CN116653448A - Printing apparatus and control method - Google Patents

Abstract

The present disclosure provides a printing apparatus and a control method. The printing apparatus includes: a printing unit for printing on a printing medium with a printing material; a first printing control unit configured to control the printing unit to print, on a first side of the printing medium, an adjustment processing pattern for an adjustment processing for adjusting a position at which the printing material is printed; a second print control unit configured to control the printing unit to print the adjustment processing pattern on a second side that is a back side of the first side after printing of the adjustment processing pattern on the first side is completed; and a notification unit configured to execute notification processing for notifying information related to execution of the adjustment processing and identification information for preventing a user from removing a printing medium on which the adjustment processing pattern is printed on the first face.

Description

Printing apparatus and control method

Technical Field

The present disclosure relates to a printing apparatus capable of printing on both sides of a printing medium with a printing material such as ink or toner in a noncontact manner, and a control method of the printing apparatus.

Background

There is an adjustment process for improving the accuracy of the position where the printing material is printed. For example, in a printing apparatus that ejects ink from a print head and performs printing, in order to improve print quality, registration adjustment is performed on each kind of ink that can be ejected from the print head to improve landing accuracy of each ink on a printing medium. Incidentally, registration adjustment is a process of reading and analyzing a test pattern printed on a printing medium by a print head to improve control of a position where a printing material is printed. Registration adjustment for improving landing accuracy of ink is appropriately referred to herein as "head adjustment". In a printing apparatus capable of printing on both sides of a printing medium, a predetermined pattern is printed on both sides to perform head adjustment.

Japanese patent application laid-open 2020-019241 discloses a technique in which, when an error due to improper execution of head adjustment at the time of initial setting occurs, head adjustment is performed again in a different way according to the content of the error.

However, the technique disclosed in Japanese patent application laid-open 2020-019241 relates to a technique after an error has occurred. When an error occurs, head adjustment must be performed again, which increases the consumption amount of consumables such as ink and print medium.

Disclosure of Invention

In a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a printing apparatus comprising:

a printing unit configured to print on a printing medium with a printing material;

a first printing control unit configured to control the printing unit to print, on a first side of the printing medium, an adjustment processing pattern for an adjustment process for adjusting a position at which the printing material is printed;

a second print control unit configured to control the printing unit to print the adjustment processing pattern on a second face that is a back face of the first face after printing of the adjustment processing pattern on the first face is completed; and

a notification unit configured to perform notification processing for notifying information related to execution of the adjustment processing and identification information for preventing a user from removing a printing medium on which the adjustment processing pattern is printed on the first face.

In a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a printing apparatus comprising:

a printing unit configured to print on a printing medium with a printing material;

a first printing control unit configured to control the printing unit to print, on a first side of the printing medium, an adjustment processing pattern for an adjustment process for adjusting a position at which the printing material is printed;

A second print control unit configured to control the printing unit to print the adjustment processing pattern on a second face that is a back face of the first face after printing of the adjustment processing pattern on the first face is completed; and

a notification unit configured to perform a notification process for notifying identification information for preventing a user from removing a printing medium on which the adjustment processing pattern is printed on the first face,

wherein the notification processing is not performed in a case where an instruction for performing double-sided printing for printing on the first side and the second side of the printing medium based on print data is accepted, and

the notification process is executed when execution of the adjustment process is accepted.

In a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided a control method of a printing apparatus that prints on a printing medium with a printing material, the control method comprising:

a first printing step of printing, on a first side of the print medium, an adjustment processing pattern for an adjustment processing for adjusting a position at which the print material is printed;

A second printing step of printing the adjustment processing pattern on a second face that is a back face of the first face after printing of the adjustment processing pattern on the first face is completed; and

a notifying step of performing a notifying process for notifying information related to execution of the adjustment process and identification information for preventing a user from removing a printing medium on which the adjustment process pattern is printed on the first face.

According to the present disclosure, occurrence of errors in head adjustment may be inhibited (or prevented).

Other features of the present disclosure will become apparent from the following description of exemplary embodiments, which refers to the accompanying drawings.

Drawings

Fig. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of a printing apparatus;

fig. 2 is a diagram showing a positional relationship of main constituent members of the printing apparatus;

fig. 3 is a block diagram showing a hardware configuration of the printing apparatus;

fig. 4A to 4F are diagrams showing positions of printing media in the printing apparatus at the time of printing;

fig. 5 is a flowchart showing the content of the adjustment pattern printing process;

fig. 6 is a diagram showing a display screen showing an example for prohibiting (or preventing) display of a touch print medium;

Fig. 7 is a diagram showing an example of a prohibition (or block) image printed on a printing medium;

fig. 8 is a flowchart showing the content of an adjustment pattern printing process according to another embodiment;

fig. 9 is a diagram showing a selection screen prompting selection of execution of a notification for prohibiting (or blocking) touching a print medium; and

fig. 10 is a flowchart showing the content of a printing process according to another embodiment.

Detailed Description

Examples of embodiments of the printing apparatus and the control method will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. It should be noted that the following embodiments do not limit the present disclosure, and not all combinations of features explained in the embodiments are necessary for the solution of the present disclosure. It should also be noted that the positions, shapes, and the like of the constituent elements described in the embodiments are shown as examples only, and are not intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure to these examples.

First embodiment

First, a printing apparatus according to a first embodiment will be described with reference to fig. 1 to 7. The printing apparatus according to the present embodiment is a printing apparatus capable of printing on both sides of a printing medium with a printing material, and adjusting a printing position of the printing material on the printing medium by printing and analyzing an adjustment pattern (or test pattern). For example, the printing apparatus according to the present embodiment is an inkjet printing apparatus capable of ejecting ink to and printing on both sides of a printing medium, and adjusting landing positions of the ink on the printing medium for respective types of ink by printing and analyzing adjustment patterns (described later). Incidentally, the adjustment process for improving the accuracy of the printing position of the printing material by reading the test pattern printed on the printing medium by the printing head is referred to herein as "head adjustment", "registration adjustment" or "head displacement correction process", as appropriate. In a printing apparatus capable of printing on both sides of a printing medium, a predetermined pattern is printed on both sides to perform head adjustment. Incidentally, each head displacement is caused by a head chip (head chip) of the print head or a manufacturing error of the nozzles or a head chip arrangement error or the like. There are inter-array displacements between nozzle arrays in the head chips, inter-chip displacements between head chips, and inter-color displacements between printheads, and the like. For example, if such displacement occurs in an inkjet printing system, the landing position of the ink droplet deviates from the ideal position, which reduces the quality of the printed image. The head adjustment is a function of correcting the landing position of ink by changing the ink ejection timing of the head chip or the ejection nozzles.

Device configuration

Fig. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of a printing apparatus. Fig. 2 is a diagram showing the positional relationship of main constituent members in the printing apparatus. Fig. 3 is a block diagram showing a hardware configuration of the printing apparatus.

The printing apparatus 10 includes a printing section 12, a feeding section 14, and a discharging section 16, wherein the printing section 12 ejects ink to a printing medium and performs printing on the printing medium, the feeding section 14 feeds the printing medium to the printing section 12, and the discharging section 16 discharges the printing medium printed in the printing section 12. The printing apparatus 10 further includes a display section 18 and an operation section 20, wherein the display section 18 is capable of displaying various types of information, and the operation section 20 enables operation according to the content displayed on the display section 18. The printing apparatus 10 further includes an inverting section 22 that inverts the printing face of the printing medium printed in the printing section 12 to switch the printing face facing the printing head, and a reading section 24 that is capable of reading an image on the printing face of the printing medium. The printing apparatus 10 further includes a control section 26, a communication section 28, and a generation section 30, wherein the control section 26 is for controlling the overall operation, the communication section 28 is communicably connected to an external apparatus, and the generation section 30 generates print (print) data printable in the printing apparatus from the input image data. The printing apparatus 10 further includes a detection section 32, and the detection section 32 is capable of detecting whether or not a printing medium subjected to processing such as printing has been removed.

More specifically, the printing section 12 includes a print head (not shown) capable of ejecting ink as a printing material by an inkjet method and printing on a printing medium fed from the feeding section 14. The printing section 12 performs a printing operation of ejecting ink while moving the print head in the X direction with respect to the print medium fed to the printing start position by the feeding section 14 based on the print data. The printing operation is followed by a conveyance operation of conveying the printing medium by a predetermined amount in the Y direction. After that, the printing operation is performed again. The printing apparatus 10 alternately repeats a printing operation and a conveying operation, thereby printing a predetermined image on a printing medium. Incidentally, although the printing apparatus 10 is described as an inkjet printing apparatus in the present embodiment, the printing method in the printing section 12 is not limited to one method explained above, and various known techniques are applicable. For example, the printing method may be an electrophotographic method. In this case, the printing material is toner.

The feeding section 14 is located upstream of the printing section 12 in the +y direction, and includes a feeding tray 14a for placing a printing medium before printing. The feeding section 14 feeds the printing medium placed on the feeding tray 14a to the printing start position of the printing section 12. The discharge portion 16 is located downstream of the printing portion 12 in the +y direction, and includes a discharge tray 16a for placing a printing medium after printing. The discharge portion 16 is configured to discharge the printing medium printed by the printing portion 12 to a discharge tray 16a protruding outward from the printing apparatus 10.

The display section 18 is constituted by, for example, a liquid crystal display device, and can display characters, graphics, signs (indicators), and the like. Incidentally, the display portion 18 is not limited to a liquid crystal display device, and may be formed by using an LED or any of various known display devices. Examples of the information displayed on the display portion 18 include setting information in the printing apparatus 10 and information on ink such as the remaining amount of ink in an ink tank for storing ink to be ejected from the print head and the type of ink. The display on the display unit 18 is controlled by the control unit 26. The operation unit 20 is configured by switches, hard keys, and the like for various input operations by a user. The operation section 20 may be formed by a touch panel together with the display section 18.

The reversing section 22 is located between the printing section 12 and the feeding section 14, for example, in the Y direction. The reversing section 22 reverses the printing surface of the printing medium printed by the printing section 12, and makes the other printing surface of the printing medium printable by the printing section 12. Incidentally, the print surface refers to a surface to which ink of the print medium is ejected from the print head of the printing section 12.

The reading section 24 is configured to read an image printed on a printing medium. More specifically, the reading section 24 is provided on a carriage for moving the print head of the printing section 12 in the X direction. The reading section 24 performs a reading operation of reading a print image on a print medium while moving in the X direction via a carriage with respect to the print medium conveyed to the reading start position. The read operation is followed by a conveyance operation of conveying the printing medium by a predetermined amount in the Y direction. After that, the reading operation is performed again. The printing apparatus 10 alternately repeats the reading operation and the conveying operation, thereby reading the printed image on the printing medium. Incidentally, the configuration of the reading section 24 is not limited to the above-described configuration. For example, a well-known reading technique may be applied, such as a configuration in which a reading sensor is provided to extend in the X direction, and a printed image on a printing medium is read by conveying the printing medium under the reading sensor, or the like.

The control section 26 includes a CPU 302, a ROM 304, a RAM 306, and an EEPROM 308. The CPU 302 is a central processing unit for controlling the respective constituent components of the printing apparatus 10. The CPU 302 also performs various types of processing such as analysis of the image read by the reading section 24. The ROM 304 stores various program codes executed by the CPU 302. The RAM 306 serves as a temporary storage area such as a work area of the CPU 302. The EEPROM 308 is, for example, a nonvolatile memory for storing information about the departure destination of the printing apparatus 10 and language settings for display on the display section 18.

The communication section 28 may be connected to an external device via a USB (universal serial bus) or a network. That is, the communication section 28 is connected to a USB or a network, and communicates with an external device. The generating section 30 generates print data printable by the printing section 12 based on image data input from an external device via the communication section 28. Incidentally, the image data is not limited to an image that the user wishes to print on the printing medium, but includes, for example, nozzle check data specified by the user, and pattern data related to an adjustment pattern for head adjustment. The detection section 32 is a component for detecting whether or not the printing medium subjected to printing (including waiting for ink drying) has been removed from the printing apparatus 10. Since a well-known technique can be used for the specific configuration of the detecting section 32, a detailed description thereof is omitted.

In the printing apparatus 10, the above-described constituent components are connected to each other via the bus 310, and can receive/transmit data from/to each other. Incidentally, although the printing apparatus that performs printing on a printing medium is described as an example in the present embodiment, the technique of the present embodiment is also applicable to various known apparatuses having a function of performing printing on both the front surface and the back surface of a printing medium, such as a multifunction peripheral equipped with a scanner. Further, in the present embodiment, the head adjustment is automatically performed, but the head adjustment is not limited thereto, and the head adjustment may be semi-automatically performed as disclosed in patent document 1.

Problems of the known art

The printing apparatus 10 is capable of single-sided printing in which one side (front side) of a printing medium is printed and double-sided printing in which one side and the other side (back side) of the printing medium are printed. Fig. 4A to 4F are diagrams showing positions of printing media in the printing apparatus at the time of single-sided printing and double-sided printing.

In the one-sided printing, the printing medium M is first placed on the feeding tray 14A of the feeding section 14 (see fig. 4A), the printing medium M is fed to the printing start position by the feeding section 14, and the printing section 12 performs printing on the front side of the printing medium M (see fig. 4B). After the printing section 12 finishes printing, the printed printing medium M is discharged to the discharge tray 16a by the discharge section 16. The front surface of the printing medium M discharged to the discharge tray 16a is exposed to the outside.

On the other hand, in the duplex printing, printing is performed on the front side of the printing medium M as in the single-sided printing, but a part of the printing medium M is located on the discharge tray 16a and exposed to the outside of the apparatus during printing (see fig. 4C). After the printing on the front surface is finished, the printing medium M is pulled back and conveyed to the reversing section 22, and then the printing medium M is reversed in the reversing section 22 (see fig. 4D). After that, the printing section 12 performs printing on the back surface of the printing medium M (see fig. 4E), and the printed printing medium M is discharged to the discharge tray 16a by the discharge section 16 (see fig. 4F).

In the printing apparatus 10, in the case of performing head adjustment processing as processing for adjusting landing positions of ink, first, a head adjustment pattern (adjustment processing pattern) is printed on a printing medium. Incidentally, the head adjustment pattern refers to a pattern for registration adjustment, and is hereinafter appropriately referred to as an "adjustment pattern". Then, the adjustment pattern printed on the printing medium is read by the reading section 24. After that, the control section 26 analyzes the read information, and obtains information for correcting the landing position of the ink based on the analysis result. At the time of printing, the control section 26 corrects the landing position of ink based on the information, and performs control to eject ink from the print head. Incidentally, one-sided printing and two-sided printing can be used for the adjustment pattern used for the print head adjustment process; the printing apparatus 10 may perform both or either of single-sided printing and double-sided printing of the adjustment pattern. In the double-sided adjustment pattern printing, adjustment patterns printed on the front and back sides of the printing medium may be different from or identical to each other.

Since the printing apparatus 10 is capable of performing duplex printing, it is necessary to perform both head adjustment for printing on the front side and head adjustment for printing on the back side. More specifically, the printing section 12 first prints an adjustment pattern on the front surface of the printing medium fed from the feeding section 14. After printing the adjustment pattern on the print medium, the print medium waits at a predetermined position for a predetermined time to dry the ink ejected on the front surface. Then, the printing medium is pulled back and conveyed to the reversing section 22, and reversed by the reversing section 22. After that, the printing section 12 prints the adjustment pattern on the back surface of the printing medium. After printing, the printing medium waits for a predetermined time at a predetermined position to dry the ink ejected on the back surface.

Next, the printing medium is pulled back and conveyed to the reversing section 22, and reversed by the reversing section 22, and the reading section 24 reads the adjustment pattern printed on the front surface. After the reading of the adjustment pattern on the front surface is completed, the printing medium is pulled back and conveyed to the reversing section 22, and reversed by the reversing section 22, and the reading section 24 reads the adjustment pattern printed on the back surface. After that, the control section 26 analyzes the read adjustment patterns on the front and rear surfaces, and obtains information for correcting the landing position of the ink based on the analysis. Incidentally, since the read adjustment pattern can be analyzed and information for correcting the landing position of the ink can be obtained using various well-known techniques, a detailed description thereof is omitted.

As stated above, in the case of performing the head adjustment process, the adjustment patterns are printed on the front and back sides of the printing medium, but before the printing medium is reversed, the printing medium whose front side has been printed waits for the ink to dry. At this time, as shown in fig. 4C, the printing medium is exposed to the outside of the apparatus. Therefore, the user may mistakenly consider that the waiting printing medium ends the head adjustment process, and the printing medium is removed from the printing apparatus 10. If the print medium is thereby removed during printing of the adjustment pattern, the printing apparatus 10 determines that the head adjustment process has not been properly performed, and stops the head adjustment process.

Incidentally, in the one-sided printing of the adjustment pattern in the head adjustment process, the same problem also occurs in the case where the print medium whose front surface has been printed is exposed to the outside of the printing apparatus 10 to wait for drying and then pulled back to read the adjustment pattern printed on the front surface. Further, in the double-sided printing of the adjustment pattern in the head adjustment process, the same problem also occurs in the case where the print medium whose back surface has been printed is exposed to the outside of the printing apparatus 10 to wait for drying and then is pulled back to read the adjustment pattern printed on both sides. Therefore, the processing described below is also applicable to the above-described case, that is, the case where the user needs to be prohibited (or prevented) from moving the printing medium when performing the process of exposing the printing medium subjected to the printing process to the outside of the printing apparatus 10 and then pulling back the printing medium to the printing apparatus 10.

Characterization of the present embodiment

Therefore, in the present embodiment, in order to prohibit (or prevent) the user from removing the printing medium during printing, identification information for prohibiting (or preventing) the user from touching the printing medium is notified at the time of printing the adjustment pattern. More specifically, in printing on the front side of the printing medium, an illustration or a character string for prohibiting (or blocking) touching the printing medium is printed on the printing medium, or an animation, a guide, a character string, or a message for prohibiting (or blocking) touching the printing medium is displayed on the display section 18.

In the present embodiment, the head adjustment processing for adjusting the landing position of the ink is performed at a predetermined time such as an initial setting time after arrival (arrival) or a head replacement time. In the head adjustment process, an adjustment pattern printing process for printing an adjustment pattern is performed for both sides of a printing medium, and then the adjustment patterns printed on both sides of the printing medium are read. After that, the control section 26 analyzes the read adjustment pattern to obtain information for correcting the landing position of the ink. Since the adjustment pattern can be read and analyzed using various well-known techniques, a detailed description thereof is omitted.

Adjusting pattern printing process

The adjustment pattern printing process for printing the adjustment pattern on both sides of the printing medium will be described in detail below. Fig. 5 is a flowchart showing a detailed processing routine of the adjustment pattern printing process. The process shown in the flowchart of fig. 5 is performed by the CPU302 loading the program code stored in the ROM 304 into the RAM 306 and executing the program code. Alternatively, some or all of the functions of the steps in fig. 5 may be performed by hardware, such as an ASIC or a circuit. Incidentally, symbol S in the description of each process represents a step in the flowchart (the same applies to the following).

If the adjustment pattern printing process starts, the CPU302 first determines whether printing should be performed on the front side of the printing medium (S502). In S502, for example, it is determined whether the printing medium has been fed from the feeding section 14 or has been reversed in the reversing section 22. This determination is made, for example, based on detection of the printing medium by the sensors provided in the feeding portion 14 and the reversing portion 22. In this case, in S502, if the printing medium is fed from the feeding portion 14, it is determined that printing should be performed on the front surface of the printing medium. If the printing medium is conveyed from the reversing section 22, it is determined that printing should be performed on the back side of the printing medium instead of the front side. Incidentally, this judgment method is only an example, and various known techniques are applicable.

If it is determined in S502 that printing should be performed on the front side of the print medium, the CPU 302 determines whether the adjustment pattern is printed without error (S504). As will be described later in detail, in the case of printing the adjustment pattern, when the print medium subjected to printing is removed (i.e., when the print medium is removed from the printing apparatus 10 before printing of the adjustment pattern on both sides is completed), the printing apparatus 10 detects an error and stores the error detection in the storage area. S504 determines whether or not the adjustment pattern was printed without the above-described error in the previous printing process.

A storage area such as the EEPROM 308 stores whether or not the adjustment pattern is printed without an error as information about the error. Therefore, based on the information about the error stored in the storage area, it is determined in S504 whether the adjustment pattern is printed without an error. That is, if the storage area stores such information that the adjustment pattern is printed without an error, it is determined in S504 that the adjustment pattern is printed without an error. If the storage area stores such information that the adjustment pattern is not printed without an error, it is determined that the adjustment pattern is not printed without an error. The initial value of the information related to the error is "adjustment pattern is not printed without error". Alternatively, the determination may be made based on whether error detection has been stored. If it is determined that error detection has been stored, the process proceeds to S508, and if it is determined that error detection has not been stored, the process proceeds to S506. That is, if the user removes the printing medium during the last printing of the adjustment processing pattern, control is performed to perform printing for prohibiting (or preventing) the user from removing the printing medium. If the user does not remove the printing medium during the last printing of the adjustment processing pattern, control is performed so as not to perform printing for prohibiting (or preventing) the user from removing the printing medium.

If it is determined in S504 that the adjustment pattern is printed without error, the adjustment pattern is printed on the front side of the printing medium based on the print data related to the adjustment pattern generated in the generating section 30 (S506), and the process returns to S502. Incidentally, since any known adjustment pattern may be used as the adjustment pattern, detailed illustration and description thereof are omitted herein. As described above, in the present embodiment, the CPU 302 functions as a print control section for controlling the printing section 12 and the like to print the adjustment pattern on the front surface of the printing medium.

If it is determined in S504 that the adjustment pattern is not printed without error, the CPU 302 displays identification information for prohibiting (or preventing) touching the print medium on the display section 18 (S508). The display of the identification information for prohibiting (or preventing) touching the printing medium is, for example, an animation, a guide, or a character string, which the user can easily recognize that the printing medium must not be touched (or the printing medium must be prevented from being touched). Fig. 6 is a diagram showing a display screen showing an example for prohibiting (or preventing) display of the touch print medium. In S508, a display screen 602 shown in fig. 6 is displayed on the display unit 18. That is, the CPU 302 displays identification information for instructing the head adjustment process and identification information for prohibiting (or preventing) touching of the print medium on the display section 18. Incidentally, the message shown in the display screen 602 is only an example, and may be, for example, "adjustment is being made to improve print quality". The sheet "or" is not being taken out, < image position adjustment > printing. Without touching the print medium). Further, the displayed identification information for prohibiting (preventing) touching the printing medium may be "without removing the printing medium" or "without touching the printer" (not shown). In addition, the time required to complete the head adjustment process may be displayed on the display screen 602 (not shown).

The display of the identification information for prohibiting (or preventing) touching the printing medium on the display section 18 starts in S508 in the flowchart of fig. 5 and continues until the head adjustment process ends. However, identification information for prohibiting (or preventing) touching the print medium may be displayed on the display section 18 until the printing of the adjustment pattern on the front surface is ended. In other words, from S508 of fig. 5 to the end of the flowchart, the screen of fig. 6 may be displayed on the display section 18. Further, based on completion of printing of the adjustment pattern on the front surface, display of identification information for prohibiting (or preventing) touching the printing medium on the display section 18 may be stopped. More specifically, if the determination result is "no" in S502 of fig. 5, the processing may be performed such that the identification information "no touch to the printing medium" in the screen of fig. 6 is not displayed on the display section 18. In this case, from S508 in the flowchart of fig. 5 to the end of the flowchart, the identification information "print adjustment pattern" for instructing the head adjustment process in the screen of fig. 6 is displayed on the display unit 18.

As described above, the period of time for prohibiting (or blocking) the identification information for touching the printing medium from being displayed on the display portion 18 may be any period of time, provided that the period of time includes at least the time required for prohibiting (or blocking) the user from removing the printing medium. At least the time required to prohibit (or prevent) the user from removing the printing medium is, for example, the time during which the printing medium is exposed to the outside of the printing apparatus 10 before being pulled back to the printing apparatus 10. In this way, in the present embodiment, the CPU 302 functions as a notification section for performing notification processing for displaying identification information for instructing head adjustment processing and identification information for prohibiting (or preventing) touching of the printing medium on the display section 18, and notifying the user of the identification information.

Returning to fig. 5, based on additional print data for adding an image for prohibiting (or preventing) touching the print medium to the outside of the print area of the adjustment pattern, the CPU 302 prints the image on the front side of the print medium together with the adjustment pattern (S510), and then returns to S502. More specifically, the additional print data is data obtained by adding print data related to a prohibition (or block) image, which is an illustration and a character string for prohibiting (or blocking) touching the print medium, to print data related to the adjustment pattern generated in the generation section 30. For example, print data related to prohibiting (or blocking) an image is stored in a storage area of the printing apparatus 10. The additional print data may be generated in advance when the print data relating to the adjustment pattern is generated in the generation section 30, or may be generated by synthesizing the print data relating to the adjustment pattern and the print data relating to the prohibition (or block) image in the CPU 302 at the time of printing in S510.

During printing of the adjustment pattern on the front surface and during waiting for ink to dry after printing on the front surface, on the print medium, the image is inhibited (or prevented) from being located at a position exposed outside the printing apparatus 10 and is easily seen by the user. The inhibit (or block) image should be an illustration, icon, or string that the user can easily recognize must not touch the print medium. For example, an image or icon for prohibiting (or preventing) touching the printing medium may be printed on the printing medium together with the following identification information for instructing the head adjustment process: "adjustment is being made to improve print quality". The sheet is not removed. Further, the inhibit (or block) image may have a color that is easily attractive to the user's attention, such as red, a conspicuous color, or a color that enhances user recognition. Fig. 7 is a diagram showing a print image based on additional print data obtained by adding an example of a prohibition (or block) image. Although fig. 7 shows the character string "adjustment pattern" in the area for printing the adjustment pattern, a well-known adjustment pattern is formed here in the actual print image.

In S510, an image as shown in fig. 7 is printed on a printing medium. In fig. 7, a prohibition (or block) image is printed near the downstream end of the printing medium in the discharge direction of the discharged printing medium. Since the downstream side of the printing medium in the discharge direction is exposed to the outside of the printing apparatus 10 during printing and waiting, the prohibition (or block) image is printed at the position shown in fig. 7, whereby the user can easily see the prohibition (or block) image. Incidentally, the position for printing the prohibition (or prevention) image is not limited to the vicinity of the downstream end in the discharge direction, and may be any position as long as it is easily visible to the user during printing on the front surface. Incidentally, the identification information for indicating the head adjustment process is information that enables the user to recognize that the head adjustment process is being performed. Therefore, for example, the adjustment pattern printed by the printing section 12 may also be regarded as identification information for instructing the head adjustment process. Therefore, in the present embodiment, the CPU302 functions as a notification section for performing notification processing for printing identification information for instructing head adjustment processing and identification information for prohibiting (or preventing) touching of the printing medium on the printing medium by means of the printing unit, and notifying the user of the identification information.

Returning to fig. 5, if it is determined in S502 that printing should not be performed on the front side of the printing medium, the CPU 302 prints the adjustment pattern on the back side of the printing medium based on the print data related to the adjustment pattern generated in the generating section 30 (S512). That is, printing of the adjustment pattern on the back surface of the printing medium is started in S512. In this way, in the present embodiment, the CPU 302 functions as a print control section for controlling the printing section 12 and the like to print the adjustment pattern on the back surface of the printing medium. Then, the CPU 302 determines whether an error has occurred (S514). In S514, based on the detection result of the detection section 32, it is determined whether the print medium has been removed during printing of the adjustment pattern on the back surface. In S514, if the print medium has been removed, it is determined that an error has occurred; if the print medium has not been removed, it is determined that an error has not occurred.

If it is determined in S514 that an error has occurred, the CPU 302 stops printing (S516) and ends the adjustment pattern printing process. At this time, the display section 18 may display a notification that an error has occurred or an instruction for repairing (fix) the error. In S516, the information related to the error stored in the storage area is updated to "the adjustment pattern is not printed without error".

If it is determined in S514 that no error has occurred, the CPU 302 determines whether printing of the adjustment pattern has ended (S518). If it is determined in S518 that the printing of the adjustment pattern has not been completed, the process returns to S514. If it is determined in S518 that printing of the adjustment pattern has ended, the information related to the error stored in the storage area is updated to "the adjustment pattern is printed without error" (S520), and the adjustment pattern printing process ends.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, in the adjustment pattern printing process in the head adjustment process, a notification for prohibiting (or preventing) touching the printing medium is made when the adjustment pattern is printed on the front surface. More specifically, a prohibition (or blocking) image for prohibiting (or blocking) touching the print medium is additionally printed, and a display for prohibiting (or blocking) touching the print medium is made on the display section 18. This can prohibit (or prevent) the occurrence of an error caused by the user removing the printing medium in the adjustment pattern printing process and making it impossible to make an appropriate head adjustment.

Incidentally, in the above-described embodiment, in the adjustment pattern printing process in the head adjustment process, in the case where the adjustment pattern is printed on the front surface, a notification for prohibiting (or preventing) touching the printing medium is made. On the other hand, in performing normal duplex printing, the CPU 302 performs control to display instruction information (such as a character string or a message) for instructing that printing is in progress on the display section 18, but does not perform control for notifying prohibition (or prevention) of touching the printing medium. For example, when normal duplex printing is performed, the CPU 302 displays a message "printing is in progress" on the display section 18 without displaying a character string or a message for prohibiting (or blocking) touching the printing medium. The CPU 302 does not print an image or icon for prohibiting (or preventing) touching of the print medium either on the print medium. Incidentally, the execution of normal duplex printing means that a print job having settings to duplex print data on a first side of a print medium and a second side that is a back side of the first side is executed under the instruction of a user.

Further, in the above-described embodiment, as the notification process for prohibiting (or blocking) the touch-sensitive print medium, a prohibition (or blocking) image for prohibiting (or blocking) the touch-sensitive print medium is additionally printed, and the display for prohibiting (or blocking) the touch-sensitive print medium is displayed on the display section 18. However, at least one of the above-described printing and display processing may be performed as the notification processing. That is, after S508 of fig. 5 is performed, the printing process of the adjustment pattern may be performed in S510 without performing a process of printing an image or an icon for prohibiting (or preventing) touching of the printing medium on the printing medium. Alternatively, S510 may be performed without performing S508.

Further, in the present embodiment, if the adjustment pattern is printed without an error, the next adjustment pattern printing process is performed without printing a prohibition (or block) image or making a prohibition (or block) of display of the touch print medium. This makes it possible to prohibit (or prevent) consumption of ink, print medium, and power.

Second embodiment

Next, a printing apparatus according to a second embodiment will be described with reference to fig. 8 and 9. In the following description, constituent elements identical to or corresponding to those of the printing apparatus of the first embodiment described above will be denoted by the same reference numerals as those used in the first embodiment to omit detailed description thereof.

The second embodiment differs from the first embodiment described above in that: in the adjustment pattern printing process in the head adjustment process, if printing on the back surface ends without an error, the user is enabled to select whether or not a notification for prohibiting (or preventing) touching the printing medium is made.

In the present embodiment, a storage area such as the EEPROM 308 stores execution or non-execution of notification as information related to notification for prohibiting (or preventing) touching of the print medium. In the following description, "information related to notification for prohibiting (or preventing) touching of the print medium" is appropriately abbreviated as "information related to notification". The initial value of the information related to the notification is "notification for prohibiting (or preventing) touching the print medium should be performed". Based on the information related to the notification, the CPU 302 determines whether a notification for prohibiting (or preventing) touching the print medium is made at the time of printing on the front surface of the print medium.

Adjusting pattern printing process

The adjustment pattern printing process performed in the present embodiment will be described. Fig. 8 is a flowchart showing a detailed processing routine of the adjustment pattern printing process performed in the present embodiment. The process shown in the flowchart of fig. 8 is performed by the CPU 302 loading the program code stored in the ROM 304 into the RAM 306 and executing the program code. Alternatively, some or all of the functions of the steps in fig. 8 may be performed by hardware, such as ASICs or circuits. Incidentally, in the flowchart of fig. 8, steps of performing the same processing as the processing of fig. 5 are denoted by the same step numbers, and detailed description of the processing is omitted.

If the adjustment pattern printing process is started, it is first determined in S502 whether printing should be performed on the front side of the printing medium. If it is determined that printing should be performed on the front side of the printing medium, the CPU302 determines whether to perform notification for prohibiting (or preventing) touching of the printing medium (S802). In the present embodiment, a storage area such as the EEPROM 308 stores information related to notification for indicating whether notification for prohibiting (or preventing) touching of the print medium is performed. Therefore, this determination is made based on the information related to the notification in S802. That is, if the execution of the notification for prohibiting (or preventing) the touch-sensitive print medium is stored as the information related to the notification, it is determined in S802 that the notification for prohibiting (or preventing) the touch-sensitive print medium should be executed. If the non-execution of the notification for prohibiting (or blocking) the touch-sensitive print medium is stored as the information related to the notification, it is determined that the notification for prohibiting (or blocking) the touch-sensitive print medium should not be executed.

If it is determined in S802 that the notification for prohibiting (or preventing) touching the print medium should not be performed, the process proceeds to S506, and then returns to S502, where in S506, the adjustment pattern is printed on the front side of the print medium. If it is determined in S802 that the notification for prohibiting (or blocking) the touch-sensitive print medium should be performed, the process proceeds to S508, where in S508, display for prohibiting (or blocking) the touch-sensitive print medium is made on the display portion 18. After that, in S510, a prohibition (or block) image is printed on the front side of the printing medium together with the adjustment pattern based on the additional print data, and the process returns to S502.

On the other hand, it is determined in S502 that printing should not be performed on the front side of the printing medium, the adjustment pattern is printed on the back side of the printing medium in S512, and it is determined in S514 whether an error has occurred. If it is determined in S514 that an error has occurred, the CPU 302 stops printing (S804) and ends the adjustment pattern printing process. At this time, the display section 18 may display a notification that an error has occurred or a process for repairing the error. In S804, the information related to the notification stored in the storage area is updated to "notification for prohibiting (or preventing) touching the print medium should be performed".

If it is determined in S514 that no error has occurred, it is determined in S518 whether printing has ended. If it is determined that printing has not ended, the process returns to S514. If it is determined in S518 that printing has ended, the CPU 302 prompts the user to select whether to execute notification for prohibiting (or blocking) touching the printing medium (S806). In S806, the display section 18 displays a selection screen for prompting the user to select whether to execute notification for prohibiting (or preventing) touching of the print medium.

Fig. 9 is a diagram showing an example of a selection screen enabling selection of whether to perform notification for prohibiting (or blocking) touching of the printing medium. In S806, the display unit 18 displays the selection screen 902 shown in fig. 9. As a selection of whether to perform notification for prohibiting (or blocking) touching the printing medium, a selection screen 902 of fig. 9 displays a character string for prompting selection of whether to print a prohibition (or blocking) image having an adjustment pattern. The selection screen 902 also displays a "yes" button 904 and a "no" button 906 that are selectable by the user. Although the selection screen displayed on the display section 18 shows a character string for prompting selection of whether to print a prohibition (or block) image or not, as a selection of whether to perform a notification for prohibiting (or block) touching the printing medium, the representation is not limited thereto and may be an animation or image, or may be an animation or image combined with the character string.

After that, the CPU 302 updates the information related to the notification stored in the storage area based on the result of the user selection on the selection screen 902 (S808), and ends the adjustment pattern printing process. In S808, if the user selects the "yes" button 904 on the selection screen 902, the information related to the notification in the storage area is updated to "notification for prohibiting (or preventing) touching the print medium should be performed". If the user selects the "no" button 906 on the selection screen 902, information related to notification in the storage area is updated to "notification for prohibiting (or preventing) touching the print medium should not be performed".

As described above, in the present embodiment, as in the first embodiment, in the adjustment pattern printing process in the head adjustment process, a notification for prohibiting (or preventing) touching the printing medium is made at the time of printing the adjustment pattern on the front surface. Further, in the present embodiment, notification for prohibiting (or blocking) touching the printing medium is performed in accordance with a user selection. This produces the same advantageous results as those of the first embodiment.

Further, since it can be determined whether to perform notification for prohibiting (or preventing) touching of the printing medium according to user selection, even in the case where the printing apparatus 10 is shared among a plurality of users, occurrence of an error that makes proper head adjustment impossible can be prevented.

In the second embodiment, as notification processing for prohibiting (or blocking) touching the print medium, printing processing of printing identification information for prohibiting (or blocking) touching and display processing of making display for prohibiting (or blocking) touching on the display section 18 are performed. However, at least any one of the printing process and the display process may be performed as a notification process. In this case, the selection screen enabling selection of whether or not notification for prohibiting (or blocking) touching the printing medium is made may be a screen enabling selection of either one or both of the printing process and the display process. In S508 or S510 of fig. 8, the CPU 302 may execute both or either of the printing process and the display process based on the information set in the selection screen. Incidentally, in the case where either one of the printing process and the display process is selected to be executed, it is determined in advance which one of these processes is executed. However, a further selection screen may be displayed to enable selection of at least one of the printing process and the display process to be performed. For example, if the display process is selected, after S508 of fig. 5 is performed, the printing process of the adjustment pattern is performed in S510 without performing a process of printing an image or an icon for prohibiting (or preventing) touching of the printing medium on the printing medium. If the print processing is selected, S510 is performed without performing S508.

Other embodiments

The above-described embodiments may be modified as shown in (1) to (5) below.

(1) In the above-described embodiment, in the case where the adjustment pattern is printed on both sides of the printing medium, notification for prohibiting (or preventing) touching the printing medium is made at the time of printing the adjustment pattern on the front side, but is not limited thereto. Predetermined patterns for various adjustments may be printed. Alternatively, for example, in the case of printing images desired by the user on both sides of the printing medium, a notification for prohibiting (or preventing) touching of the printing medium may be made while printing the desired images on the front side. In this case, the notification for prohibiting (or blocking) touching the printing medium is limited to the display of the animation, guidance, or character string on the display section 18, and the prohibition (or blocking) image is not printed. This will be described in detail below with reference to fig. 10.

Fig. 10 is a flowchart showing a detailed processing routine of the printing process in the duplex printing. The process shown in the flowchart of fig. 10 is performed by the CPU302 loading the program code stored in the ROM 304 into the RAM 306 and executing the program code. Alternatively, some or all of the functions of the steps in fig. 10 may be performed by hardware, such as an ASIC or a circuit. Incidentally, in the flowchart of fig. 10, steps of performing the same processing as that of fig. 5 are denoted by the same step numbers, and detailed description of the processing is omitted.

If the printing process of fig. 10 is started, it is first determined in S502 whether printing should be performed on the front side of the printing medium. If it is determined that printing should be performed on the front side of the printing medium, in S508, the display section 18 makes a display for prohibiting (or preventing) touching of the printing medium. After that, the CPU302 prints a desired image on the front side of the printing medium based on the print data generated by the generating section 30 (S1002), and returns to S502. The print data used in S1002 is print data related to an image to be printed on the front side of the print medium, which is generated by the generating section 30.

If it is determined in S502 that printing should not be performed on the front side of the printing medium, the CPU302 prints a desired image on the back side of the printing medium based on the print data generated by the generating section 30 (S1004). The print data used in S1004 is the print data related to the image to be printed on the back side of the print medium generated by the generating section 30. After that, the CPU302 determines whether the printing has ended (S1006). If it is determined that printing has ended, the printing process is ended. If it is determined in S1006 that printing has not ended, the process returns to S502.

As described above, in the printing process of fig. 10, a display for prohibiting (or preventing) touching the printing medium is made on the display section 18 every time printing is performed on the front surface. This may prohibit (or prevent) a user from erroneously removing the print medium undergoing printing when printing a desired image.

(2) In the above-described embodiment, the prohibition (or prevention) image is additionally printed on the front surface of the printing medium to prohibit (or prevent) the user from touching the printing medium, but is not limited thereto. A forbidden (or blocked) image may additionally be printed on the back side of the print medium. This can prohibit (or prevent) the user from removing the printing medium, for example, after printing the adjustment pattern on the back surface, thereby more reliably prohibiting (or preventing) the occurrence of an error.

(3) In the above-described embodiment, the notification for prohibiting (or preventing) touching the printing medium is made by printing the illustration and the character string and displaying the animation, the guidance, or the character string, but is not limited thereto. That is, it is only necessary to perform at least one of printing of the illustration, printing of the character string, display of the animation, display of the guidance, and display of the character string. Guidance for prohibiting (or preventing) removal of the print medium may also be provided by the speaker.

(4) In the above-described embodiment, in the case where the adjustment pattern has been printed on the back surface without error, if the user selects not to make a notification for prohibiting (or blocking) the touch of the printing medium, a notification for prohibiting (or blocking) the touch of the printing medium is not made, but is not limited thereto. That is, in the case where adjustment patterns are printed on both sides of the printing medium, notification for prohibiting (or preventing) touching the printing medium may be performed every time the adjustment patterns are printed on the front side.

(5) Although not specifically described in the above-described embodiment, in the case where a notification for prohibiting (or blocking) touching the print medium is not made, display for prohibiting (or blocking) touching the print medium may be made on the display section 18 without printing a prohibition (or blocking) image that is an image for prohibiting (or blocking) touching the print medium. Further, although not specifically described in the above-described embodiment, the printing apparatus 10 to which the above-described embodiment is applicable may be a printing apparatus without the display portion 18. In this case, an image for prohibiting (or blocking) touching the printing medium is printed as a notification for prohibiting (or blocking) touching the printing medium, but a display for prohibiting (or blocking) touching the printing medium is not made.

(6) The various forms set forth in the above embodiments and (1) to (5) may be appropriately combined.

Other embodiments

The above embodiment can also be realized by performing the following processing: the software (program) for realizing the functions of the above-described embodiments is supplied to the system or the apparatus via a network or various storage media, and is read and executed by a computer (such as a CPU or MPU) of the system or the apparatus. The program may be executed by a single computer or may be executed by a plurality of computers in cooperation. Moreover, not all of the above processes need be implemented in software; some or all of the processing may be implemented by hardware, such as an ASIC, etc. Further, the CPU is not limited to a single CPU that performs all the processes; the plurality of CPUs may cooperatively execute these processes as appropriate.

Furthermore, the functions of the above-described embodiments may be performed not only by the computer executing the read program code. There are the following cases: the functions of the above-described embodiments are implemented by an OS or the like running on a computer performing part or all of actual processing under instruction from program code.

While the present disclosure has been described with reference to exemplary embodiments, it is to be understood that the present disclosure is not limited to the disclosed exemplary embodiments. The scope of the following claims is to be accorded the broadest interpretation so as to encompass all such modifications and equivalent structures and functions.

Claims (23)

1. A printing apparatus, comprising:

a printing unit configured to print on a printing medium with a printing material;

a first printing control unit configured to control the printing unit to print, on a first side of the printing medium, an adjustment processing pattern for an adjustment process for adjusting a position at which the printing material is printed;

a second print control unit configured to control the printing unit to print the adjustment processing pattern on a second face that is a back face of the first face after printing of the adjustment processing pattern on the first face is completed; and

a notification unit configured to perform notification processing for notifying information related to execution of the adjustment processing and identification information for preventing a user from removing a printing medium on which the adjustment processing pattern is printed on the first face.

2. The printing apparatus of claim 1, wherein,

the information related to the execution of the adjustment processing is information indicating that the adjustment processing pattern is printed.

3. The printing apparatus of claim 2, wherein,

information related to execution of the adjustment processing and the identification information are displayed on a display section of the printing apparatus.

4. The printing apparatus of claim 2, wherein,

information related to execution of the adjustment process and the identification information are printed on the printing medium by the printing unit.

5. The printing apparatus of claim 2, wherein,

the information related to the execution of the adjustment process and the identification information are at least one of animation, guidance, and message.

6. The printing apparatus of claim 1, wherein,

the information on the execution of the adjustment process is the adjustment process pattern.

7. The printing apparatus of claim 6, wherein,

the identification information is printed by the printing unit in a case where the first printing control unit prints the adjustment processing pattern on the first side of the printing medium.

8. The printing apparatus of claim 6, wherein,

the identification information is printed in a viewable location on the print medium.

9. The printing apparatus of claim 6, wherein,

the identification information is printed near a downstream end in a discharge direction in which the printing medium is discharged.

10. The printing apparatus of claim 6, wherein,

The identification information is at least one of an illustration, an image, and a character string for preventing a user from removing the printing medium on which the adjustment processing pattern is printed on the first face.

11. The printing apparatus of claim 6, wherein,

the identification information is printed in a color that enhances user recognition.

12. The printing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the notification process includes:

a display process for displaying information related to the adjustment process and the identification information on a display section of the printing apparatus; and

and a printing process for printing information related to the adjustment process and the identification information on the printing medium by the printing unit.

13. The printing apparatus according to claim 12, further comprising a display unit configured to display a selection screen on the display section for enabling selection of which of the display process and the print process is to be performed,

wherein in the case where a selection for executing the display processing is made in the selection screen, the display processing is executed, and

in the case where a selection for executing the print processing is made in the selection screen, the print processing is executed.

14. The printing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a display unit configured to display a selection screen on the display section for enabling selection of whether to execute the notification process,

wherein in the case where a selection for executing the notification process is made in the selection screen, the notification process is executed, and

in the case where a selection for executing the notification process is not made in the selection screen, control is executed so as not to execute the notification process.

15. The printing apparatus of claim 1, wherein,

in the case where the print medium has been removed during the printing of the adjustment processing pattern performed last time, the notifying unit notifies at least identification information for preventing a user from removing the print medium on which the adjustment processing pattern is printed on the first face, and

in the case where the print medium has not been removed during the printing of the adjustment processing pattern performed last time, the notification unit performs control so as not to at least notify the user of identification information for preventing removal of the print medium on which the adjustment processing pattern is printed on the first face.

16. The printing apparatus of claim 1, wherein,

the adjustment processing pattern printed on the first side is different from the adjustment processing pattern printed on the second side.

17. The printing apparatus of claim 1, wherein,

the adjustment processing pattern is a registration adjustment pattern used in a registration adjustment process for adjusting registration.

18. The printing apparatus of claim 17, wherein,

the registration adjustment process is performed when the printing apparatus arrives at the shipment.

19. The printing apparatus of claim 17, wherein,

the registration adjustment process is performed in a case where a print head is replaced in the printing apparatus.

20. The printing apparatus of claim 1, wherein,

the print medium is paper.

21. The printing apparatus of claim 1, wherein,

the printing material is ink.

22. A printing apparatus, comprising:

a printing unit configured to print on a printing medium with a printing material;

a first printing control unit configured to control the printing unit to print, on a first side of the printing medium, an adjustment processing pattern for an adjustment process for adjusting a position at which the printing material is printed;

A second print control unit configured to control the printing unit to print the adjustment processing pattern on a second face that is a back face of the first face after printing of the adjustment processing pattern on the first face is completed; and

a notification unit configured to perform a notification process for notifying identification information for preventing a user from removing a printing medium on which the adjustment processing pattern is printed on the first face,

wherein the notification processing is not performed in a case where an instruction for performing double-sided printing for printing on the first side and the second side of the printing medium based on print data is accepted, and

the notification process is executed when execution of the adjustment process is accepted.

23. A control method of a printing apparatus that prints on a printing medium with a printing material, the control method comprising:

a first printing step of printing, on a first side of the print medium, an adjustment processing pattern for an adjustment processing for adjusting a position at which the print material is printed;

a second printing step of printing the adjustment processing pattern on a second face that is a back face of the first face after printing of the adjustment processing pattern on the first face is completed; and

A notifying step of performing a notifying process for notifying information related to execution of the adjustment process and identification information for preventing a user from removing a printing medium on which the adjustment process pattern is printed on the first face.