JP2006130812A - Ink residual-quantity management method of ink-jet printer - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a method for correcting an incorrect ink residual-quantity given even by the incorrect operation of resetting the ink residual quantity when users change inks with a low cost system in regard to a printer for managing the residual quantity of inks by a dot count or waste inks. <P>SOLUTION: The ink residual-quantity management method of ink-jet printer for managing the ink residual quantity of two or more colors by the dot count comprises a process means for detecting the change of a holding means for holding inks, an evacuation process for making the dot-count value of each ink temporarily evacuated to another domain at detecting the change of the holding means and a process for resetting the dot-count value from the dot-count value which has been temporarily evacuated at setting the ink residual quantity and the present dot-count value using the means for resetting the ink residual quantity. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to an ink remaining amount management method for an ink jet printer, and more particularly to an ink remaining amount management method for managing an ink remaining amount by dot count.

  As an example of ink remaining amount detection means in an ink jet printer, what is called “dot count residual detection” has been conventionally known. This method measures the amount of ink ejected and the amount of ink consumed by the ejection recovery operation by counting the number of ejections and the number of suction recovery operations, and detects the remaining amount of ink in the ink tank. According to this, there is an advantage that a special device for detecting the remaining amount is not required and the cost can be minimized. This type of dot count residual detection is disclosed in Patent Documents 1 and 2, for example.

Japanese Patent Publication No. 5-19467 Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 8-224891

  However, when the ink consumption is managed by the dot count method and stored on the main body side, there is no circuit for identifying the difference between the loaded ink tanks. There is a problem that it is not known whether or not it has been exchanged.

  If the printer has a UI capability that asks the user whether or not the ink cartridge has been replaced with a new one, it is possible to determine whether or not the printer has been replaced with a new ink tank after waiting for input from the user. However, it is natural that the user may make a wrong choice here. If the ink consumption dot count is reset to 0 when the ink is not actually changed, the printing is faint despite the state that the main body still recognizes the ink, or the ink is replaced. However, if the ink consumption dot count is not reset to 0, the user will be notified of an out-of-ink warning or error despite the presence of ink.

  Therefore, such a printer may have a function of resetting the ink consumption dot count separately from the ink replacement operation.

  However, there is a problem that an error occurs between the actual ink consumption and the dot counter value because the initial ink cleaning at the time of ink replacement or the remaining amount of ink consumed by the printing operation is reset. .

  The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and the purpose of the present invention is when the user notices an error even if the user performs an incorrect reset operation of the ink consumption dot count value at the time of ink replacement. An object of the present invention is to provide an ink remaining amount management method for an ink jet printer that can correct the dot count value corresponding to the correct ink consumption.

  In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides an ink remaining amount management method for an ink jet printer that manages ink remaining amounts of a plurality of colors by dot count, and a step means for detecting replacement of a retaining means for retaining ink, and the retaining The evacuation process for temporarily evacuating the dot count value of each ink to another area when detecting the replacement of the means, and the dot count value temporarily saved when the ink remaining amount is set by the means for resetting the ink remaining amount and the current And a step of resetting the dot count value from the dot count value.

  According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided an ink remaining amount management method for an ink jet printer that manages ink remaining amounts of a plurality of colors by dot count, and a step of detecting replacement of a holding unit that holds ink, A evacuation step for temporarily evacuating the ink dot count value to another region, a first selection step for selecting whether or not to reset the dot count value of the remaining ink level when the replacement of the holding means is detected, and the selection A storage step for storing whether or not the dot count value in the step has been reset, and a second selection step for selecting whether or not to reset the dot count value for the remaining amount of ink at a timing independent of when the holding means replacement is detected. And the dot count value temporarily saved according to the selection result in the second selection step and the current dot count value. Characterized in that comprising a step of resetting the dot count value.

  According to the present invention, even when the user mistakenly resets the ink consumption dot count value at the time of ink replacement, when the user notices the error, the dot count value corresponding to the correct ink consumption can be corrected.

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

  FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of an ink jet printer according to the present invention. In FIG. A RAM 1-2 is used as an image for drawing and a work memory for various processes. Reference numeral 1-3 denotes a ROM which holds a printer control program, various tables, and the like. 1-4 is an EEPROM in which various information that is to be retained even after the power is turned off, such as the remaining amount of ink, is recorded. A host I / F 1-5 receives data from a host such as a PC such as a USB and returns a status. Reference numeral 1-6 denotes a key controller, which manages information on pressing of a key (button) 1-7. A display unit 1-9 is used to display various information through the display controller 1-8. 1-10 is an I / O to which various sensors shown in 1-11 are connected. Reference numeral 1-12 denotes an engine controller which controls a motor and a head of the printer engine 1-13. A system bus 1-14 is a data path between the CPU and other controllers.

  FIG. 2 is an external view of the printer main body according to the embodiment of the present invention.

  In FIG. 2, reference numeral 2-1 denotes a display unit which displays the operating status of the printer, the ink remaining amount, and the like, and also displays a menu display for selecting various functions, a confirmation message for the user, and the like. 2-2 is a circle key, and 2-3 is a x key. 2-4 is an ink stick eject button. When 2-4 is pressed, the ink door 2-5 is opened and the ink stick 2-7 can be taken in and out. Although not shown in the drawing, sensors are respectively provided in the ink door and the ink stick storage part at the back of the ink door so that the door opening / closing state and the ink stick insertion state can be known. Reference numeral 2-6 denotes a paper discharge port, which is a port for discharging the paper that has been fed and printed from the paper feed port provided on the far side in the drawing. Reference numeral 2-7 denotes an ink stick integrated with an ink tank and a waste ink absorber. The yellow (Y), magenta (M), and cyan (C) ink tanks and the waste ink absorber (D) are stored inside.

  The actual operation of the present invention in the above embodiment will be described with reference to the flowcharts shown in FIGS.

  FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing an ink stick replacement sequence. When the user depresses the ink stick ejection button (2-4) (S3-1), first, the current ink consumption counter value C is retrieved, stored in the saved value Cref, and stored (S3-2). . At the same time, the ink door (2-5) is opened to allow the user to replace the ink stick (S3-3). Step 3-4 is an ink stick replacement operation by the user. At this time, it is detected by the ink stick sensor in the ink door 2-5 whether or not the ink stick has been put in and out. If the ink door is closed without removing the ink stick, it is determined that the ink stick has not been replaced, and the process is terminated. When the ink stick is taken in and out and the ink door is closed, the ink door close is detected by a signal from the ink door sensor (S3-5), and the process proceeds to S3-6. In S3-6, a message such as “Have you replaced the ink stick with a new one? Yes → ○, No → ×” is displayed on the display unit 2-1.

  When the user presses the ○ key 2-2, the process proceeds to S3-8. In S3-8, the ink consumption counter is reset to zero. In step S3-9, ON indicating that the ink consumption counter has been reset is set in the counter reset flag. If the x key is input in S3-7, the process proceeds to S3-10, and the ink counter reset flag is set to OFF meaning that the ink consumption counter has not been reset. Note that when the system is started, the ink counter reset flag is initialized with OFF, and the ink remaining amount counter evacuation value Cref is initialized to 0.

  Here, there are two possibilities for the user to answer the wrong question in S3-6 in S3-7.

  The first is a case where the ink consumption counter is not reset with the X key after the ink stick has been replaced. There is a warning that the ink is low even though ink remains, or a warning that the waste ink tank is full even though there is still room for the waste ink storage capacity.

  The second is a case where the ink consumption counter is reset with the ○ key even though the ink stick has not been replaced. This is the case when the ink runs out before the warning that the ink level is low, or when there is no waste ink warning or error.

  Although this error cannot be corrected automatically on the main unit, the process to correct the ink consumption counter to the correct value when the user notices a mistake after printing or checking the remaining ink level display. This will be described with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG.

  First, the user notices an error in the reset operation at the time of ink replacement and activates the remaining ink amount correction process (S4-1). Then, the process is branched with reference to the ink counter reset status stored in S3-9 or S3-10 in FIG. If the ink counter reset flag is OFF, the process proceeds to S4-3. This is determined to be the first situation described above. The save value Cref temporarily saved in S3-2 is subtracted from the current ink consumption counter value C and saved in the temporary area Ctmp. In the first situation, the value of Ctmp is the amount of ink consumed from the time of ink stick replacement to the present.

  If the ink counter reset flag is ON, the process proceeds to S4-4. This is determined to be the second situation. The value of the ink consumption counter C is the amount of ink consumed up to the present after a mistaken reset. Therefore, the sum of the retreat value Cref is considered to be the actual ink consumption of the ink stick. This value is also temporarily stored in Ctmp. After S4-4, the process proceeds to S4-5. Here, the ink counter reset flag is turned OFF.

  In step S4-6, the validity of the temporary storage value Ctmp is checked. If Ctmp is a negative number or exceeds a value Cmax far exceeding the ink capacity, the ink consumption counter C is initialized to 0 (S4-7). If not, the temporary storage value Ctmp is set in the ink consumption counter (S3-8). Finally, a value Cmax that is sufficiently larger than the ink capacity is set as the save value Cref (S4-9). When the process of FIG. 4 is started twice by performing the process of S4-9, the process always passes from S4-2 to S4-3, S-4-6, and S4-7. This is the same as the ink counter reset.

  Further, when the operation of FIG. 4 is performed without passing through the sequence of the flowchart of FIG. 3, since the save value Cref is 0 and the ink counter reset flag is initialized to OFF, the process proceeds from S4-2 to S4-3. The temporary storage value Ctmp is equal to the current ink remaining amount counter C (because Cref is 0), and if the ink remaining amount counter is in a normal range, the processing is terminated without changing the ink remaining amount counter.

  In the above embodiment, the amount of ink used has been shown as an example. However, in the case of an ink jet printer that can replace the waste ink absorber that stores ink discharged in the preliminary ejection or recovery operation, the waste ink absorber is allowed. The dot count of the discharged ink with respect to the capacity can be managed by the same method.

It is a block diagram which shows embodiment of this invention. 1 is an external view of an inkjet printer according to an embodiment of the present invention. It is a flowchart which shows the process at the time of ink replacement | exchange. It is a flowchart which shows an ink counter correction process.

Explanation of symbols

1-1 CPU
1-2 RAM
1-3 ROM
1-4 EEPROM
1-5 Host I / F
1-6 Key controller 1-7 Key (button)
1-8 Display controller 1-9 Display 1-10 I / O
1-11 Sensor 1-12 Engine controller 1-13 Printer engine 2-1 Display section 2-2 ○ key 2-3 × key 2-4 Ink stick eject button 2-5 Ink door 2-6 Paper exit 2-7 Ink stick

Claims (4)

In the ink remaining amount management method of an inkjet printer that manages the remaining amount of ink of multiple colors by dot count,
A step means for detecting replacement of the holding means for holding the ink; a retreating step for temporarily retracting the dot count value of each ink to another area when the replacement of the holding means is detected; and a means for resetting the remaining amount of ink. An ink remaining amount management method for an ink jet printer, comprising: a step of resetting a dot count value from a dot count value temporarily saved at the time of ink remaining amount setting and a current dot count value. In the ink remaining amount management method of an inkjet printer that manages the remaining amount of ink of multiple colors by dot count,
A step of detecting replacement of the holding means for holding ink, a retreating step of temporarily evacuating the dot count value of each ink to another area when the replacement of the holding means is detected, and an ink remaining when the replacement of the holding means is detected. A first selection step for selecting whether or not to reset the dot count value of the amount, a storage step for storing whether or not the dot count value in the selection step has been reset, and the holding means replacement detection time are independent A second selection step for selecting whether or not to reset the dot count value of the remaining ink amount at the timing, the dot count value temporarily saved according to the selection result in the second selection step, and the current dot count And a method of resetting a dot count value from the value.   3. The ink remaining amount management method for an ink jet printer according to claim 1, wherein after the dot count value is reset, the temporarily saved dot count value is initialized with a specific value.   The ink remaining amount management method for an ink jet printer according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the amount of waste ink is included in the remaining amount and capacity of ink to be managed.

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