JP2006301118A - Image recording apparatus and image recording system - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To eliminate the problem that it is necessary to input a plurality of printing conditions in order to print on a desired printing medium. <P>SOLUTION: A host apparatus acquires a plurality of printable media information from a printer 10 connected to the host apparatus, and the media information are classified in accordance with information on the classification of the printing conditions input by a user, and the information is displayed as a list, and the user selects the desired information out of the media information displayed as a list, then, the printing condition is set by using the medium information on the applicable medium. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a printing apparatus capable of printing on a plurality of types of printing media, an image recording apparatus such as a facsimile, an MFP, and an image recording system.

There is a printing apparatus in which a plurality of media cassettes each loading media of different sizes can be mounted. When printing, the user designates a medium cassette loaded with a medium of a size that he / she wants to print from the host apparatus, transmits print data to the printing apparatus, and performs printing.
JP-A-11-123858

  However, since the user designates the medium cassette to perform printing, the user needs to know in advance which medium cassette is loaded with the medium type (size, thickness, etc.) he / she wants to print.

  In a printing system in which image data generated by a host device is transmitted to the image recording device to perform printing, the host device acquires state information of the image recording device indicating the state of the image recording device from the image recording device. A printing condition input unit for inputting printing conditions, an extraction display unit for editing and displaying image recording device information based on the printing conditions, a selection unit for selecting printing information displayed on the extraction display unit, A control unit that generates a control command from the information selected by the selection unit and transmits the image data together with the image recording apparatus. The image recording apparatus includes a state information storage unit that stores state information of the image recording apparatus; A transmission unit that transmits the status information of the image recording device stored in the information storage unit to the higher-level device based on an instruction from the higher-level device, and a control command and image data transmitted from the higher-level device Accordingly, characterized in that a print controller for printing.

  The media cassette information of the printing device acquired from the printing device is displayed by editing the media cassette information according to the input printing conditions, and by specifying the medium printed by the user from the display contents, a plurality of media cassette information A printing device and a plurality of medium cassettes can be easily selected, and printing can be performed on a desired medium. Therefore, it is not necessary to know in advance in which printing apparatus the media cassette is loaded with such kind of media.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. In this case, a printing apparatus (color electrophotographic printing apparatus) that includes a plurality of process cartridges as the image recording apparatus and can mount a plurality of medium cassettes will be described.

  FIG. 1 is a control block diagram of a printing apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a control block diagram of a host apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of an image recording system according to a first embodiment, FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram of a printing apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram according to the first embodiment of the present invention. It is the schematic of a process unit.

First, a schematic configuration of the image recording system will be described.
In FIG. 3, a printing apparatus 10, a printing apparatus 11, a printing apparatus 12, a host apparatus 20, and a print server 40 are connected via a network 50 in the illustrated image recording system. The host device 20 is composed of a personal computer or the like, transmits print data and commands to the print server 40 via the network 50, and transmits print data from the print server 40 to the printing devices 10 to 12 for printing. be able to. In the present invention, it is assumed that there are three printing apparatuses connected to the network 50, but there is no problem even if one or several printing apparatuses are connected.

Next, a schematic configuration of a printing apparatus to which the present invention is applied will be described with reference to FIG.
In order to simplify the description, the following description will be made on the printing apparatus 10, but the printing apparatus 11 and the printing apparatus 12 may have the same configuration or different configurations. If the configuration described below is provided, there is no problem.

  In FIG. 4, 200A is a medium cassette directed to the apparatus main body, and 200B, 200C, 200D, and 200E are medium cassettes added to the apparatus main body. Since the medium cassettes 200A to 200E have the same configuration, the medium cassette 200A will be described as a representative. The medium cassette 200A includes a medium container 210A and a hopping mechanism 220A. The medium accommodating portion 210A includes a push-up plate 211A and pressing means 212A. The hopping mechanism 220A includes a discrimination means 221A, a hopping roller 222A, and a first registration roller 223A.

  In this case, the recording medium 1 stored in the medium storage cassette 210A is pressed against the hopping roller 222A via the push-up plate 211A by the pressing means 212A, and is discriminated one by one by the discrimination means 221A pressed against the hopping roller 222A. The When the hopping roller 222A is rotated in the direction of arrow a by a motor (not shown) in this state, the recording medium 1 sandwiched between the hopping roller 222A and the discriminating means 221A is guided by the sheet guide B, and the first resist It is sent to the roller pair 223A. The skew correction of the recording medium 1 is performed by the first registration roller pair 223A, and thereafter, the recording medium 1 is conveyed into the printing apparatus 10 by the first registration roller pair 223A.

Reference numeral 450 </ b> A denotes a sensor that detects the front end of the recording medium 1. A second registration roller pair 410 is provided in the conveyance direction of the recording medium 1 and conveys the printing medium 1 to the process unit. Reference numeral 450B denotes a write sensor that detects the front end of the print medium 1 and notifies the print control unit 100 of the print timing. The print control unit 100 determines the print timing based on a signal from the write sensor 450B.
Reference numeral 430 denotes a transport unit for further transporting the print medium 1 transported by the registration roller pair 410. The transport unit 430 further transports the print medium 1 to the process unit.

  300K, 300Y, 300M, and 300C are process units, and 310K, 310Y, 310M, and 310C are transfer rollers. The process unit 300K forms a black toner image, and transfers the toner image to the print medium 1 conveyed by the transfer roller 310K. The process unit 300Y forms a yellow toner image, and transfers the toner image to the print medium 1 conveyed by the transfer roller 310Y. The process unit 300M forms a magenta toner image, and transfers the toner image to the print medium 1 conveyed by the transfer roller 310M. The process unit 300C forms a cyan toner image, and transfers the toner image to the print medium 1 conveyed by the transfer roller 310C.

  A fixing unit 420 is disposed on the downstream side in the transport direction of the printing medium 1 of the process unit 300 </ b> C in the transport direction of the recording medium 1. The fixing unit 420 fixes the toner image transferred to the conveyed recording medium 1. The fixing unit 420 includes a heating roller that heats the toner on the recording medium 1 and a pressure roller that is disposed in contact with the heating roller and presses the heating roller. The heating roller and the pressure roller are rotatably supported by a drive signal from the drive unit.

  The heating roller is formed by coating a heat resistant elastic layer such as a silicone rubber on a hollow cylindrical mandrel made of aluminum or the like, and a fluororesin type (PTFE, PFA, FEP, ETFE, CTFE, It is formed by covering a release layer of PVDF or the like. A heater as a heating element such as a halogen lamp is disposed in the core of the heating roller. The pressure roller has a heat-resistant plastic heat-resistant inelastic layer coated on a mandrel made of aluminum, stainless steel, or the like, and a fluorine resin-based (PTFE, PFA, FEP, ETFE) on the heat-resistant inelastic layer. , CTFE, PVDF, etc.). In this way, by forming the heat-resistant elastic layer on the heating roller and the heat-resistant inelastic layer on the pressure roller, a pressure contact portion (nip portion) is formed between the heating roller and the pressure roller.

A thermistor 421 as temperature detecting means is disposed on the outer peripheral surface of the heating roller in contact or non-contact for detecting the surface temperature of the heating roller. Based on the surface temperature of the heating roller detected by the thermistor 421. Then, a heater (not shown) provided in the heating roller is selectively energized, and the surface temperature of the heating roller is controlled and maintained at a predetermined value.
In the present invention, a fixing method using a heating roller and a pressure roller is shown, but a belt fixing method may be used.

  A medium route G for conveying the fixed recording medium 1 to the discharge side is formed downstream of the fixing unit 420 in the conveying direction of the recording medium 1. On the exit side of the medium transport route G, a medium transport roller pair 440 is provided. The medium conveying roller pair 440 is rotated by a motor (not shown) and conveys the fixed recording medium to the discharge unit 460.

Next, details of the process unit 300 will be described. The process units 300K, 300Y, 300M, and 300C are the same, and the process unit 300K will be described as a representative here.
FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of the process unit.
In FIG. 5, 360K is a photosensitive drum as an image carrier for forming an electrostatic latent image according to print data, 340K is a charging roller for charging the surface of the photosensitive drum 360K, and 330K is an image. An LED head for forming an electrostatic latent image by exposing the surface of the photosensitive drum 360K based on the data. 320K denotes a toner by attaching toner to the electrostatic latent image formed on the photosensitive drum 360K. A K developing unit for forming an image. A cleaning unit 350K scrapes off the toner remaining on the photosensitive drum 360K. The process unit 300K includes a charging roller 340K, a K-LED head 330K, a K developing unit 320K, and a cleaning unit 350K.

The toner image formed by the developing unit 320K is transferred to the recording medium 1 by the transfer roller 310K.
Each element of each process unit 300 is supported by a frame of the apparatus main body (not shown).
The developing unit 320K includes a developing roller 322K, a developing blade 321K, a sponge roller 323K, and a toner cartridge 324K.

In the developing unit 320K, a non-magnetic toner (not shown) supplied from the toner cartridge 324K is stirred by a stirring member (not shown) in the developing unit 320K and sent to the developing roller 322K via the sponge roller 323K. The surface of the developing roller 322K is thinned by the developing blade 321K and is sent to the contact surface between the photosensitive drum 360K and the developing roller 322K. When the toner is thinned, the toner is rubbed (rubbed) strongly by the developing roller 322k and the developing blade 321K to be charged. The toner is also charged at the contact portion between the sponge roller 323K and the developing roller 322K. In this embodiment, the toner is charged with a negative polarity.
In this embodiment, the developing roller 322K is made of a semiconductive rubber material, and the toner cartridge 324K is formed to be replaceable when the toner runs out.

  Next, a control block diagram of a printing apparatus to which the present invention is applied will be described with reference to FIG. In order to simplify the description, the following description will be made on the printing apparatus 10, but it is assumed that the printing apparatus 11 and the printing apparatus 12 have the same configuration.

In FIG. 1, reference numeral 100 denotes a print control unit including a microprocessor, a ROM, a RAM, an input / output port, a timer, etc., which receives print data and control commands from the host device 20 and controls the entire printing device unit in sequence. And print operation.
An I / F control 110 transmits printing apparatus status information such as cassette information and printing apparatus status to the host apparatus 20, analyzes a command input from the host apparatus 20, and processes data received from the host apparatus 20. Part.
A reception memory 120 stores data received from the host device 20 for each color based on the control of the I / F control unit 110.
An operation unit 101 includes an LED and an LCD for displaying the status of the printing apparatus, and a switch for giving an instruction from the operator to the printing apparatus.
Reference numeral 102 denotes a plurality of sensors that detect the transport position of the print medium, a sensor that detects temperature and humidity in the apparatus, a writing sensor, a medium detection sensor, and a sensor for density measurement. Has been entered.

  Reference numeral 130 denotes an image data editing memory for editing print data input from the host device 20 via the I / F control unit 110 as image data. The image data editing memory 130 is a memory for storing image data that has been edited to receive print data temporarily stored in the reception memory 120 and transmit it to the print head.

  A charging voltage control unit 140 applies a voltage to the charger 340 in accordance with an instruction from the print control unit 100 to perform control for charging the surface of the photosensitive drum as an image carrier. The charging voltage control unit 140 has a control for each color, and includes a K charging voltage control unit, a Y charging voltage control unit, an M charging voltage control unit, and a C charging voltage control unit, The voltage applied to the charger, the Y charger, the M charger, and the C charger is controlled.

  A head drive control unit 150 performs control for irradiating the photosensitive drum surface charged by the print head 330 with light according to the image data stored in the image data editing memory 130 for exposure. The head control unit 150 is divided into controls for each color, and has a K head control unit, a Y head control unit, an M head control unit, and a C head control unit. Control for transmitting image data to the Y-LED head, M-LED head, and C-LED head at a predetermined timing is performed.

  Reference numeral 160 denotes a development voltage control unit for attaching toner to the electrostatic latent image generated by the print head on the surface of the photosensitive drum, and performs control for applying a voltage to the development unit 320. The development voltage control unit 160 includes a K development voltage control unit, a Y development voltage control unit, an M development voltage control unit, and a C development voltage control unit. The K development unit 320K, the Y development unit, and the M development, respectively. And the applied voltage to the C developing unit. Then, a toner image is formed on a portion exposed by each LED head 330.

  Reference numeral 170 denotes a transfer voltage control unit for transferring the toner image generated on the surface of the photosensitive drum to the print medium, and performs control for applying a voltage to the transfer roller 310 in response to an instruction from the print control unit. The transfer voltage control unit 170 includes a K transfer voltage control unit, a Y transfer voltage control unit, an M transfer voltage control unit, and a C transfer voltage control unit, and each of the K transfer roller 310K, the Y transfer roller 310Y, and the M transfer voltage control unit. The voltage applied to the transfer roller 310M and the C transfer roller 310C is controlled. Then, the toner images formed by the respective developing units 320 are sequentially transferred to a print medium.

  Reference numeral 180 denotes a K motor, a Y motor, an M motor, and a K motor control unit for driving the C motor, a Y motor control unit, and an M motor control unit that constitute a motor 185 that drives each photosensitive drum, charger, and developing unit. It is a motor control part which drives each C motor control part.

  Reference numeral 190 denotes a fixing control unit for fixing the toner image transferred to the printing medium, and performs control for applying a voltage to a heater built in the fixing unit 420 according to an instruction from the printing control unit 100. In addition, the detection temperature from the thermistor 421 for measuring the temperature of the fixing unit 420 is received, and the heater is turned on / off. Further, it controls a fixing unit motor for rotationally driving when the fixing unit 420 rises to a predetermined temperature.

  Reference numeral 230 denotes a transport unit 430 for transporting the print medium 1, a resist motor that drives the second registration roller pair 410 that transports the print medium 1 to the transport unit 430, and further fixing the print medium 1 transported by the transport unit 430. This is a transport motor control unit for controlling a medium transport motor unit 235 that is a motor for driving a medium transport roller pair 440 that transports the print medium 1 to a discharge unit 460 provided outside the apparatus through the unit 420.

  Further, the transport motor controller 230 hops a roller 222A for feeding out the print media one by one from a media cassette provided in the printing apparatus 10, and a second registration roller pair 410 provided in the apparatus main body for the fed print medium 1. A motor for driving the first registration roller pair 223A that transports the first roller 223A. The hopping roller 222A and the first registration roller pair 223A are provided in each medium cassette. In the case of the present invention, five medium cassettes can be mounted. The transport motor controller 230 includes a motor corresponding to each media cassette, a first cassette transport motor 205, a second cassette transport motor 206, a third cassette transport motor 207, a fourth cassette transport motor 208, and a fifth cassette transport motor 209. Control.

A cassette selection unit 240 selects a medium cassette designated by a control command received from the host device 20, and sends a signal to the conveyance motor control unit 230 to drive a cassette conveyance motor corresponding to the selected medium cassette. Send.
The conveyance motor control unit 230 drives the cassette conveyance motor corresponding to the medium cassette designated from the cassette selection unit 240 to feed out one sheet of the print medium 1 loaded in the medium cassette, and to the first registration roller pair 223A. Transport.

  Next, a schematic operation of the printing apparatus configured as described above will be described. The print control unit 100 receives a control command and print data transmitted from the host device 20 via the I / F control unit 110. When a printing instruction is received by the host device 20, first, an instruction is given to the fixing control unit 190, and the thermistor 421 detects whether or not the fixing unit 420 incorporating the heater is within a usable temperature range. If the temperature is not within the temperature range, the heater is turned on and the fixing unit 420 is heated until the temperature is within the usable range. When the fixing unit 421 rises to a predetermined temperature, the fixing control unit 190 instructs the fixing unit motor 195 to drive the fixing unit motor 195 to rotate the fixing unit 420.

  Next, each photosensitive drum, charger, and developer motor 185 are driven via the motor control unit 180, and at the same time, instructions are given to the charging voltage control unit 140, the development voltage control unit 160, and the transfer voltage control unit 170 for each color. A voltage is applied to the charger 340, the developing device 320, and the transfer device 310. In addition, the print control unit 100 analyzes the control command transmitted from the host device 20 and determines which cassette is designated. Then, the print medium set in the designated cassette is detected by the medium remaining amount sensor and the medium size sensor. If there is a detected medium, an instruction is issued to the cassette selection unit 240 to cause the medium to be fed out and conveyed from the designated cassette.

The conveyance motor control unit 230 drives the cassette conveyance motor designated by the cassette selection unit 240 and feeds the set amount until the medium suction port sensor detects the recording medium 1. Subsequently, when the recording medium 1 is detected by the sensor 450A at the medium suction port, the medium is further conveyed by a predetermined amount in order to correct the skew of the medium by the registration rollers, and the conveyance of the medium is stopped.
Thereafter, the conveyance motor control unit 230 instructs the medium conveyance motor 235 to drive the first and second registration rollers 223A and 410, the conveyance unit 430, and the medium conveyance roller pair 440, and to record the recording medium 1 in the printing mechanism of the printing apparatus. The recording medium 1 printed by the process unit 300 is fixed by the fixing unit 420 and further conveyed to a discharge unit 460 provided outside the apparatus.

  When the recording medium 1 reaches a printable position, the print control unit 100 sends a timing signal, reads image data from the image data editing memory 130, and sends it to the head drive control unit 150. When the head drive control unit 150 receives image data for one line, the head drive control unit 150 sends a latch signal to the LED head 330 as an exposure unit, and causes the LED head 330 to hold the image data. Further, the head drive control unit 150 sends a print drive signal STB to the LED head 330 before receiving the next timing signal. As a result, the LED head 330 performs printing according to the held image data, and printing is performed for each line.

The LED head 330 irradiates the photosensitive drum 360 charged to a negative potential, and forms an electrostatic latent image on the surface of the photosensitive drum 360 with dots having an increased potential. Then, the toner charged to a negative potential is attracted to each dot by an electrical attraction force to form a toner image. Thereafter, the toner image is sent to a transfer portion formed in the gap between the photosensitive drum 360 and the transfer roller 310. On the other hand, the print control unit 100 instructs the transfer voltage control unit 170 to apply a transfer high voltage with a positive potential to the transfer roller 310. As a result, the transfer roller 10 transfers the toner image to the print medium that passes through the transfer portion. Then, the print medium having the transferred toner image is sent to the fixing unit 420, and the toner image is fixed to the print medium by the heat of the fixing unit 420. The recording medium having the fixed toner is further fed and discharged from the printing mechanism of the printing apparatus to the outside of the printing apparatus. When printing is completed and a sufficient time has elapsed for the recording medium to be discharged, the application of voltage to the charging roller, the developing unit, and the transfer roller is terminated, and the operation of each motor is stopped at the same time. Thereafter, the above operation is repeated.
The printing operation is performed as described above.

Next, a control block diagram of a host device to which the present invention is applied will be described with reference to FIG. In the description of the host apparatus, the configuration related to the print medium cassette designation method will be described, and general image data generation and print data generation will be omitted from detailed description.
In FIG. 2, the host device 20 has the following configuration.
A control unit 21 includes a microprocessor, a ROM, a RAM, an input / output port, a timer, and the like. The control unit 21 generates print data and control commands, transmits print data to the printing apparatus, and transmits control commands. Take control.
An image data generation unit 22 has a plurality of applications and controls generation of image data by the applications.
Reference numeral 23 denotes an image data storage unit, which is a memory (RAM, hard disk, etc.) for storing the image data generated by the image data generation unit.
A print data generation unit 24 includes a printing device driver of a printing device that performs printing by the higher-level device 20. The image data generated by the image data generation unit 22 is generated by using the printing device driver. Generate print data.
An interface control unit 26 controls transmission of print data and control commands from the upper apparatus to the printing apparatus, and also controls reception of printing apparatus information transmitted from the printing apparatus.

  A cassette information acquisition unit 30 performs control for acquiring cassette information included in the printing apparatus from a printing apparatus connected to the network 50. For this purpose, the IP address of the printing apparatus connected to the network is stored, and a cassette information acquisition command for acquiring cassette information from the printing apparatus corresponding to the IP address is generated according to an instruction from the control unit 21, A cassette information acquisition command is transmitted to the printing apparatus connected to the network 50 via the interface control unit 26.

  Reference numeral 31 denotes a cassette information storage unit. A cassette information acquisition command is transmitted from the cassette information acquisition unit 30 to the printing apparatus connected to the network 50 via the interface control unit 26, and the cassette of the printing apparatus is transmitted via the interface control unit 26. When the information is acquired, this is a memory for storing the acquired cassette information in association with the IP address of the printing apparatus. This memory is composed of a non-volatile memory and a hard disk, and is configured so that the stored information is maintained without being erased even when the power of the host device 20 is turned off.

Reference numeral 32 denotes an input display unit comprising a keyboard and CRT connected to a personal computer. In the present invention, a keyboard is used for key input for selecting a cassette, and cassette information and a selection screen for selecting a cassette. A CRT is used for display of.
Reference numeral 33 denotes an extraction unit that extracts cassette information based on selection information input from the input display unit 32, and extracts necessary information from the cassette information storage unit 31 via the control unit 21 based on the selected content.

Next, the details of the method for designating a media cassette according to the present invention will be described. FIG. 6 shows a control flow (part 1) of the host device according to the first embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 7 shows a control flow (part 2) of the host device according to the first embodiment of the present invention.
First, the operation of the host device 20 will be described with reference to FIGS.
The operator creates a sentence to be printed using an application or the like, or reads the already created sentence from the image data storage unit 23 and inputs a print instruction on the print property screen.

  Step 10: When a printing instruction is input, the control unit 21 causes the cassette information acquisition unit 30 to acquire cassette information. The cassette information acquisition unit 30 acquires the IP address of the printing apparatus in order to transmit a cassette information acquisition command via the interface control unit 26 for each IP address of the printing apparatus connected to the network 50. If there are a plurality of IP addresses, a plurality of IP addresses are acquired and temporarily stored in an internal register. The cassette information acquisition unit 30 stores a list of IP addresses of printing apparatuses connected to the network 50 in advance.

Step 11: First, a cassette information acquisition command is transmitted to the printing apparatus 10 based on the IP address for the printing apparatus 11.
Step 12: Determine a response from the printing apparatus. If there is a response, the process proceeds to step 13, and if there is no response, the process proceeds to step 14.
Step 13: When there is a response from the printing apparatus 10, the cassette information transmitted from the printing apparatus 10 is stored in the cassette information storage unit 31. After storing, go to step 16.
Here, an example of cassette information acquired from the printing apparatus is shown. FIG. 4 is an example of cassette information of the printing apparatuses 10, 11, and 12.

FIG. 9A shows cassette information of the printing apparatus 10. The printing apparatus 10 includes five print medium cassettes. The cassette information includes information on the medium type, medium size, medium thickness, and medium base color.
Cassette 1 is loaded with plain paper, A4 size, normal thickness, white background media,
Cassette 2 is loaded with recycled paper, A4 size, thick paper, and white background media.
Cassette 3 is loaded with recycled paper, A4 size, normal thickness, base yellow medium,
Cassette 4 is loaded with plain paper, A3 size, normal thickness, ground white media,
The cassette 5 is loaded with recycled paper, A5 size, normal thickness, and background white media.

FIG. 9B shows cassette information of the printing apparatus 11. The printing apparatus 11 includes five print medium cassettes.
Cassette 1 is loaded with plain paper, A4 size, normal thickness, white background media,
Cassette 2 is loaded with plain paper, A4 size, thick paper, and ground white media.
Cassette 3 is loaded with plain paper, A4 size, normal thickness, base yellow medium,
Cassette 4 is loaded with plain paper, A3 size, normal thickness, ground white media,
The cassette 5 is loaded with recycled paper, A5 size, normal thickness, and background white media.

FIG. 9C shows cassette information of the printing apparatus 11. The printing apparatus 11 includes five print medium cassettes.
Cassette 1 is loaded with plain paper, A4 size, normal thickness, white background media,
Cassette 2 is loaded with recycled paper, A4 size, thick paper, and white background media.
Cassette 3 is loaded with recycled paper, A4 size, normal thickness, base yellow medium,
Cassette 4 is loaded with plain paper, A3 size, normal thickness, ground white media,
The cassette 5 is loaded with recycled paper, A5 size, normal thickness, and background white media.

Step 14: A predetermined time is monitored to determine whether or not a timeout has occurred. If not timed out, the process proceeds to step 12 and a response from the printing apparatus 10 is waited for.
Step 15: If there is no response from the printing apparatus 10 even after a predetermined time, the control unit 21 determines that the printing apparatus 10 is in an error state or the power is turned off, stores that there is no response from the printing apparatus 10, and step Proceed to 16.
Step 16: It is determined whether or not the inquiry to all the printing apparatuses connected to the network 50 has been completed. In determining whether to end, it is determined whether all the IP addresses stored in the list have been transmitted. If all have not been completed, the process returns to step 11 and is transmitted to the next IP address. If all have been completed, the process proceeds to step 17.

  Step 17: After all the cassette information for the printing apparatus connected to the network 50 has been acquired, a selection screen for the user is displayed. After the display, the process proceeds to step 18 to wait for user input. If the cassette information obtained from the printing apparatus is displayed as it is, it is not easy for the user to determine which printing medium has a cassette in which the printing medium is stored, and all information must be displayed and confirmed. This is because it must not. The present invention makes it easy to select a cassette by inputting extraction conditions in order to eliminate such annoyance for the user.

  FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a selection screen according to the first embodiment of this invention. As shown in the figure, the information acquired from the cassette information is displayed on the selection screen together with the selection number. In this embodiment, as the selection information, a medium type, a medium size, a medium thickness, and a medium background color are displayed together with a selection number. As for the selection method, the selection number may be input from the keyboard and the Enter key may be pressed, or the information type may be clicked with the mouse and “OK” may be clicked. In this case, if the portion clicked with the mouse is shaded and reversed, the user will not make a mistake.

Steps 18 and 19: It is determined whether or not there is a key input. If there is a key input, step 20 to step 22 are detected. If there is no key input, a timeout is detected in step 19.
Step 19: If the time is out, a cassette designation command is sent as standard designation to the printing apparatus together with the print data. The standard designation is set in advance by the user.
Steps 20 to 22: It is determined which key is pressed in each step. If “01”, proceed to step 23; if “02”, proceed to step 24; if “03”, proceed to step 25;

  Step 23 to Step 26: The extraction unit 33 edits information acquired from the printing apparatus with a focus on the medium type. This is because it is difficult to understand at a glance where the print medium desired by the user is stored by simply displaying the cassette information to the user. Therefore, it is re-edited and displayed under the conditions desired by the user. For the edited one, the editing unit 33 stores the printing apparatus and the cassette number in association with the selected number in the table.

  FIG. 11 is a diagram showing display (part 1) of the extraction screen according to the first embodiment of this invention. Since the selected key is “01”, the extraction unit 33 re-edits mainly the medium type. As shown in FIG. 11, media having the same medium type are collected, and then, the same media are collected so that the media size, the media thickness, and the media background color are obtained. In each information, a printing apparatus and a cassette number in which a printing medium corresponding to the selection number is stored are displayed. For example, when the user wants to print on a print medium whose medium type is plain paper, medium size is A4, medium thickness is normal, and the base color is white, the user inputs the selection key “1A”. As described above, input is performed using the keyboard or the mouse as described above. If the user wants to print on recycled paper, A4, and a print medium with a normal thickness and white background, the selection key “7A” may be input.

FIG. 12 is a diagram showing display (part 2) of the extraction screen according to the first embodiment of this invention.
Since the selected key is “02”, the extraction unit 33 re-edits mainly the medium size. As shown in FIG. 12, media having the same media size are grouped, and then the media types, media thicknesses, and media base colors are grouped together. In each information, a printing apparatus and a cassette number in which a printing medium corresponding to the selection number is stored are displayed. For example, when the user wants to print on a print medium having a medium size of A4, a medium type of plain paper, a thickness of normal, and a white background color, the user inputs the selection key “2B”. Also, if the user wants to print on a recycled paper, cardboard, and white background print medium with medium size A4, “9B” may be input.
Similarly, in step 25 and step 26, the media thickness and the background color are collected respectively. The summary is the same as the medium type and the medium size, and the details of the extraction result are omitted.

Steps 28 and 29: It is determined whether or not there is a key input from the user. If no key input is made, a time-out is detected, and if it is time-out, a cassette designation command is sent to the printing apparatus together with print data as a standard designation. The standard designation is set in advance by the user. If there is a key input, the process proceeds to step 30.
Step 30: Acquire a printing apparatus and a cassette number corresponding to the selected number. For example, in the case of FIG. 11, when the selection number is “1A”, the cassette 1 of the printing apparatus 10 is acquired as information. In the case of FIG. 12, when the selection number is “7B”, the printing apparatus. Twelve cassettes 1 are acquired as information.
Step 31: A cassette designation command is created based on the acquired printing apparatus and cassette number information.
Step 31: The cassette designation command and the print data are transmitted to the corresponding IP address printing apparatus, and the process ends.

  As described above, when the user issues a print instruction, the cassette information of the printing apparatus connected to the network 5 can be displayed under the conditions specified by the user. It is possible to easily determine which cassette is inserted. In addition, it is possible to designate a printing apparatus and a cassette simply by inputting a selection number.

Next, processing of the printing apparatus will be described. The printing apparatus 10 will be described as a representative of the printing apparatus 10 to the printing apparatus 12 for the same processing. FIG. 8 shows a control flow of the printing apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention.
Step 30: It is determined whether or not a command is transmitted from the host device 20 via the I / F control unit 110. When a command is transmitted from the host device 20, the process proceeds to step 31, and when the command is not transmitted, it waits for a command to be transmitted in a standby state.
Step 31: The print control unit 100 determines whether the command transmitted from the host apparatus 20 is a cassette information acquisition command. If the command is a cassette information acquisition command, the print control unit 100 uses the cassette information stored in the cassette information storage unit 220. get. If it is not a cassette information acquisition command, the process proceeds to a process corresponding to the command. Here, only matters relating to cassette information acquisition will be described.

Step 32: The print control unit 100 transmits the cassette information acquired from the cassette information storage unit via the I / F control unit 110 to the host apparatus 20 that has transmitted the cassette information acquisition command.
As shown in FIG. 9, the cassette information to be transmitted is information on the cassette position, medium type, medium size, medium thickness, and medium base color. Such information is input in advance by the user using the operation unit 101 of the printing apparatus 10. The cassette information is not limited to the above information, and may be a part of the above information.

Step 33: After the cassette information is transmitted, it waits for reception of print data from the host apparatus 20. If print data is received, the process proceeds to step 34.
Step 35: The cassette designation command transmitted together with the print data is input to the print control unit 100 via the I / F control unit 110. The print control unit 100 determines the cassette designated by the cassette designation command and issues an instruction to the cassette selection unit 210. The cassette selection unit 240 instructs the transport motor control unit 230 to transport the print medium from the instructed cassette. For example, when cassette 1 is designated by the cassette designation command, the cassette selection unit 240 instructs the carry motor control unit 230 to drive the first cassette carry motor 205.

  The conveyance motor control unit 230 prepares to drive the first cassette conveyance motor 205 according to an instruction from the cassette selection unit 210 and waits for a drive timing from the print control unit 100. When a driving timing is input from the diagnosis control unit 100, the first cassette transport motor 205 is driven to feed and transport one print medium from the first cassette. Subsequent conveyance of the print medium is as described above.

Step 36: Execute printing operation. Prior to the printing operation, the transfer voltage and fixing temperature of the medium selected by the cassette information are read out. The relationship between the medium type, transfer voltage, and fixing temperature is shown in FIG. The relationship of transfer voltage is
V5 <= V1 <V2 <V3 <= V6
It is set by experiments or the like in advance.
The relationship between the fixing temperature is
T5 <= T1 <T2 <T3 <= T6
It is set by experiments or the like in advance.

Step 37: If printing of the print data received from the host device 20 has been completed, the printing process is terminated and the process proceeds to a standby state. Further, if there is a page to be printed, the process returns to step 35 and repeats from the feeding and feeding of the printing medium.
As described above, according to the present invention, the user can easily determine the cassette information of the print information connected to the network 5 only by giving a print instruction. In addition, since the cassette information is edited and displayed according to conditions desired by the user, the user can easily determine in which cassette of which printing apparatus the type of print medium he / she wants to print is at a glance. Furthermore, the cassette can be specified only by specifying the selection number on the selection screen, and it is possible to easily print on the print medium of the cassette of the desired printing apparatus.
In addition, since the transfer voltage and the fixing temperature are selected in correspondence with the type of the medium for printing, the transfer voltage and the fixing temperature suitable for the type of the medium are set, so that the print quality can be improved.

A second embodiment of the present invention will be described.
In the first embodiment, the user designates the medium type, medium size, medium thickness, and medium background color. Therefore, when there are a large number of printing apparatuses connected to the network 50, a large amount of information must be selected on the display screen. In the second embodiment, information that the user wants to obtain is narrowed down and displayed.
For the same configuration as the first embodiment, the description of the first embodiment is applied mutatis mutandis, and the following description will be made on the parts different from the first embodiment.
FIG. 14 is a diagram showing a display of a selection screen (No. 1) in the second embodiment, FIG. 15 is a diagram showing an extraction screen of the second embodiment, and FIG. 16 is a diagram showing the second embodiment. It is a figure which shows the display (the 2) of the selection screen in a form, FIG. 17 is a figure which shows the extraction screen in 2nd Embodiment.

In the first embodiment, one of the medium type, medium size, medium thickness, and medium base color is selected. In the second embodiment, a lower layer can be selected, and a plurality of layers can be selected. I am doing so.
FIG. 14 shows the display of the selection screen, which displays the cassette information of the printing apparatus connected to the network 5 with a selection number based on the cassette information acquired from the printing apparatus. The items displayed here indicate all the information of each printing apparatus. As shown in FIG. 14, the user inputs selection numbers “01” and “05” when he / she wants to print on plain paper in A4 size.
When the extraction unit 33 detects that the selection numbers “01” and “05” are selected, the extraction unit 33 determines that the print medium desired by the user is A4 size paper from the list associated with the selection number. Then, A4 size cassettes are searched and edited with plain paper by referring to the cassette information. The edited result is displayed on the extraction screen in association with the selection key.

  FIG. 15 shows a plain paper cassette in which an A4 size print medium is stored. That is, there are four cassettes that store plain paper and A4 size print media, which are shown. Further, even when the A4 size is plain paper, the medium thickness and the medium base color are different, so that information is also displayed. The user can print on the desired print medium simply by designating the displayed four selection keys. For example, if the user wants to print on plain paper or a white background printing medium, the selection key “1C” may be input.

The extraction unit 33 acquires the printing apparatus and cassette number corresponding to the selected number. In this case, the cassette 1 of the printing apparatus 10 is acquired. Then, a cassette designation command is created based on the acquired printing apparatus and cassette number information. When the cassette designation command is created, the cassette designation command and the print data are acquired through the network 5 by acquiring the IP address of the corresponding printing apparatus.
Subsequent processing is the same as that in the first embodiment, and is therefore omitted.

FIGS. 16 and 17 show other examples of selection.
FIG. 16 shows a display of a selection screen, which displays cassette information of a printing apparatus connected to the network 50 based on cassette information acquired from the printing apparatus with a selection number. As shown in FIG. 16, the user inputs selection numbers “02” and “05” when he / she wants to print on recycled paper in A4 size.

  When the extraction unit 33 detects that the selection numbers “02” and “05” are selected, it determines from the list associated with the selection number that the print medium desired by the user is A4 size recycled paper. Then, A4 size cassettes are searched and edited with recycled paper with reference to the cassette information. The edited result is displayed on the extraction screen in association with the selection key.

  FIG. 17 shows an extracted and displayed cassette of A4 size print media stored on recycled paper. In other words, there are five cassettes in which A4 size print media are stored in recycled paper, which is shown. Further, even if the recycled paper is A4 size, the information is also displayed because the medium thickness and the medium base color are different. The user can print on the desired print medium simply by designating the displayed five selection keys. For example, to print on a printing medium of thick paper or white background, the selection key “4D” may be input.

  The extraction unit 33 acquires the printing apparatus and cassette number corresponding to the selected number. In this case, the cassette 2 of the printing apparatus 12 is acquired. Then, based on the acquired printing apparatus and cassette number information, a cassette is used to create a command. When a command is created by cassette, an IP address of a printing apparatus corresponding to the cassette designation command and print data is acquired and transmitted via the network 5.

  In the first embodiment and the second embodiment, an example in which a cassette information request command is transmitted from the host device and displayed on the operation unit on the host device side is shown. It can also be displayed on the operation unit of the printing apparatus by operating the keys of the unit. In this case, the user needs to remember the printing apparatus and the cassette number, but it is possible to save the trouble of pulling out the medium cassette and confirming the medium inside as in the conventional case. Furthermore, although the medium size can be easily found by simply pulling out the medium cassette, the medium type, medium thickness, etc. cannot be easily determined. However, the media type, the media thickness, and the like can be easily determined by displaying them on the operation unit of the printing apparatus.

  The present invention can be applied to an image recording apparatus such as a printing apparatus, a facsimile machine, and an MFP as long as the apparatus includes a medium cassette. Further, it can be applied to both a color machine and a monochrome machine.

FIG. 3 is a control block diagram of the printing apparatus according to the first embodiment. FIG. 2 is a control block diagram of a host device according to the first embodiment. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of an image recording system according to a first embodiment. 1 is a schematic diagram of a printer according to a first embodiment. It is the schematic of the process unit in 1st Embodiment. It is a figure which shows the control flow (the 1) of the high-order apparatus in 1st Embodiment. It is a figure which shows the control flow (the 2) of the high-order apparatus in 1st Embodiment. It is a figure which shows the control flow of the printing apparatus in 1st Embodiment. FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram of printer information according to the first embodiment. It is a figure which shows the display of the selection screen of 1st Embodiment. It is a figure which shows the display (the 1) of the extraction screen in 1st Embodiment. It is a figure which shows the display (the 2) of the extraction screen in 1st Embodiment. FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a medium, a transfer voltage, and a fixing temperature in the first embodiment. It is a figure which shows the display (the 1) of the other selection screen in 2nd Embodiment. It is a figure which shows the display (the 1) of the other extraction screen in 2nd Embodiment. It is a figure which shows the display (the 2) of the other selection screen in 2nd Embodiment. It is a figure which shows the display (the 2) of the other extraction screen in 1st Embodiment.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Recording medium 10 Printing apparatus 20 Host apparatus 21 Control part 22 Image data generation part 23 Image data storage part 24 Print data generation part 26 Interface control part 30 Cassette information acquisition part 31 Cassette information storage part 32 Input display part 33 Extraction part 40 Print Server 50 Network 100 Print control unit 101 Operation unit 102 Various sensors 110 I / F control unit 120 Reception memory 130 Image data editing memory 140 Charging voltage control unit 150 Head drive control unit 160 Development voltage control unit 170 Transfer voltage control unit 180 Motor control Unit 185 motor 190 fixing control unit 195 fixing unit motor

Claims (6)

In a printing system in which image data generated by a host device is transmitted to a printing device to perform printing,
The host device is
A status information acquisition unit that acquires status information indicating the status of the image recording device from the image recording device;
A printing condition input part for inputting printing conditions;
An extraction display unit for editing and displaying the status information of the image recording device based on the printing conditions;
A selection unit for selecting print information displayed on the extraction display unit;
A control unit that generates a control command from the information selected by the selection unit and transmits the image data together with the image recording apparatus;
The image recording apparatus includes:
A state information storage unit for storing state information of the image recording apparatus;
A transmission unit that transmits the status information of the image recording device stored in the status information storage unit to the higher level device based on an instruction of the higher level device;
An image recording system comprising: a print control unit that performs printing in accordance with a control command and image data transmitted from the host device. The state information acquisition unit has a medium information acquisition unit for acquiring medium information loaded in a plurality of printing apparatuses,
2. The image recording system according to claim 1, wherein the printing condition input unit has a medium condition input unit for inputting a medium condition. The image forming apparatus includes a medium information input unit for inputting medium information mounted on the image recording apparatus;
The image recording system according to claim 1, further comprising a medium information storage unit that stores the medium information input by the medium information input unit and outputs the medium information stored in response to a request from the state information acquisition unit. .   The image forming apparatus includes a medium supply unit capable of supplying a plurality of types of media, and a medium information storage that stores the medium information of each of the supplyable media and outputs the medium information stored in response to a request from the state acquisition unit The image recording system according to claim 1, further comprising a unit. In a printing apparatus that prints image data in an image recording unit,
A state information storage unit for storing state information of the image recording unit;
A status information acquisition unit that acquires status information indicating the status of the image recording unit from the image recording unit;
A printing condition input part for inputting printing conditions;
An extraction display unit for editing and displaying the status information of the image recording unit based on the printing conditions;
A selection unit for selecting print information displayed on the extraction display unit;
An image recording apparatus comprising: a control unit that generates a control command from the information selected by the selection unit, and transmits the image data together with the image recording unit.   A medium supply unit capable of supplying a plurality of types of medium; and a medium information storage unit that stores medium information of each of the supplyable media and outputs the medium information stored in response to a request from the state acquisition unit. The image recording apparatus according to claim 5.

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