JP2002131995A - Toner residual amount judging method and device therefor - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To urge a user to exchange a toner cartridge in a printing device in optimum timing without causing a printing irregularity or a printing omission. SOLUTION: This toner residual amount judging device is equipped with a video data transfer part 104 counting the number of sheets of supplied paper which is supplied for every page of printing output information, a printing device supplied paper number storage part 105 storing the counted number of sheets of supplied paper, a printing mechanism part 108 receiving a detection signal detecting that the toner residual amount in the printing device is less than previously set amount, and a toner residual amount judging part 106 judging the toner residual amount based on the number of sheets of supplied paper stored in the storage part 105 and the detection signal received from the mechanism part 108.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a method and an apparatus for determining the remaining amount of toner, and more particularly to a method and apparatus for determining the remaining amount of toner which can prompt a user to replace a toner cartridge of a printing apparatus. About.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a printing apparatus which converts print data such as character codes and graphic data transmitted from a host computer so as to conform to an output form of a printing mechanism unit and performs print output is as follows. Had a configuration. That is, a controller unit that receives and processes print data from the host computer, converts it into output information such as a video signal that matches the output form of the printing mechanism unit, and transmits the output information. A printing mechanism for outputting a visible image on paper.

In such a printing apparatus, it is common to provide a page counter inside the controller as a measure of the product life of the printing apparatus. The page counter is a counter that counts “+1” each time the printing apparatus prints one page, and is used for comparison with the number of durable prints of the printing apparatus.

The page counter is used to turn on / off the printing apparatus.
In order to prevent the count contents from being lost in F, a nonvolatile memory such as an EEPROM is mounted inside the controller unit, and a page counter is stored in the nonvolatile memory.

On the other hand, a printing mechanism of a page printer typified by a laser beam printer generally uses toner as a printing medium. Further, the toner is provided to general users as an independent consumable part generally called a toner cartridge.

When a certain number of printouts are made in the toner cartridge, the remaining amount of toner naturally becomes small, so that the print result is rubbed or part of the printout is dropped. Therefore, the printing mechanism is provided with a function of detecting that the toner in the toner cartridge is running low (hereinafter, referred to as a toner remaining detection function).
When the amount of toner remaining in the toner cartridge is low, the controller of the printing apparatus uses the remaining toner detection function of the printing mechanism to detect information (hereinafter, toner low) that detects that the amount of toner remaining in the toner cartridge is low. The information is acquired and displayed on a display device such as an operation panel of the printing device. Accordingly, the user generally replaces the toner cartridge at an appropriate time.

[0007]

In the above-described printing apparatus, the user generally uses the occurrence of toner low as a guide for replacing the toner cartridge. However, since the toner remaining detection function is electrically detected in the printing process, in practice, even after a toner low occurs, about tens of correct print results can be obtained.

If the toner in the toner cartridge is biased, a toner low may actually occur even if the toner remains in the toner cartridge sufficiently.
In such a case, if the bias of the toner in the toner cartridge is eliminated by shaking the toner cartridge, the toner low can be released.

Therefore, if a toner low occurs as a guide for replacing the toner cartridge, there is a high possibility that the user will replace the toner cartridge although correct print results can be obtained for several tens of sheets. . As a result, there is a problem that a wasteful cost is required for the user.

Conversely, even if toner low occurs, several tens of correct print results can be obtained immediately after toner low occurs.
A large amount of print output may be performed while the toner is low. In such a case, since the user did not accurately replace the toner cartridge, printing unevenness or printing loss occurred, and there was also a problem that the quality of the print output deteriorated.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of such a problem, and an object of the present invention is to provide a toner cartridge of a printing apparatus to a user at an optimal timing without causing printing unevenness or printing loss. It is an object of the present invention to provide a toner remaining amount judging method and an apparatus therefor which can prompt replacement of the toner.

[0012]

According to the present invention, in order to achieve the above object, according to the first aspect of the present invention, input print data is expanded into print output information in page units and printed. In a toner remaining amount determining method for determining a remaining amount of toner in a printing apparatus, a counting step of counting the number of sheets fed for each page of the print output information, and the sheet feeding counted in the counting step A storage step of storing the number of sheets in a storage unit, a reception step of receiving a detection signal for detecting that the remaining amount of toner in the printing apparatus has become smaller than a predetermined amount, and a storage step of storing the number of sheets in the storage unit. A determining step of determining a remaining toner amount based on the number of fed sheets and the detection signal received in the receiving step.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the determining step of the first aspect, the number of sheets fed in the storage unit is determined in advance from when the detection signal is received from the receiving step. It is characterized in that it is determined that there is no remaining toner when the number of toners reaches the predetermined number.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the determination step according to the second aspect, when the detection signal is no longer received from the receiving step, the number of fed sheets stored in the storage unit is set to Even if the number is equal to or greater than a predetermined number, when the detection signal is not received from the receiving step,
It is characterized in that it is determined that there is a remaining amount of toner.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in any one of the first, second and third aspects, there is provided a display step of displaying the state of the remaining amount of toner determined in the determination step on a display unit of the printing apparatus. It is characterized by having.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in any one of the first to fourth aspects, the state of the remaining amount of toner determined in the determination step is transmitted to an external device that has output the print data to the printing device. The external device displays the state of the remaining toner amount on a display unit of the external device.

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a toner remaining amount judging device for judging a remaining amount of toner of a printing apparatus which develops input print data into print output information in page units and performs printing. Counting means for counting the number of fed sheets of paper fed for each page, storage means for storing the number of fed sheets counted by the counting means, and the remaining amount of toner of the printing apparatus being predetermined. Receiving means for receiving a detection signal for detecting that the remaining amount is less than the amount of paper fed, the number of fed sheets stored in the storage means, and the remaining toner amount based on the detection signal received by the receiving means. Determining means for determining.

According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, the determination means according to the sixth aspect is arranged such that the number of sheets stored in the storage means is determined in advance from when the detection signal is received from the reception means. It is characterized in that it is determined that there is no remaining toner when the number of toners reaches the predetermined number.

According to an eighth aspect of the present invention, the determination means according to the seventh aspect is configured such that, when the detection signal is not received from the receiving means, the number of fed sheets stored in the storage means is reduced. When the detection signal is not received from the receiving unit even when the number of sheets reaches a predetermined number or more, it is determined that there is a remaining toner amount.

According to a ninth aspect of the present invention, in any one of the sixth, seventh and eighth aspects, the display means for displaying the state of the remaining amount of toner determined by the determination means on a display unit of the printing apparatus. It is characterized by having.

According to a tenth aspect of the present invention, in any one of the sixth to ninth aspects, the state of the remaining amount of toner determined by the determination unit is transmitted to an external device that has output the print data to the printing device. The external device displays the state of the remaining toner amount on a display unit of the external device.

According to an eleventh aspect of the present invention, the storage means according to any one of the sixth to ninth aspects is a medium in which the stored sheet number is not lost even when the power of the printing apparatus is turned off. It is characterized by the following.

According to a twelfth aspect of the present invention, there is recorded a program for controlling a toner remaining amount judging device for judging the remaining toner amount of a printing device which develops input print data into print output information in page units and prints. A counting step of counting the number of paper sheets fed for each page of the print output information, and a storing step of storing the number of paper sheets counted in the counting step in a storage unit. And a receiving step of receiving a detection signal for detecting that the remaining amount of toner of the printing apparatus has become smaller than a predetermined amount; and a step of receiving the number of fed sheets stored in the storage unit. A determination step of determining the remaining amount of toner based on the received detection signal and a computer-readable recording medium storing a program for causing a computer to execute the determination step And wherein the Rukoto.

[0024]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings. The printing apparatus will be described with reference to an example of a page printer having an electrophotographic process using a laser beam as a light emitting element as a printing mechanism.

FIG. 1 is a schematic block diagram showing an example of a functional configuration of a printing apparatus according to the present invention. A controller unit of the printing apparatus includes an input data receiving unit 101 that receives input data transmitted from a host computer, an input data analyzing unit 102 that analyzes input data received by the input data receiving unit, and an input data analyzing unit 102 Print data developing unit 103 for expanding the print data analyzed by the printer into bitmap information for one page in page units, and an engine unit for converting the bitmap information for one page developed by the print data developing unit 103 into video data. Printing mechanism 108
And a video data transfer section 104 for transferring the video data to the video data transfer section.

Each time bitmap information in units of pages is sent to the printing mechanism unit 108 by the video data transfer unit 104, the printing apparatus sheet number (page counter) storage unit 105 whose count is incremented by “+1”; The remaining amount of toner in the toner cartridge is determined by using the number of sheets fed by the printing apparatus (page counter) stored in the number-of-printed-sheets feeding storage unit 105 and the remaining toner detection function of the control unit 109 of the engine unit described later. A toner remaining amount determination unit 106 for analogy and determination;
Operation panel 10 for displaying the remaining amount of toner in the toner cartridge determined by toner remaining amount determining unit 106
7 is provided. Here, the printing apparatus feed sheet number storage unit 1
Reference numeral 05 denotes a nonvolatile memory or the like which does not lose its contents when the power of the printing apparatus is turned on / off. The operation panel 107 is also used as an operation panel for displaying the status of the printing device and for allowing a user to make settings for the printing device.

Further, the engine unit of the printing apparatus has a printing mechanism that controls the electrophotographic process of the engine unit that actually transfers the bitmap information (video data) in page units transferred by the video data transfer unit 104 onto paper. Part 10
And a control mechanism section 109 which controls a sheet feeding / conveying system (sheet feeding mode and sheet discharging processing) in the engine section, the presence / absence of a toner cartridge, and a toner remaining detection function.

Here, the input data includes data such as a character code, a graphic, and an image for actually performing a printing process, and printing data for designating a printing position and a size.
And control data for the engine unit. The control data refers to, for example, control data for designating a paper feed mode (cassette paper feed / manual paper feed), a paper discharge mode, switching control of single-sided / double-sided printing, and the like.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a display example of the operation panel according to the present invention. An operation panel display 201 in a case where the printing apparatus is in a normal and printable state, an operation panel display 202 in a state where the toner remaining state is low (toner low) due to a toner remaining detection function of the control mechanism unit 109,
4 shows an operation panel display 203 when the toner remaining amount determination unit 106 determines that the toner in the toner cartridge has run out.

FIG. 3 is a view showing an example of a laser beam printer which is a printing apparatus according to the present invention. A replacement toner cartridge 301 is shown.

FIG. 4 is a conceptual diagram showing an example of a printing apparatus according to the present invention. Printing device 402 which is a laser beam printer using a laser beam as a light emitting element
And a host computer 401 for transmitting various print data to the printing apparatus. Printing device 40
2 includes a controller unit 403 and an engine unit 404.

The engine unit 404 includes a control unit 405 for controlling the entire inside of the engine unit, an optical system 406 for forming an image, and an electrophotographic process / sheet feeding / conveying system 407 for performing a printing process.

The control unit 405 receives a video signal and a control command from the controller unit 403, transmits the status of the engine unit 404 to the controller unit 403, and controls an electrophotographic process, a sheet feeding system and an optical system. I do. Further, the control unit 405 has a toner residual check function, receives the remaining amount of toner as an electric signal from the electrophotographic process / sheet feeding / conveying system 407, creates status information of the toner residual check based on this signal, The information is transmitted to the unit 403.

The controller section 403 has an operation panel 408 in the printing apparatus.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of an electrophotographic process / sheet feeding / conveying system of the printing apparatus according to the present invention. The electrophotographic process / sheet feeding / conveying system 407 includes the sheet feeding cassette 50.
1, a paper feed roller 502 for feeding paper from a paper feed cassette 501, a photosensitive drum 503, and a fixing device 504.
And FIG. 5 shows the sheet 5 in the sheet feeding conveyance system.
05 is shown.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing an example of the controller of the printing apparatus according to the present invention. A controller unit 403 shown in FIG. 4 includes a central processing unit (CPU) 601 for controlling the whole, a program memory 602 in which a program for controlling the whole is stored, and a character code for developing a character code into a bitmap. A font memory 603 storing font information and a hardware circuit 604 for transferring a bitmap image obtained by expanding print data to a printing mechanism are connected via an internal bus 611. Program memory 602 and font memory 6
Reference numeral 03 includes, for example, a ROM (Read Only Memory). The hardware circuit 604 includes, for example, a DMAC
(Direct Memory Access Controller) or FIFO
(First-InFirst-Out).

Also, a nonvolatile memory 605 for storing the number of sheets fed by the printing apparatus, a data input / output interface circuit 606 for connecting the host computer 401 and the controller 403, and a program memory 6
02, a data input / output interface circuit 608 for connecting the engine unit 404 and the controller unit 403, and a work memory synchronized with the printing mechanism unit of the engine unit. An image signal generator 609 for generating a video signal from a bitmap developed in the print data development area 607 and a panel interface circuit 610 for connecting the operation panel 408 and the controller unit 403 are connected to the internal bus 611. It is connected.

The nonvolatile memory 605 includes, for example, an EEP
It is constituted by a ROM, and corresponds to the printing apparatus sheet number storage unit 105 shown in FIG. The work memory 607 includes, for example, a random access memory (RAM), and is used as a storage area for input data, a print data development area (image memory), and the like.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an example of a counter table and a printer status in the controller section. The counter table 701 and the printing device status 705 are set in the nonvolatile memory 605, and the contents are not erased by turning on / off the power of the printing device. The counter table 701 includes a paper feed counter (page counter) 702, a tonerless paper feed counter 703, and a paper feed counter
And 4.

The paper feed counter 702 is incremented by one every time paper is fed one by one in the printing apparatus. The toner-less sheet feed counter 703 is an area for copying the sheet feed counter 702 when a state in which the amount of toner is low (toner low) occurs due to a toner remaining detection function in the control mechanism of the engine unit. The cartridge replaced paper feed counter 704 is an area for copying the paper feed counter 702 at the stage when the toner is returned from the toner low state to the normal state by the toner remaining detection function by replacing the toner cartridge or the like from the toner low state or the absence of toner. .

With this configuration, when a toner low occurs, the display on the operation panel 408 changes from the “printable” operation panel display 201 shown in FIG. 2 to the “toner is low” operation panel display 202. change. Here, if the print output is continued after the toner low state has been generated, the difference between the paper feed counter 702 and the toner-less paper feed counter 703 increases. When this difference becomes a certain value or more, it is estimated that the toner has run out. At this time, the display on the operation panel 408 indicates that the “toner is low” operation panel display 202 shown in FIG.
The display changes to the operation panel display 203 "Replace the toner cartridge." Note that the constant value is a value determined from the standard printable number of toner cartridges.

When the normal operation is returned from the toner low state by the toner remaining detection function due to the replacement of the toner cartridge or the like, the display on the operation panel 408 shows the “toner is low” operation panel display 202 shown in FIG. Replace the cartridge. "Operation Panel Display 203
Is changed to a “printable” operation panel display 201. In this state, if the print output is continued thereafter, the difference between the paper feed counter 702 and the paper feed counter 704 after the cartridge replacement becomes large. If this difference exceeds a certain value,
It is estimated that the user has replaced the toner cartridge. Note that the constant value is a value determined from the standard printable number of toner cartridges.

The printing apparatus status 705 indicates what state (status) the toner cartridge is in. (1) "Normal" indicates that printing can be performed in a normal state. The operation panel 408 is a “printable” operation panel display 201. (2) “Toner residual detection ON” is a toner low state. An operation panel 408 is an operation panel display 202 of “the toner is low”.
(3) "No toner" is a state in which it is assumed that there is no toner. The operation panel 408 is an operation panel display 203 for “Replace the toner cartridge.”
(4) “Cartridge replaced” is a state in which it can be estimated that the toner cartridge has been replaced. Operation panel 40
Reference numeral 8 denotes a “printable” operation panel display 201. There are four states.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing a method of counting up the printing apparatus paper feed counter in the controller unit. The printing apparatus feed counter 702 is set in the nonvolatile memory 605 in the controller unit 403 and is controlled by the CPU 601. The controller unit 403 waits for input of print data from the host computer 401 (S801). Host computer 40
When any data is input from step 1, it is checked whether the input data is data accompanied by actual print output (S802). If it is not print data, the process returns to S801 and waits for input of the next print data.

In the case of print data, print output is performed for the number of pages specified by the input data. First, a bitmap image for one page is developed from the input data (S80).
3). The controller unit 403 instructs the engine unit 404 to start feeding paper (S804). At this point, when the sheet feeding is started, the controller unit 403 increments the printing apparatus sheet feeding counter 702 by '+1' (S805). The controller unit 403 transfers the one-page bitmap image developed in step S803 to the engine unit 404 as video data in synchronization with the sheet conveyance speed (S8).
06). When the transfer of the video data for one page is completed, it is checked whether there is data for the next page (S807).
If there is, the process proceeds to S8 in order to print out the next page.
Return to 03. If there is no data for the next page, the process waits for input of the next print data from the host computer.
Return to 801.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing processing corresponding to the printing apparatus status in the controller unit. The initial value of the printing device status 705 is “normal”. The processing shown in FIG. 9 is executed at a constant cycle in the controller of the printing apparatus. When the processing is started, the printer status 705 is read and the content is checked (S901).

If the printing apparatus status is "normal", normal processing is performed and the processing is terminated (S90).
2). Details of the normal processing will be described later with reference to FIG.
When the printing device status is "toner remaining detection ON",
The remaining toner detection ON process is performed, and the process ends (S9).
03). Details of the toner remaining detection ON process are shown in FIGS.
It will be described later with reference to FIG. If the status of the printing device 705 is “no toner”, the process ends with no toner, and the process ends (S904). For details of the tonerless processing,
It will be described later with reference to FIG. Printing device status 705
If "is replaced", a cartridge replacement completed process is performed, and this process ends (S905). Details of the cartridge replacement process will be described later with reference to FIGS.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing the contents of the normal processing in the controller unit. First, the status of the residual toner detection is read using the residual toner function in the engine unit 404 (S1001). The toner remaining check status is checked (S1002). When the toner remaining check status is ON, that is, when the toner is low, the printing apparatus feed counter 702 is set to the toner feed counter 703.
(S1003). Printer operation panel 4
At 08, a message "Operation toner display 202" is displayed (S1004).
Next, the printer status 705 is changed to “toner remaining detection ON”.
And the process ends (S1005).

Check the remaining toner inspection status (S1).
002) If the remaining toner detection status is OFF, that is, normal, a “printable” operation panel display 201 is displayed on the operation panel 408 of the printing apparatus, and the process ends (S1006).

FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing the contents of the remaining toner detection ON process in the remaining toner detection ON process in the controller unit. The status of the residual toner inspection is read using the residual toner inspection function in the printing apparatus engine unit 404 (S1101). The remaining toner inspection status is checked (S1102). If the remaining toner inspection status is ON, that is, if the toner is low, the difference between the printing apparatus paper supply counter 702 and the toner-less paper supply counter 703 is calculated (S1103). It is checked whether or not the calculated difference is larger than a predetermined value (S1104). If it is larger, a “Replace the toner cartridge” operation panel display 203 is displayed on the operation panel 408 of the printing apparatus (S1105). ). Next, printer status 7
05 to “no toner” and terminates the process (S
1106).

If the calculated difference is smaller than a certain value,
The operation panel display 202 of “the amount of toner is low” is displayed on the operation panel 408 of the printing apparatus, and the process ends (S1107).

FIG. 12 is a flowchart showing the contents of the remaining toner detection status OFF processing among the remaining toner detection ON processing in the controller unit. In S1102 shown in FIG. 11, the toner remaining detection status is OFF,
That is, a process in a normal case will be described. First, the printing apparatus paper supply counter 702 is copied to the cartridge replacement paper supply counter 704 (S1201). On the operation panel 408 of the printing apparatus, a “printable” operation panel display 2 is displayed.
01 is displayed (S1202). Next, the printer status 705 is changed to "cartridge replaced" and the process is terminated (S1203).

FIG. 13 is a flowchart showing the contents of the toner absence process in the controller unit. The status of the residual toner detection is read using the residual toner function in the engine unit 404 (S1301). The read toner remaining inspection status is checked (S1302), and if the toner remaining inspection status is OFF, that is, normal, the printing apparatus paper supply counter 702 is copied to the cartridge replacement paper supply counter 704 (S1303). The “printable” operation panel display 20 is displayed on the operation panel 408 of the printing apparatus.
1 is displayed (S1304). Next, the printer status 705 is changed to "cartridge replaced" and the process is terminated (S1305).

When the toner remaining check status is ON, that is, when the toner is low, the operation panel 408 of the printing apparatus is displayed.
The operation panel display 203 is displayed, "Replace the toner cartridge." And the process ends (S130).
6).

FIG. 14 shows the remaining toner detection status in the cartridge replacement process in the controller section.
6 is a flowchart showing the processing contents of FIG. The status of the residual toner detection is read using the residual toner function in the engine unit 404 (S1404). The read toner remaining inspection status is checked (S1402). If the toner remaining inspection status is OFF, that is, normal, the difference between the printing apparatus paper supply counter 702 and the cartridge replacement paper supply counter 704 is calculated (S1403). . It is checked whether the calculated difference is larger than a certain value (S1404). If it is larger, a “printable” operation panel display 201 is displayed on the operation panel 408 of the printing apparatus (S1405).
Next, the printer status 705 is changed to “normal”, and the process is terminated (S1406).

If the difference is smaller than the predetermined value, the “printable” operation panel display 2 is displayed on the operation panel 408 of the printing apparatus.
01 is displayed, and the process ends (S1407).

FIG. 15 is a flowchart showing the contents of the process for setting the remaining toner status to ON in the cartridge replacement process in the controller section. In S1402 shown in FIG. 14, the toner remaining detection status is ON,
That is, the process in the case of toner low will be described. First, a difference between the printing apparatus paper supply counter 702 and the tonerless paper supply counter 703 is calculated (S1501). It is checked whether the calculated difference is larger than a certain value (S1502),
If the size is larger, the operation panel display 203 for “Replace the toner cartridge.” Is displayed on the operation panel 408 of the printing apparatus (S1503). Next, the printer status 705 is changed to "no toner", and the process ends (S1504).

If the difference is smaller than the predetermined value, the operation panel 408 of the printing apparatus displays "Toner is low."
The operation panel display 202 is displayed (S1505). Next, the printing apparatus status 705 is changed to "toner remaining detection ON", and the processing is terminated (S1506).

In the above-described embodiment, the display of the remaining toner amount is displayed on the operation panel of the printing apparatus. By notifying the external device such as a host computer of the remaining toner state as information, the same display as that of the operation panel can be displayed on the display unit of the external device such as the host computer.

At this time, the connection form between the printing apparatus and an external device such as a host computer may be a one-to-one connection form such as a Centro cable or a connection form via a network.

In the present invention, a laser beam printer has been described as an embodiment, but it is needless to say that the present invention is also effective for a printing apparatus using a light emitting element such as an LED array or a liquid crystal shutter.

Although a printing apparatus using an electrophotographic process is assumed as the printing mechanism, the present invention is applicable to any page printer that performs a printing process in page units regardless of the printing mechanism. It goes without saying that the present invention is also effective for a printer (inkjet, serial, etc.).

Further, a nonvolatile memory is used as a storage element of each sheet feeding counter.
It is needless to say that the present invention can be applied to any device having a mechanism (such as an external storage device) in which the counter does not disappear due to power interruption.

In the present invention, a storage medium storing a program code of software for realizing the functions of the above-described embodiments is supplied to a toner remaining amount determining device, and the CPU of the toner remaining amount determining device stores the program. It is needless to say that the present invention is also achieved by reading and executing the program code stored in the medium. In this case, the program code itself read from the storage medium implements the novel function of the present invention, 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 (registered trademark) disk, hard disk, magneto-optical disk, optical disk, C
A D-ROM, a CD-R, a magnetic tape nonvolatile memory card, a ROM, and the like can be used.

[0066]

As described above, according to the present invention, the counting step of counting the number of sheets fed for each page of the print output information, and the storage section storing the number of sheets fed in the counting step. A receiving step of receiving a detection signal for detecting that the remaining amount of toner of the printing apparatus has become smaller than a predetermined amount; a sheet feeding number stored in the storage unit; And a determination step of determining the remaining amount of toner based on the detection signal received in step (1), so that the user can replace the toner cartridge of the printing apparatus at an optimal timing without generating printing unevenness or printing loss. Can be encouraged.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic block diagram illustrating an example of a functional configuration of a printing apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a display example of an operation panel according to the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of a laser beam printer that is a printing apparatus according to the invention.

FIG. 4 is a conceptual diagram illustrating an example of a printing apparatus according to the invention.

FIG. 5 shows an electrophotographic process of the printing apparatus according to the present invention.
FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of a sheet feeding conveyance system.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a controller unit of the printing apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating an example of a counter table and a printing apparatus status in a controller unit.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart illustrating a method of counting up a printing apparatus paper feed counter in a controller unit.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart illustrating processing corresponding to a printing device status in a controller unit.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing the contents of normal processing in the controller unit.

FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing a process of turning on the remaining toner detection status in the remaining toner detection ON process in the controller unit.

FIG. 12 is a flowchart showing a process of toner remaining detection status OFF in toner remaining detection ON processing in the controller unit.

FIG. 13 is a flowchart illustrating the details of a toner-out process in a controller unit.

FIG. 14 is a flowchart illustrating the details of a process for turning off the remaining toner detection status in the cartridge replacement process in the controller unit.

FIG. 15 is a flowchart showing the details of a process for turning on the remaining toner detection status in the cartridge replacement process in the controller unit.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 101 Input data receiving part 102 Input data analyzing part 103 Print data developing part 104 Video data transfer part 105 Printer feeding number storage part 106 Toner remaining amount determination part 107 Operation panel 108 Printing mechanism part 109 Control mechanism parts 201, 202, 203 Operation panel display 301 Toner cartridge 401 Host computer 402 Printing device 403 Controller unit 404 Engine unit 405 Control unit 406 Optical system 407 Electrophotographic process / paper feed / transport system 408 Operation panel 501 Paper feed cassette 502 Paper feed roller 503 Photosensitive drum 504 Fixing unit 505 Paper in the paper feeding and conveying system 601 Central processing unit (CPU) 602 Program memory 603 Font memory 604 Hardware circuit 605 Non-volatile memory 606 Data input / output interface Face circuit 607 work memory 608 data input-output interface circuit 609 the image signal generator 610 panel interface circuit 611 internal bus 701 the counter table 702 paper feed counter 703 no toner feeding counter 704 cartridges already replaced feed counter 705 printer status

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page F term (reference) 2C061 AQ05 AQ06 AS02 CQ40 HK23 HV14 HV32 2H027 DA45 DC02 DD02 DE07 EA06 EC06 EC19 ED10 EE07 EE08 EF09 GA47 HB02 HB13 2H077 BA09 DA15 DA22 DA78 DA86 DB02 DB10

Claims (12)

[Claims] 1. A toner remaining amount determining method for developing input printing data into page-based print output information and determining a toner remaining amount of a printing apparatus for printing, wherein a sheet is fed for each page of the print output information. A counting step of counting the number of fed sheets of paper, a storing step of storing the number of fed sheets counted in the counting step in a storage unit, and a remaining amount of toner of the printing apparatus being smaller than a predetermined amount. A receiving step of receiving a detection signal for detecting that the remaining amount has been reached; and a determining step of determining a remaining toner amount based on the number of fed sheets stored in the storage unit and the detection signal received in the receiving step. And a method for determining a remaining amount of toner. 2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the determining step includes: when the detection signal is received from the receiving step, when the number of fed sheets stored in the storage unit is equal to or greater than a predetermined number, the remaining amount of toner is reduced. 2. The method according to claim 1, wherein it is determined that there is no toner remaining. 3. The method according to claim 1, wherein the step of determining includes determining whether the number of fed sheets stored in the storage unit is equal to or greater than a predetermined number from when the detection signal is no longer received from the receiving step. 3. The method according to claim 2, wherein when the detection signal is not received from the CPU, the remaining toner amount is determined. 4. The printing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a display step of displaying a state of the remaining amount of toner determined in the determination step on a display unit of the printing apparatus. A method for determining the remaining amount of toner. 5. A transmission step of transmitting the state of the remaining amount of toner determined in the determination step to an external device that has output the print data to the printing device, wherein the external device has a display unit of the external device. 5. The method according to claim 1, further comprising displaying a state of the remaining amount of toner.
The method for determining the remaining amount of toner according to any one of the above. 6. A toner remaining amount judging device for judging a remaining amount of toner of a printing apparatus which develops input print data into print output information in page units and prints, feeds paper for each page of the print output information. Counting means for counting the number of fed paper sheets, storage means for storing the number of fed paper sheets counted by the counting means, and that the remaining amount of toner in the printing apparatus has become smaller than a predetermined amount. Receiving means for receiving a detection signal for detecting the number of sheets, and determining means for determining the remaining amount of toner based on the number of sheets fed in the storage means and the detection signal received by the receiving means. And a toner remaining amount determination device. 7. The method according to claim 1, wherein the determining unit is configured to determine, when the detection signal is received from the receiving unit, that the number of fed sheets stored in the storage unit is equal to or greater than a predetermined number.
7. The method according to claim 6, wherein it is determined that there is no remaining toner.
2. The toner remaining amount determination device according to 1. 8. The receiving device according to claim 1, wherein the determination unit is configured to determine whether or not the number of fed sheets stored in the storage unit is equal to or greater than a predetermined number from when the detection signal is no longer received from the receiving unit. 8. The apparatus according to claim 7, wherein when the detection signal is not received from the printer, it is determined that there is a remaining amount of toner. 9. The printing apparatus according to claim 6, further comprising a display unit configured to display a state of the remaining amount of toner determined by the determination unit on a display unit of the printing apparatus. Toner remaining amount determination device. 10. A transmitting unit for transmitting a state of the remaining amount of toner determined by the determining unit to an external device that outputs the print data to the printing device, wherein the external device includes a display unit of the external device. 10. The status of the remaining amount of toner is displayed on the display.
The remaining toner amount determination device according to any one of the above. 11. The toner residual according to claim 6, wherein the storage unit is a medium that does not lose the stored number of sheets fed even when the power of the printing apparatus is turned off. Quantity determination device. 12. A recording medium storing a program for controlling a toner remaining amount determining device for determining the remaining toner amount of a printing device that prints input print data into print output information in page units and prints the print data. A counting step of counting the number of sheets fed for each page of the print output information; a storing step of storing the number of fed sheets counted in the counting step in a storage unit; The receiving step of receiving a detection signal for detecting that the remaining amount of the paper is smaller than a predetermined amount, the number of sheets fed in the storage unit, and the detection signal received in the receiving step. A computer-readable recording medium on which a program for causing a computer to execute a determination step of determining a remaining amount of toner based on the computer program is stored.