JP2006284793A - Printer, printing system and printer driver - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a printer capable of using up toner without degrading as much as possible the image quality of an image to be printed on paper, a printing system including such a printer and a host computer transmitting a print request to the printer, and a printer driver for causing a computer to function as such a host computer. <P>SOLUTION: In the printing system including the host computer 20 and the printer 10 to be used with a plurality of toner cartridges attached to it, when one of the toner cartridges is judged empty, the printer 10 shifts to an economy printing mode. Under the economy printing mode, the printer 10 performs the process in which drawing resolution or the number of drawing screen lines prescribed by a print request received from the host computer 20 is switched to a decreased one or the process in which the print data of a print request is altered so that a thin line may be made thick. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a printing apparatus, a printing system including such a printing apparatus and a host computer connected thereto, and a printer driver that causes the computer to function as such a host computer.

As is well known, some printing apparatuses can detect the remaining amount of toner in a toner cartridge with a high-performance sensor. However, since such a sensor increases the manufacturing cost of the printing apparatus, recent printing apparatuses employ means for mathematically estimating the amount of toner used from the number of printed sheets or the like, or are equipped with inexpensive sensors. There are many things.
JP 2002-196628 A

  In the printing apparatus as described above, when the remaining amount of toner becomes equal to or less than the threshold value, it is determined that the toner cartridge has become empty, and the user is prompted to replace the toner cartridge. Inferior estimation means and inexpensive sensors are not so high in detecting the remaining amount of toner, so that it is not determined that the toner cartridge is not empty even when the remaining amount of toner actually runs out. In addition, the threshold value is set relatively high.

  Even if it is determined that the toner cartridge is empty immediately before the toner cartridge actually runs out, there is no problem. However, when a large amount of toner remains in the toner cartridge, the toner cartridge is empty. If it is determined that the toner cartridge is replaced, the toner is wasted. For this reason, there has been a demand among customers for whether or not the toner can be used up in some cases.

  However, if the toner is used up indefinitely, there may be a problem such that a color component image with a small amount of toner is blurred among images printed on paper.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above-described conventional circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to use up toner without reducing the image quality of an image printed on paper as much as possible.

  A first aspect of a printing apparatus invented in order to solve the above-described problem is a toner usage amount for detecting a toner usage amount in each of the toner cartridges. A detection unit, a mode switching unit for switching the operation mode from the normal printing mode to the eco printing mode when the toner usage detected by the toner usage detection unit exceeds a predetermined threshold, and a laser modulated based on the image data A printing mechanism that scans the image on a photosensitive drum to form a latent image, attaches toner to the latent image, generates a toner image, and transfers the toner image to a sheet, and various types of communication with a host computer via predetermined communication means A communication unit that controls the exchange of information, and when the communication unit receives a print request from the host computer, the operation mode is If the print mode is selected, image data is generated based on the print data included in the print request, and an image based on the image data is printed on the paper at the drawing resolution specified in the print request. When the operation mode is the eco printing mode, the image data is generated based on the print data included in the print request, and the drawing resolution specified in the print request is set. It is characterized in that it is provided with a print control unit that changes to a low-resolution one and causes the printing mechanism to print an image based on the image data onto a sheet.

  According to a second aspect of the printing apparatus invented to solve the above problems, a plurality of toner cartridges are mounted and used, and a toner for detecting a toner usage amount in each toner cartridge is used. A usage amount detection unit, a mode switching unit for switching the operation mode from the normal printing mode to the eco printing mode when the toner usage detected by the toner usage amount detection unit exceeds a predetermined threshold, and modulated based on the image data A printing mechanism that scans a laser beam on a photosensitive drum to form a latent image, attaches toner to the latent image, generates a toner image, and transfers the toner image to a sheet, and a host computer via a predetermined communication means The communication unit that controls the exchange of various types of information and the operation mode when the communication unit receives a print request from the host computer. Is in the normal print mode, image data is generated based on the print data included in the print request, and the image based on the image data is displayed with the number of drawing screen lines specified in the print request. When the printing mechanism performs printing on the paper and the operation mode is the eco printing mode, image data is generated based on the print data included in the print request, and is specified in the print request. The present invention is characterized by including a print control unit that changes the number of drawing screen lines to a low screen line number and causes the printing mechanism to print an image based on the image data on a sheet.

  According to a third aspect of the printing apparatus invented to solve the above problems, a plurality of toner cartridges are mounted and used, and the toner for detecting the amount of toner used in each toner cartridge is used. A usage amount detection unit, a mode switching unit for switching the operation mode from the normal printing mode to the eco printing mode when the toner usage detected by the toner usage amount detection unit exceeds a predetermined threshold, and modulated based on the image data A printing mechanism that scans a laser beam on a photosensitive drum to form a latent image, attaches toner to the latent image, generates a toner image, and transfers the toner image to a sheet. The communication unit that controls the exchange of various types of information and the operation mode when the communication unit receives a print request from the host computer. Is in the normal print mode, the image data is generated based on the print data included in the print request, the image is printed on the paper based on the image data, and the operation mode is set. Is the eco-printing mode, the command parameters are set so that the line width is increased by a predetermined amount with respect to the command for drawing a line with a predetermined width among the commands constituting the print data for which printing is requested. And a print control unit that generates image data based on the changed print data and causes the printing mechanism to print an image based on the image data on a sheet.

  As in the first to third aspects, printing is performed with the operation mode set to the eco-printing mode even after it is determined that the toner cartridge is empty due to the toner usage amount in the toner cartridge exceeding a predetermined threshold. In addition, when printing in the eco-printing mode, if the drawing resolution, the number of lines on the drawing screen are reduced, or the fine lines are thickened, the color component with a small amount of toner in the image printed on the paper The blur is reduced, and as a result, the deterioration of the image is reduced. For this reason, even if the toner is used up in the eco printing mode, the image quality of the image printed on the paper does not deteriorate so much.

  A first aspect of a printing system invented to solve the above problems is a printing system including a printing apparatus in which a plurality of toner cartridges are mounted and a host computer connected to the printing apparatus. The printing apparatus is a system that operates when a toner usage amount detection unit that detects a toner usage amount in each toner cartridge and a toner usage amount detected by the toner usage amount detection unit exceeds a predetermined threshold. A mode switching unit that switches the mode from the normal printing mode to the eco printing mode, and scans a laser modulated on the basis of the image data on the photosensitive drum to form a latent image and attach toner to the latent image to form the toner image. A printing mechanism that generates and transfers to paper, and a communication mechanism that controls the exchange of various types of information with the host computer via predetermined communication means. And a print control unit that causes the printing mechanism to perform printing in response to the print request when the communication unit receives a print request from the host computer, the host computer via the communication unit A communication unit for controlling the exchange of various types of information with the printing apparatus connected to the printer, a reception unit for receiving a print execution instruction for any content from the user, and the reception unit executing the print When the instruction is received, a print data generation unit that generates print data for printing the content as an image on paper, and when the print data generation unit generates print data, A mode information acquisition unit that acquires information on the printer, and when the information acquired by the mode information acquisition unit indicates a normal print mode A print request generation unit that generates a print request by adding a header incorporating information specifying a low resolution drawing resolution to the print data generated by the print data generation unit, and the print request generation unit And a transmission control unit that transmits the print request to the printing apparatus via the communication unit.

  A second aspect of the printing system invented to solve the above problems is a printing system including a printing apparatus in which a plurality of toner cartridges are mounted and a host computer connected to the printing apparatus. The printing apparatus is a system that operates when a toner usage amount detection unit that detects a toner usage amount in each toner cartridge and a toner usage amount detected by the toner usage amount detection unit exceeds a predetermined threshold. A mode switching unit that switches the mode from the normal printing mode to the eco printing mode, and scans a laser modulated on the basis of the image data on the photosensitive drum to form a latent image and attach toner to the latent image to form the toner image. A printing mechanism that generates and transfers to paper, and a communication mechanism that controls the exchange of various types of information with the host computer via predetermined communication means. And a print control unit that causes the printing mechanism to perform printing in response to the print request when the communication unit receives a print request from the host computer, the host computer via the communication unit A communication unit for controlling the exchange of various types of information with the printing apparatus connected to the printer, a reception unit for receiving a print execution instruction for any content from the user, and the reception unit executing the print When the instruction is received, a print data generation unit that generates print data for printing the content as an image on paper, and when the print data generation unit generates print data, A mode information acquisition unit that acquires information on the printer, and when the information acquired by the mode information acquisition unit indicates a normal print mode A print request generation unit that generates a print request by adding a header incorporating information specifying a drawing screen line number of a low screen line number to the print data generated by the print data generation unit, and the print A transmission control unit that transmits a print request generated by the request generation unit to the printing apparatus via the communication unit is provided.

  According to a third aspect of the printing system invented to solve the above-described problem, a printing apparatus including a printing apparatus in which a plurality of toner cartridges are mounted and a host computer connected to the printing apparatus is used. The printing apparatus is a system that operates when a toner usage amount detection unit that detects a toner usage amount in each toner cartridge and a toner usage amount detected by the toner usage amount detection unit exceeds a predetermined threshold. A mode switching unit that switches the mode from the normal printing mode to the eco printing mode, and scans a laser modulated on the basis of the image data on the photosensitive drum to form a latent image and attach toner to the latent image to form the toner image. A printing mechanism that generates and transfers to paper, and a communication mechanism that controls the exchange of various types of information with the host computer via predetermined communication means. And a print control unit that causes the printing mechanism to perform printing in response to the print request when the communication unit receives a print request from the host computer, the host computer via the communication unit A communication unit for controlling the exchange of various types of information with the printing apparatus connected to the printer, a reception unit for receiving a print execution instruction for any content from the user, and the reception unit executing the print When the instruction is received, a print data generation unit that generates print data for printing the content as an image on paper, and when the print data generation unit generates print data, A mode information acquisition unit that acquires information on the printer, and when the information acquired by the mode information acquisition unit indicates a normal print mode Of the commands constituting the print data generated by the print data generation unit, for the command for drawing a line of a predetermined width, the parameter of the command is changed so that the line width is increased by a predetermined amount, and after the change A print request generation unit that generates a print request by adding a header to the print data, and a transmission control unit that transmits the print request generated by the print request generation unit to the printing apparatus via the communication unit It is characterized by providing.

  As in the first to third aspects, printing is performed with the operation mode set to the eco-printing mode even after it is determined that the toner cartridge is empty due to the toner usage amount in the toner cartridge exceeding a predetermined threshold. In addition, before sending the print request from the host computer to the printing device in the eco print mode, the content of the print request is set so that the drawing resolution, the number of drawing screen lines is reduced, or the fine lines are thickened. If changed, blurring of a color component having a small amount of remaining toner in an image printed on paper is reduced, and as a result, image deterioration is reduced. For this reason, even if the toner is used up in the eco printing mode, the image quality of the image printed on the paper does not deteriorate so much.

  According to a first aspect of the printer driver invented to solve the above-described problem, a computer is a receiving unit for receiving a print execution instruction for an arbitrary content from a user through an input device. Print data generating means for generating print data for printing the content on paper as an image when the means accepts a print execution instruction; and when the print data generating means generates print data, predetermined communication Mode information acquisition means for acquiring information about the operation mode through a communication device connected to the printing apparatus via the means, and when the information acquired by the mode information acquisition means indicates a normal print mode, The print data generated by the print data generation means has a header that incorporates information specifying the low resolution drawing resolution. By print request generating means for generating a print request, and, to be made to function a print request which the printing request generation means is generated as transmission control means for transmitting to the printing apparatus through the communication device is characterized.

  Therefore, according to the printer driver of the first aspect, the computer can be operated as an apparatus that functions in the same manner as the host computer constituting the printing system of the first aspect of the present invention described above.

  According to a second aspect of the printer driver invented to solve the above-described problem, a computer is a receiving unit for receiving a print execution instruction for arbitrary content from a user through an input device. Print data generating means for generating print data for printing the content on paper as an image when the means accepts a print execution instruction; and when the print data generating means generates print data, predetermined communication Mode information acquisition means for acquiring information about the operation mode through a communication device connected to the printing apparatus via the means, and when the information acquired by the mode information acquisition means indicates a normal print mode, The print data generated by the print data generation means is combined with information specifying the drawing screen line number of the low screen line number. A print request generation unit that generates a print request, and a transmission control unit that transmits the print request generated by the print request generation unit to the printing device through the communication device. , With features.

  Therefore, according to the printer driver of the second aspect, the computer can be operated as an apparatus that functions in the same manner as the host computer constituting the printing system of the second aspect of the present invention described above.

  According to a third aspect of the printer driver invented to solve the above-described problem, a computer is a receiving unit for receiving a print execution instruction for arbitrary content from a user through an input device. Print data generating means for generating print data for printing the content on paper as an image when the means accepts a print execution instruction; and when the print data generating means generates print data, predetermined communication Mode information acquisition means for acquiring information about the operation mode through a communication device connected to the printing apparatus via the means, and when the information acquired by the mode information acquisition means indicates a normal print mode, Of commands composing the print data generated by the print data generating means, a command for drawing a line of a predetermined width A print request generation unit that generates a print request by changing a parameter of the command so that the line width is increased by a predetermined amount and adding a header to the changed print data, and the print request generation It is characterized by functioning as a transmission control means for transmitting a print request generated by the means to the printing apparatus through the communication apparatus.

  Therefore, according to the printer driver of the third aspect, the computer can be operated as a device that functions in the same manner as the host computer constituting the printing system of the third aspect of the present invention described above.

  As described above, according to the present invention, the toner can be used up without reducing the image quality of the image printed on the paper as much as possible.

  Hereinafter, a printing system which is one embodiment for carrying out the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

  First, the configuration of the printing system of this embodiment will be described.

  FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram of a printing system according to the present embodiment. The printing system includes a printer 10 and a host computer 20. The printer 10 and the host computer 20 are connected via communication means such as a parallel cable, a network cable, and a USB cable.

  The printer 10 is a device that receives a print request from the host computer 20 and performs printing. The main components of the printer 10 are an external I / F device 11, an operation display board 12, a printing mechanism 13, a DRAM 14, a ROM 15, an EEPROM 16, and a CPU 17. , And ASIC 18 are incorporated.

  The external I / F device 11 is a device for controlling the exchange of various data with the host computer 20, and specifically is a so-called communication interface port to which the above-described communication means is connected. The external I / F device 11 includes an input / output buffer memory for temporarily storing data. The external I / F device 11 corresponds to the communication unit described above.

  The operation display panel 12 is a device for accepting various instructions from the user and displaying various screens, and includes buttons and a touch screen.

  The printing mechanism 13 is a mechanism that actually performs printing on paper. A more specific configuration of the printing mechanism 13 will be described later.

  A DRAM (Dynamic Random Access Memory) 14 is used as a temporary storage area for print requests sent from the host computer 20, as a work area when generating image data to be supplied to the printing mechanism 13, and for various types. It is a volatile memory used as a work area when processing is performed.

  A ROM [Read Only Memory] 15 is a nonvolatile memory that stores a program for controlling the printer 10. The ROM 15 also stores font data and the like necessary for generating image data to be supplied to the printing mechanism 13.

  An EEPROM (Electrically Erasable and Programmable Read Only Memory) 16 is a writable ROM for recording various settings related to printing regardless of whether or not the power is turned on.

  The CPU [Central Processing Unit] 17 is a control circuit that integrally controls each unit in accordance with a program in the ROM 15. Specifically, the CPU 17 obtains an instruction about a process to be executed by an operator through an operation on the operation display panel 12 provided on the upper surface of the printer 10, and a print transmitted from the host computer 20. An image data generation process for generating image data for printing based on the request and a print control process for causing the printing mechanism 13 to print an image of the image data generated based on the print request are performed.

  Each of the hardware 11 to 17 described above is connected to an ASIC [Application Specific Integrated Circuit] 18.

  The ASIC 18 is a semiconductor integrated circuit in which an interface circuit module for controlling the exchange of data and instructions between the hardware units 11 to 17 is incorporated. The main components of the ASIC 18 are a video controller 181 and a mechanism control I / F circuit 182. , IO controller 183, and memory controller 184.

  The video controller 181 converts image data to be supplied to the printing mechanism 13 into dot data, and then converts the image data into an electrical signal in a form that can be processed by the scanning unit (reference numeral 131 in FIG. 2) in the printing mechanism 13. It is a circuit module. Here, the image data is data that expresses the light and darkness at each pixel with a gradation of the third floor or more, and the dot data is the data that expresses the lightness and darkness at each pixel with a second gradation. . Further, the middle of light and darkness in an image based on dot data is expressed by the size of a bright point in a halftone cell (AM halftone dot) composed of a plurality of dots. The video controller 181 is a buffer for temporarily storing image data so that it can be converted into dot data or converted into an electrical signal in accordance with the timing indicated by the synchronization signal from the printing mechanism 13. Built-in buffer memory.

  The mechanism control I / F circuit 182 is a circuit module for controlling the operation of the printing mechanism 13.

  The IO controller 183 is a circuit module for controlling the external I / F device 11 and the operation display board 12. The IO controller 183 is also a circuit module that performs processing for transferring image data transmitted from the host computer 20 from the external I / F device 11 to the DRAM 14.

  The memory controller 184 is a circuit module having a function of controlling reading and writing of programs and data with respect to the DRAM 14 and the EEPROM 16 and a function of controlling reading of programs and data from the ROM 15.

  On the other hand, the host computer 20 is a personal computer that is generally commercially available, and includes a display device such as an LCD monitor and a CRT monitor, an input device such as a keyboard and a mouse, and a main body connected to the display device and the input device. It is made up of.

  Although not shown, the main body includes a CPU, DRAM, CDD [Compact Disk Drive], DVDD [Digital Versatile Disk Drive], communication interface ports (parallel interface port, network interface port, USB interface port, etc.), HDD [ Hard Disk Drive] etc. are built in. The communication interface port corresponds to the communication unit and the communication device described above.

  Among these, the HDD includes a program group and a data group for realizing the operating system, a program group and a data group for realizing various applications for providing various tools to the user, and various peripherals including the printer 10. A driver program group for controlling the device is recorded. In the driver program group recorded in the HDD (not shown), print data consisting of commands in a predetermined page description language is used as data for printing the content created by the above application on paper. A printer driver 21 for generation is included. The process of generating print data by the printer driver 21 corresponds to the above-described print data generation means, and a CPU (not shown) that executes this process corresponds to the above-described print data generation unit.

  Next, a more specific configuration of the printing mechanism 13 will be described with reference to the schematic diagram of FIG.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the printing mechanism 13 includes a photosensitive drum 131, a charging unit 132, a scanning unit 133, a rotary developing unit 134, an intermediate transfer belt 135, a pair of secondary transfer rollers 136a and 136b, and a pair of fixings. The rollers 137a and 137b are built in at least.

  The photosensitive drum 131 is a cylindrical drum having a photoconductive material deposited on the surface thereof, and is driven to rotate around its central axis.

  The charging unit 132 removes static electricity on the surface of the photosensitive drum 131 (static elimination), removes (cleans) toner adhering to the surface with a rubber blade, etc., and applies static electricity to the surface (charging). ).

  The scanning unit 133 is a unit that forms an electrostatic latent image by scanning the surface of the photosensitive drum 131 with a laser beam modulated on and off based on image data and partially removing static electricity on the surface. is there. A signal for on-off modulation of the laser beam is input from the video controller 181 described above.

  The rotary developing unit 134 is a unit for visualizing the electrostatic latent image as a toner image of the color component by attaching toner of any color component to the surface of the photosensitive drum 131. More specifically, the rotary developing unit 134 is provided with a toner cartridge and a developing roller at four symmetrical positions with the central axis as a symmetrical axis inside a substantially cylindrical and rotatable rotor. By disposing one developing roller on the photosensitive drum 131 side, toner is attached to the electrostatic latent image to generate a toner image of that color component. The toner cartridges provided in the rotor are filled with CMYK toners, respectively, and these toner cartridges are detachable from the rotor.

  The intermediate transfer belt 135 is an intermediate transfer medium (intermediate body) for receiving a toner image from the surface of the photosensitive drum 131 and is wound around a plurality of rollers. The intermediate transfer belt 135 receives a toner image four times from the photosensitive drum 131 for an image of one page when performing color printing using CMYK color component toner (intermediate body). Top color overlay method).

  The pair of secondary transfer rollers 136a and 136b are rollers for secondary transfer of the toner image for one page transferred onto the intermediate transfer belt 135 onto the printing paper. One roller 136a is a roller with a clutch, and when the secondary transfer is not performed (when the four-color toner images are not superimposed on the intermediate transfer belt 135), the roller 136a is idled. ing.

  The pair of fixing rollers 137a and 137b are rollers for heating and melting the toner attached on the paper by the secondary transfer. The toner melted by the roller is fused to the paper.

  Next, operation state switching processing performed in the printer 10 of the present embodiment will be described.

  When the main power is turned on, the CPU 17 of the printer 10 finishes a predetermined initialization process, reads a predetermined program in the ROM 15, and starts the process shown in the flowchart of FIG. Note that the processing according to FIG. 3 is performed in parallel with the above-described image data generation processing and print control processing.

  After starting the processing, the CPU 17 stands by until printing on one sheet is completed (S101; NO). When the printing on one sheet is completed (S101; YES), the CPU 17 reads the accumulated toner usage amount recorded in the EEPROM 16 into the DRAM 14 (S102). The EEPROM 16 records the accumulated toner usage for each color component. The accumulated toner use amount of each color component is calculated by a process performed in parallel with the CPU 17. In this process, every time image data is supplied to the printing mechanism 13, The toner amounts of the four color components necessary for printing the image are mathematically calculated based on the image data, and the calculated toner amounts are added to the accumulated toner usage amount for each color component in the EEPROM 16. The CPU 17 that executes this process corresponds to the above-described toner usage amount detection unit.

  Subsequently, the CPU 17 determines whether or not there is a color component in which the toner usage integrated amount exceeds a predetermined threshold among the color components (S103).

  If there is no color component whose accumulated toner use amount exceeds a predetermined threshold (S103; NO), the CPU 17 determines that the remaining amount of toner is sufficient and completes printing on one sheet of paper again. (S101; NO).

  On the other hand, if there is one or more color components whose accumulated toner use amount exceeds a predetermined threshold (S103; YES), the CPU 17 determines that the remaining amount of toner is not sufficient, and the eco print flag recorded in the EEPROM 16 Is switched from OFF to ON (S104), and again returns to a state of waiting until printing on one sheet is completed (S101; NO). When the eco printing flag is on, each unit in the printer 10 operates to use up the consumables (toner) as will be described later. Hereinafter, this operation state is referred to as an eco print mode, and an operation state other than the eco print mode is referred to as a normal print mode.

  By the way, the process of returning the eco printing flag from on to off is not shown in FIG. 3, but this is because the toner cartridges of all the color components from which the eco printing flag is switched on are sufficient. When the toner cartridge is replaced with a toner cartridge filled with the toner, the CPU 17 switches the eco printing flag in the EEPROM 16 from on to off. Note that the CPU 17 that executes the process of switching the eco printing flag off and the process of FIG. 3 corresponds to the mode switching unit described above.

  Next, processing executed when the printer 10 of this embodiment receives a print request from the host computer 20 will be described.

  When the main power is turned on, the CPU 17 of the printer 10 finishes the predetermined initialization process as described above, and then reads a program different from the above in the ROM 15 and executes the process according to FIG. To do.

  After starting the processing, the CPU 17 stands by until a print request is sent from the host computer 20 (S201; NO). When a print request is sent from the host computer 20 (S201; YES), the CPU 17 determines whether or not the eco print flag in the EEPROM 16 is on (S202).

  If the eco print flag in the EEPROM 16 is off (S202; NO), the CPU 17 starts image data generation processing and print control processing so that printing according to the print request is performed in the printing mechanism 13. Then, the process returns to the standby state until a print request is sent from the host computer 20 again (S201; NO).

  On the other hand, when the eco print flag in the EEPROM 16 is on (S202; YES), the CPU 17 acquires drawing resolution information from the header of the print data included in the print request (S203). In the present embodiment, when the host computer 20 instructs printing execution, the printer driver 21 can select and specify either 600 dpi or 300 dpi as the drawing resolution. Upon receiving the designation, the printer driver 21 incorporates information indicating the selected drawing resolution into the header of the print data when generating the print request.

  Subsequently, the CPU 17 determines whether or not the acquired drawing resolution information indicates 600 dpi (S204).

  If the acquired drawing resolution information indicates 600 dpi (S204; YES), the CPU 17 changes the content of the drawing resolution information incorporated in the print data from 600 dpi to 300 dpi (S205). On the other hand, when the acquired drawing resolution information indicates 300 dpi (S204; NO), the CPU 17 does not change the contents of the drawing resolution information incorporated in the print data.

  Subsequently, the CPU 17 acquires drawing screen line number information from the header of the print data (S206). Here, the number of screen lines indicates the number of halftone cells per inch. In this embodiment, when the host computer 20 instructs the execution of printing, the printer driver 21 selects either a rough low screen line number or a dense high screen line number as the drawing screen line number. Can be specified. In response to this designation, the printer driver 21 incorporates information indicating the selected screen line number into the header of the print data when generating the print request.

  Subsequently, the CPU 17 determines whether or not the acquired drawing screen line number information indicates a high screen line number (S207).

  If the acquired drawing screen line number information indicates the high screen line number (S207; YES), the CPU 17 reduces the content of the drawing screen line number information incorporated in the print data from the high screen line number to the low level. The screen line number is set (S208). On the other hand, when the acquired drawing screen line number information indicates a low screen line number (S207; NO), the CPU 17 does not change the contents of the drawing screen line number information incorporated in the print data.

  Subsequently, the CPU 17 searches for a command that defines the drawing of a line having a width of 1 dot from the commands constituting the print data (S209).

  If there is a command that defines the drawing of a line of 1 dot width in each command constituting the print data (S210; YES), the CPU 17 sets the line width parameter of the command to 1 dot. Is increased by a predetermined amount and changed to two or more predetermined dots (S211). On the other hand, if there is no command that defines the drawing of a 1-dot width line among the commands constituting the print data (S210; NO), the CPU 17 does not change the command parameters. .

  After executing the above-described processing (S203 to S210), the CPU 17 starts image data generation processing and print control processing so that printing according to the print request is performed in the printing mechanism 13 (S212). The process again returns to a standby state until a print request is sent from the host computer 20 (S201; NO).

  The CPU 17 that executes steps S201 to S212 corresponds to the above-described print control unit.

  Next, processing relating to toner density correction in the printer 10 of the present embodiment will be described.

  When the main power is turned on, the CPU 17 of the printer 10 finishes the predetermined initialization process as described above, and then reads a program different from the above in the ROM 15 and executes the process shown in FIG. To do.

  After starting the processing, the CPU 17 stands by until the eco printing flag in the EEPROM 16 is turned on (S301; NO). When the eco printing flag in the EEPROM 16 is switched on (S301; YES), the CPU 17 starts measuring the toner consumption (S302), and the eco printing flag is switched off or the toner consumption is a predetermined amount. It waits until it exceeds (S303; NO, S304; NO). As described above, the accumulated toner use amount for each color component is recorded in the EEPROM 16, and the CPU 17 stores the accumulated toner use amount recorded in the EEPROM 16 at this time as a measurement start value. Thereafter, the CPU 17 obtains a value obtained by subtracting the measurement start value from the accumulated toner usage at that time as the toner consumption at that time.

  If the eco printing flag is switched off during the toner consumption measurement (S303; YES), the CPU 17 returns to a standby state until the eco printing flag is switched on again (S301).

  On the other hand, when the toner consumption exceeds the predetermined upper limit during the measurement of the toner consumption (S304; YES), the CPU 17 executes a process for detecting the toner density for each color component (S305). The toner density detection process will be specifically described. First, the CPU 17 outputs the image data of the patch image to the printing mechanism 13 via the video controller 181, and the toner image of the patch image is output on the photosensitive drum 131 or the intermediate transfer belt 135. Form. A sensor for optically detecting the density of the toner image of the patch image is provided in the vicinity of the photosensitive drum 131 or the intermediate transfer belt 135, and the toner density detected by the sensor is the mechanism control I / F. The CPU 17 is notified through the circuit 182. This toner density detection process is repeated for each color component.

  Subsequently, the CPU 17 optimizes the color balance of the print image in accordance with the toner density of the color component having a sufficient remaining toner amount (the color component in which the integrated amount of toner use exceeds the above-described predetermined threshold). Then, a gamma correction table of color components with a sufficient remaining toner amount is created (S306).

  Thereafter, the CPU 17 registers these gamma correction tables in the video controller 181 so that the created gamma correction tables are used for gamma correction (S307). Thereafter, the CPU 17 starts measuring the toner consumption again (S302), and returns to a standby state until the eco printing flag is switched off or the toner consumption exceeds a predetermined amount (S303; NO, S304; NO).

  The CPU 17 that executes steps S301 to S307 corresponds to a density adjustment unit.

  Next, the operation and effect of the printing system of this embodiment will be described.

  As described above, the printer 10 constituting the printing system of the present embodiment is used with the toner cartridges of CMYK color components mounted. In this printer 10, every time printing by the printing mechanism 13 is completed, it is confirmed whether or not the toner usage integrated amount in each toner cartridge has exceeded a predetermined threshold value (S 101 to S 103). When the cumulative amount of toner use exceeds a predetermined threshold, the operation mode is shifted to the eco printing mode (S103; YES, S104).

  In parallel with such processing, the printer 10 performs processing for waiting for reception of a print request from the host computer 20 (S201; NO), and when a print request is sent (S201; YES), the operation is performed. It is confirmed whether the mode is the normal printing mode or the eco printing mode (S202). When the operation mode is the eco printing mode (S202; YES), the drawing resolution and the number of drawing screen lines designated by the print request are confirmed (S204, S207), and the high resolution drawing resolution is designated. Or when a drawing screen line number with a high screen line number is designated (S204; YES, S207; YES), the drawing resolution and drawing screen line number are changed to those with a low resolution or low screen line number ( Printing is performed (S212, S208).

  For this reason, according to the printing system of this embodiment, even after it is determined that the toner cartridge has become empty due to the toner usage cumulative amount in any of the toner cartridges exceeding a predetermined threshold, Will be performed. However, when printing in the eco printing mode, the drawing resolution and the number of drawing screen lines are reduced, so that the color component with a small amount of toner remaining in the image printed on paper is reduced. Deterioration of the material will be reduced.

  When the print request is sent from the host computer 20 to the printer 10 and the operation mode is the eco print mode (S202; YES), a line having a 1-bit width is drawn in the print data in the print request. The existence of a drawing command to be performed is confirmed (S209), and when there is such a drawing command (S209; YES), the line width parameter of the drawing command is increased by a predetermined amount (S210), and printing is performed. (S212).

  For this reason, according to the printing system of the present embodiment, when printing in the eco printing mode, the thin line in the image printed on the paper is drawn so that the 1-bit width thin line is drawn thickly. As a result, the deterioration of the image is reduced.

  In parallel with the processing described above, the printer 10 creates a gamma correction table every time the toner consumption reaches a predetermined amount in the eco printing mode (SS301; YES, S304; YES). , S305 to S307). As described above, this gamma correction table is a color component that matches the toner density of the color component for which the toner usage cumulative amount in the toner cartridge exceeds a predetermined threshold, that is, the color component that is determined to be empty. In order to achieve a balance, the toner density of other color components is reduced. As described above, the toner of the color component determined to be empty by reducing the toner concentration of the other color component in accordance with the toner concentration of the color component determined to be empty. This makes it possible to prevent the deterioration of the image quality of the printed image as much as possible.

Modification 1

  In the printing system according to the present embodiment described above, it has been described that the process of reducing the drawing resolution and the number of drawing screen lines or thickening the thin lines is performed in the printer 10 in the eco printing mode. However, the present invention is not limited to this. It is not something. For example, the processing may be performed in the host computer 20.

  When the above processing is performed in the host computer 20 as in the latter, when an instruction to execute printing for an arbitrary content from a user is attached through an input device such as a keyboard or a mouse, the printer driver 21 Print data for printing the content on a sheet is generated, and then information on the operation mode is requested from the printer 10 through a communication interface port (not shown). When the printer 10 receives this request and transmits information about the operation mode, the printer driver 21 determines whether the information indicates the normal print mode or the eco print mode, and the eco print mode. Is determined, the low resolution drawing resolution information and the low screen line number drawing screen line number information are incorporated into the header added to the generated print data. Further, when the printer 10 is operating in the eco printing mode, the printer driver 21 increases a line width parameter of a command for drawing a thin line in the generated print data by a predetermined amount. A print request including such print data is transmitted to the printer 10 through a communication interface port (not shown). As described above, even if the above processing is performed on the host computer 20 side, the drawing resolution and the number of drawing screen lines are reduced or the thin lines are thickened in the eco printing mode. The same effect as that produced by the printing system is produced.

Modification 2

  In the above-described printing system according to the present embodiment, it has been described that the print image is gamma-corrected so that the toner density of the color component that is not determined to be empty in the eco printing mode is reduced. It is not limited to. For example, a process of lowering the developing voltage in the rotary developing unit 134 for color components for which it is not determined that the toner cartridge is empty may be performed, or the amount of laser light for exposing the photosensitive drum 131 for those color components may be set. It may be a process of lowering, a process of lowering the transfer voltage in the primary transfer of the toner image from the photosensitive drum 131 to the intermediate transfer belt 135 for these color components, or an intermediate for these color components. Processing for lowering the transfer voltage in the secondary transfer of the toner image from the transfer belt 135 to the sheet may be performed. In any case, it is preferable that the toner density of the color component that is not determined to be empty is adjusted so that the toner density of the color component that is determined to be empty is thin. . If it does so, the effect similar to the effect which the printing system of this embodiment mentioned above will show | play will be show | played.

Configuration diagram of printing system of this embodiment Schematic diagram of printing mechanism The figure which shows the flow of operation state change processing The figure which shows the flow of the processing performed when a print request is sent The figure which shows the flow of the process which concerns on the density correction of the toner at the time of eco printing mode

Explanation of symbols

10 Printer 11 External I / F Device 13 Printing Mechanism 14 DRAM
17 CPU
18 ASIC
181 Video controller 182 Mechanism control I / F circuit 183 IO controller 184 Memory controller 20 Host computer 21 Printer driver

Claims (14)

A printing apparatus in which a plurality of toner cartridges are mounted and used.
A toner usage amount detection unit for detecting a toner usage amount in each of the toner cartridges;
A mode switching unit that switches the operation mode from the normal printing mode to the eco printing mode when the toner usage detected by the toner usage detection unit exceeds a predetermined threshold;
A printing mechanism that scans a laser modulated on the image data on a photosensitive drum to form a latent image and attaches toner to the latent image to generate a toner image and transfer the toner image to a sheet;
A communication unit for controlling the exchange of various information with a host computer via a predetermined communication means, and
When the communication unit receives a print request from the host computer and the operation mode is the normal print mode, the communication unit generates image data based on the print data included in the print request, and the print request If the printing mechanism prints the image on the paper based on the image data at the drawing resolution specified in FIG. 5 and the operation mode is the eco print mode, the print data included in the print request is included in the print data. A print control unit that generates image data based on the print request, changes the drawing resolution specified in the print request to a low-resolution one, and causes the printing mechanism to print an image based on the image data on a sheet of paper A printing apparatus comprising: A printing apparatus in which a plurality of toner cartridges are mounted and used.
A toner usage amount detection unit for detecting a toner usage amount in each of the toner cartridges;
A mode switching unit that switches the operation mode from the normal printing mode to the eco printing mode when the toner usage detected by the toner usage detection unit exceeds a predetermined threshold;
A printing mechanism that scans a laser modulated on the image data on a photosensitive drum to form a latent image and attaches toner to the latent image to generate a toner image and transfer the toner image to a sheet;
A communication unit for controlling the exchange of various information with a host computer via a predetermined communication means, and
When the communication unit receives a print request from the host computer and the operation mode is the normal print mode, the communication unit generates image data based on the print data included in the print request, and the print request If the printing mechanism prints an image based on the image data with the number of drawing screen lines specified in the above, and the operation mode is the eco printing mode, the printing included in the printing request is performed. The printing mechanism generates image data based on the data, changes the drawing screen line number specified in the print request to a low screen line number, and prints an image based on the image data on the paper. A printing apparatus comprising a print control unit to be executed by the printer. A printing apparatus in which a plurality of toner cartridges are mounted and used.
A toner usage amount detection unit for detecting a toner usage amount in each of the toner cartridges;
A mode switching unit that switches the operation mode from the normal printing mode to the eco printing mode when the toner usage detected by the toner usage detection unit exceeds a predetermined threshold;
A printing mechanism that scans a laser modulated on the image data on a photosensitive drum to form a latent image and attaches toner to the latent image to generate a toner image and transfer the toner image to a sheet;
A communication unit for controlling the exchange of various information with a host computer via a predetermined communication means, and
When the communication unit receives a print request from the host computer and the operation mode is the normal print mode, the communication unit generates image data based on the print data included in the print request, and the image data If the operation mode is the eco-printing mode, a line having a predetermined width is drawn among the commands constituting the print data requested to be printed. The command parameter is changed so that the line width is increased by a predetermined amount, image data is generated based on the changed print data, and the image is printed on the paper based on the image data. A printing apparatus comprising a printing control unit that causes a printing mechanism to perform. When the operation mode is the eco printing mode, a density detection unit that periodically detects the toner density of the toner image generated by the printing mechanism, and
The color balance of the print image is optimized in accordance with the toner density detected by the density detection unit for the color components of the toner cartridge in which the toner usage amount detected by the toner usage amount detection unit exceeds the predetermined threshold. The printing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a density adjusting unit that adjusts the toner density of the color components of the other toner cartridges. The detection unit supplies the image data of the patch image to the printing mechanism to generate a toner image of the patch image, and optically measures the toner density of the generated toner image by a sensor, whereby the toner density The printing apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the printer is detected. The density adjusting unit creates a gamma correction table for the color components other than the color components of the toner cartridge whose toner usage detected by the toner usage detection unit exceeds the predetermined threshold, thereby adjusting the toner density. 6. The printing apparatus according to claim 4, wherein adjustment is performed. The density adjusting unit adjusts a light amount of a laser that exposes the photosensitive drum with respect to a color component other than a color component of a toner cartridge in which the toner usage detected by the toner usage detection unit exceeds the predetermined threshold. 6. The printing apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the toner density is adjusted accordingly. The density adjustment unit adjusts a voltage at the time of transfer for a color component other than the color component of the toner cartridge in which the toner usage detected by the toner usage detection unit exceeds the predetermined threshold, thereby adjusting the toner density. The printing apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the printing apparatus is adjusted. A printing system including a printing device in which a plurality of toner cartridges are used and a host computer connected to the printing device,
The printing apparatus includes:
A toner usage amount detection unit for detecting a toner usage amount in each of the toner cartridges;
A mode switching unit that switches the operation mode from the normal printing mode to the eco printing mode when the toner usage detected by the toner usage detection unit exceeds a predetermined threshold;
A printing mechanism that scans a laser modulated on the image data on a photosensitive drum to form a latent image and attaches toner to the latent image to generate a toner image and transfer the toner image to a sheet;
A communication unit for controlling the exchange of various information with a host computer via a predetermined communication means, and
When the communication unit receives a print request from the host computer, the communication unit includes a print control unit that causes the printing mechanism to perform printing according to the print request.
The host computer
A communication unit for controlling exchange of various types of information with the printing apparatus connected via the communication unit;
An accepting unit for accepting a print execution instruction for arbitrary content from the user;
A print data generation unit that generates print data for printing the content as an image on paper when the reception unit receives an instruction to execute printing;
A mode information acquisition unit that acquires information about an operation mode from the printing apparatus when the print data generation unit generates print data;
When the information acquired by the mode information acquisition unit indicates the normal print mode, a header incorporating information specifying a low resolution drawing resolution is added to the print data generated by the print data generation unit A print request generation unit for generating a print request, and
A printing system comprising: a transmission control unit configured to transmit a print request generated by the print request generation unit to the printing apparatus via the communication unit. A printing system including a printing device in which a plurality of toner cartridges are used and a host computer connected to the printing device,
The printing apparatus includes:
A toner usage amount detection unit for detecting a toner usage amount in each of the toner cartridges;
A mode switching unit that switches the operation mode from the normal printing mode to the eco printing mode when the toner usage detected by the toner usage detection unit exceeds a predetermined threshold;
A printing mechanism that scans a laser modulated on the image data on a photosensitive drum to form a latent image and attaches toner to the latent image to generate a toner image and transfer the toner image to a sheet;
A communication unit for controlling the exchange of various information with a host computer via a predetermined communication means, and
When the communication unit receives a print request from the host computer, the communication unit includes a print control unit that causes the printing mechanism to perform printing according to the print request.
The host computer
A communication unit for controlling exchange of various types of information with the printing apparatus connected via the communication unit;
An accepting unit for accepting a print execution instruction for arbitrary content from the user;
A print data generation unit that generates print data for printing the content as an image on paper when the reception unit receives an instruction to execute printing;
A mode information acquisition unit that acquires information about an operation mode from the printing apparatus when the print data generation unit generates print data;
When the information acquired by the mode information acquisition unit indicates the normal print mode, the print data generated by the print data generation unit incorporates information specifying the number of drawing screen lines with a low screen line number. A print request generation unit that generates a print request by adding a header, and
A printing system comprising: a transmission control unit configured to transmit a print request generated by the print request generation unit to the printing apparatus via the communication unit. A printing system including a printing device in which a plurality of toner cartridges are used and a host computer connected to the printing device,
The printing apparatus includes:
A toner usage amount detection unit for detecting a toner usage amount in each of the toner cartridges;
A mode switching unit that switches the operation mode from the normal printing mode to the eco printing mode when the toner usage detected by the toner usage detection unit exceeds a predetermined threshold;
A printing mechanism that scans a laser modulated on the image data on a photosensitive drum to form a latent image and attaches toner to the latent image to generate a toner image and transfer the toner image to a sheet;
A communication unit for controlling the exchange of various information with a host computer via a predetermined communication means, and
When the communication unit receives a print request from the host computer, the communication unit includes a print control unit that causes the printing mechanism to perform printing according to the print request.
The host computer
A communication unit for controlling exchange of various types of information with the printing apparatus connected via the communication unit;
An accepting unit for accepting a print execution instruction for arbitrary content from the user;
A print data generation unit that generates print data for printing the content as an image on paper when the reception unit receives an instruction to execute printing;
A mode information acquisition unit that acquires information about an operation mode from the printing apparatus when the print data generation unit generates print data;
Of the commands constituting the print data generated by the print data generation unit when the information acquired by the mode information acquisition unit indicates the normal print mode, a command for drawing a line having a predetermined width A print request generation unit that generates a print request by changing a parameter of the command so that the line width is increased by a predetermined amount, and adding a header to the changed print data; and
A printing system comprising: a transmission control unit configured to transmit a print request generated by the print request generation unit to the printing apparatus via the communication unit. Computer
An accepting means for accepting an instruction to execute printing of arbitrary content from a user through an input device;
Print data generation means for generating print data for printing the content as an image on a sheet when the reception means receives a print execution instruction;
A mode information acquisition unit that acquires information about an operation mode through a communication device connected to the printing device via a predetermined communication unit when the print data generation unit generates the print data;
When the information acquired by the mode information acquisition unit indicates a normal print mode, a header incorporating information specifying a low resolution drawing resolution is added to the print data generated by the print data generation unit. Print request generating means for generating a print request, and
A printer driver that functions as a transmission control unit that transmits a print request generated by the print request generation unit to the printing device through the communication device. Computer
An accepting means for accepting an instruction to execute printing of arbitrary content from a user through an input device;
Print data generation means for generating print data for printing the content as an image on a sheet when the reception means receives a print execution instruction;
A mode information acquisition unit that acquires information about an operation mode through a communication device connected to the printing device via a predetermined communication unit when the print data generation unit generates the print data;
When the information acquired by the mode information acquisition unit indicates the normal print mode, the print data generated by the print data generation unit includes information specifying the number of drawing screen lines with a low screen line number. A print request generation means for generating a print request by adding a header; and
A printer driver that functions as a transmission control unit that transmits a print request generated by the print request generation unit to the printing device through the communication device. Computer
An accepting means for accepting an instruction to execute printing of arbitrary content from a user through an input device;
Print data generation means for generating print data for printing the content as an image on a sheet when the reception means receives a print execution instruction;
A mode information acquisition unit that acquires information about an operation mode through a communication device connected to the printing device via a predetermined communication unit when the print data generation unit generates the print data;
Of commands composing the print data generated by the print data generation unit when the information acquired by the mode information acquisition unit indicates a normal print mode, a command for drawing a line having a predetermined width A print request generation means for generating a print request by changing a parameter of the command so that the line width is increased by a predetermined amount and adding a header to the changed print data; and
A printer driver that functions as a transmission control unit that transmits a print request generated by the print request generation unit to the printing device through the communication device.