JP2007199549A - Printer, control method and control program therefor - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a printer which notifies a user that printing is performed by using consumable members that have reached the end of service lives and consequently, can prevent a failure where printing is performed with printing quality against the user's intention. <P>SOLUTION: When the loaded cartridge come to the end of its life (step S1: Yes), and also when the leading page of a printing job is an object to be processed (step S2: Yes), a life-end display notifying the user that the loaded cartridge has come to the end of its life is given (step S6). When a printing switch is depressed without the replacement of the cartridge, even after the lifetime-end display is given (step S10: Yes), it is decided that printing by using the cartridge having come to the end of its service life has been permitted, and printing is performed (step S13). <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a printing apparatus capable of printing using a consumable member such as a toner cartridge and a photosensitive unit, and a control method and control program for the printing apparatus.

  Conventionally, in printers in which consumable members such as toner cartridges and photoconductor units can be replaced, if the user allows a decrease in print quality even if the consumable member has reached the end of its life, use the consumable member that has reached the end of its life. There is known a printer that can perform printing that has been performed (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

  In addition, when printing is performed using a consumable member that has reached the end of its life, there is also a printer that displays a message prompting replacement of the consumable member that has reached the end of its life every time a predetermined number of pages are printed (for example, see Non-Patent Document 1). ).

JP 2000-89625 A Seiko Epson, “LP-9200 User's Guide”, October 13, 2004, Internet <http .// www2.i-love-epson.co.jp/support/manual/date/color/lp9200cb/>

  However, in these printers, there is a possibility that the user may use the printer without knowing that the print quality may deteriorate due to the use of the consumable member that has reached the end of its life.

  For example, in the case of a printer that is in an environment that can be used by a plurality of users, a user other than a user who has permitted printing using a consumable member that has reached the end of its life may print with a possibility that the print quality may deteriorate. There is a possibility of printing without knowing what will be done. Even when a message is displayed for each predetermined number of sheets, the print quality may be reduced for a user who uses the printer at a timing from when a message is displayed until the next message is displayed. I don't know that printing will take place.

  As described above, in the conventional printer, there is a problem that the user may perform printing with an unintended print quality without knowing that printing using a consumable member that has reached the end of its life is performed.

  Accordingly, the present invention provides a printing apparatus, a printing apparatus control method, and a printing apparatus that can reliably notify the user that printing using a consumable member that has reached the end of its life will be performed and prevent printing with print quality that is not intended. An object is to provide a control program.

  In order to solve the above-described problems, the present invention is a printing apparatus that executes a print job to be printed and performs printing using a consumable member that is replaceably mounted. Prior to execution of the print job, Determining means for determining whether or not the consumable member has reached the end of life; notifying means for notifying that the consumable member is to be replaced when it is determined that the consumable member has reached the end of its life; An input unit that receives an input for printing without replacing a member, and a print processing unit that executes the print job when the input unit receives an input.

  According to this configuration, if the consumable member has reached the end of its life, a notification that prompts replacement of the consumable member is made prior to execution of the print job. When printing without replacing the consumable member, since the input unit accepts the input to that effect, the print processing unit performs printing using the consumable member that has reached the end of its life by executing the print job. It is possible to prevent printing with a print quality contrary to the above.

  Here, when the print job has a plurality of print pages, the determination unit determines that the consumable member has reached the end of its life before executing the job for the first print page of the plurality of print pages. It is preferable to determine whether or not.

  In this way, by making a determination prior to printing the first print page, after receiving an input to print without replacing the consumable member, printing of a plurality of print pages of the print job is started. be able to. Therefore, even if a print job includes a plurality of print pages, it is possible to prevent printing with an unintended print quality.

  Here, the print processing unit manages the number of pages that have been printed for the print job, and causes the notification unit to notify that the consumable member is to be replaced each time a predetermined number of printed pages are printed, When an input is accepted by the input means, it is preferable to execute a job for a print page having a predetermined number of pages.

  In this way, even if a print job includes a plurality of print pages, printing is performed after receiving an input to print without replacing the consumable member for each predetermined number of pages. Printing jobs that include the number of pages can be prevented from being printed with an unintended print quality.

  Here, when the determination unit determines that the consumable member has not reached the end of its life before executing the print job, the print processing unit sets a counter for managing the number of pages on which printing has been performed. It is preferable to initialize.

  In this way, if a consumable member that has not reached the end of its life is attached, a counter for managing the number of pages that have been printed is initialized, so that a consumable member that has not reached its end of life reaches the end of its life. When the replaced consumable member is reached, the number of pages printed by the consumable member replaced can be managed using the initialized counter. Therefore, even if the consumable member is replaced, it can be appropriately handled.

  Here, the life is preferably in a state in which the print quality cannot be guaranteed for printing using the consumable member. As a result, printing can be performed in a state where the user confirms that the print quality is guaranteed when the consumable member has not reached the end of life, and the print quality is not guaranteed when the end of life is reached.

  The present invention may also be a method invention. That is, the present invention is a control method of a printing apparatus that executes a print job to be printed and performs printing using a consumable member that is replaceably mounted, and the consumable member prior to execution of the print job. A determination step for determining whether or not the consumable member has reached the end of its life, a notification step for notifying that the consumable member is to be replaced when it is determined that the consumable member has reached the end of its life, and replacing the consumable member And an input process for receiving an input for printing without printing, and a print processing process for executing the print job when the input unit receives the input.

  Furthermore, the present invention may be a program. That is, the present invention is a control program for controlling a printing apparatus that executes a print job to be printed and performs printing using a consumable member that is replaceably mounted. Prior to execution, a determination step for determining whether or not the consumable member has reached the end of its life. When it is determined that the consumable member has reached the end of its life, the notification means is notified that the consumable member is to be replaced. A notification step, an input step of accepting an input to print without replacing the consumable member from the input means, and a print processing step of executing the print job when the input means accepts the input. To do.

(First embodiment)
A first embodiment according to the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating a hardware configuration of a printing system according to the first embodiment. As shown in FIG. 1, the printing system 1 includes a host computer 2 as a host device and a printer 3 as a printing device. The host computer 2 and the printer 3 are communicably connected via a cable.

  The host computer 2 generates, for example, an application unit 20 that generates data to be printed, such as document creation software, and a print job in a data format corresponding to the printer 3 from the data to be printed. A printer driver 21 is provided. Here, one print job includes one or a plurality of print pages each to be printed.

  The printer 3 includes a controller 30 that performs various controls of the printer 3, a printer engine 40 that actually executes printing on a recording medium such as printing paper under the control of the controller 30, an operation panel 50 that includes a display device, operation buttons, and the like. It has.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the controller 30 includes a CPU 31 as a main control device, a ROM 32 in which a control program and the like to be described later are recorded, a RAM 33 as a main memory, and a host I / F 34 that communicates with the host computer 2. An engine control I / F 35 for controlling the printer engine 40, a panel control I / F 36 for controlling the operation panel 50, and a counter 37 for managing the number of printed pages. The components of the controller 30 are connected to each other via a system bus 38 so as to exchange data.

  The printer engine 40 is configured such that a cartridge (consumable member) 41 that accommodates toner for printing is detachable, and the toner of the cartridge 41 is fixed on the printing paper to perform printing so as to form dots. That is, the printer 3 of this embodiment is a laser printer that performs printing by an electrophotographic method. In FIG. 1, only one cartridge 41 is shown, but in reality, CMYK color cartridges are mounted on the printer engine 40, and color printing is possible by fixing the CMYK color toners in an overlapping manner. .

  The cartridge 41 has a readable / writable nonvolatile ROM 42 such as a flash ROM or an EEPROM. The ROM 42 records data such as the degree of toner consumption for the cartridge 41. As for the degree of toner consumption, for example, the number of dots formed by printing using the cartridge 41, the number of rotations of a roller for feeding the toner from the cartridge 41, and the like are recorded in the ROM 42 as parameters. Accordingly, the CPU 31 can obtain the degree of wear of the cartridge 41 by reading data from the ROM 42 of the cartridge 41. Of course, when the cartridge 41 or the printer 3 has a sensor capable of measuring the toner amount, the value detected by the sensor may be recorded in the ROM 42 as the degree of wear.

  The operation panel 50 is a part for the user to read a message from the printer 3 and operate the printer 3. As shown in FIG. 2, the operation panel 50 includes a message to the user, various states of the printer 3, and the like. A liquid crystal display panel (notification means) 51 for displaying the information, and various switches such as a print enable switch 52, a job cancel switch 53, and a selection switch 54. In addition, the operation panel 50 is provided with a lamp 55 that indicates whether printing is possible, a lamp 56 that indicates a data processing status, and a lamp 57 that indicates an error. In the present embodiment, the print enable switch 52 is used as a switch (input means) that receives an input for permitting printing by the cartridge 41 that has reached the end of its life from the user.

  Further, the CPU 31 of the controller 30 reads out and executes the control program recorded in the ROM 32 to perform processing as a cartridge life determination unit (determination unit) 310 and a print processing unit (print processing unit) 311.

  Prior to the start of execution of a print job, the cartridge life determination unit 310 reads toner consumption level data from the ROM 42 of the mounted cartridge 41 and determines whether the consumption level has reached a predetermined threshold. Processing is performed to determine whether the mounted cartridge 41 has reached the end of its life.

  The print processing unit 311 is a part that controls printing performed by the printer 3, and performs processing for delivering a print job received from the host computer 2 to the engine control I / F 35 and executing printing. If the cartridge life determination unit 310 determines that the mounted cartridge 41 has reached the end of its life, the print processing unit 311 displays a life end screen including a message prompting the user to replace the cartridge 41. It is displayed on the display panel 51. Then, in response to an input from the user to the print enable switch 52, when printing is instructed by the cartridge 41 that has reached the end of its life, control is performed so that printing by the cartridge 41 that has reached its end of life is performed.

  The print processing unit 311 displays a message prompting replacement every time a predetermined number of pages are printed with respect to the print pages included in the print job when printing with the cartridge 41 that has reached the end of its life. Yes.

  That is, the printer 3 according to the present embodiment notifies the user that printing is performed by the cartridge 41 that has reached the end of life and permits printing when performing printing in which the print quality by the cartridge 41 that has reached the end of life is not guaranteed. Printing is started after receipt, and notification is made every time a predetermined number of sheets are printed even after printing is started.

  Next, processing performed by the printer 3 when a print job is received from the host computer 2 will be described in detail with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

  When the print job is received, the CPU 31 stores the received data in the RAM 33, and starts the print processing shown in FIG. 3 for the print job. When the printing process is started, first, in step S1, the cartridge life determination unit 310 performs a process of determining whether or not the attached cartridge 41 has reached the life. Specifically, the CPU 31 reads data indicating the degree of wear from the ROM 42 of the mounted cartridge 41 and determines whether a predetermined threshold value corresponding to the cartridge 41 has been reached. If the threshold value has been reached, it is determined that the lifetime has been reached (step S1: Yes), and the first print page (hereinafter also referred to as “first page”) among the print pages included in the print job is to be processed. Then, the process proceeds to step S2. If the threshold is not reached, it is determined that the life has not been reached (step S1: No), and the process proceeds to step S15.

  Since four CMYK cartridges 41 are mounted on the printer engine 40, the cartridge life determination unit 310 is mounted if at least one of the four cartridges 41 has reached the end of its life. It is determined that the cartridge 41 has reached the end of its life.

  In the processing from step S2 to step S13, the print processing unit 311 performs processing for printing in which the print quality is not guaranteed by the cartridge 41 that has reached the end of its life. For this reason, first, in step S2, the CPU 31 determines whether or not the print page to be processed is the first page. If it is the first page of the job (step S2: Yes), it is determined that it is time to display the life reaching screen, and the process proceeds to step S3.

  If the print page to be processed is not the first page of the job in step S2 (step S2: No), the process proceeds to step S4, and the CPU 31 determines whether the lifetime has been reached for the first time. Also here, if the determination is made based on the data indicating the degree of wear read from the ROM 42 and the first arrival is reached (step S4: Yes), it is determined that it is time to display the life reaching screen, and the process proceeds to step S3. .

  When it is determined in step S4 that it is not the first time that the life has been reached (step S4: No), the process proceeds to step S5, and the CPU 31 reads the value set in the counter 37 and is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold Th. Determine whether or not. If it is equal to or greater than the threshold Th (step S5: Yes), the predetermined number of pages corresponding to the threshold Th has been printed, so it is determined that it is time to display the life reaching screen, and the process proceeds to step S3. If it is less than the threshold Th (step S5: No), it is determined that it is not time to display the life reaching screen, and the process proceeds to step S12.

  If it is determined in step S3, step S4, or step S5 that it is time to display the end of life screen, the process proceeds to step S3, and the CPU 31 first initializes the counter 37 before displaying the end of life screen. Set to “0”.

  Next, the process proceeds to step S <b> 6, and the CPU 31 controls the panel control I / F 36 to display a life end screen on the liquid crystal display panel 51 of the operation panel 50. At this time, the panel control I / F 36 controls the lamp 57 to blink to notify the user that an error has occurred.

  FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of a life reaching screen, and particularly shows an example when the C toner cartridge has reached the end of its life. In the end of life screen, as shown in FIG. 4, a message 60 is displayed on the liquid crystal display panel 51 to prompt the user to replace the cartridge 41 that has reached the end of its life. This message allows the user to know that the installed cartridge 41 has reached the end of its life and needs to be replaced. Further, the end of life screen has a column 61 for displaying the remaining amount of toner for each of the CMYK color cartridges 41 so that the user can grasp the status of the remaining amount of toner for the cartridge 41 before reaching the end of its life.

  Next, the process proceeds to step S7, and the CPU 31 determines whether or not the cartridge 41 has been replaced. Specifically, the CPU 31 monitors the output from a sensor (not shown) that detects the attachment / detachment of the cartridge 41 to make a determination.

  When the cartridge 41 is replaced in step S7 (step S7: Yes), the process proceeds to step S8, and it is determined whether the replaced cartridge 41 has reached the end of its life. If the replaced cartridge 41 has reached the end of its life (step S8: Yes), the process returns to step S6, and the end of life display is performed again (see FIG. 4) so that the replaced cartridge 41 is further replaced. If the replaced cartridge 41 has not reached the end of its life (step S8: No), the process proceeds to step S9 to cancel the end of life display displayed on the liquid crystal display panel 51 by the CPU 31, and the liquid crystal display panel 51 returns to FIG. After the displayed life reaching screen is deleted, the process proceeds to step S13.

  If the cartridge 41 has not been replaced in step S7 (step S7: No), the process proceeds to step S10 to determine whether the print enable switch 52 has been pressed. If the print enable switch 52 has not been pressed (step S10: No), the process returns to step S7 to repeatedly determine whether or not the cartridge 41 has been replaced. If the print enable switch 52 has been pressed (step S10: Yes), it is determined that printing by the cartridge 41 that has reached the end of its life is permitted, and the process proceeds to step S11.

  When the process proceeds from step S10 to step S11, the CPU 31 determines that printing of the print page is permitted, and the CPU 31 cancels the life end display displayed on the liquid crystal display panel 51, and starts from the liquid crystal display panel 51. The life reaching screen shown in FIG. 4 is deleted.

  When the display of the end of life screen shown in FIG. 4 is deleted in step S11, the CPU 31 prints with the cartridge 41 that has reached the end of life as shown in FIG. 5 (in FIG. 5, “eco print mode”). ) And a screen including a message 62 indicating that it is a replacement time is displayed on the liquid crystal display panel 51. When the screen shown in FIG. 5 is displayed, the display is controlled so as to continue to be displayed on the liquid crystal display panel 51 until the display of the end of life screen in step S6 or the end timing of the processing shown in the flowchart of FIG.

  Next, the process proceeds to step S12, the CPU 31 updates the value set in the counter 37, and proceeds to step S13. Specifically, a value of “1” is added to the value set in the counter 37 if the print setting of the print job is single-sided printing, and “2” is added if double-sided printing is set. After the counter 37 is set with a new value, the process proceeds to step S13.

  When the processing proceeds from step S12 or step S9 to step S13, the CPU 31 executes processing for the print page that is the processing target of the print job, and sends the processing target to the printer engine 40 via the engine control I / F 35. Print the print page.

  Next, the process proceeds to step S14, and the CPU 31 determines whether printing has been completed for all print pages of the print job. If all the print pages are not printed (step S14: No), the next print page is set as the print page to be processed, and then the process returns to step S2 to sequentially process the print pages included in the print job. If printing has been completed for all print pages (step S14: Yes), the process shown in the flowchart of FIG. 3 for the print job is terminated.

  If it is determined in step S1 that the mounted cartridge 41 has not reached the end of its life (step S1: No), the process proceeds to step S15 to initialize the counter 37, that is, set to “0”, and then to step S16. Proceeding sequentially prints each print page of the print job. When printing of all pages of the print job is finished in step S16, the processing shown in the flowchart of FIG. 3 is finished.

  In addition, the process of step S1 is the determination process described in the claims, the process of step S6 is the notification process described in the claims, the process of step S10 is the input process described in the claims, and the processes from step S11 to step S13 are performed. This corresponds to the printing processing step described in the claims.

  As described above, in the present printing system 1, the life of the mounted cartridge 41 is determined prior to execution of the print job, and when the life is reached, the life reaching screen is displayed. When the user who has confirmed the end-of-life screen is permitted to print with the cartridge 41 that has reached the end of the life and the print enable switch 52 is pressed (input), the print quality using the cartridge 41 that has reached the end of the life is displayed. Printing is not guaranteed.

  Hereinafter, effects in the first embodiment will be described.

  (1) The user is notified by displaying the end of life screen (see FIG. 4) at the timing prior to execution of the print job, that is, the timing before printing the first page of the print job, and receives input from the print enable switch 52. Since the process for the print job is executed after that, it is possible to start printing after the user has surely recognized that the cartridge 41 has reached the end of its life. Therefore, it is possible to prevent printing with print quality contrary to the user's intention.

  (2) Since the end of life is displayed for each predetermined number of pages for a print job including a plurality of print pages and the user is notified, the user reaches the end of life every print interval of a certain number of pages. Thus, it can be confirmed that the printing is performed by the cartridge 41. Therefore, even if a print job includes a plurality of print pages, it is possible to prevent printing with a print quality that is contrary to the user's intention.

  (3) If it is determined that the mounted cartridge 41 has not reached the end of its life, the counter 37 is initialized in step S15, so that the cartridge 41 is replaced with a cartridge 41 that has not reached the end of its life with the counter 37 moving forward. Then, the counter 37 is initialized. Then, when the cartridge 41 has already been replaced, the management of the number of pages can be started with the counter 37 initialized. Therefore, even when a cartridge 41 that has reached the end of its life is replaced with a cartridge 41 that has not reached its end of life, the end of life display that is performed for each predetermined page can be appropriately performed.

  (4) When printing with the cartridge 41 that has reached the end of its life is permitted when the print enable switch 52 is pressed, the screen shown in FIG. 5 is displayed, and the user must print with the cartridge 41 that has reached the end of its life. Can be confirmed during printing. Therefore, it is possible to more reliably prevent printing with a print quality that is contrary to the user's intention.

  The first embodiment of the present invention has been described above, but the present invention is not limited to such an embodiment, and can be implemented in various forms without departing from the spirit of the present invention. . Hereinafter, a modification will be described.

  (Modification 1) In the above embodiment, an example of a printer capable of color printing using four CMYK cartridges 41 has been described. However, the present invention can also be applied to monochrome printing having only K toner cartridges. When monochrome printing is performed by a printer capable of mounting a plurality of K toner cartridges instead of the four CMYK cartridges 41, the lifetime is reached when all the mounted K toner cartridges have reached the end of their lifetime. It is recommended to display.

  (Modification 2) In the above-described embodiment, the liquid crystal display panel 51 provided in the printer 3 is notified that the user is urged to replace it by displaying the end of life screen. However, the notification means is not limited to this. I can't. For example, the printer 3 includes a notification unit that transmits a command to display a life end screen on the host computer 2, and displays the life end screen on a display device such as a liquid crystal monitor provided in the host computer 2 that has transmitted the print job. You may do it. At this time, the printer may have an input means for receiving and accepting an input for permitting printing in accordance with an operation of a keyboard or mouse provided in the host computer 2. However, even in this case, an input for permitting printing may be received by the print enable switch 52.

  (Modification 3) The present invention can be applied to a replaceable consumable member such as a photoreceptor unit in addition to the toner cartridge 41.

  (Modification 4) In the above-described embodiment, the example in which the processing as the cartridge life determination unit 310 and the print processing unit 311 is realized by software has been described. Regarding the cartridge life determination unit 310 and the print processing unit 311, all or a part of the processing may be processed by hardware such as ASIC.

  (Modification 5) The printing apparatus of the present invention is not limited to a printer, but can be applied to a copying machine or a fax machine. Further, if the life of the ink stored in the cartridge is managed, the present invention can be applied to an ink jet printer.

1 is a schematic diagram illustrating a hardware configuration of a printing system according to a first embodiment. The figure which showed the structure of the operation panel. The flowchart figure which showed the flow of the process at the time of performing a print job. The figure which showed an example of the life reaching screen. The figure explaining the screen displayed at the time of printing.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Printing system, 2 ... Host computer, 3 ... Printer as printing apparatus, 20 ... Application part, 21 ... Printer driver, 30 ... Controller, 31 ... CPU as computer, 32 ... ROM, 33 ... RAM, 34 ... Host I / F, 35 ... Engine control I / F, 36 ... Panel control I / F, 37 ... Counter, 38 ... System bus, 40 ... Printer engine, 41 ... Cartridge as consumable member, 42 ... ROM, 50 ... Operation panel 51 ... Liquid crystal display panel as notification means, 52 ... Print enable switch as input means, 55-57 ... Lamp, 310 ... Cartridge life judgment section as judgment means, 311 ... Print processing section as print processing means.

Claims (7)

A printing apparatus that executes a print job to be printed and performs printing using a consumable member that is replaceably mounted.
A determination means for determining whether the consumable member has reached the end of its life prior to execution of the print job;
A notification means for notifying that the replacement of the consumable member is urged when it is determined that the consumable member has reached the end of its life;
Input means for receiving an input to print without replacing the consumable member;
A printing apparatus comprising: a print processing unit that executes the print job when the input unit receives an input. The printing apparatus according to claim 1,
When the print job has a plurality of print pages,
The determination unit determines whether or not the consumable member has reached the end of its life prior to execution of a job for the first print page of the plurality of print pages. The printing apparatus according to claim 2,
The print processing means includes
Managing the number of pages printed for the print job, and notifying the notification means to replace the consumable member each time a predetermined number of printed pages are printed,
A printing apparatus that executes a job for a print page of the predetermined number of pages when an input is received by the input unit. The printing apparatus according to claim 3.
When the determination unit determines that the consumable member has not reached the end of its life prior to execution of the print job,
The printing apparatus, wherein the print processing unit initializes a counter for managing the number of pages on which printing has been executed. The printing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 4,
The printing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the lifetime is a state in which printing quality cannot be guaranteed for printing using the consumable member. A control method for a printing apparatus that executes a print job to be printed and performs printing using a consumable member that is replaceably mounted.
A determination step of determining whether or not the consumable member has reached the end of its life prior to execution of the print job;
A notification step for notifying that replacement of the consumable member is urged when it is determined that the consumable member has reached the end of its life;
An input step of receiving an input to print without replacing the consumable member;
A printing apparatus control method comprising: a print processing step of executing the print job when the input unit receives an input. A control program for controlling a printing apparatus that executes a print job to be printed and performs printing using a consumable member that is replaceably mounted,
On the computer,
A determination step of determining whether or not the consumable member has reached the end of its life prior to execution of the print job;
A notification step of notifying the notification means that the replacement of the consumable member is urged when it is determined that the consumable member has reached the end of its life;
A control program for executing an input step for receiving an input for printing without replacing the consumable member from an input unit, and a print processing step for executing the print job when the input unit receives an input. .

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