EP0595651A2
Expired / Lapsed
EP
⏱️ 0.0 years remaining
Ink jet recording system
Assignee: Canon Inc
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Filing: 1993-10-29
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Granted: —
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Expires: 2013-10-29
Abstract
Abstract A recording head having an ejection portion group (10d) for ejecting a black ink, and ejection portion groups (10a,b,c) for ejecting color inks is used. When a black image to be printed by the black ink is present adjacent to a color image to be printed by the color ink, a black image portion adjacent to the color image and a black image portion which is not adjacent to the color image are formed in different scans, thereby obtaining a high-quality image from which ink blurring at a boundary portion between the black and color images is eliminated.
Inventors
- 👤 Toshiharu C/O Canon Kabushiki Kaisha Inui
- 👤 Naoji C/O Canon Kabushiki Kaisha Otsuka
- 👤 Mamoru C/O Canon Kabushiki Kaisha Sakaki
- 👤 Jiro C/O Canon Kabushiki Kaisha Moriyama
- 👤 Nobuyuki C/O Canon Kabushiki Kaisha Kuwabara
- 👤 Isao C/O Canon Kabushiki Kaisha Ebisawa
- 👤 Hiroshi C/O Canon Kabushiki Kaisha Tajika
- 👤 Atsushi C/O Canon Kabushiki Kaisha Arai
- 👤 Hisao C/O Canon Kabushiki Kaisha Yaegashi
- 👤 Kentaro C/O Canon Kabushiki Kaisha Yano
- 👤 Kiichiro C/O Canon Kabushiki Kaisha Takahashi
- 👤 Osamu C/O Canon Kabushiki Kaisha Iwasaki
- 👤 Daigoro C/O Canon Kabushiki Kaisha Kanematsu
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
EP
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-11-09 14:56
CPC Classifications
B; B41; B41J; B41J2/00; B41J2/005; B41J2/01; B41J2/21; B41J2/2132; B41J19/00; B41J19/14; B41J19/142
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 42
Claim 1
Independent Claim
167 words
An ink jet recording method for obtaining a multi-color image by scanning, on a recording paper sheet, a recording head which has an ejection portion group including m ejection portions for ejecting a black ink and ejection portion groups each including n (2n ≦ m) ejection portions for ejecting a color ink in correspondence with a plurality of colors, and is arranged so that said groups of ejection portions for ejecting the black and color inks do not overlap in a scan direction, comprising the steps of: discriminating whether or not a black image to be printed using the black ink and a color image to be printed using the color inks are present adjacent to each other; and executing a scan for forming a black image portion adjacent to the color image independently of a scan for forming a black image portion which is not adjacent to the color image when it is determined that the black and color images are present adjacent to each other.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
91 words
A method according to claim 1, wherein said m ejection portions for ejecting the black ink are divided into a first ejection portion group including first to i-th ejection portions, and a second ejection portion group including (i+1)-th to j-th (1 < i < j ≦ m) ejection portions, the black image portion adjacent to the color image is printed using one of said first and second ejection portion groups, and the black image portion which is not adjacent to the color image is printed using the other ejection portion group.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
10 words
A method according to claim 2, wherein j = 2i.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
16 words
A method according to claim 1, wherein the color inks include yellow, magenta, and cyan inks.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
26 words
A method according to claim 1, wherein said ejection portion group for ejecting the black ink is arranged at an end portion of said recording head.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
22 words
A method according to claim 1, wherein a space is assigned between each two adjacent ejection portion groups of the respective colors.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
15 words
A method according to claim 1, wherein the color inks are ejected by heat energy.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
58 words
A method according to claim 1, wherein heat energy to be applied to print the black image portion adjacent to the color image is set to be different from heat energy to be applied to print the black image portion which is not adjacent to the color image so as to control an ejection amount of the ink.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
135 words
An ink jet recording head having a plurality of nozzles which can eject inks by forming bubbles upon reception of heat energy, said nozzles constituting a nozzle group including m nozzles for ejecting a black ink, and nozzle groups each including n (2n ≦ m) nozzles for ejecting a color ink in correspondence with a plurality of colors, said recording head being arranged, so that said nozzle groups for ejecting the black and color inks do not overlap each other, said m nozzles for ejecting the black ink being divided into a first nozzle group including first to i-th nozzles, and a second nozzle group including (i+1)-th to j-th (1 < i < j ≦ m) nozzles, and different amounts of heat energy being able to be supplied to said first and second nozzle groups.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
10 words
A head according to claim 9, wherein j = 2i.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
210 words
An ink jet recording method for obtaining a multi-color image by scanning, on a recording paper sheet, a recording head which has an ejection portion group including m ejection portions for ejecting a black ink and ejection portion groups each including n (2n ≦ m) ejection portions for ejecting a color ink in correspondence with a plurality of colors, and is arranged so that said groups of ejection portions for ejecting the black and color inks do not overlap in a scan direction, comprising the steps of: discriminating whether or not a black image is present adjacent to a color image to be formed by the ejection portion group for ejecting the color ink, which group is arranged adjacent to said ejection portion group for ejecting the black ink; and divisionally printing the image to be formed by the ejection portion group for ejecting the color ink, which group is arranged adjacent to said ejection portion group for ejecting the black ink, in a plurality of scans when it is determined that the black image is present adjacent to the color image to be formed by the ejection portion group for ejecting the color ink, which group is arranged adjacent to said ejection portion group for ejecting the black ink.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
58 words
A method according to claim 11, wherein when the color image is present adjacent to the black image, the black image is printed using predetermined ejection portions of said ejection portion group for ejecting the black ink, so that a scan for forming the black image and a scan for forming the color image are not continuously performed.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
29 words
A method according to claim 11, wherein when the color image is present adjacent to the black image, the black image is divisionally printed in a plurality of scans.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
20 words
A method according to claim 11, wherein the number of ejection portions used for printing the black image is 2n.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
16 words
A method according to claim 11, wherein the color inks include yellow, magenta, and cyan inks.
Claim 16
Dependent Claim
26 words
A method according to claim 11, wherein said ejection portion group for ejecting the black ink is arranged at an end portion of said recording head.
Claim 17
Dependent Claim
22 words
A method according to claim 11, wherein a space is assigned between each two adjacent ejection portion groups of the respective colors.
Claim 18
Dependent Claim
28 words
A method according to claim 11, wherein the number ℓ of predetermined ejection portions of said ejection portion group for ejecting the black ink satisfies ℓ ≦ n.
Claim 19
Dependent Claim
34 words
A method according to claim 18, wherein a feed pitch of the recording paper sheet when the black image is present adjacent to the color image corresponds to the number ℓ of ejection portions.
Claim 20
Dependent Claim
18 words
A method according to claim 11, wherein the plurality of scans are performed in forward and backward paths.
Claim 21
Independent Claim
19 words
A method according to any one of claims 11 to 20, wherein the inks are ejected by heat energy.
Claim 22
Dependent Claim
123 words
An ink jet recording method for forming a multi-color image by scanning, relative to a recording medium, a recording head, which has an ejection portion group for ejecting a black ink, and a plurality of ejection portion groups for ejecting a plurality of different color inks, comprising the steps of: discriminating whether or not a black image to be formed by the black ink is present adjacent to a color image to be formed by the color ink; and changing image formation processing at an adjacent boundary portion between the black ink and the color ink to be different from image formation processing at a non-adjacent boundary portion when it is determined that the black image is present adjacent to the color image.
Claim 23
Dependent Claim
28 words
A method according to claim 22, wherein when the color image is present adjacent to the black image, the black and color images are formed in different scans.
Claim 24
Dependent Claim
42 words
A method according to claim 22, wherein when the color image is present adjacent to the black image, at least one of a black image of the adjacent boundary portion and the color image is divisionally formed in a plurality of scans.
Claim 25
Dependent Claim
42 words
A method according to claim 22, wherein when the color image is present adjacent to the black image, an ink ejection amount for forming at least one of a black image of the adjacent boundary portion and the color image is decreased.
Claim 26
Dependent Claim
18 words
A method according to claim 22, wherein the plurality of color inks include yellow, magenta, and cyan inks.
Claim 27
Dependent Claim
92 words
An ink jet recording method, having a recording head provided with a large number of ejection portions corresponding to a plurality of color inks, for recording an image on a recording medium by ejecting the plurality of color inks on the basis of image information, comprising the step of: recording record pixels located in a predetermined region along a color boundary defined by a color difference in units of record pixels of the image in an ejection amount smaller than an ejection amount for a portion which is not the color boundary.
Claim 28
Dependent Claim
45 words
A method according to claim 27, wherein when the record pixel located in the predetermined region along the color boundary has a predetermined color, the ejection amount of a recording ink droplet for forming the record pixel is set to be a normal ejection amount.
Claim 29
Dependent Claim
23 words
A method according to claim 27, wherein the predetermined region along the color boundary corresponds to one pixel adjacent to the color boundary.
Claim 30
Dependent Claim
28 words
A method according to claim 27, wherein the predetermined region along the color boundary corresponds to a region of two or more pixels adjacent to the color boundary.
Claim 31
Dependent Claim
215 words
An ink jet recording method, having an ink jet recording head provided with a large number of ejection portions corresponding to a plurality of color inks, for recording an image on a recording medium by ejecting the plurality of color inks on the basis of image information such that ejection amounts are variable, comprising: the conversion step of converting input image data into data corresponding to the plurality of colors; the data detection step of detecting a presence/absence of record data from the data corresponding to the colors; the color discrimination step of discriminating if the record data detected in the data detection step is record data of a predetermined color; the adjacent data discrimination step of discriminating if the record data of a color other than the predetermined color discriminated in the color discrimination step is record data of the same color as the color of record data of adjacent record pixels; the driving data generating step of generating driving data for setting an ejection amount of the record data in accordance with the detection and discrimination results in the data detection step, the color discrimination step, and the adjacent data discrimination step; and the recording operation step of executing recording by driving said ink jet recording head in accordance with the driving data.
Claim 32
Dependent Claim
18 words
A method according to claim 31, wherein the predetermined color discriminated in the color discrimination step is black.
Claim 33
Dependent Claim
115 words
A method according to claim 31, wherein the driving data generating step includes the steps of: generating driving data for ejecting no ink when no record data is detected in the data detection step; generating driving data which does not change an ejection amount of the ink when it is determined in the color discrimination step that the record data is record data of the predetermined color; and setting an ejection amount of the ink to be smaller than a normal ejection amount when it is determined in the adjacent data discrimination step that the record data of interest is not record data of the same color as the color of the adjacent record data.
Claim 34
Dependent Claim
175 words
An ink jet recording method, having an ink jet recording head provided with a large number of ejection portions corresponding to a plurality of color inks, for recording an image on a recording medium by variably ejecting the plurality of color inks on the basis of image information, comprising: the conversion step of converting input image data into data corresponding to the plurality of colors; the data detection step of detecting a presence/absence of record data from the data corresponding to the colors; the adjacent data discrimination step of discriminating if the record data detected in the data detection step is record data of the same color as the color of record data of adjacent record pixels; the driving data generating step of generating driving data for setting an ejection amount of the record data in accordance with the detection and discrimination results in the data detection step and the adjacent data discrimination step; and the recording operation step of executing recording by driving said ink jet recording head in accordance with the driving data.
Claim 35
Dependent Claim
82 words
A method according to claim 31, wherein the driving data generating step includes the steps of: generating driving data for ejecting no ink when no record data is detected in the data detection step; and setting an ejection amount of the ink to be smaller than a normal ejection amount when it is determined in the adjacent data discrimination step that the record data of interest is not record data of the same color as the color of the adjacent record data.
Claim 36
Independent Claim
36 words
A method according to any one of claims 31 to 35, wherein the adjacent data discrimination step includes the step of performing discrimination for upper, lower, right, and left adjacent record data of the record data.
Claim 37
Independent Claim
44 words
A method according to any one of claims 31 to 35, wherein the adjacent data discrimination step includes the step of performing discrimination for upper, lower, right, left, upper right, lower right, upper left, and lower left adjacent record data of the record data.
Claim 38
Dependent Claim
113 words
An ink jet recording method, having an ink jet recording head provided with a large number of ejection portions corresponding to a plurality of color inks, for recording an image on a recording medium by ejecting the plurality of color inks on the basis of image information, comprising the step of: recording record pixels, which are formed by two or more inks, of record pixels located in a predetermined region along a color boundary defined by a color difference in units of record pixels of the image, in a smaller ejection amount of the inks for forming the record pixels than an ejection amount for a portion which is not the color boundary.
Claim 39
Dependent Claim
116 words
An ink jet recording method, having an ink jet recording head provided with a large number of ejection portions corresponding to a plurality of color inks, for recording an image on a recording medium by ejecting the plurality of color inks on the basis of image information, comprising the step of: recording record pixels located in a predetermined region along a color boundary defined by a color difference in units of record pixels of the image, in an ejection amount smaller than an ejection amount for a portion which is not the color boundary when at least one of record pixels of different colors adjacent to the color boundary is formed by two or more inks.
Claim 40
Independent Claim
24 words
A method according to any one of claims 37 to 39, wherein the plurality of color inks include cyan, magenta, yellow, and black inks.
Claim 41
Independent Claim
54 words
A method according to any one of claims 27 to 40, wherein said ink jet recording head comprises heat energy generating means for causing a change in state in the ink by heat, and forming flying ink droplets by ejecting the ink from the ejection portions on the basis of the change in state.
Claim 42
Dependent Claim
28 words
An ink jet recording apparatus to which an ink jet recording method or ink jet recording head according to any one of claims 1 to 41 is applicable.
References Cited (Backward Citations)
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