JP2000047844A - Recording device and recording control method - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To easily change the correspondence relation between a storage medium and an identification information for identifying the medium by retrieving and activating registered application software according to the identified kind of the storage medium and performing recording operation on the storage medium stored in a fitted cassette. SOLUTION: The currently loaded cassette is detected to acquire an identification pattern (500) and according to the identification pattern, the form kind related to a menu screen is retrieved (S501). When it is judged that the form kind corresponding to the acquired identification pattern is registered (S502), the application corresponding to the recognized pattern is activated (S506) on condition that the retrieval of the application file is successful (S505). Once the application is activated, a specific screen is displayed on a CRT monitor.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

[0001] 1. Field of the Invention [0002] The present invention relates to a recording apparatus and a recording control method, and more particularly to a recording apparatus and a recording control method capable of selectively using a plurality of recording media.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in a card making apparatus capable of selectively recording on a plurality of recording media, the relationship between identification information for identifying these recording media and the recording media corresponding thereto is fixed. When the correspondence between the identification information and the recording medium is changed, it is necessary to change the application software that manages the correspondence.

[0003]

However, in the above conventional example, the application software needs to be changed every time the correspondence between the identification information and the recording medium is changed, so that many different versions of application software are generated. However, there is a problem that management and maintenance of the application software becomes very difficult.

The present invention has been made in view of the above conventional example, and provides a recording apparatus and a recording control method that can easily change the correspondence between a recording medium and identification information for identifying the recording medium. The purpose is to:

[0005]

In order to achieve the above object, a recording apparatus according to the present invention has the following arrangement.

That is, a recording apparatus capable of selectively recording a plurality of types of recording media, comprising: mounting means for mounting any of a plurality of removable cassettes accommodating the plurality of types of recording media; Identification means for identifying the type of the recording medium contained in the cassette attached by the above, application software used to execute recording on each of the plurality of types of recording media, and the relationship between the type of the recording medium A registration unit for registering the application software, and, upon execution of the recording operation, searching for the application software registered by the registration unit based on the type of the recording medium identified by the identification unit, and activating the searched application software. To the recording medium contained in the cassette attached by the attaching means. That a recording apparatus characterized by a control means for controlling to perform the recording operation.

Further, it is preferable that the apparatus further comprises a preview unit for previewing the recorded image on a display screen prior to recording on the recording medium, and an editing unit for editing the content of the previewed recorded image.

If the application software registered by the registration unit cannot be searched based on the type of the recording medium identified by the identification unit, the control unit displays an error message on a display screen. It is desirable to include means.

[0009] When one application software can execute recording processing on a plurality of types of recording media, the registration means may register the type of recording medium that can be used by the application software. Alternatively, the type of recordable image corresponding to each of the plurality of recording media may be registered by the application software.

In this case, it is more preferable to select a desired type from a plurality of registered image types. The control means specifies a type of a recording medium suitable for recording an image based on the type of the selected image, and the type of the specified recording medium and the recording medium identified by the identification means. It is preferable to perform control to execute the recording operation based on the comparison result.

Further, the editing means may have a man-machine interactive operation for inputting each item of the recorded contents to be edited in a man-machine interactive manner. A storage means for storing all the items in advance, an instruction means for instructing the contents of the representative item among the items of the edited record contents, and a search for the storage means based on the contents of the instructed representative item. It is preferable to have an automatic editing unit that extracts all items of the recorded contents to be edited and automatically edits the recorded contents based on the extracted items.

It is preferable that the recording head further includes an ink jet recording head for performing recording by discharging ink for recording on the plurality of types of recording media, and the recording head discharges ink using thermal energy. To do
It is further desirable to have a thermal energy converter for generating thermal energy applied to the ink.

According to still another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a recording control method for performing recording by selecting a desired recording medium from a plurality of types of recording media, and performing recording on each of the plurality of types of recording media. A registration step of registering an association between the application software used for performing the recording and the type of the recording medium; an identification step of identifying a type of a recording medium mounted on a recording apparatus from the plurality of types of recording media; Upon execution of the operation, the application software registered in the registration step is searched based on the type of the recording medium identified in the identification step, the searched application software is started, and the attached recording medium is started. And a control unit for controlling to execute a recording operation on the medium.

With the above arrangement, the present invention registers the relationship between the application software used to execute recording on each of a plurality of types of recording media and the type of recording medium, and registers the type of recording medium mounted on the apparatus. Identifying the type, and performing the recording operation, searching for the registered application software based on the type of the identified recording medium, activating the searched application software, and An operation is performed to control to execute a recording operation.

[0015]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 shows a color label printing apparatus (hereinafter, referred to as a printing apparatus) using a full-line printing head and a personal computer (hereinafter, referred to as a PC) which perform printing in accordance with an ink jet system, which is a typical embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 1 is an external front view of a card creation system (hereinafter, referred to as a system) composed of

As shown in FIG. 1, a recording apparatus 101 and a PC
The main body 107 is installed inside the casing 100, and on the upper part of the casing 100, a CRT monitor 103 for monitoring the operation state of the system and various instructions to the system are input, and a request from the system is provided. A keyboard 104 for responding is provided. These system components are connected to each other by a cable.
Further, a cassette 106 on which a replaceable recording medium is loaded is mounted on a paper supply unit 105 of the recording apparatus 101. Further, the recording medium on which recording has been performed by the recording apparatus 101 is discharged from the apparatus and loaded on the loading section 102.

FIG. 2 is a perspective perspective view for explaining the internal structure of the recording apparatus 101.

The recording apparatus 101 includes full-line inkjet heads (hereinafter, referred to as recording heads) 201 to 201 which perform recording by discharging ink according to an inkjet recording method.
204 and a recovery unit (not shown) for always ensuring stable ink ejection. Recording paper 205
Is supplied from the cassette 106 to the printing position by these recording heads, and the main unit 208 of the recording apparatus is
Is transported by the transport unit 206 provided in the printer.

The image is printed on the recording paper 205 when the reference position of the recording paper 205 reaches below the recording head 201 which discharges black (K) ink while the recording paper 205 is being conveyed. 201 ejects black ink. Similarly, a recording head 202 that ejects cyan (C) ink, a recording head 203 that ejects magenta (M) ink, and a recording head 204 that ejects yellow (Y) ink are arranged in the reference position in the order of recording paper. Upon arrival at 205, each color of ink is ejected to form a color image. The recording paper 20 on which the image is printed in this manner
5 is discharged to the loading section 102 and deposited.

The recording apparatus 101 according to this embodiment comprises:
Further, a transport unit 206, an ink cartridge (not shown) for supplying ink to the recording heads 201 to 204, a pump unit (not shown) for supplying and recovering ink to the recording heads 201 to 204, and the recording apparatus 10
1 has a control board (not shown) for controlling the whole.
The front door 209 is an opening / closing door for replacing an ink cartridge.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a control configuration of the recording apparatus 101.

In FIG. 3, reference numeral 700 denotes a main controller, which controls the entire recording apparatus 101 according to a control program stored in a memory 701. 702, a motor for driving a recovery mechanism or the like of the recording head;
Are paper feed motors (LF motors) for conveying recording paper, and these motors are respectively driven by corresponding motor drivers 702 based on instructions from the main controller 700.
D, 703D. 704Y to 704
K is an image memory for storing yellow component image data, magenta component image data, cyan component image data, and black component image data. Writing of data to these image memories and reading of data from these image memories are executed under the control of the image data controller 707. The head drive circuit 705 includes a main controller 70
Based on the image data sent from the image data controller 707 under the instruction of 0, printing is performed by driving the corresponding recording head according to the image data of each color.

The PC 107 performs various controls relating to the printing operation, and instructs the printing apparatus 101 to start a printing process.

Thus, the recording apparatus 101 uses the function of the image data controller 707 to
The image data corresponding to each color component of the color image data is bitmap-developed at the address of the image memory 704 corresponding to the position on the recording medium designated by 7. When the image data for four colors of Y, M, C, and K is developed in the image memory 704 in this manner, the main controller 700 transmits the LF motor 70 for conveying the recording paper.
3 is driven to rotate to start conveyance of the recording paper. In synchronization with the conveyance of the recording paper, the image data controller 7
07 sequentially reads out the image data of the corresponding color from the image memory 704 and transmits the image data to the recording heads 201 to 204 which eject the inks of the corresponding color via the head drive circuit 705. Thus, the recording head 20
Each of 1 to 204 prints a color image by discharging ink in accordance with the transmitted image data.

Various application software (hereinafter, referred to as applications) provided for recording and outputting various images from the recording device 101 include:
Selection menu P displayed on the screen of the CRT monitor 103
It is activated by operating the keyboard 107 or a mouse (not shown) from C107.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing various cassettes that can be mounted on the recording apparatus 101 and various recording media stored therein.

As shown in FIG. 4, three types of cassettes 106A, 106B, and 106C that can be mounted on the recording apparatus have recording media 205A, 205B, and 20 of different sizes, respectively.
5C is stored. In this embodiment, a cassette in which a desired recording medium is stored from the plurality of recording media according to the application can be attached to the paper feeding unit 105 and used. Further, as shown in FIG. 4, at the lower left end of each of these cassettes, there are provided claws 207 (up to two) for identifying the size of the recording medium in the recording apparatus 101, and the positions of these claws are recorded. Detected by a sensor (not shown) on the main body of the apparatus 101, the size of the recording medium can be finally known between the recording apparatus 101 and the PC 107.

Therefore, in the case of this embodiment, the recording device 1
The sensor No. 01 can identify four states by the presence or absence of two claws. That is, (1) a state where no cassette is mounted and there is no recording medium (identification pattern “00”), and (2) a state where the cassette 106A is mounted and the recording medium 205A (type 1) is supplied (identification). (Pattern "01"), (3) cassette 106B is mounted and recording medium 205B (type 2) is supplied (identification pattern "10"), (4) cassette 106C
Is attached, and the recording medium 205C (type 3) is supplied (identification pattern “11”). This identification pattern is transferred to the PC 107 and also stored in the memory 701 of the recording device 101.

The PC 107 activates a predetermined application and associates the identification pattern with the actual size of the recording medium and the application to be recorded on the recording medium. This association is CRT
According to the instruction displayed on the screen of the monitor 103, the operation is performed by operating the keyboard 107 or a mouse (not shown). Then, the association information obtained by this operation is
107 (not shown) and the memory 7 of the recording apparatus 101
04.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a menu screen displayed on the CRT monitor 103 when the above-mentioned association application is executed.

In FIG. 5, (a) shows the identification pattern 401 obtained from the sensor, the type of recording medium (here, the type of paper) 402, and the file name 403 of an application for performing recording on the recording medium. It is a menu screen 400 displayed for setting a relationship.

On this screen, a paper type 402 associated with the identification pattern 401 is selected from paper types registered in advance in a paper type registration menu 406 shown in FIG.

A “paper type registration key” 405 is displayed from the menu screen 400 to the paper type registration menu 406 screen.
The transition is made by clicking on the mouse and selecting.
In the paper type registration menu 406, the paper type input field 40
7 using a keyboard 104 or a mouse,
For example, the user inputs the type of recording medium such as A4, LGL, LTR, postcard, business card, etc., and further inputs the application file name used for recording on these recording media in the input field 408 of the startup application file name. Here, if necessary, desired information may be input in the remarks input column.

By selecting an "OK key" 410, the information entered in the paper type registration menu 406 is registered.
6 to the menu screen 400. When the "cancel" key 411 is clicked, the display screen returns from the paper type registration menu 406 to the menu screen 400 without registering any information.

Finally, on the menu screen 404,
By selecting the “OK key” 404, the parameters set in accordance with the procedure described above are stored in the memory of the PC 107 and the memory 701 of the recording device 101.

Next, the process of selecting an application for executing the recording operation and the execution of the selected application will be described with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG. 6 and the display screen at the time of executing the selected application shown in FIG. explain.

First, in step S500, an identification pattern obtained by detecting the currently mounted cassette is acquired. Next, in step S501, the paper type associated on the menu screen 400 based on the acquired identification pattern is acquired. Search for.

As a result of the search, the process proceeds to step S502
, It is checked whether the paper type corresponding to the acquired identification pattern is registered. If it is determined that the registration has not been made, the process proceeds to step S5.
In step 03, an error message is displayed on the screen of the CRT monitor 103, and the process ends.

On the other hand, if it is determined that the registration has been made, the process advances to step S504 to search for an application file to be started. Further, in step S505, it is determined whether or not the search for the application file has been successful. Find out. Here, if the search is successful, the process proceeds to step S506, and an application corresponding to the recognition pattern is activated. On the other hand, if the search has failed, the process proceeds to step S503, and an error message is displayed on the CRT monitor 1.
03 and the process is terminated.

When an application is selected and activated by the above-described processing, a screen as shown in FIG. 7 is displayed on the CRT monitor 103, for example.

FIG. 7A shows a print preview screen, and FIG. 7B shows a print image editing screen by the started application. In this embodiment, when a print result such as a business card 601 is displayed on the print preview screen 600, the content can be changed for each item 603 of individual information printed on the image. Specifically, when one piece of individual information is clicked and selected on this screen with a mouse or the like, the display screen transits to an individual information input screen 604 shown in FIG. 9B, and information is input to a field 605 of the individual information input screen 604. By doing so, the content of the selected individual information can be changed. By selecting an “OK key” 606 on the screen of FIG. 2B, the information input from the field 605 is registered, and then the display screen returns to the print preview screen 600. When the “cancel” key 607 is clicked, the display screen returns to the preview screen 600 without registering any information.

Finally, after all items have been confirmed, the print data is transmitted to the recording apparatus 101 by clicking and selecting the "print" key 602, and printing is performed.

Therefore, according to the above-described embodiment, even when a change occurs in the correspondence between the identification pattern and the type of the recording medium, the correspondence can be transmitted to the system by a simple man-machine interactive operation. Can be reflected. In addition, even when a newly usable recording medium is added, additional registration can be easily made in the system by a simple man-machine interactive operation.

This eliminates the need to change the correspondence between the identification pattern and the type of recording medium or to modify the application each time the correspondence is additionally registered.

If one application for executing the recording operation can record on a plurality of recording media of different sizes, the menu screen 4 shown in FIG.
At 00 ', the application may be started and executed by designating only the relationship between the identification pattern and the type of recording medium (here, the type of paper). In this case, when the application is activated, a process as shown in the flowchart of FIG. 9 is executed.

In FIG. 9, the same process steps as those described in FIG. 6 are denoted by the same reference numerals. According to the processing shown in FIG. 9, the identification pattern is acquired in step S500, and if it is determined in step S502 'that the paper type is registered, the processing is performed in steps S802 to S8.
At 04, it is further checked what kind of paper is registered. If any one of the types 1 to 3 is registered, the process proceeds to steps S805 to S80.
The process proceeds to any one of Nos. 7 and performs the recording process according to the paper type. However, if any of the types 1 to 3 is not registered, the process proceeds to step S503, and the above-described process is executed. Step S50
If it is determined in 2 'that the paper type is not registered, the process similarly proceeds to step S503.

FIG. 10 shows a print preview screen 600 in the case where recording is performed using sheets of types 1 to 3 corresponding to steps S805 to S807. In FIG. 10, (a) is for printing on paper of type 1 (for example, business card 601), (b) is for printing on paper of type 2 (for example, government postcard 610), and (c) is for type 3 (for example, government postcard 610). For example, a screen for printing on the paper of the Christmas card 611) is shown.

In FIG. 10, the same elements as those already described with reference to FIG. 7 are denoted by the same reference numerals.
Here, 608 and 609 indicate fields whose contents can be changed.

[0050]

[Other Embodiments] Here, when one application that can be recorded on a plurality of types of recording media is started, the types of images that can be recorded by the application are displayed as a menu on the initial screen displayed on the CRT monitor. An example in which the recording medium selected by the user from the menu is compared with the recording medium contained in the currently mounted cassette based on the identification pattern, and the execution of the recording operation is controlled based on the comparison result, This will be described with reference to FIGS. In these figures, the same elements and the same processing steps as those described in the above embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals or the same step reference numbers, and the description thereof will be omitted. Will be described only.

FIG. 11 is a menu screen showing the association between the identification pattern used when the application according to this embodiment is started, the paper type, and the type of image corresponding to the paper.

On the menu screen 400, in addition to the fields of the identification pattern 401 and the paper type 402, the paper type 40
The menu 403 'defines the types of images that can be printed on the type of paper indicated in FIG.

When the application according to this embodiment is started, as shown in the flowchart of FIG. 12, first, in step S1200, the type of the recording medium recordable by the application is displayed in a menu. FIG. 13 shows the menu. This menu is displayed based on the relationship shown in FIG. Further, in step S1201, the process waits for a selection instruction from the menu, and switches the desired image type 1101 from the menu screen 1100 shown in FIG.
04 or using the mouse, the selected information is stored in a predetermined storage area of the memory, and the process proceeds to step S1202.

In step S1202, the type of paper required for the selected image type is specified with reference to the relationship shown in FIG. 11, and an identification pattern is obtained from the sensor.

In steps S802-S804, the type of paper required and the type of recording medium (here, the type of paper) contained in the cassette are compared based on the identification pattern obtained from the sensor. If there is a necessary recording medium (here, paper), Steps S805 to S805
In step S807, recording is performed on the specified recording medium.

On the other hand, if the required type of recording medium specified in step S1202 cannot be obtained, the process proceeds to step S503, where the above-described process is performed, and the process returns to step S1200. Return. At this time, the user only needs to mount the cassette containing the desired recording medium in the recording apparatus.

When the recording in steps S805 to S807 ends, the process ends.

Therefore, according to this embodiment, the user can easily select a desired image, select a recording medium, and perform recording in man-machine interactive mode.

[0059]

[Other Embodiment] In the above-described embodiment, referring to FIG. 7, for example, a print preview is displayed on a screen when an image such as a business card is printed, and information to be printed in a specific field is manually displayed. Explained that it can be edited machine-interactively. However, such editing requires inputting editing information for each field, so that if the number of editing fields is large, the editing operation becomes complicated.

Accordingly, in the case where the format of the print image is a predetermined format as in the case of business card printing and only the specific fields relating to the individual information such as the department to which the user belongs, the name, etc. need to be edited, as shown in FIG. Employee number, department,
Information 1400 in which information such as names are tabulated is stored in advance in P
It is stored in the hard disk of C107 or the like, and FIG.
Instead of the individual information input screen as shown in FIG.
5 is displayed, an employee number is entered in the input field 1501, and a "confirm" key 150 is displayed.
2, the information 1400 shown in FIG. 14 is searched, and the information necessary for printing the business card is automatically stored in the information 140.
It may be extracted from 0.

As a result, it is possible to search for information related to previously stored individual information without individually inputting a plurality of pieces of individual information, and to perform printing using the searched information.

Further, in the above-described embodiment, input of information and input of selection instruction are performed using a keyboard or a mouse. However, the present invention is not limited to this. These inputs may be performed using a touch-sensitive panel attached to the device.

Further, an ID card reader is attached to the system according to the above-described embodiment, and the ID is read as individual information for printing a business card, for example.
Information read by a card reader may be used.

In the above-described embodiment, a card creation system including a recording apparatus using a full-line recording head for performing recording according to the ink jet system and a personal computer has been described as an example. The present invention is not limited to the types of recording devices and personal computers constituting the system as long as they are selectively provided and the types of these recording media are interchangeable.

In the above embodiments, the description has been made assuming that the liquid droplets ejected from the recording head are ink, and that the liquid stored in the ink tank is ink. It is not limited. For example, an ink tank may contain a processing liquid discharged to a recording medium in order to improve the fixability and water resistance of the recorded image or to improve the image quality.

The above-described embodiment is particularly provided with a means (for example, an electrothermal converter or a laser beam) for generating thermal energy as energy used for ejecting ink even in an ink jet recording system. By using a method in which a change in the state of the ink is caused by energy, it is possible to achieve higher density and higher definition of recording.

The typical configuration and principle are described in, for example, US Pat. Nos. 4,723,129 and 4,740.
It is preferable to use the basic principle disclosed in the specification of Japanese Patent No. 796. This method can be applied to both the so-called on-demand type and the continuous type.
By applying at least one drive signal corresponding to the recorded information and providing a rapid temperature rise exceeding the film boiling to the electrothermal transducer arranged corresponding to the sheet or the liquid path holding the Since thermal energy is generated in the electrothermal transducer and film boiling occurs on the heat-acting surface of the recording head, bubbles in the liquid (ink) corresponding to this drive signal on a one-to-one basis can be formed. It is valid. By discharging the liquid (ink) through the discharge opening by the growth and contraction of the bubble, at least one droplet is formed. When the drive signal is formed into a pulse shape, the growth and shrinkage of the bubble are performed immediately and appropriately, so that the ejection of the liquid (ink) having particularly excellent responsiveness can be achieved, which is more preferable.

As the pulse-shaped drive signal, those described in US Pat. Nos. 4,463,359 and 4,345,262 are suitable. Further, if the conditions described in US Pat. No. 4,313,124 relating to the temperature rise rate of the heat acting surface are adopted, more excellent recording can be performed.

As the configuration of the recording head, in addition to the combination configuration (a linear liquid flow path or a right-angled liquid flow path) of a discharge port, a liquid path, and an electrothermal converter as disclosed in the above-mentioned respective specifications, A configuration using U.S. Pat. No. 4,558,333 or U.S. Pat. No. 4,459,600, which discloses a configuration in which a heat acting surface is arranged in a bent region, is also included in the present invention. In addition, for multiple electrothermal transducers,
JP-A-59-123670 which discloses a configuration in which a common slot is used as a discharge part of an electrothermal transducer, and JP-A-59-123670 which discloses a configuration in which an opening for absorbing a pressure wave of thermal energy corresponds to a discharge part. A configuration based on 138461 may be adopted.

Further, as a full-line type recording head having a length corresponding to the width of the maximum recording medium that can be recorded by the recording apparatus, the length is determined by a combination of a plurality of recording heads as disclosed in the above specification. This may be either a configuration satisfying the above requirements or a configuration as a single recording head formed integrally.

In addition, not only the recording head of the cartridge type in which the ink tank is provided integrally with the recording head itself described in the above embodiment but also the main body of the apparatus can be electrically connected to the main body of the apparatus. A replaceable chip-type recording head, which enables a simple connection and supply of ink from the apparatus main body, may be used.

It is preferable to add recovery means for the printhead, preliminary auxiliary means, and the like to the configuration of the printing apparatus described above, since the printing operation can be further stabilized. Specific examples thereof include capping means for the recording head, cleaning means, pressurizing or suction means, preheating means using an electrothermal transducer or another heating element or a combination thereof. It is also effective to provide a preliminary ejection mode for performing ejection that is different from printing, in order to perform stable printing.

Further, the recording mode of the recording apparatus is not limited to the recording mode of only the mainstream color such as black, but may be a single recording head or a combination of a plurality of recording heads. Alternatively, the apparatus may be provided with at least one of full colors by color mixture.

In the above-described embodiment, the description has been made on the assumption that the ink is a liquid. However, even if the ink solidifies at room temperature or lower, it is possible to use an ink that softens or liquefies at room temperature. Or, in the ink jet method, generally, the temperature of the ink itself is controlled within a range of 30 ° C. or more and 70 ° C. or less to control the temperature so that the viscosity of the ink is in a stable ejection range.
It is sufficient that the ink is in a liquid state when the use recording signal is applied.

In addition, in order to positively prevent the temperature rise due to heat energy as energy for changing the state of the ink from the solid state to the liquid state,
Alternatively, in order to prevent evaporation of the ink, an ink which solidifies in a standing state and liquefies by heating may be used. In any case, the application of heat energy causes the ink to be liquefied by application of the heat energy according to the recording signal and the liquid ink to be ejected, or to start to solidify when reaching the recording medium. The present invention is also applicable to a case where an ink having a property of liquefying for the first time is used. In such a case, as described in JP-A-54-56847 or JP-A-60-71260, the ink is held in a liquid state or a solid state in the concave portion or through hole of the porous sheet. It is good also as a form which opposes an electrothermal transducer. In the present invention, the most effective one for each of the above-mentioned inks is to execute the above-mentioned film boiling method.

In addition to the above, the recording apparatus according to the present invention may be provided as an image output terminal of an information processing apparatus such as a computer as an integral or separate unit, as well as a copying apparatus combined with a reader or the like. It may take the form of a facsimile machine having functions.

Even if the present invention is applied to a system including a plurality of devices (for example, a host computer, an interface device, a reader, a printer, etc.), a device including one device (for example, a copying machine, a facsimile machine) Etc.).

Further, an object of the present invention is to supply a storage medium storing a program code of software for realizing the functions of the above-described embodiments to a system or an apparatus, and to provide a computer (or CPU) of the system or the apparatus.
And MPU) read and execute the program code stored in the storage medium.

In this case, the program code itself read from the storage medium realizes the functions of the above-described embodiment, and the storage medium storing the program code constitutes the present invention.

As a storage medium for supplying the program code, for example, a floppy disk, hard disk, optical disk, magneto-optical disk, CD-ROM, CD
-R, a magnetic tape, a nonvolatile memory card, a ROM, or the like can be used.

When the computer executes the readout program code, not only the functions of the above-described embodiment are realized, but also the OS (Operating System) running on the computer based on the instruction of the program code. ) May perform some or all of the actual processing, and the processing may realize the functions of the above-described embodiments.

Further, after the program code read from the storage medium is written into a memory provided in a function expansion board inserted into the computer or a function expansion unit connected to the computer, based on the instructions of the program code, It goes without saying that the CPU included in the function expansion board or the function expansion unit performs part or all of the actual processing, and the processing realizes the functions of the above-described embodiments.

[0083]

As described above, according to the present invention, the relationship between the application software used to execute recording on each of a plurality of types of recording media and the type of the recording medium is registered, and the relationship is registered in the apparatus. In executing the recording operation, the type of the recording medium is searched for, based on the type of the identified recording medium, the registered application software is searched for, the searched application software is started, and the installed application software is mounted. Since the recording operation for the recording medium is controlled to be executed, there is an effect that it is not necessary to change or modify the application software even if the type of the recording medium to be used is changed.

As a result, it is possible to provide a system having excellent maintainability of application software.

[0085]

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an external front view showing the configuration of a card creation system as a typical embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic perspective view showing the internal configuration of the recording apparatus.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating a control configuration of the printing apparatus.

FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating various cassettes that can be mounted on the recording apparatus 101 and various recording media stored therein.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a menu screen displayed on the CRT monitor 103.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating an application selection process and an execution process of the selected application.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a display screen when a selected application is executed.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing a menu screen 400 '.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart illustrating a process executed when an application is activated.

FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a print preview screen 600 when recording is performed using each type 1 to 3 paper.

FIG. 11 is a diagram showing a menu screen showing an association between an identification pattern used when an application according to another embodiment is started, a paper type, and an image type corresponding to the paper.

FIG. 12 is a flowchart showing a selection process when an application according to another embodiment is started.

FIG. 13 is a diagram showing a menu screen displayed in the selection process shown in FIG.

FIG. 14 is a table showing information related to individual information stored in the system in advance.

FIG. 15 is a diagram showing an input screen for performing simple individual information input.

[Explanation of symbols]

 REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 100 Case for card creation step 101 Recording device 102 Loading unit 103 CRT monitor 104 Keyboard 105 Paper feed unit 106, 106A, 106B, 106C Cassette 107 Personal computer 201-204 Recording head 205, 205A, 205B, 205C Recording medium 206 Transport unit 207 Claw 208 Main unit 209 Front door 700 Main controller 701 Memory 702 Motor 702D, 703D Motor driver 703 LF motor 704Y to 704K Image memory 705 Head drive circuit 707 Image data controller

Continuing from the front page (72) Inventor Kimio Ebata 5540-11 Sakate-cho, Mizukaido-shi, Ibaraki F-term in Canon Aptex Co., Ltd. 2C061 AP10 AQ05 HH03 HJ03 HJ10 HK07 HP08 HS02 3F343 FA02 FB01 HA14 HA37 HB03 MB03 MB10 MB19 MC21 MC28 MC30 5B021 AA19 AA26 KK03 PP08

Claims (12)

[Claims] 1. A recording apparatus capable of selectively recording a plurality of types of recording media, comprising: mounting means for mounting any of a plurality of removable cassettes accommodating the plurality of types of recording media; Identification means for identifying the type of recording medium contained in the cassette attached by the above, application software used to execute recording on each of the plurality of types of recording media, and association with the type of the recording medium A registration unit for registering the application software, and, upon execution of the recording operation, searching for the application software registered by the registration unit based on the type of the recording medium identified by the identification unit, and activating the searched application software. The recording medium contained in the cassette attached by the attaching means. Recording apparatus characterized by a control means for controlling to perform the recording operation. 2. The image processing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising: preview means for previewing the recorded image on a display screen prior to recording on the recording medium; and editing means for editing the content of the recorded image previewed by the preview means. 2. The recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein: 3. The control unit displays an error message on the display screen if the application software registered by the registration unit cannot be searched based on the type of the recording medium identified by the identification unit. 3. The recording apparatus according to claim 2, further comprising an error message display unit. 4. The recording device according to claim 1, wherein, when one application software can execute a recording process on a plurality of types of recording media, the registration unit registers a type of a recording medium that can be used by the application software. 3. The recording device according to 2. 5. The image processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein, when one application software is capable of executing a recording process on a plurality of types of recording media, the type of image recordable by the application software corresponding to each of the plurality of recording media. 3. The recording apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the information is registered. 6. The recording apparatus according to claim 5, further comprising a selection unit that selects a desired type from a plurality of types of images registered by said registration unit. 7. The control unit specifies a type of a recording medium suitable for recording the image based on the type of the image selected by the selection unit, and determines a type of the specified recording medium. 7. The method according to claim 6, wherein the control unit compares the type of the recording medium identified by the identification unit and executes a recording operation based on the comparison result.
The recording device according to claim 1. 8. The recording apparatus according to claim 2, wherein said editing means has a man-machine interactive operation for inputting each item of the recorded contents to be edited in a man-machine interactive manner. 9. An editing unit, comprising: a storage unit that stores in advance all items of the recorded content to be edited; an instructing unit that indicates the content of a representative item among the items of the recorded content to be edited; Based on the contents of the representative item designated by the designation means, the storage means is searched to extract all items of the recorded contents to be edited, and the recorded contents are automatically edited based on the extracted items. 3. The recording apparatus according to claim 2, further comprising an automatic editing unit that performs the editing. 10. The recording apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising an ink jet recording head that performs recording by discharging ink for recording on the plurality of types of recording media. 11. The ink-jet recording head according to claim 10, further comprising a thermal energy converter for generating thermal energy to be applied to the ink in order to discharge the ink using thermal energy. The recording device according to claim 1. 12. A recording control method when performing recording by selecting a desired recording medium from a plurality of types of recording media, wherein the application is used to execute recording on each of the plurality of types of recording media. Software, a registration step of registering an association with a type of the recording medium, an identification step of identifying a type of a recording medium mounted on a recording apparatus from the plurality of types of recording media, and Based on the type of the recording medium identified in the identification step, search for the application software registered in the registration step, activate the searched application software, and execute a recording operation on the attached recording medium. And a control means for controlling the recording.