JP2002307717A - Cartridge and peripheral - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To use a new function without purchasing the peripheral of a printer every time when a new function is provided. SOLUTION: The cartridge 10 for expendables comprises a controller 15 for controlling the motors 5 and 6 of a printer 1 through an interface 24. When the cartridge 10 is loaded to a printer 1, the controller 15 of the cartridge 10 can control the motors 5 and 6 and a nozzle head 11 by processing data ϕ3 from a host 9. Consequently, the printer can be upgraded to have a new function by simply replacing the cartridge 10 without purchasing a new printer. Increase in load can also be prevented at the time of treating dust or recycling.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

[0001] 1. Field of the Invention [0002] The present invention relates to a peripheral device such as a printing apparatus used by mounting a cartridge containing consumables such as ink and toner, and a cartridge thereof.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As a printing device which is one of peripheral devices,
Facsimile and printers are known. An ink jet type or laser type printer is used with an ink cartridge containing ink or a toner cartridge containing toner attached.

[0003]

The technology of these peripheral devices (peripheral processing devices) is improving day by day, and peripheral devices having new functions are sold in a short cycle of one year or less. For example, in an inkjet printer, printers capable of increasing the number of nozzles for ejecting ink and the printable ink colors and capable of performing higher quality printing are being provided to the market one after another. However, the period during which a new-function printer or other peripheral device is introduced to the market is shorter than the useful life of the peripheral device, so that it is an economical burden for the user to replace the peripheral device with the new function each time. Is big. Therefore, the users who can use the new function are limited. Further, replacement of a peripheral device that has not reached the end of its useful life directly leads to disposal in the current situation where recycling is not progressing, and increases the load of garbage disposal. Also, even if recycling has progressed,
The cost of recycling will increase.

Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a system that can easily use a new function without having to replace a peripheral device such as a printer each time a new function is provided. It is another object of the present invention to provide a system that allows a user to easily use a new function and to prevent an increase in load in garbage disposal and recycling.

[0005]

Therefore, in the present invention, a controller capable of controlling a driving device of a peripheral device is mounted on a consumable of the peripheral device, for example, a cartridge containing ink or toner in the case of a printing device. By doing so, a new function or the like can be provided to the user via the consumable cartridge. That is, in the present invention, a cartridge which is mounted on a peripheral device and can supply a material consumed by the peripheral device, and which can supply a control signal to a driving device of the peripheral device, and Provided is a cartridge having a controller capable of controlling a driving device. Further, as a peripheral device to which the cartridge can be mounted, a driving device that drives a mechanism that feeds a printing paper in a printing device or drives a carriage on which a print head is mounted, and a driving device for the driving device. A peripheral device having an interface capable of receiving a control signal from a controller of a cartridge is provided.

When the cartridge and the peripheral device of the present invention are used, the peripheral device is controlled by a controller mounted on the cartridge. Therefore, a CPU serving as a controller of a peripheral device and a memory such as a ROM storing a program executed by the CPU can be mounted on the cartridge, and the controller can be replaced by replacing the cartridge. For this reason, the data processing method for printing a color image changes, and C
When a PU is required, a cartridge having such a CPU may be mounted, and the peripheral device itself can be used as it is. Further, when the memory capacity is insufficient when processing data, it is only necessary to mount a cartridge having a large memory capacity, and it is not necessary to replace the peripheral device itself. Then, it is possible to update the capability of the controller so that it can cope with a new function and to store the program for realizing the new function in the ROM of the controller and provide it at the same time. Therefore, in the system using the cartridge and the peripheral device of the present invention, a new function can be added to the peripheral device only by exchanging the cartridge. Therefore, the peripheral device itself does not need to be replaced in a cycle shorter than the service life of the peripheral device. Problems associated with the disposal and recycling of waste can also be eliminated.

[0007] A cartridge capable of supplying consumables is always replaced when a peripheral device is used. For this reason, manufacturers who provide peripheral devices
With the cartridge as a new medium, a new function can be mounted, or a controller that responds to a problem can be provided without imposing a burden on the user. On the other hand, on the user side, as described above, the cartridge of the present invention and the peripheral device on which the cartridge can be mounted can support new functions at a low cost, and can start from a novice stage of performing a simple job using a personal computer. When moving to the stage of an expert who performs advanced image processing, upgrading a peripheral device by simply purchasing a cartridge that can realize the desired function and attaching it to the peripheral device without replacing the peripheral device itself It is possible to achieve. Therefore, according to the present invention, it is possible to provide a peripheral device having better quality and function and cost according to the user's desire without burdening both the manufacturer and the user.

[0008] Of the peripheral devices, printing devices such as ink jet printers and laser printers, facsimile machines and copiers consume ink or toner. Therefore, when ink or toner is provided by the cartridge according to the present invention, the distribution system becomes An existing system can be used, and a system that can upgrade the printing apparatus without increasing the distribution cost can be constructed. In particular, by mounting a unit for forming an image on a cartridge, the image forming unit can be upgraded and the image forming unit can be controlled, and a controller having an image processing function can be provided simultaneously with the cartridge as a medium. can do. For example, in an inkjet printer, it is conceivable to change the number of nozzles and the number of colors of a nozzle head for discharging ink droplets in order to perform high-quality printing at a high speed. A controllable controller can be provided with the cartridge as a medium. Therefore, just changing the cartridge without changing the printer body,
It is possible to provide a printing apparatus capable of printing a higher quality image or printing at a higher speed.

As an interface for connecting a cartridge and a peripheral device, a serial printer can use a flexible cable for connecting a carriage on which the cartridge is mounted and a main body. USB and I
By connecting with a high-speed serial interface such as an IEEE 1394 interface, it is possible to transmit more control signals at a high speed. Therefore,
It is suitable for a peripheral device that needs to perform communication with a large amount of data such as image data between a controller mounted on a cartridge and a host device of the peripheral device via the peripheral device. It is also possible to employ a wireless interface such as a Bluetooth or infrared interface.

[0010]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The present invention will be described below in more detail with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 shows a schematic configuration of an ink cartridge 10 and a printer 1 of the present invention. FIG. 2 shows a state in which the ink cartridge 10 is mounted on the printer 1. The printer 1 of the present embodiment is an ink jet type, in which an ink cartridge 10 is mounted on a carriage 2 and printing is performed while the carriage 2 is moved along the shaft 7 in the paper width direction (scanning direction) of the printing paper 3. For this reason, the cartridge 10 of the present embodiment is of a form that can be mounted on the carriage 2 of the printer 1, and stores therein a plurality of colors or a single color ink for an ink jet printer, and the ink stored in the main body 10 a. The apparatus includes a nozzle head (image forming unit) 11 that ejects ink droplets from a plurality of nozzles to form an image, and a controller 15 that can control the functions of the nozzle head 11 and other printers 1.

The controller 15 of the present embodiment includes a CPU 21
And a ROM 22 storing a program (firmware) necessary for printing by the printer 1 and a RAM serving as a work area when performing data processing such as image processing.
23, an interface 24 capable of transmitting and receiving control signals and data to and from the printer 1, and a nozzle head 11
, And an internal bus 25 for connecting these.

On the other hand, the printer 1 of the present embodiment has a carriage 2
Motor 5 as a driving source for moving the carriage 2 in the scanning direction, its driver circuit 31, and a mechanism 5a for moving the carriage 2 along the shaft 7 by the power of the motor 5.
have. A paper feed motor 6 serving as a drive source for feeding the printing paper 3;
A mechanism 6 including a wheel train 33 driven by the motor 6 and a feed roller 34 driven by the train
a. Further, an interface 28 capable of receiving a control signal from the controller 15 of the cartridge 10 mounted on the carriage 2 and supplying the control signal to the driver circuits 31 and 32 of the respective motors is provided. The interface 28 is also connected to an interface 35 that is connected to the host 9 such as a personal computer and can transmit and receive data φ3, and can provide the data φ3 from the host 9 to the controller 15 of the cartridge 10 via the interface 28. ing. In this example, the interface 28 having such a function can transmit and receive a large amount of data at high speed.
The B interface is adopted, and the system as described above can be constructed by having a function as a hub. Further, in this example, a connector 38 corresponding to the connector 37 of the interface 24 of the cartridge 10 is provided on the carriage 2, and when the cartridge 10 is mounted on the carriage 2, these connectors 37 and 3
8 are connected to connect each interface 24 and 28.

In the printer 1 of this embodiment, when the data φ3 is obtained from the host 9, the interfaces 35 and 28
Is supplied to the controller 15 of the cartridge 10. Then, the controller 15 analyzes the command and data included in the data φ3. For example, if the print data included in the data φ3 is compressed, the controller 15 decompresses or decompresses it. Further, if data processing such as color conversion or binarization for printing by the printer 1 is necessary, the controller 15 performs such processing. If the data φ3 includes a command for controlling the mechanical systems 5a and 6a of the printer 1, the controller 15 interprets (decodes) the command, and responds to the command to each of the mechanical systems 5a and 6a of the printer 1. Control. That is, in the controller 15, control signals φ1 and φ1 for driving the driving devices, that is, the motors 5 and 6, which are the driving sources of the respective mechanical systems 5a and 6a,
2 is generated and supplied to driver circuits 31 and 32 via interfaces 24 and 28. afterwards,
The controller 1 is connected via each of the driver circuits 31 and 32.
5 controls the motors 5 and 6. Therefore, the motors 5 and 6 are driven based on the control signals φ1 and φ2, and the controller 15 of the cartridge 10 controls the respective mechanical systems 5a and 6a of the printer 1. On the other hand, the controller 15 controls the timing at which ink droplets are ejected from the nozzle head 11 via the head driver 12 based on the data φ3, and synchronizes with the control of each of the mechanical systems 5a and 6a, thereby printing the data φ3 on the paper.
Outputs an image based on.

As described above, when the cartridge 10 and the printer 1 according to the present embodiment are used, the mechanism systems 5a and 6a of the printer 1 and the nozzle head 11 can be controlled by the controller 15 mounted on the cartridge 10, and all processes in the printer 1 can be performed. Is controlled (controlled) by the controller 15. Therefore, when it is necessary to change or enhance the capability or hardware resources of the controller 15 to realize the function of the printer 1, the capability of the controller 15 is updated by changing the cartridge 10 to correspond to the new function. Can be done. For example, when updating a data processing method for printing a color image, a program having the data processing and a controller having a memory such as a CPU or a RAM having a matching capacity are mounted on the cartridge 10 and provided. A printer corresponding to the data processing method can be realized.

Further, since the cartridge 10 of the present embodiment is a cartridge on which the nozzle head 11 as an image forming means is mounted, the number of nozzles of the nozzle head 11 and the color The number of programs can be increased, and a program capable of controlling them and a controller having the capability can be provided in a single package by being mounted on a cartridge.

As described above, in the system using the cartridge 10 and the printer 1 of the present embodiment, the program in the ROM 22 of the cartridge 10 is updated and the high-performance CP is used.
In addition, the printer performance and functions can be changed only by changing the configuration of the controller relating to the performance and functions of the printer, such as increasing the capacity of a work memory such as a RAM. Therefore, the user can increase the number of nozzles and ink colors, install a high-performance image processing program, and improve the resolution and the performance that could not be obtained without replacing the printer conventionally. The output quality grade can be increased simply by changing the cartridge. For this reason, the mechanism system 5a
Since the printer itself including the motors 6 and 6a and the motors 5 and 6 can be used as it is, there is no need to replace the printer itself with a cycle shorter than the service life of the printer.

In particular, since the cartridge 10 is always replaced when the printer 1 is used, the burden on both the manufacturer and the user can be reduced. First, on the manufacturer side, a new function can be mounted via the medium of the cartridge 10 or the controller 15 corresponding to the trouble can be provided without burdening the user. On the other hand, on the user side, the controller 1
Since the new function can be supported only by using the cartridge 10 equipped with the printer 5, the printer intended for printing a table or a text can be transferred at a low cost to a high-performance printer for printing an advanced image. . Therefore, if the system is constructed by the cartridge 10 and the printer 1 according to the present embodiment, the printer having higher quality and function and cost according to the user's desire without burdening both the manufacturer and the user. Can be realized.

In the case of the cartridge 10 of this embodiment,
A system that can upgrade the printer without increasing the distribution cost by using the existing distribution system can be constructed. That is, in a system in which a user uses a peripheral device such as a personal computer or a printer,
For beginners, low-cost, low-capacity,
When a monochrome printer is introduced and then color printing or a high-resolution printer is required, the printer itself can be replaced without purchasing a cartridge that can realize functions that meet the needs of the user. Can also be upgraded.

Furthermore, a system for recycling consumable cartridges has been considered in order to reuse the cartridges themselves. However, if a cartridge having the controller according to the present embodiment is used, the hardware resources constituting the controller may be used. Can be recycled. The level required by the user for the printer varies depending on the user's environment, and the request changes as the environment changes. Therefore,
Although it is difficult to recycle the printer itself between such users, the cartridge can be used to recycle the controller. Since the function of the controller can be inspected at any time during the recycling process, the durability and reliability of the printer can be improved by a system for recycling the cartridge.

In the above description, a cartridge containing ink has been described as an example. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the present invention can be applied to a toner cartridge containing toner for a laser printer. In the case of a toner cartridge equipped with the above-described photoconductor, by providing the controller mounted on the toner cartridge, the performance and output quality of the laser printer can be improved without replacing the printer itself.

In the above description, a USB interface is adopted as an interface for connecting the cartridge 10 and the printer 1, and the controller 15 and the printer 1 are connected by an interface which has been used as a high-speed serial interface in a personal computer or the like. IEEE with proven track record
It is also possible to employ an E1394 interface. By adopting a USB or IEEE 1394 interface, many control signals can be transmitted at high speed, so that the printer is suitable for data processing and high-speed printing. Alternatively, a wireless interface such as a Bluetooth or infrared interface may be employed. Further, in terms of utilizing the existing printer equipment, it is also effective to use a flexible cable used to connect the carriage to the main body in a serial printer.

Further, in the above, the data φ3 from the host 9 is sent to the controller 15 mounted on the cartridge 10 via the printer 1, but an appropriate interface such as a wired or wireless interface is used. Thus, the controller 15 on the cartridge and the host 9 can be directly connected. However, in a peripheral device such as a copying machine or a facsimile that does not require a host device, a system for transmitting data from the peripheral device to the controller is required. Further, a controller capable of controlling these circuits 31 and 32 is mounted on the printer 1 in addition to the driver circuits 31 and 32, and when the cartridge 10 with the controller is mounted, the controller 15 on the cartridge is preferentially selected. It is also possible to be performed.

In the above description, a serial type ink jet printer has been described as an example. However, the present invention can be applied to a line type printer. Further, the present invention is not limited to a printer and can be operated independently without a host. As described above, the printing apparatus may be a printing apparatus. Further, the consumables are not limited to toner and ink, but may be other consumable materials, for example, printing paper or film. The present invention can be applied to an apparatus.

[0024]

As described above, according to the present invention, a controller capable of controlling a driving device of a peripheral device is mounted on a cartridge in which a consumable item of the peripheral device is stored, so that the cartridge of the consumable item can be controlled. To provide users with new features and the means to achieve them. Therefore, by adopting the cartridge and the peripheral device of the present invention, a new function can be added to the peripheral device only by exchanging the cartridge, so that the peripheral device itself does not need to be replaced in a cycle shorter than its useful life. The device can be flexibly upgraded to a device having a function desired by the user. Therefore, according to the present invention,
Problems associated with the disposal and recycling of peripheral devices can also be solved.

Furthermore, since a new function can be provided through a medium that a user always needs to obtain, such as a cartridge containing consumables, the manufacturer can provide the new function without burdening the user. On the other hand, a user can acquire a peripheral device having a desired function simply by installing a cartridge and use it.

In particular, in a printing apparatus, by applying the present invention, data from the host can be processed by the controller of the cartridge of the present invention, and control of the motors and nozzles can be performed on the printer side. However, new functions can be used simply by changing the cartridge.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of a cartridge and a printer according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a state where the cartridge shown in FIG. 1 is mounted on a printer.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Printer 2 Carriage 3 Printing paper 5 Carriage motor 6 Paper feed motor 5a, 6a Mechanical system 9 Host 10 Cartridge 11 Nozzle head 12 Head driver 15 Controller 21 CPU 22 ROM 23 RAM 24, 28 Interface 31, 32 Driver circuit φ1, φ2 control Signal φ3 data

Claims (11)

[Claims] 1. A cartridge mounted on a peripheral device and capable of supplying a material consumed by the peripheral device, an interface capable of supplying a control signal to a driving device of the peripheral device, and the cartridge via the interface. A cartridge having a controller capable of controlling a driving device. 2. The cartridge according to claim 1, wherein the controller includes a CPU and a memory storing a program executed by the CPU. 3. The cartridge according to claim 1, wherein the peripheral device is a printing device, and the cartridge stores ink or toner consumed in the printing device. 4. The cartridge according to claim 3, wherein the cartridge includes an image forming unit that forms an image using ink or toner. 5. The cartridge according to claim 4, wherein the controller has a function of performing image processing. 6. A cartridge according to claim 4, wherein said image forming means is a nozzle head for discharging ink droplets. 7. The cartridge according to claim 1, wherein the interface is a USB or IEEE 1394 interface. 8. A peripheral device capable of mounting a cartridge capable of supplying a consumable material, comprising: a driving device; and an interface with respect to the driving device, the interface being capable of receiving a control signal from a controller of the cartridge. apparatus. 9. The peripheral device according to claim 8, wherein the peripheral device is a printing device, and the cartridge stores ink or toner. 10. The peripheral device according to claim 8, wherein the interface can supply information from a host device of the peripheral device to the controller. 11. The peripheral device according to claim 10, wherein the interface is a USB or an IEEE 1394 interface.