. n=N is the largest number and the oldest measured value is stored. When the number of measurements stored in EEPROM 404 exceeds the maximum value N, old measurements are discarded and new values are stored in their place. Here, N=2. In S304, the standard deviation 3σ1 is obtained from the average V1ave and the variance V1var of the N measured values V1_n of positive specular reflection. The standard deviation 3σ1 is used when expanding or contracting the extraction range in step S309 or step S311. The formula for obtaining the standard deviation 3σ1 is shown below. In the formula, the specular reflection measurement value V1_n is represented as V1n.

If the measured value V1 is equal to or less than the characteristic value reference value (V1L_a)×(α_a) (step S302: NO), the measured value V1 is a positive value from the characteristic value reference value (V1L_a)×(α_a), and in step S305, the measured value is stored in the EEPROM 404 as V1_n′. In S306, the standard deviation 3σ1 is obtained from the average V1ave and the variance V1var of the N measured values V1_n' of the negative specular reflection.

After the process of step S304 or step S306 is finished, it is determined whether or not the measured value is within the extraction range in step S307. When proceeding to step S303, it is determined whether V1_1 to V1_N are within the extraction range, and when proceeding to step S305, it is determined whether V1_1' to V1_N' are within the extraction range.

If any of the measured values stored in the EEPROM 404 does not fall within the extraction range, the extraction range is expanded so that all measured values fall within the extraction range in step S308. The learning range is also expanded to a range larger than the extraction range by a predetermined distance. 3σ1 calculated in step S304 or step S306 is used for the extraction range and the learning range. Expressions for changing the extraction limit value and the learning limit value to expand the extraction range and the learning range are shown.
J1_a = (V1ave+3σ1)
J1′_a=(V1ave−3σ1)
J1_a = (L1_a+(V1ave+3σ1-J1_a))
J1′_a=(L1_a+(V1ave−3σ1−J1_a))

Next, in step S309, it is determined whether or not the extraction limit value after enlargement calculated in step S308 is greater than the upper limit value J1max. In this embodiment, the range of possible values for the extraction limit values J1_a and J1′_a is defined. The learning limit value has the same range as the extraction limit value. If the expanded extraction limit value J1_a is greater than the upper limit value J1max, the extraction range changing process is terminated without expanding the extraction range. If the expanded extraction limit value J1_a is not greater than the upper limit value J1max, the expansion extraction limit value and learning limit value calculated in step S308 are updated as new extraction limit values and learning limit values, and the extraction range change process ends. In step S309, if the extraction limit value after enlargement is larger than the upper limit value, the extraction limit value is not updated, but the upper limit value may be used as the extraction limit value for updating. Alternatively, the extraction range and the learning range may have separate ranges.

In step S307, if all the measured values stored in the EEPROM 404 are within the extraction range, in step S311 the extraction range is reduced to such a range that all the measured values are within the extraction range. The learning range is also reduced to a range larger than the extraction range by a predetermined distance. A formula for calculating the extraction limit value and the learning limit value is calculated using the same formula as that used in step S308 described above.

Next, in step S312, it is determined whether or not the extraction limit value after reduction calculated in step S311 is smaller than the lower limit value J1min. If the extraction limit value J1_a after reduction is smaller than the lower limit value Jmin, the extraction range changing process is terminated without reducing the extraction range. If the extraction limit value J1_a after reduction is not smaller than the lower limit value J1min, the extraction limit value after reduction and the learning limit value after reduction calculated in step S311 are updated as new extraction limit values and learning limit values, and the extraction range change process ends.

The extraction range changing process described above is similarly performed for the diffuse reflection value and the paper thickness.

In this embodiment, the standard deviation of 3σ was used for expanding or contracting the range. A standard deviation of 3σ can be used to calculate the range within which 99.7% of all measurements stored in EEPROM 404 fall. A standard deviation other than 3σ may be used depending on the percentage of all measurements stored in EEPROM 404 that are desired to fall within the range.

(Second embodiment)
In this embodiment, a method of determining an extraction limit value and a learning limit value for a recording medium for which characteristic values are not stored in advance in the EEPROM 404 will be described.

In this embodiment, when the user wants to use a recording medium whose characteristic values are not stored in the EEPROM 404 in advance, the user sets the characteristic value, the extraction limit value, and the learning limit value for the type of recording medium he wants to use. By doing so, it can be extracted as a candidate recording medium in the recording medium determination process of FIG.

As for the characteristic value of the recording medium to be used, the user first selects the type of recording medium that is closest to the type of recording medium stored in advance. The characteristic value set for the selected type of recording medium is set to the characteristic value of the recording medium to be used.

As for the extraction range and the learning range of the recording medium to be used, the extraction limit value and the learning limit value are set so that they are the same size as the extraction range and the learning range of the type of recording medium having the largest extraction range among pre-stored recording media.

Further, the characteristic value may be acquired by measuring the characteristic of the recording medium to be used with the optical sensor 201.

100 recording device 105 recording medium 201 optical sensor 401 CPU
404 EEPROM
406 input/output unit

Claims (16)

Acquisition means for acquiring measurement results obtained by measuring characteristics of a recording medium used in a recording apparatus by a measurement means;
notification control means for extracting the type of recording medium as a candidate if the measurement result falls within a first range including the reference value based on the measurement result obtained by the obtaining means and a reference value of the characteristic value of the type of recording medium stored in advance, and causing a notification means to notify information indicating the type of the candidate recording medium;
input means for inputting information corresponding to the type of recording medium determined to be used in the recording apparatus;
An information processing device comprising
An information processing apparatus, further comprising changing means for expanding or contracting the first range of the type of recording medium input by the input means based on the measurement result. 2. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said changing means changes one of the upper limit value and the lower limit value of said first range. 3. The information processing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the changing means changes a reference value corresponding to the type of the recording medium input by the input means, which is used when determining the type of the recording medium based on the measurement result, and changes the upper limit value and the lower limit value according to the change in the reference value. 4. The information processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein, when the measurement result falls within a second range larger than the first range including the reference value of the characteristic value corresponding to the type of recording medium input by the input unit, the changing unit changes the reference for the characteristics of the type of recording medium input by the input unit. 5. The information processing apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the changing means expands the first range in the direction of the measurement result when the measurement result is within the second range but outside the first range. 6. The information processing apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the changing means expands the first range so that the measurement result falls within the first range when the measurement result is within the second range but outside the first range. 7. The information processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein, when the measurement result is within the first range, the changing means reduces the first range so that the measurement result falls in the direction of the measurement result. 7. The information processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein, when the measurement results of a predetermined number of times are within the first range, the changing means reduces the first range so that the measurement results of the predetermined number of times are included. 7. The information processing apparatus according to any one of claims 4 to 6, wherein the changing unit changes the upper limit value and the lower limit value of the second range so that the second range is larger than the first range by a predetermined value. 10. The information processing apparatus according to claim 9, wherein said predetermined value can be set to a different value for each type of recording medium. The information processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 10, wherein the upper and lower limits of the first range each have a changeable range, and the changing means changes the upper and lower limits within the changeable range. 12. The information processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 11, wherein when the first range is set for the type of recording medium for which the reference value is not pre-stored, the largest first range of the first ranges for the type of recording medium for which the reference value is pre-stored is set as the first range for the type of recording medium for which the reference value is not pre-stored. an information processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 12;
a recording means for applying a recording material to a recording medium;
a conveying means for conveying the recording medium to a position for recording,
A recording apparatus, wherein when said conveying means conveys said recording medium to a position where said recording means can record, said recording means records on said recording medium. The recording device has a carriage on which the recording means is mounted and which is movable,
14. A recording apparatus according to claim 13, wherein said measuring means is mounted on said carriage and measures the characteristics of said recording medium conveyed by said conveying means to a position where said measuring means can measure. measuring the characteristics of the recording medium used in the recording device by measuring means;
Based on the measured result and a reference value of the characteristic value of the type of recording medium stored in advance, if the measurement result falls within a first range including the reference value, the type of recording medium is extracted as a candidate, and information indicating the type of the candidate recording medium is notified;
An information processing method for inputting information corresponding to the type of recording medium determined to be used in the recording apparatus,
An information processing method, wherein the first range for the input recording medium type is expanded or reduced based on the measurement result. A program for causing a computer to function as each means of the information processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 12.

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