Control device, non-transitory computer-readable medium, control method

• US 10,639,886 B2
• Filed: 03/08/2019
• Issued: 05/05/2020
• Est. Priority Date: 03/27/2018
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Brother Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha
• Original Assignee: Brother Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha
• Inventors: Maehira, Hirotoshi
• Primary Examiner(s): Polk, Sharon A.
• Application Number:
  US16/296,958
• Publication Number:
  US 20190299603A1
• Time in Patent Office: 424 Days
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 13/0009 control of the transport of the copy material
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 13/0027 in the printing section of automatic paper handling systems
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 2/04573 Timing; Delays
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 2/04586 controlling heads of a type not covered by groups B41J2/04575 - B41J2/04585, or of an undefined type

Abstract

A control device that controls a printing execution unit to execute printing by alternately executing partial printings, which forms the dot using the print head, and print medium conveying, which conveys the print medium using the conveyor, the conveyor including: a first roller; a second roller; and a third roller, wherein a first holding state is a state where the print medium is held by the first roller, is held by the second roller, and is held by the third roller, a second holding state is a state where the print medium is held by the first roller, is held by the second roller, and is not held by the third roller, and a length of the second partial image printed in the first holding state is longer than a length of the second partial image printed in the second holding state.

Claims

1. A control device that controls a printing execution unit including:

a print head including a plurality of nozzles from which ink is ejected;

a head driver configured to cause the print head to eject ink and to form a dot on a print medium; and

a conveyor to convey the print medium along a conveying path, to execute printing by alternately executing partial printings, which forms the dot using the print head, and print medium conveying, which conveys the print medium using the conveyor,

the conveyor including;

a first roller provided upstream of the print head in the conveying path to hold the print medium;

a second roller provided downstream of the print head in the conveying path to hold the print medium; and

a third roller provided upstream of the first roller in the conveying path to hold the print medium,

the conveying path including a curved path that is provided between the first roller and the third roller and is curved when seen from a direction perpendicular to a conveying direction of the print medium and parallel to a printing surface of the print medium to be conveyed,

the control device comprising;

a print controller to perform;

acquiring print image data representing a print image;

causing the printing execution unit to execute the partial printing m times by using the print image data so as to print the print image on the print medium, wherein the print image alternately includes a first partial image that is printed in an n-th partial printing and a second partial image that is printed in the n-th partial printing and an (n+1)-th partial printing, and wherein m represents an integer of 3 or more and n represents an integer of 1 or more and less than m,

wherein

a first holding state is a state where the print medium is held by the first roller, is held by the second roller, and is held by the third roller,

a second holding state is a state where the print medium is held by the first roller, is held by the second roller, and is not held by the third roller, and

a first length, in the conveying direction, of the second partial image that is printed in the first holding state is longer than a second length, in the conveying direction, of the second partial image in which at least a part is printed in the second holding state.

2. The control device according to claim 1, wherein

the conveyor further includes a guide member that supports the print medium from one surface side in a state where the print medium is curved in the curved path,

the second holding state is a state where the print medium is held by the first roller, is held by the second roller, is not held by the third roller, and is supported by the guide member,

a third holding state is a state where the print medium is held by the first roller, is held by the second roller, is not held by the third roller, and is not supported by the guide member, and

the second length, in the conveying direction, of the second partial image that is printed in the second holding state is shorter than a third length, in the conveying direction, of the second partial image in which at least a part is printed in the third holding state.

3. The control device according to claim 2, wherein

the first length, in the conveying direction, of the second partial image that is printed in the first holding state is equal to the third length, in the conveying direction, of the second partial image in which at least a part is printed in the third holding state.

4. The control device according to claim 1, wherein

a fourth holding state is a state where the print medium is not held by the first roller, is held by the second roller, and is not held by the third roller,

a fourth length, in the conveying direction, of the second partial image in which at least a part is printed in the fourth holding state is shorter than the first length, in the conveying direction, of the second partial image that is printed in the first holding state.

5. The control device according to claim 4, wherein

the fourth length, in the conveying direction, of the second partial image in which at least a part is printed in the fourth holding state is shorter than the second length, in the conveying direction, of the second partial image that is printed in the second holding state.

6. The control device according to claim 1, wherein

a fourth holding state is a state where the print medium is not held by the first roller, is held by the second roller, and is not held by the third roller, and

a fourth length, in the conveying direction, of the second partial image in which at least a part is printed in the fourth holding state is longer than the first length, in the conveying direction, of the second partial image that is printed in the first holding state.

7. The control device according to claim 1, wherein

the printing execution unit further includes a main scanning unit that executes main scanning of moving the print head along a main scanning direction, and

the head driver cause the print head to form the dot on the print medium during the main scanning to execute the partial printing.

8. The control device according to claim 1, wherein

the printing execution unit further includes a tray where a plurality of print media overlap each other and are accommodated, and

the third roller is a pickup roller that separates one print medium from the print media accommodated in the tray and supplies the separated print medium to the conveying path.

9. A printing device comprising:

the control device according to claim 1; and

the printing execution unit.

10. A non-transitory computer-readable medium having instructions to control a printing execution unit including:

a print head including a plurality of nozzles from which ink is ejected;

a head driver configured to cause the print head to eject ink to form a dot on a print medium; and

a conveyor to convey the print medium along a conveying path, to execute printing by alternately executing partial printings, which forms the dot using the print head, and print medium conveying, which conveys the print medium using the conveyor,

the conveyor including;

a first roller provided upstream of the print head in the conveying path to hold the print medium;

a second roller provided downstream of the print head in the conveying path and holds the print medium; and

a third roller provided upstream of the first roller in the conveying path to hold the print medium,

the conveying path including a curved path that is provided between the first roller and the third roller and is curved when seen from a direction perpendicular to a conveying direction of the print medium and parallel to a printing surface of the print medium to be conveyed,

the instructions to control the printing execution unit to perform;

acquiring print image data representing a print image; and

executing the partial printings m times by using the print image data so as to print the print image on the print medium, wherein the print image alternately includes a first partial image that is printed in an n-th partial printing and a second partial image that is printed in the n-th partial printing and an (n+1)-th partial printing, and wherein m represents an integer of 3 or more and n represents an integer of 1 or more and less than m,

wherein

a first holding state is a state where the print medium is held by the first roller, is held by the second roller, and is held by the third roller,

a second holding state is a state where the print medium is held by the first roller, is held by the second roller, and is not held by the third roller, and

a first length, in the conveying direction, of the second partial image that is printed in the first holding state is longer than a second length, in the conveying direction, of the second partial image in which at least a part is printed in the second holding state.

11. The non-transitory computer-readable medium having instructions according to claim 10, wherein

the conveyor further includes a guide member that supports the print medium from one surface side in a state where the print medium is curved in the curved path,

the second holding state is a state where the print medium is held by the first roller, is held by the second roller, is not held by the third roller, and is supported by the guide member,

a third holding state is a state where the print medium is held by the first roller, is held by the second roller, is not held by the third roller, and is not supported by the guide member, and

the second length, in the conveying direction, of the second partial image that is printed in the second holding state is shorter than a third length, in the conveying direction, of the second partial image in which at least a part is printed in the third holding state.

12. The non-transitory computer-readable medium having instructions according to claim 11, wherein

the first length, in the conveying direction, of the second partial image that is printed in the first holding state is equal to the third length, in the conveying direction, of the second partial image in which at least a part is printed in the third holding state.

13. The non-transitory computer-readable medium having instructions according to claim 10, wherein

a fourth holding state is a state where the print medium is not held by the first roller, is held by the second roller, and is not held by the third roller,

a fourth length, in the conveying direction, of the second partial image in which at least a part is printed in the fourth holding state is shorter than the first length, in the conveying direction, of the second partial image that is printed in the first holding state.

14. The non-transitory computer-readable medium having instructions according to claim 13, wherein

the fourth length, in the conveying direction, of the second partial image in which at least a part is printed in the fourth holding state is shorter than the second length, in the conveying direction, of the second partial image that is printed in the second holding state.

15. The non-transitory computer-readable medium having instructions according to claim 10, wherein

a fourth holding state is a state where the print medium is not held by the first roller, is held by the second roller, and is not held by the third roller, and

a fourth length, in the conveying direction, of the second partial image in which at least a part is printed in the fourth holding state is longer than the first length, in the conveying direction, of the second partial image that is printed in the first holding state.

16. The non-transitory computer-readable medium having instructions according to claim 10, wherein

the printing execution unit further includes a main scanning unit that executes main scanning of moving the print head along a main scanning direction, and

the head driver forms the dot on the print head during the main scanning and executes the partial printing.

17. The non-transitory computer-readable medium having instructions according to claim 10, wherein

the printing execution unit further includes a tray where a plurality of print media overlap each other and are accommodated, and

the third roller is a pickup roller that separates one print medium from the print media accommodated in the tray and supplies the separated print medium to the conveying path.

18. A method of controlling a printing execution unit including:

a print head including a plurality of nozzles from which ink is ejected;

a head driver configured to cause the print head to eject ink to form a dot on a print medium; and

a conveyor to convey the print medium along a conveying path, to execute printing by alternately executing partial printings, which forms the dot using the print head, and print medium conveying, which conveys the print medium using the conveyor,

the conveyor including;

a first roller provided upstream of the print head in the conveying path to hold the print medium;

a second roller provided downstream of the print head in the conveying path to hold the print medium; and

a third roller provided upstream of the first roller in the conveying path to hold the print medium,

the conveying path including a curved path that is provided between the first roller and the third roller and is curved when seen from a direction perpendicular to a conveying direction and parallel to a printing surface of the print medium to be conveyed,

the method comprising;

acquiring print image data representing a print image; and

executing the partial printings m times by using the print image data so as to print the print image on the print medium, wherein the print image alternately includes a first partial image that is printed in an n-th partial printing and a second partial image that is printed in the n-th partial printing and an (n+1)-th partial printing, and wherein m represents an integer of 3 or more and n represents an integer of 1 or more and less than m,

wherein

a first holding state is a state where the print medium is held by the first roller, is held by the second roller, and is held by the third roller,

a second holding state is a state where the print medium is held by the first roller, is held by the second roller, and is not held by the third roller, and

a first length, in the conveying direction, of the second partial image that is printed in the first holding state is longer than a second length, in the conveying direction, of the second partial image in which at least a part is printed in the second holding state.