Electrophotographic printing apparatus with enhanced printed image capability

Abstract: Electrophotographic printing apparatus with enhanced printed image capability, where the image is formed by dots located at image pixels having a predetermined size, comprising a scanning light beam source and circuits for modulating the light beam so as to form dots having a size in the direction transverse to the scan direction equal, smaller or greater than the pixel size.

Description: The present invention relates to an electrophotographic printing apparatus with enhanced printed image capability. Typically, non impact printing machines are designed to create a printed image by printing a series of picture elements, pixels or dots, on a print medium, such as paper. In electrophotographic printing apparatuses, the process of image generation is the same, although indirect, in the sense that the image is first formed on a photosensitive member, as latent image, and then transferred to a paper sheet, through a developing process. The image on the photosensitive member is formed by a light beam (usually a laser beam) which scans the electrically charged surface of the photosensitive material in a succession of scan lines. Each scan line is divided into pixel areas and the light beam is modulated, say switched on or off, at each pixel location, so as to selectively discharge the photosensitive material at the location of selected pixels. In this manner an image is formed on the photosensitive member, consisting of pixels which have retained an electrical charge and pixel which have been discharged. Thereafter toner is applied to the surface of photosensitive material and adheres thereto in the locations (pixels) which have been discharged (in case of positive or write-black process), or in the locations which have not been discharged (negative or write-white process). This step is known as developing step and is followed in known manner by a transfer step (the toner is transferred to and by a fixing step (the toner is fused onto the paper). The printed image produced by an electrophotographic printing apparatus its therefore a digitized image, or a bit map image, of a desired analog image, which is represented and described at best by a discrete set of pixels or dots. The resolution of the bit map images formed by electrophotographic printing machines is generally of 300 dots per inch. No higher resolution is generally adopted because it would result in expensive and slow apparatuses. With a resolution of 300 dots per inch, the discontinuities of the printed image as to a desired continuous image which has been digitized are readily perceivable, in particular when nearly vertical lines or edges or nearly horizontal lines or edges have to be printed. These lines or edges are effectively printed as stair steps, showing undesired jaggies. Proposals have been made to overcome this limitation and to provide edge smoothing without increasing the bit map image resolution, by using three basic approaches and combinations thereof: 1) Adding or substituting gray pixels for the normal black or white pixels at the edges of images 2) Adding or substituting reduced size dots in pixels at the edges of images, 3) Adjusting the placement of dots as to the pixels in the scan direction. In particular US-A-4,847,641 provides a summary of documents suggesting several approaches, and discloses a method and apparatus which uses a combination of approaches 2) and 3) above. All these approaches provide a partial solution to the problem of enhancing the quality of the image and are not entirely satisfactory, particularly when lines or edges slightly slanted as to the scan direction of the light beam have to be printed. The present invention overcomes this limitation and provides a further improvement over the enhancement techniques so far know. The improvement provides a substantial elimination of jaggies. Basically this result is achieved by providing an apparatus for enhancing the printed image which is capable of substituting both reduced and enharged dots in pixels at the edges of images, the enharged dots having a size enlarged at least in the direction transverse to the scan direction of the equipment. This approach proves to be much more effective than the one of adding or substituting reduced size dots at the edges of the images, expecially when combined with the other approaches. Further it benefits from the fact that the thinnest printable lines usually comprises two adjacent lines of dots. Substitution of enlarged dots is obtained by providing printing means, basically a light source which, in response to a bit signal pulse representative of a pixel to be printed, forms a dot having a width, in the direction transverse to the scan direction, twice the one of the standard pixel (hence the pitch between subsequent scans). The invention is set forth in claim 1. In order to obtain a standard size dot having a width substantially equal to the width of a pixel (in the direction transverse to the scan direction) the light beam is modulated either by controlling the intensity of the light beam or, preferably, by switching on and off the light beam according to a modulation pattern which reduces the energization duty cycle of the light source, hence the exposure of the photosensitive member pixel. Thus in order to obtain an enlarged dot is suffices to energize the light source at an higher intensity level or with an on/off modulation which increases the duty cycle. By reverse,in order to obtain a reduced dot size, the source is enrgized at a lower intensity level or with an on/off modulation which decreases the duty cycle. The features and the advantages of the invention will appear more clearly from the following description of a preferred form of embodiment and the enclosed drawings where: Figure 1 shows in block diagram the architecture of an electrophotographic printing apparatus wiht enhanced printed image capability in accordance with the invention. Figure 2 shows the arrangement of a scanning light beam apparatus used in the electrophotographic apparatus of Fig.1. Figures 3 and 4 show the light intensity distribution in a light beam of the prior art according to a section view perpendicular to the beam axis and to a diametral section view. Figure 5 shows the dot image formed by a light beam having the intensity distribution shown in Figures 3 and 4. Figures 6 and 7 show the light intensity distribution in a light beam, used in the apparatus of the invention, according to a section view perpendicular to the beam axis and to a diametral section view. Figure 8 shows the dot image formed by an unmodulated light beam having the intensity distribution shown in figures 6 and 7. Figure 9 shows examples (A to G) of dot images formed by modulating the light beam of figures 6,7, during the time reqired to scan a pixel and the related modulation pattern. Figure 10 shows the image of a line slighty slanted as to the scan direction obtained in prior art apparatuses without enhancement capability. Figure 11 shows the image of a line slighty slanted as to the scan direction obtained in prior art apparatuses with enhancement capability. Figure 12 shows the image of a line slighty slanted as to the scan direction obtained in the apparatus of the invention. Figure 13 shows a modification of a pattern recognition unit used in the apparatus of the invention. Fig.1 shows in in schematic diagram an electrophotographic printing apparatus with enhanced printed image capability in accordance with the invention. Basically the electrophotographic printing apparatus of the invention comprises a control unit 1, a printing unit or engine 2, a temporary storage 3, a pattern recognition unit 4 and a signal generator 5. Since the above components differ from components already known in the prior art for limited aspects and functionalities, a brief descritpion of this components is provided, limiting the detailed description to the new features. A detailed description of possible embodiments of the above components may be found in US-A.4,847,641 already cited. The control unit 1 is an electronic apparatus which, based on instruction received from an operator or a computer, stores a text to be printed or an image to be printed in form of a bit map which is serialized and output on a lead 6 as a bit stream or bit data signal. In case of alphanumeric text, the control unit 1 operates as a character generator, in the sense that a binary code (for instance an ASCII code) representative of a character, is converted into a bit map image representative of the desired shape of the character. The control unit 1 further provides, through a communication channel 7, control and timing signals to the engine 2 and receives therefrom, status signals. The engine 2 comprises known printing means including paper feeding means, a controlled light beam source (generally a laser) scanning a photoconductive surface, a corotron for electrically charging the photoconductive surface, a developer for transferring toner to the photosensitive surface, a transfer station unit for transferring toner from the photosensitive surface to the paper, a fusing station unit for fixing the toner to the paper, the several elements being controlled and timely coordinated by the control unit 1. In conventional electrophotographic printers, the bit data signal in output from control unit 1 is used, without modification, except for amplification, if required, and impedance matching, for controlling the light beam source which is switched on/off in accordance to the received bit stream, each bit being related to a pixel of the image. In electrophotographic printers provided with enhancing apparatuses, as shown in Fig. 1, the bit data signal on lead 6 is input to a temporary storage 3 which stores portions of the bit data signal representing N numbers of consecutive bits in M number of consecutive lines of the bit map image. In other words, a portion of the bit map image describing M x N pixels of the image is stored in the temporary storage 3. The temporary storage 3 acts as a FIFO buffer from which a bit pattern can be read out in parallel representing the binary level of a central bit of the bit map image portion stored in temporary storage 3 and of predetermined bits surrounding the central bit. The bit pattern read out from temporary storage 3 is input to the pattern recognition unit 4 through leads 71. The pattern recognition unit 4 may be implemented in several ways. US-A-4,847,641 discloses an embodiment where the pattern recognition unit stores a plurality of comparison bit patterns, or templates, each related to a particular shape of the image to be printed. The pattern recognition unit 4 comprises comparison circuits for comparing the bit pattern received from temporary storage 3 with the plurality of templates stored therein and outputs a matching code or correction code, related to the matching template, on leads 8. The correction code indicates if the central bit (cell under test) stored in temporary storage 3 and currently investigated as to its relation with the surrounding bits is to be printed as an unmodified pixel of standard size, or has to be subjected to some modification which offsets it in the scan direction or reduces its size. According to the present invention the pattern recognition unit performs a similar function and may be similar in structure, but provides in output a correction code which may have one of three distinct meanings. The correction code may indicate that the cell under test has to be printed as an unmodified pixel of standard size and therefore the light beam source will have to be controlled or modulated so as to provide such standard size, where the dot diameter is substantially equal to the resolution of the bit map image and to the scan pitch. The correction code may also indicate that the cell under test has to be printed as an enlarged dot (as to the standard size dot) having an amplitude in the direction transverse to the scanning direction, of one of a plurality of predetermined amplitudes comprised between the scan pitch and two times the scan pitch. The correction code may further indicate that the cell under test has to be printed as a dot of reduced size as to the standard dot size. The correction code in output from pattern recognition unit 4 is input, through leads 8 to the signal generator 5. The signal generator 5 is basically a static memory (programmable or not) which stores a plurality of binary codes. The signal generator 5, referenced or addressed by the correction code, outputs a selected one of said binary codes, through a parallel input, serial output shift register 11 which serializes the binary code and produces a modification signal. This signal, through lead 9 is input to engine 2 and controls energization of the light beam source. Clearly operation of temporary storage 3, pattern recognition unit 4 and signal generator 5 is controlled and timed, through leads 10, by the control unit 1. Figure 2 shows in more detailed way, some components of the engine or printing unit 2 of fig. 1. The engine comprise a DC control circuit 12 which receives as input the modification signal generated by signal generator 5 (Fig. 1). DC Control circuit 12, switches on and off (or modulates in any suitable manner) the current which energizes a light beam source 13 (usually a laser diode). The light beam 14 emitted by the light source 13 is collimated, by suitable lenses 15, onto the surface of a rotating poligonal mirror 16 which deflects the light beam. Due to the rotation of the mirror, the light beam further collimated by a lens 17, sweeps a line 18 of a photosensitive surface which moves transversely to the scan direction of the light beam. The light beam has a finite size, and within the beam the light intensity has a gaussian distribution arranged in an elliptical shape, as shown by by Figure 3, where the inner ellips indicate a portion of the beam having high intensity and the outer ellipses identify areas of the beam having a decreasing intensity. Figure 4 shows the distribution of the light intensity in the beam according to a section A-A of figure 3. Figure 3 and 4 may also be considered as showing the energy radiated by unitary sections of the beam in a time unit. As known photosensitive materials, respond to exposure (total number of photons impinging on the surface) therefore to the locally received energy. Exposure is the multiplicative product of intensity times the exposure time. Moreover the electrophotographic process may be considered as a binary threshold-dependent process and imaging occurs only if the exposure reaches a predetermined threshold. By way of example, if the threshold of an electrophotographic process using a light beam whose intensity is shown by figures 3,4 is the one indicated by dotted line 19 in Fig. 4, the image resulting from a unitary time exposure, with a steady light beam impinging on the photosensitive surface would be the one shown by the dashed area in Fig. 3. In practice, since the light beam line scans a succession of pixels with a scan period T for each pixel, the resulting image for an energization of the light source during the whole period T is the one shown in fig. 5 as it results from the time integral of the variable light intensity received at each infinitesimal point of the photosensitive surface, during the whole time interval T. The resulting image has approximately the nominal size of the individual pixel (shown by the dotted line square). If the light beam source is continuously energized for a period greater than T, for example multiple of T, a continuous solid line is obtained whose amplitude in the direction transverse to the scan direction, is still the same, say substantially equal to the scan pitch and not exceeding it by more than 10-20%. By modulating the light beam, during scan, within each scan period T, the local exposure can be reduced and the resulting image consists in a plurality of smaller dots, somehow overlapped in the scan direction. Differently from this approach and in accordance with the invention a light beam source and related optical means (in the whole constituting what may be named as printing means) are designed so as to provide a higher light intensity and a some-how larger size of the beam. For purpose of comparison with figures 3,4, figures 6 and 7 shows the light intensity distribution of such beam in a section perpendicular to the beam axis (fig. 6) and in diametral section of the light beam cylinder (fig. 7). If the source of this light beam is continuously energized during the whole time interval T required to scan an individual pixel, the obtained resulting image is enlarged both in the scan direction as well as in the direction transverse thereto, achieving an amplitude, which is much more than 120% of the scan pitch and preferably twice (or even more) the scan pitch, as shown in fig. 8, the nominal size of the pixel, hence the scan pitch, being the one identified by the dotted line grating. If the light beam source is continuously energized for a period greater that T, it may even occur that the obtained continuous solid line has an amplitude or thickness more than two times greater than the scan pitch, a matter which has to be taken into account in driving the light beam source, as it will be described later on. By reverse, even if the light beam does not produce a dot image having an amplitude twice the scan pitch, when the light source is continuosly enrgized in the period T, but only a somehow enlarged dot image, it is possible that this result be achieved for a continued energization during a period T1 somehow greater than T. this occurrence can be suitably exploited as it will be described later on. If a light beam as the one shown in figures 6,7,8 is used, dots having a standard size equal to the pixel size can be obtained by modulating the light beam, thus energizing it with a predetermined duty cycle. By reducing the duty cycle, dots smaller than the pixel size can be obtained or even short lines or ovals within the pixel and composed of small size dots, the lines (ovals) having a thickness (amplitude) in the direction transverse to the scan direction, lesser than the scan pitch. By increasing the duty cycle, enlarged dots, greater than the pixel size, at least in the direction transverse to the scan direction can be easily obtained. For exemplary purpose, figure 9 shows samples (A to G) of dot images which can be obtained and on the right side of each dot image, the modulation signal within time period T, used to produce such image. Clearly the dot images are always centered on the scan line and cannot be offset transversely to the scan line direction. Figures 10,11,12 provide a visual evidence of the enhancement resulting from the invention. In figure 10, a nearly horizontal line obtained by printing a succession of dots having a size substantially equal to the pixel is shown, as it occurs in conventional electrophotographic apparatuses where no enhancement is used. The stairstep effect of the resulting image is clearly detectable. In figure 11, a nearly horizontal line obtained by printing a succession of dots having a size equal to or lesser than the pixel is shown, as it occurs in conventional electrophotographic apparatuses using the enhancement arrangements of the prior art. The stairstep effect of the resulting image is somehow masked, but can still be perceived as ondulation and solidity lack of the edges. In figure 12 a nearly horizontal line obtained by printing a succession of dots having a size equal, lesser or greater than the pixel size is shown as it results in the electrophotographic apparatus of the present invention. Solidity of the image is remarkably enhanced and the stair step effect is nearly completely eliminated. It is clear that similar advantages can be obtained in printing images having different configurations, such as corners, serifs, line crossing, and so on. It has been previously indicated that when forming enlarged dot images adjacent in the scan direction, the resulting dot dot size in a pixel may be affected by the presence of a dot in the next following pixel. Reciprocally the dot size in the next following pixel may be affected by the presence of a dot in the preceding pixel. This reciprocal influence, on the occurrence, can be eliminated by the improvement provided in the pattern recognition unit shown in Fig. 13. The pattern recognition unit of Fig. 13 comprises the recognition means 4 already described with reference to Fig. 1 and further comprises a two cascaded stages FIFO register 24 and a coding network 25. For each cell under test, the pattern recognition unit 4 outputs a correction code indicating which kind of correction is required. This code is input to both the coding network 25 and to register 24. The output of register 24 is input to coding network 25. Loading of register 24 and information inputing to coding network 25 are suitably timed, so that coding network 25 receives at the same time the correction code related to a cell under test, from output 8 and the correction code related to the previous cell under test from the register 24. The coding network in turn generates an actual correction code on output 8A for selection of the appropriate modification signal keeping into account the interference among adjacent dot images tending to increase the resulting dot size. By reverse, if the continued energization of the light beam source for the period T required to scan a pixel does not suffice to produce a dot having the desired amplitude, the same network can be used to provide an actual correction code which takes into account the need for extending the light source energization period related to a cell to overlap the next following period. In the preceding description the signal generator, which generates the modification signal used to control the light beam source, has been particularly identified as a generator of a binary code which, serialized, controls the switching on/off of the light beam source. An equivalent result may be obtained by energizing the light source with a power having a level or an amplitude modulation selectable among a plurality of amplitudes or amplitude modulations. In this case the signal generator may take the form of an electronic circuit, controlled by the correction code, which energizes the light beam source with a predetermined power level or amplitude modulation selected in the plurality in dependence of the correction code.

Claims: Electrophotographic printing apparatus with enhanced printed image capability comprising character generator means (1) providing a bit data signal representative of a bit map image of a desired image, image forming means (2) performing parallel scanning operations over an image support in a predetermined direction and with a predetermined pitch between said scanning operations, said image forming means (2) being responsive to said bit data signal to form said desired image on said image support by dots, each dot being representative of a bit in said bit data signal, temporary storage means (3) coupled to said character generator means (1) temporarily storing portions of said bit data signal representing N number of consecutive bits in M number of consecutive lines of said bit map image forming an MxN subset of the bits defining said bit map image, a number of said bits forming a sample window having a central bit and adjacent bits, said image forming means (2) being responsive to said bit data signal and adapted to form, on said image support, dots having an amplitude transverse to said predetermined scanning direction which is more than 120% of said predetermined pitch, said apparatus further comprises pattern recognition means (4) coupled to said temporary storage means (3) for recognizing the bit pattern formed by said central bit and the remaining adjacent bits in said sample window and providing a binary code related to a recognized pattern indicating that said central bit in said recognized pattern has to be represented as a dot formed on said image support having a dot feature selected among the following: a standard dot having a standard amplitude transverse to said predetermined scanning direction substantially equal to said predetermined pitch, an enlarged dot having an amplitude transverse to said predetermined scanning direction which is more than 120% of said standard amplitude, a smaller dot size having an amplitude transverse to said predetermined scanning direction lesser than said standard amplitude, and signal generating means (5) coupled to said pattern recognition means (4) and responsive to said binary code for generating a related one of a plurality of modification signals, each of said modification signals being related to one of said dot features, said image forming means (2) being coupled to said signal generating means (5) and responsive to said modification signal to form dots having the feature related to each of said correction signals. Electrophotographic apparatus as in claim 1 comprising means (24,25) coupled to said pattern recognition means (4) and responsive to a plurality of subsequent binary codes output from said pattern recognition means (4) for generating a modified binary code, said modified binary code being input to said signal generating means (5). Electrophotographic apparatus as in claim 1 where said image forming means (2) is responsive to said bit data signal to form, on said image support, dots having an amplitude transverse to said scanning direction, no lesser than twice said predetermined pitch.

Inventors: ZULIAN FERRUCCIO, ZULIAN, FERRUCCIO
Applicants: COMPUPRINT SPA, COMPUPRINT S.P.A.
Application year: 1991
Main classification: G06K15
IPC codes: H04N1, G06K15, G03G15, B41J2