JP2008119941A - Medium processor and drive control method of medium processor - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a medium processor which can keep on writing data even when a data writing abnormality and an abnormality in a printer take place. <P>SOLUTION: The CD/DVD publisher 1 comprises a data writing abnormality detecting part 31 which detects the data writing abnormality in a medium drive 3, and an ink near end detecting part 41 which detects an ink feeding abnormal state given rise to in a label printer 4. When the data writing abnormality is detected, a writing abnormality mark is printed to a writing abnormal medium and stored in a medium storage stacker 6. When the ink feeding abnormal state is detected, a writing normal medium is forcibly stored in the medium storage stacker 6. A medium in the halfway of formation is prevented from being left in the medium drive 3, in the label printer 4 etc. The data writing action can be continued by supplying a new blank medium 10 to the medium drive 3. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a media processing apparatus such as a CD / DVD publisher that performs data writing and label printing on a medium such as a CD or DVD, and more particularly, even if data writing abnormality or printer abnormality occurs, data writing is performed. The present invention relates to a media processing apparatus capable of continuously performing the above and a drive control method for the media processing apparatus.

  Media processing devices such as CD / DVD publishers are used to create media such as DVDs for graduation albums and CDs attached as appendices to magazines. In the CD / DVD publisher, the blank media stored in the media stacker for supply is first supplied to the media drive, where predetermined data is written, and the media after the data is written is supplied to the printer. Print the label. Then, the completed media for which printing has been completed is stored in an output media stacker. A large amount of media is created by repeating these series of operations. When the creation of the predetermined number of media is completed, the operator can take out the completed media stored in the storage media stacker in a lump.

  In the CD / DVD publisher, when a data write error occurs in the media drive or when a print error occurs in the printer, it is necessary to stop or interrupt the data write operation or print operation at that time. In order to resume the operation, it is necessary to return the media drive or the printer to a normal state and remove the medium in which the data writing error or the printing error has occurred.

  Here, the probability of occurrence of a printing error in the printer is extremely higher than the probability of occurrence of a data write error in the media drive. The reason for this is that even if an error does not occur in the printer itself, ink or toner as a consumable item is lost, resulting in an error state where printing is defective or printing is impossible.

Patent Documents 1 and 2 disclose a technique for notifying an operator of the occurrence of an abnormality by using an LED or warning display means provided in a printer when ink runs out. In Patent Document 3, an ink shortage state in which the remaining amount of ink is less than a predetermined remaining amount is detected, and the occurrence of an abnormality is displayed on a display panel provided in the printer or a computer that controls the printer. A technique for informing is disclosed.
JP 2002-86697 A JP 2002-86698 A JP 2006-116956 A

  In a CD / DVD publisher, when a large amount of media is created, such as when a graduation album is created, media such as CDs and DVDs are often created 24 hours a day. In this case, there is a high possibility of being unattended in the middle of the night. If a data write error occurs during this time, the media creation operation (data write operation and label printing until the write abnormal media is removed from the media drive). Operation) stops or is interrupted. In addition, even when ink runs out, the media creation operation is stopped or interrupted until ink is replenished. During such unattended operation, there is a possibility that the operation is stopped or interrupted for a long time without noticing the occurrence of an error. Even when the operator and the CD / DVD publisher are separated, there is a possibility that the operation is stopped or interrupted in the same manner as in the case of unattended operation without noticing the occurrence of an error.

  When such a situation occurs, the media creation work is greatly delayed. Further, if the operation stoppage or interruption time of the CD / DVD publisher is prolonged, the processing efficiency is greatly lowered, and the waste of power consumption is increased. To avoid running out of ink, which has a high frequency of errors, when creating a large amount of media, it is necessary to check the remaining amount of ink, refill ink, or replace the ink cartridge with a new one. is there. It is troublesome to perform such an operation each time, and the replacement frequency of the ink cartridge increases, resulting in waste of ink.

  Here, in order to prevent the media creation operation from being interrupted or stopped even if an error occurs, the media in the media drive, the printer, or the transport path may be discharged to the media stacker when the error occurs. Conceivable. However, since the CD / DVD publisher has only one media stacker for storage, when these media are ejected, the following various media are mixed in a single media stacker.

(1) Completed media for which data writing and label printing have been completed (2) Write abnormal media that cannot be reused (3) Unprinted write normal media that can be created as completed media simply by printing the label (4) Printing abnormal media that cannot be reused because printing was interrupted due to a printer error during label printing. In this case, the writing abnormal media and the unprinted writing normal media cannot be visually identified. In order to classify both media, it is necessary to inspect the data writing abnormality one by one, which causes a problem that a huge amount of time is spent on the sorting work.

  On the other hand, if a different media stacker is provided for each error that occurs, the configuration of the media processing device becomes complicated, which hinders downsizing and cost reduction of the device.

  In view of these points, an object of the present invention is to provide a media processing apparatus and a media processing apparatus drive control method capable of continuously writing data even if a data writing abnormality or a printer abnormality occurs. It is to propose.

  Also, if a data write error or printer error occurs, the media in the media drive, printer, or transport path is ejected to the same media stacker as the media on which data was normally written and label printed. However, it is to propose a media processing apparatus and a drive control method for the media processing apparatus that can easily identify them visually.

  In order to solve the above problem, the drive control method of the media processing apparatus of the present invention supplies media to the media drive from the media supply unit, writes data to the media by the media drive, and has been written after the data is written. When the media is supplied to a printer and the written media is a normal writing media in which data is normally written, a label is printed on the normal writing media, and the written media has an error in writing data. If it is a write abnormal medium, a write abnormal mark indicating that a data write abnormality has occurred is printed on the write abnormal medium, and the printed media after the label printing or the write abnormal mark is printed is stored in the medium. Store in the stacker and the remaining ink level of the printer After it is detected that the ink near-end state of less than the amount has been detected, the normal writing medium is stored in the media storage stacker without printing the label until the ink near-end state is resolved. It is characterized by.

  According to the present invention, the written media is stored in the media storage stacker regardless of whether the data writing abnormality occurs or the ink near end state occurs. Since the written medium does not remain in the media drive, the printer, or the transport path, a new medium can be supplied to the media drive and data can be written to the medium. That is, even if an abnormality occurs, the processing operation of the media processing device is not completely stopped or interrupted, and the data writing operation to the media can be continuously performed.

  For example, the writing speed of data to a CD by a media drive is about 150 seconds per sheet, and the writing speed of data to a DVD is about 600 seconds per sheet. On the other hand, the label printing speed by the printer is about 40 seconds per sheet even when printing at high resolution. Therefore, if the data writing operation to the media is performed without stopping, the processing time loss is greatly reduced compared to the case where the entire processing operation of the media processing device is stopped or interrupted due to an abnormality occurring in the printer. Can be suppressed.

  Further, the present invention stores a completed medium that has been completed up to label printing without any abnormality during the medium creation operation, and a medium in which a data writing abnormality or an ink near-end state of the printer has occurred in a single medium storage stacker. . Since there is no need to provide a media stacker for ejecting media with an abnormality separately from the media storage stacker that stores completed media, the structure of the media processing device can be simplified to reduce size and cost. it can. Here, the completed media, the write abnormal media in which the write abnormality mark is printed, the write normal media in the middle of printing, and the write normal media in the unprinted state, which are stored in a single media storage stacker, In any case, since the printing states are different, they can be identified by visual observation. Therefore, it is easy to take out only the normal writing medium in an unprinted state and then print the label to obtain a completed medium. In addition, it is possible to easily take out and discard the data writing abnormal media that cannot be reused and the writing normal media in the middle of printing.

  Also, when an ink near-end state is detected when the remaining amount of ink in the printer is less than the specified amount, label printing is not performed on normal write media, so there is enough ink to print the write error mark. Can be kept. That is, even if a data write abnormality occurs in the media drive after it is detected that the ink near end state has been detected, it is possible to print a write abnormality mark on the write abnormal medium.

  In the present invention, if it is detected that the printer has fallen into the ink near-end state while the label is being printed on the writing normal medium by the printer, the label printing operation of the printer is forcibly forced. It is desirable that the normal writing medium in the middle of printing is taken out from the printer and stored in the medium storage stacker. If the label printing operation is forcibly terminated, it is possible to prevent ink from being consumed due to continuation of unnecessary printing processing, so when a data writing error occurs after that, a writing error mark is printed on the writing error medium. It is possible to secure a sufficient amount of ink. In addition, since the printing operation is forcibly terminated, it is easy to visually identify the writing normal medium in the middle of printing and the completed medium in which the label printing is normally completed.

  Further, in the present invention, when it is detected that the printer has fallen into the ink near-end state at the time when the label is printed on the writing normal medium by the printer, the writing normal during printing is detected. A printing abnormality mark indicating that printing has been completed on the medium is printed, the label printing operation of the printer is forcibly terminated, a normal medium on which the printing abnormality mark is printed is taken out from the printer, and is stored in the media storage stacker. You may make it accommodate. The completed media and the writing normal media in the middle of printing may be difficult to identify visually that some print data is missing depending on the timing when printing is interrupted. Problem occurs. Therefore, it is possible to print the printing abnormality mark on the writing normal medium in the middle of printing to facilitate the separation.

  In the present invention, if the printer is a multicolor printer capable of printing a label using a plurality of types of ink, it is desirable to detect the ink near end state for each ink.

  In this case, the writing abnormality mark is printed using one predetermined ink, and an ink end state in which the ink is substantially zero is detected for the ink used for printing the writing abnormality mark, After the ink has fallen into the ink end state, if the writing abnormality mark is printed using any one of the remaining inks that have not fallen into the ink end state, the writing abnormality mark can be reliably printed. .

  In the present invention, if the printer is a multi-color printer capable of printing a label using a plurality of types of ink, the ink near-end state and the remaining amount of ink are substantially zero for each ink. When the ink end state that has fallen into the ink end state is detected, and it is detected that the printer has fallen into the ink near end state at the time when the label is printed on the writing normal medium by the printer. The label printing operation of the printer is continued until the end, and when it is detected that the printer has fallen into the ink end state at the time when the label is printed on the writing normal medium by the printer, The label printing operation of the printer is forcibly terminated, and the printer has printed or printed Can be accommodated in the media stacker is taken out the write normal media being.

  In this case, if the ink remaining amount of each ink for detecting the ink near-end state is set to an ink remaining amount that is more than the ink consumption amount necessary for label printing on one medium, the ink is in one ink during printing. Even when the near-end state is detected, printing on the medium in the middle of printing can be performed to the end. Such ink remaining amount of each ink can be predicted from the print data amount.

  In addition, after the writing abnormality mark is printed using one predetermined ink, and the ink falls into the ink end state, the remaining ink that has not fallen into the ink end state is used. It is desirable to print a writing abnormality mark.

  In the present invention, when the ink near end state or the ink end state is detected, it is desirable to issue a warning to that effect and notify an operator or the like. If a warning that an abnormal ink supply state has occurred is issued, the operator mixes unprinted media and media in the middle of printing in the media stored in a single media storage stacker. You can know that you are. Therefore, it is possible to recognize that it is necessary to perform a sorting operation after the media stored in the media storage stacker is taken out from the media processing apparatus. In addition, the operator can be prompted to replace the ink cartridge or fill the ink.

  Here, when the label printing operation of the printer is forcibly terminated, printing on the writing normal medium in the middle of printing using any one of the remaining inks not falling into the ink end state It is desirable to print a printing abnormality mark indicating. Depending on the timing when printing is interrupted, it may be difficult to visually identify that some print data is missing, but print a print error mark. Therefore, the separation work can be facilitated.

  Further, when the data writing abnormality is detected, it is desirable to issue a warning to that effect and notify an operator or the like. The operator can know from the warning that there are mixed write abnormal media in the media stored in the single media storage stacker, so remove the media stored in the media storage stacker from the media processing device. After that, it can be recognized that the sorting work needs to be performed.

  Here, the drive control method of the media processing apparatus according to the present invention can be realized by hardware of the media processing apparatus and firmware installed therein. However, in order to avoid the complexity of the firmware and hardware of the media processing device and to cause the media processing device to execute the drive control method of the present invention, the media processing device must be externally controlled via a communication line. That's fine. That is, the medium is configured to receive the status information indicating the operation state of the hardware of the media processing device by application software, driver software, or the like installed on the drive control device side, and to operate according to the drive control method of the present invention. What is necessary is just to drive-control a processing apparatus.

  Next, a media processing apparatus of the present invention includes a media drive that writes data to the media, a printer that prints on written media for which data has been written in the media drive, a media storage stacker for ejecting media, Data writing abnormality detecting means for detecting data writing abnormality of the media drive, ink near end detecting means for detecting that the ink remaining amount of the printer has fallen to a predetermined amount or less, and conveyance of media The printer is a writing abnormal medium in which a label is printed when the written medium is a writing normal medium in which data has been normally written, and a data writing abnormality has occurred. If the written media is In the case of a write abnormal medium in which the error occurred, a write abnormality mark indicating that a data write abnormality has occurred is printed on the write abnormal medium, and after the ink near end state is detected, the ink near end state is canceled. In the meantime, the printer stops printing the label on the normal writing medium, and the media transport mechanism stores the written media from the printer into the media storage stacker.

  In the present invention, the media transport mechanism may store the normal write medium from the media drive into the media storage stacker after the ink near end state is detected. After the ink near end state is detected, it is not necessary to perform any printing on the writing normal medium in which no data writing abnormality has occurred. Therefore, if the media transport mechanism stores the normal writing medium in the media storage stacker without going through the printer, the storage operation is performed quickly.

  In the present invention, when the ink near-end state is detected while the label is being printed on the writing normal medium by the printer, the printer forcibly terminates the label printing operation, and the media transport mechanism It is preferable that the normal writing medium being printed is taken out from the printer and stored in the media storage stacker.

  Further, when the ink near end state is detected while the label is being printed on the writing normal medium by the printer, the printer finishes printing on the writing normal medium in the middle of printing. A printing abnormality mark indicating that the printing abnormality mark has been printed is printed, the label printing operation is forcibly terminated, and the media transport mechanism takes out the writing normal medium printed with the printing abnormality mark from the printer and stores it in the media storage stacker. You may do it.

  Here, if the printer is a multi-color printer capable of printing a label using a plurality of types of ink, it is preferable that the ink near-end detection means detects the ink near-end state for each ink.

  In this case, for each ink of the printer, there is an ink end detection means for detecting that the ink remaining amount has fallen into a substantially zero ink end state, and the printer supplies one predetermined ink. After printing the writing abnormality mark using the ink and detecting the ink end state of the ink, the printer uses the remaining one of the remaining inks for which the ink end state has not been detected. Print it out.

  Further, if the printer is a multi-color printer capable of printing a label using a plurality of types of ink, the following can be performed. That is, each ink of the printer has ink end detection means for detecting that the ink remaining amount is substantially zero, and the ink near end detection means is configured for each ink of the printer. The ink near-end state is detected, and when it is detected that the printer has fallen into the ink near-end state at the time when the label is printed on the writing normal medium by the printer, the printer detects the label. If it is detected that the printer is in an ink end state at a point in time during which the label is printed on the writing normal medium by the printer, the printer performs the label printing operation. And the media transport mechanism has already been printed from the printer Removed the write normal media in accommodated in the media stacker.

  In this case, it is desirable that the ink remaining amount serving as a reference for detecting whether or not the ink near-end state is set to an ink remaining amount that is equal to or more than the ink consumption necessary for label printing on one medium. .

  In addition, the printer prints the writing abnormality mark using one predetermined ink, and after the ink end state of the ink is detected, the printer detects the remaining ink whose ink end state is not detected. It is desirable to print the writing abnormality mark using any one of them.

  Here, when the printer forcibly terminates the label printing operation, printing is completed on the writing normal medium during printing using any one of the remaining inks that are not in the ink end state. It is desirable that the printing abnormality mark indicating that the printing abnormality mark is printed, and the media transport mechanism take out the writing normal medium on which the printing abnormality mark is printed from the printer and store it in the media storage stacker.

  Furthermore, it is desirable to have an ink near end state warning means for issuing a warning when the ink near end state is detected.

  In addition, it is desirable to have a data writing abnormality warning means for issuing a warning when the data writing abnormality is detected.

  According to the present invention, the written media is stored in the media storage stacker regardless of whether the data writing abnormality occurs or the ink near end state occurs. Since the written media does not remain in the media drive, the printer, or the transport path, new media can be supplied to the media drive and data can be written to the media. That is, even if an abnormality occurs, the processing operation of the media processing device is not completely stopped or interrupted, and the data writing operation to the media can be continuously performed.

  Further, the present invention stores a completed medium that has been completed up to label printing without any abnormality during the medium creation operation, and a medium in which a data writing abnormality or an ink near-end state of the printer has occurred in a single medium storage stacker. . It is not necessary to provide a media stacker for discharging the media in which an abnormality has occurred separately from the media storage stacker for storing the completed media. Therefore, the structure of the media processing device can be simplified, and the size and cost can be reduced.

  Here, the completed media, the write abnormal media in which the write error mark is printed, the write normal media in the middle of printing in which the print error mark is printed, and the write normal media in the unprinted state are all stored in a single medium. Stored in a stacker. However, since each printing state is different, it can be identified visually. Therefore, it is easy to take out only a normal writing medium in an unprinted state and then print a label to obtain a completed medium. In addition, it is possible to easily take out and discard the data writing abnormal media that cannot be reused and the writing normal media in the middle of printing.

  Further, when an ink near-end state in which the remaining amount of ink in the printer is less than or equal to a predetermined amount is detected, label printing on a normal writing medium is not performed thereafter, so that a writing abnormality mark and a printing abnormality mark are printed. The amount of ink can be secured. That is, even when a data writing abnormality occurs after the ink near end state is detected, it is possible to print a writing abnormality mark on the writing abnormality medium.

  Embodiments of a media processing apparatus to which the present invention is applied will be described below with reference to the drawings.

[Embodiment 1]
(Description of configuration)
FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a CD / DVD publisher according to an embodiment of the present invention. In order to understand the internal structure, the front door is opened and a part of the upper plate portion of the housing is removed. In this embodiment, an ink jet printer is used for explanation.

  The CD / DVD publisher 1 continuously performs data writing and label printing on media such as CDs and DVDs, and includes a media transport mechanism 2 that transports media and a media drive that writes data to the media. 3 and a label printer 4 for printing the label on the medium. In addition, a media supply stacker 5 (media supply unit) that stores blank media 10 supplied to the media drive 3 and a media storage stacker 6 that stores completed media after data writing and label printing are provided. ing.

  More specifically, the CD / DVD publisher 1 includes a housing 11, and open / close doors 12 and 13 that can be opened and closed to the left and right are attached to the front surface of the housing 11. The lower part of the right open / close door 13 is an operation panel surface 14 that protrudes forward. This is a case where a data write abnormality occurs in the media drive and an ink supply abnormality occurs in the label printer 4. A warning display unit 16 (ink state warning unit, writing state warning unit) having an LED that is driven to blink in order to issue a warning to that effect is provided.

  In the housing 11, a media supply stacker 5 and a media storage stacker 6 are disposed from the upper side in the vertical direction on the back side of the left open / close door 12. Each of the media stackers 5 and 6 stores media stacked in the vertical direction. These media stackers 5 and 6 can be pulled out by opening the opening / closing door 12, and blank media can be supplied or supplemented to the pulled-out media supply stacker 5, and the media storage stacker 6 in the pulled-out state can be supplied. Can take out the media stored in them.

  A media transport mechanism 2 is disposed behind the media stackers 5 and 6. The media transport mechanism 2 includes a vertical guide shaft 21 and a media carrier 22 attached to the vertical guide shaft 21. The media carrier 22 can move up and down along the vertical guide shaft 21 and can turn around the vertical guide shaft 21. The media transport mechanism 2 can transport media among the media drive 3, the label printer 4, the media supply stacker 5, and the media storage stacker 6 by a combination of raising and lowering and turning of the media carrier 22.

  A media drive 3 is disposed on the upper side and a label printer 4 is disposed on the lower side of the rear portion of the front central portion in the housing 11. In FIG. 1, the media tray 35 of the media drive 3 and the media tray 45 of the label printer 4 are pulled out. The positions of the media trays 35 and 45 in the pulled out state are media delivery positions between the media drive 3 and the label printer 4 and the media transport mechanism 2.

  When the right open / close door 13 in the housing 11 is opened, a cartridge mounting portion 47 in which a plurality of ink cartridges 46 for supplying ink to the label printer 4 is mounted is disposed. The ink cartridge 46 can be easily replaced from the front with the right opening / closing door 13 opened.

  FIG. 2 is a functional block diagram of the main part of the CD / DVD publisher 1. As shown in FIG. 2, the CD / DVD publisher 1 includes a data write abnormality detection unit 31 (data write abnormality detection means) that detects a data write abnormality that occurs in the media drive 3. Further, the label printer 4 includes a printer abnormality detection unit 40 that detects an abnormal state. The first-stage printer abnormality detection unit 40 includes an ink end detection unit 41 (ink end detection unit) that detects an ink end state in which the ink of the label printer 4 is substantially exhausted. Ink near-end detection unit 42 (ink near-end state detection means) is provided. The ink end detection unit 41 and the ink near end detection unit 42 detect an ink end state and an ink near end state for each of a plurality of inks used for label printing.

  Further, the main functions of the CD / DVD publisher 1 will be described with reference to FIG. First, the media transport mechanism 2 sequentially supplies the blank media 10 stored in the media supply stacker 5 to the media drive 3 (ST1). When the blank medium 10 is supplied, the media drive 3 writes predetermined data (ST2). The medium for which data has been written (written medium) is supplied to the label printer 4 by the media transport mechanism 2 (ST3).

  In the label printer 4, a writing abnormality mark is printed on the written medium (writing abnormality medium) in which the data writing abnormality detecting unit 31 detects the data writing abnormality (ST4). The write abnormality mark is a 9pt “x” mark. Further, the label is printed on the written medium (normal writing medium) while the data writing abnormality detecting unit 31 detects the data writing abnormality (ST5).

  Then, the normal writing medium (completed medium) for which label printing in the label printer 4 has been completed is stored in the medium storage stacker 6 from the label printer 4 by the media transport mechanism 2 (ST6). These series of processing operations are repeated until the designated number of sheets or the blank media 10 stored in the media supply stacker 5 is exhausted.

  Here, after the ink near end detection unit 42 detects that one of the plurality of inks has fallen into the ink near end state, the label printer 4 does not perform label printing on the writing normal medium. Accordingly, the media transport mechanism 2 stores the writing normal media in an unprinted state (unprinted media) from the label printer 4 into the media storage stacker 6 (ST6). Note that after the ink near-end detection unit 42 detects the ink near-end state of any one of a plurality of types of ink, the label printer 4 does not perform label printing on the normal writing medium. Therefore, the media transport mechanism 2 can store the unwritten normal writing medium (unprinted medium) directly from the media drive 3 in the media storage stacker 6 (ST7).

  However, if it is detected that one of the plurality of inks has entered the ink near-end state after label printing has started in the label printer 4, the label printer 4 continues printing as it is. After that, if it is detected that the ink end state has occurred before the printing of the writing normal medium in the middle of printing is completed, the label printing is forcibly completed and the printing abnormality mark is printed (ST8). The printing abnormality mark is a “pt” mark of 30 pt. When the label printing is forcibly terminated, the media transport mechanism 2 stores the writing normal medium (printing abnormal medium) in the middle of printing from the label printer 4 into the medium storage stacker 6 (ST6).

  As described above, the CD / DVD publisher 1 of this example stores the written media in the media storage stacker 6 regardless of whether a data writing abnormality occurs in the media drive 3 or an ink near end state occurs in the label printer 4. Is done. Since the written media does not remain in the media drive 3, the label printer 4, or on the transport path, new media can be supplied to the media drive 3 and data can be written to the media. it can. That is, even if an abnormality occurs, the processing operation of the CD / DVD publisher 1 is not completely stopped or interrupted, so that data can be continuously written to the blank medium 10 that takes time.

  Further, the CD / DVD publisher 1 of this example stores the completed media, write abnormal media, print abnormal media, and unprinted media in a single media storage stacker 6. Since only one media stacker for discharging media is required, the apparatus can be reduced in size and cost.

  Furthermore, the completed media, the write abnormal media, the print abnormal media, and the unprinted media stored in the single media storage stacker 6 are all different in printing state, and can be identified by visual inspection. Therefore, it is possible to obtain a completed medium by taking out only the unprinted medium and printing the label. In addition, write abnormal media and print abnormal media that cannot be reused can be taken out and discarded.

  Further, after the ink near end state is detected, label printing is not performed by the label printer 4, so even if a data writing abnormality occurs after that, only a writing abnormality mark is printed on the writing abnormality medium. The amount of ink can be secured.

(Description of processing operation)
FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing a media creation processing operation by the CD / DVD publisher 1. The media creation operation will be described with reference to this flowchart.

  First, in step ST <b> 10, the media transport mechanism 2 confirms the presence / absence of the blank media 10 stored in the media supply stacker 5. If there is no blank medium 10, the process proceeds to step ST <b> 11, and the medium creation processing operation ends. If there is a blank medium 10, the process proceeds to step ST <b> 12, and the media transport mechanism 2 transports the blank medium 10 from the media supply stacker 5 to the media tray 35 in the state where the media drive 3 is pulled out.

  Upon receiving the medium, the media drive 3 stores the media tray 35 therein and starts the data writing process in step ST13.

  When the data writing is completed, the process proceeds to step ST14, and the media transport mechanism 2 transports the written media from the media drive 3 to the media tray 45 in a state where the label printer 4 is pulled out.

  Next, in step ST15, it is determined whether or not the data write abnormality detection unit 31 has detected a data write abnormality. If a data writing abnormality is detected, the process proceeds to step ST16, and a writing abnormality mark is printed on the writing abnormality medium. In step ST17, the media transport mechanism 2 labels the writing abnormality medium on which the writing abnormality mark is printed. After storing from the printer 4 in the media storage stacker 6, the process returns to step ST10.

  If the data writing abnormality detecting unit 31 does not detect the data writing abnormality in step ST15, that is, if the data writing is normal, the ink supply abnormality state of the printer abnormality detecting unit 40 is determined in step ST18. In step ST18, it is determined that the ink supply abnormal state is present, regardless of whether any of the plurality of types of inks is in the ink near end state or the ink end state.

  If it is determined in step ST18 that the ink supply is in an abnormal state, the process proceeds to step ST19, and the occurrence of a writing abnormality is displayed on the warning display unit 16. Is stored in the media storage stacker 6 from the label printer 4, and the process returns to step ST10.

  If it is determined in step ST18 that the ink supply is normal, label printing processing is performed in step ST21. During label printing, the printer abnormality detection unit 40 detects ink end and ink near end.

  Here, when the ink near end detection unit 42 detects the ink near end state in step ST22 during label printing, the warning display unit 16 displays that the ink near end state has occurred in step ST23. At this time, the label printing by the label printer 4 is continued without being stopped. Thereafter, when the ink end detection unit 41 detects the ink end state in step ST24 during printing of the writing normal medium, the process proceeds to step ST25. When the ink near-end state is detected during printing, if the ink remaining amount of each ink at the time of detecting the ink near-end state is set to an ink remaining amount that is more than the ink consumption necessary for label printing on one medium However, printing on the writing normal medium during printing can be performed to the end. Such remaining ink amount for each ink can be predicted from the print data amount.

  In step ST25, the warning display unit 16 displays that the ink end state has occurred. Subsequently, in step ST26, a printing abnormality mark is printed on the medium being printed, and the label printing by the label printer 4 is forcibly terminated. At this time, the printing abnormality mark uses ink of a color where no ink end has occurred. In step ST26, the medium on which the printing abnormality mark is printed becomes the printing abnormality medium. Subsequently, in step ST27, the media transport mechanism 2 stores the printing abnormality medium on which the printing abnormality mark is printed from the label printer 4 in the medium storage stacker 6, and then returns to step ST10.

  If it is not an ink end in step ST24, the processing operations of steps ST21 to ST24 are repeated until the end of label printing is confirmed in step ST28.

  When it is confirmed in step ST28 that label printing has been completed, in step ST29, the media transport mechanism 2 stores the completed media from the label printer 4 in the media storage stacker 6, and then returns to step ST10.

(Explanation of effects)
In this example, since the writing abnormality mark is “pt” mark of 9 pt, the amount of ink for printing the writing abnormality mark is small. In addition, since the rate at which data writing abnormalities occur is extremely low, the necessity of considering the ink amount for printing the writing abnormal marks is low. Even if the ink used by the ink end detection unit 41 to print the write abnormality mark is in the ink end state, the label printer 4 of this example can print using a plurality of types of ink. Therefore, the writing abnormality mark can be printed using ink of a different color from the ink that detected the ink end. In addition, since the rate at which all of a plurality of types of ink are simultaneously in an ink end state is extremely low, a writing abnormality mark can be printed by changing the color of the ink used. The writing abnormality mark is not limited to the “x” mark, and the number and size thereof are not limited to 9 pt. Any mark may be used as long as it can be visually identified from other print media stored in the media storage stacker 6.

  Further, in this example, when an ink end state occurs during label printing, a print abnormality medium on which a print abnormality mark is printed is created, so that it is easy to distinguish the completed medium and other abnormality occurrence media. In addition, if the print data and the remaining amount of ink are managed, the rate at which ink end occurs during label printing is low, so there is little need to consider the amount of ink for printing an abnormal print mark. . Even if the ink used by the ink end detection unit 41 for printing the printing abnormality mark is in the ink end state, the label printer 4 of this example can print using a plurality of types of ink. Therefore, the printing abnormality mark can be printed using ink of a color different from the ink that detected the ink end. In addition, since the rate at which all of a plurality of types of ink are in the ink end state at the same time is extremely low, a printing abnormality mark can be printed by changing the color of the ink used. Note that the printing abnormality mark is not limited to the “x” mark, and the number and size thereof are not limited to 30 pt. Any mark may be used as long as it can be visually identified from other print media stored in the media storage stacker 6.

  In this example, the media transport mechanism 2 is determined to transport from the blank media stacker 5 to the media drive 3, transport from the media drive 3 to the label printer 4, and transport from the label printer 4 to the storage media stacker 6. It is only necessary to repeatedly perform the three transport operations. Since the transport pattern is determined, the firmware installed in the media transport mechanism 2 can be simplified.

  Further, in this example, at the time of starting label printing on the writing normal medium by the label printer 4, it is determined whether or not any of the plural types of ink is in the ink near end state or the ink end state. In this state, since the label is not printed and stored in the media storage stacker, it can be easily distinguished from the completed media and other abnormal media.

  In addition, when the ink end state is detected during label printing by the label printer 4, the label printing operation is forcibly terminated after printing the abnormal printing mark, so that ink is wasted by continuing unnecessary printing. There is no.

  Further, in this example, when the ink near end state occurs, the LED of the warning display unit 16 is turned on to indicate that fact. If such a warning is issued, the operator can know that the medium stored in the medium storage stacker 6 contains a normal writing normal medium and an abnormal printing medium in an unprinted state. Therefore, it is possible to recognize that the sorting operation is necessary after the media stored in the media storage stacker 6 is taken out from the CD / DVD publisher 1. Further, the operator can be prompted to take action such as replacing the ink cartridge 46. Further, even when a data writing abnormality is detected, the LED of the warning display unit 16 is turned on to indicate that fact. The operator can know from the warning that there is a writing abnormal medium among the media stored in the media storage stacker 6, so that the media stored in the media storage stacker 6 is taken out from the CD / DVD publisher 1. After that, it can be recognized that the sorting work needs to be performed.

  In this example, a state where the ink cartridge 46 is not attached to the cartridge attachment portion 47 may be detected. In this case, a processing operation similar to the processing operation when the ink end is detected may be performed.

  Further, in this example, the blank medium 10 is conveyed from the medium supply stacker 5 and data is written, but the supplied medium is not limited to the blank medium 10. It is also possible to store write-once or rewritable media in which data has already been written in a part of the data writing area in the media supply stacker 5 and write predetermined data to them.

  In addition, an inkjet printer is used as the label printer 4, but the label printer 4 may be a printer that prints the label using toner ink, such as a laser printer.

(Modification of Embodiment 1)
In the first embodiment, after the written media is transported from the media drive 3 to the label printer 4 by the media transport mechanism 2, the data writing abnormality in the media drive 3 is detected. However, the written media is transported to the label printer 4. Before doing so, the data write abnormality detector 31 may detect a data write abnormality.

  Such processing operation will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. The processing operation from the step ST13 to the step ST21 is different from that of the first embodiment, but the other processing operations are the same, so the same reference numerals are given and the description thereof is omitted.

  In this example, when data writing by the media drive 3 is completed in step ST13, the process proceeds to step ST30, and first, it is determined whether the data writing abnormality detecting unit 31 has detected a data writing abnormality.

  If a data writing abnormality is detected, the process proceeds to step ST31, where the media transport mechanism 2 transports the writing abnormal medium to the media tray 45 in the state of being pulled out of the label printer 4, and prints a writing abnormality mark in step ST32. To do.

  Then, the process proceeds to step ST33, where the media transport mechanism 2 stores the write abnormal medium on which the write abnormal mark is printed from the label printer 4 in the medium storage stacker 6, and then returns to step ST10.

  If the data writing is normal in step ST30, it is determined in step ST34 whether the ink supply is abnormal. In step ST34, it is determined that the ink supply is abnormal even if any of the plurality of types of ink is in the ink near-end state.

  If it is determined in step ST34 that the ink supply is in an abnormal state, the process proceeds to step ST35, and the occurrence of a writing abnormality is displayed on the warning display unit 16. After the media is stored in the media storage stacker 6 from the media drive 3, the process returns to step ST10.

  If it is determined in step ST34 that the ink supply is normal, in step ST37, the media transport mechanism 2 transports the writing normal medium from the media drive 3 to the media tray 45 in a state where the label printer 4 is pulled out. Thereafter, the process proceeds to step 21 where the label printer 4 prints the label on the writing normal medium.

  According to this example, when the printer abnormality detection unit 40 detects an ink supply abnormality state before conveying the writing normal medium to the label printer 4, the media conveying mechanism 2 stores the writing normal medium from the media drive 3 into the medium. Store directly in the stacker 6. Since the normal writing medium which does not need to perform any printing is stored in the medium storage stacker 6 without going through the label printer 4, the storing operation is efficiently performed.

[Embodiment 2]
In the above example, the media drive 3, the label printer 4, and the media transport mechanism 2 of the CD / DVD publisher 1 perform automatic discrimination control with the firmware installed in the CD / DVD publisher 1. However, the drive control device connected to the CD / DVD publisher 1 so as to be communicable can control the drive to perform the same media issuing process as in the above example. In this case, a command is given to the media creation device by application software or driver software installed on the drive control device side, and status information indicating the operating state of the hardware from the media creation device is monitored. The drive of the media creation device may be controlled.

(Description of configuration)
FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing an example of the media creation system configured as described above. The media creation system 100 of this example includes a drive control device 70 and a CD / DVD publisher 1A. The drive control device 70 is a computer that is communicably connected to the CD / DVD publisher 1A, and application software for driving and controlling the CD / DVD publisher 1A is operating. The basic configuration of the CD / DVD publisher 1A is the same as that of the CD / DVD publisher 1 of the first embodiment, and the corresponding parts are denoted by the same reference numerals and description thereof is omitted.

  The drive control device 70 includes an interface 71 used for transmission / reception of control commands and status information performed with the CD / DVD publisher 1A, a data receiving unit 72 that processes information received by the interface 71, and a CD / DVD. An ink supply state monitoring unit 73 that monitors an ink supply abnormality state of the label printer 4 of the publisher 1A, a data writing state monitoring unit 74 that monitors a data writing abnormality of the media drive 3, and the remaining amount of the disk of the media supply stacker 5 A stacker state monitoring unit 75 that monitors the operation, command generation units 81 to 84 that generate various control commands for driving and controlling the CD / DVD publisher 1A, a data transmission unit 78 that transmits the generated control commands, And a drive control unit 79 that controls each unit.

  The command generators 81 to 84 drive and control the media transport mechanism 2 to drive and control the transport command generator 81 and the media drive 3 that generate a control command for transporting the media from the specified position to the specified position. Write processing command generation unit 82 for generating a write command for writing predetermined data on the medium 10, and driving control of the label printer 4 to generate a print command for performing predetermined label printing or an abnormal mark on the written medium A print processing command generation unit 83 for generating information, and an information acquisition command generation unit 84 for generating an information acquisition command for acquiring various types of information for monitoring the operating state of the CD / DVD publisher 1A.

  On the other hand, the CD / DVD publisher 1A includes an interface 91 used for transmission / reception of control commands and status information performed with the drive control device 70, a data receiving unit 92 for processing commands received by the interface 91, and drive control. Information notifying units 94 to 96 that generate and notify information on the publisher side to the device 70, a data transmitting unit 97 that transmits the generated information, and each unit, the media transport mechanism 2, the media drive 3, and the label printer 4 are controlled. And a control unit 93.

  The information notification units 94 to 96 notify the control unit 93 of the writing information notification unit 94 that notifies the data writing abnormality detected by the data writing abnormality detection unit 31 and the ink end state and ink near end state detected by the printer abnormality detection unit 40. And an ink information notifying unit 95 that notifies the control unit 93 of the remaining amount of media stored in the media supply stacker 5.

(Description of processing operation)
Next, FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing the processing operation of the drive control device 70. This will be described with reference to this flowchart. First, in step ST <b> 101, the stacker state monitoring unit 75 acquires the remaining amount of blank media 10 stored in the media supply stacker 5. If there is no blank medium 10 in step ST102, the process proceeds to step ST103, and the medium creation processing operation is terminated. If there is a blank medium 10, the process proceeds to step ST <b> 104, and the conveyance command generation unit 81 generates a conveyance command for conveying the blank medium 10 from the media supply stacker 5 to the media drive 3, and transmits it by the data transmission unit 78.

  Next, in step ST <b> 105, the write processing command generation unit 82 generates a write processing command for writing data to the blank medium 10, and transmits it by the data transmission unit 78. Next, in step ST <b> 106, a conveyance command for conveying the written medium from the media drive 3 to the label printer 4 is generated and transmitted by the data transmission unit 78.

  In step ST107, the data writing state monitoring unit 74 acquires whether or not a data writing abnormality has occurred, and proceeds to step ST108.

  When the data writing abnormality is acquired in step ST108, the process proceeds to step ST109, and the fact that the data writing abnormality has occurred is displayed on the display or the like of the drive control device 70. In subsequent step ST <b> 110, the print processing command generation unit 83 generates a print processing command for printing the writing abnormality mark, and transmits the print processing command by the data transmission unit 78. Next, in step ST111, the conveyance command generation unit 81 generates a conveyance command for conveying the writing abnormal medium from the label printer 4 to the media storage stacker 6, and transmits the conveyance command by the data transmission unit 78, and then returns to step ST101.

  When data writing normality is acquired in step ST108, the ink supply state monitoring unit 73 acquires whether or not an abnormality has occurred in ink supply in step ST112, and the process proceeds to step ST113. In step ST113, the ink near-end detection unit 42 determines whether the ink supply is in an abnormal state in any case, even when the ink near-end of any of the plurality of types of ink has been acquired or the ink end has been acquired.

  When the ink supply abnormal state is acquired in step ST113, the process proceeds to step ST114, and the fact that the ink supply abnormal state has occurred is displayed on the display of the drive control device 70 or the like. In subsequent step ST115, the transport command generating unit 81 generates a transport command for transporting the writing normal medium whose label is not printed from the label printer 4 to the media storage stacker 6, and transmits the transport command by the data transmitting unit 78, and then in step ST101. Return to.

  If the normal ink supply is acquired in step ST113, the process proceeds to step ST116, where the print processing command generation unit 83 generates a print processing command for printing the label on the writing normal medium, and transmits it by the data transmission unit 78. . During label printing, the printer abnormality detection unit 40 of the media creation device detects ink end and ink near end. Next, in step ST117, the ink supply state monitoring unit 73 acquires whether or not an abnormality has occurred in ink supply, and the process proceeds to step ST118. In this example, the ink near-end detection unit 42 determines that the ink supply abnormal state in any case, even when the ink near-end of any one of a plurality of types of ink is acquired or when the ink end is acquired. .

  When the ink supply abnormality state is acquired in step ST118, the process proceeds to step ST119, and the fact that the printing abnormality has occurred is displayed on the display of the drive control device 70 or the like. In subsequent step ST120, the print processing command generation unit 83 generates a print processing command for printing the printing abnormality mark, and transmits the print processing command by the data transmission unit 78. In subsequent step ST121, the transport command generating unit 81 generates a transport command for transporting the print abnormal media that has not been printed from the label printer 4 to the media storage stacker 6, and transmits the transport command by the data transmitting unit 78, and then proceeds to step ST101. Return.

  If ink supply normality is acquired in step ST118, steps ST116 to ST118 are repeated until the end of label printing is confirmed in step ST122. When the end of label printing is confirmed in step ST122, the process proceeds to step ST123, and the conveyance command generation unit 81 generates a conveyance command for conveying the completed media from the label printer 4 to the media storage stacker 6 and transmits it by the data transmission unit 78. After that, the process returns to step ST101.

  FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing the processing operation of the CD / DVD publisher 1A. This will be described with reference to this flowchart.

  In step ST201, the CD / DVD publisher 1A confirms the presence or absence of a control command from the drive control device 70. When there is a control command from the drive control device 70, the process proceeds to step ST202, and when there is no control command, the process proceeds to step ST210.

  If it is a transport command in step ST202, the process proceeds to step ST203, the media transport mechanism 2 is controlled, and then the process returns to step ST201. The control of the media transport mechanism 2 transports the blank media 10 from the media supply stacker 5 to the media drive 3 in the case of the transport command generated in step ST104 of the drive control device 70. In the case of the conveyance command generated in step ST106, the written medium is conveyed from the media drive 3 to the label printer 4. In the case of the transport command generated in step ST111, step ST115, step ST121, or step ST123, the label printer 4 transports the writing abnormal media, the unprinted writing normal media, the printing abnormal media, and the completed media to the media storage stacker 6. To do.

  In step ST204, if it is the write processing command generated in step ST105 of the drive control device 70, the process proceeds to step ST205, the media drive 3 is driven, and predetermined data write processing is performed. Return to ST201.

  In step ST206, if it is a print processing command, the process proceeds to step ST207, the label printer 4 is controlled, and the process returns to step ST201. When the label printer 4 is controlled, the writing abnormality mark is printed in the case of the print processing command generated in step ST110 of the drive control device 70. In the case of the print processing command generated in step ST116 of the drive control device 70, label printing is performed. In the case of the print processing command generated in step ST120 of the drive control device 70, the printing abnormality mark is printed.

  If the information acquisition command is generated by the information acquisition command generation unit 84 of the drive control device 70 in step ST208, the process proceeds to step ST209 to transmit the specified information, and then returns to step ST201.

  Next, in step ST210, when the ink near-end detection unit 42 detects the ink near-end state, the process proceeds to step ST211, and a warning that the ink near-end state has occurred is displayed on the warning display unit 16. Subsequently, the process proceeds to step ST212, and the ink end state is monitored.

  In step ST212, when the ink end detection unit 41 detects the ink end state, the warning display unit 16 displays a warning that the ink end state has occurred. If the ink end state continues in step ST214, the process returns to step ST201. On the other hand, when the ink has been filled by the operator or the ink cartridge 46 has been replaced, and the ink end state is lost in step ST214, the display of the warning display unit 16 is canceled in step ST215.

(Explanation of effects)
Also by the media creation system according to the second embodiment, the same operational effects as those of the first embodiment can be obtained.

  In addition to this, since the CD / DVD publisher 1A operates in response to a command from the drive control device 70, the automatic control operation of the CD / DVD publisher 1A and its setting processing are not required, so that the installed firmware is simplified. Can be

  In this example, after detecting the ink near-end state of one of a plurality of types of ink during label printing, it is assumed that an abnormal ink supply state has been detected, and label printing is forcibly stopped. The printing abnormal media on which the printing abnormal mark is printed is stored in the media storage stacker 6. However, as in the first embodiment, the label printing on the writing normal media is continued until the ink end state is detected. May be. Further, as in the modification of the first embodiment, before the written medium is conveyed to the label printer 4, the data writing abnormality detecting unit 31 detects the data writing abnormality, and the normal writing medium is transferred from the media drive 3 to the medium. It can also be conveyed to the storage stacker 6. In either case, the processing can be flexibly changed by a control command from the drive control device 70.

  In addition, since the label printer 4 of this example is a multi-color printer capable of printing using a plurality of types of ink, the ink end state of the ink used by the ink end detection unit 41 to print the writing abnormality mark or the printing abnormality mark. If an abnormal writing mark or abnormal printing mark is printed using an ink of a color different from that of the ink in which the ink end is detected, the abnormal writing mark or abnormal printing mark can be reliably printed. it can. Also in this case, the ink used for printing the writing abnormality mark or the printing abnormality mark may be changed according to the control command from the drive control device 70.

  In this example, when the ink near end state and the ink end state are detected, the fact is displayed on the display of the drive control device 70 and the warning display unit 16 of the CD / DVD publisher 1A. If such a warning is issued, the operator can know that the medium stored in the medium storage stacker 6 contains a normal writing normal medium and an abnormal printing medium in an unprinted state. Therefore, it is possible to recognize that the sorting operation is necessary after the media stored in the media storage stacker 6 is taken out from the CD / DVD publisher 1A. Further, the operator can be prompted to take action such as replacing the ink cartridge 46. Also, when a data writing abnormality is detected, the display of the drive control device 70 and the LED of the warning display unit 16 are lit to warn to that effect. The operator can know from the warning that there is a writing abnormal medium among the media stored in the media storage stacker 6, so that the media stored in the media storage stacker 6 is taken out from the CD / DVD publisher 1A. After that, it can be recognized that the sorting work needs to be performed.

  Further, in this example, predetermined data prepared in advance by the CD / DVD publisher 1A is written in the blank medium 10, but writing data is prepared on the drive control device 70 side, and writing processing is performed. The media creation processing operation may be started after transfer to the CD / DVD publisher 1A before the command. The label data printed by the label printer 4 can be processed in the same manner.

  Furthermore, in this example, since the stacker information notification unit 96 that notifies the remaining amount of the blank medium 10 in the medium supply stacker 5 is provided, the blank medium 10 is displayed on the display of the drive control device 70 based on the information notified from here. It is also possible to always display the number of images.

  Further, although the ink near end and the ink end are detected as the ink supply abnormal state, a state where the ink cartridge 46 is not mounted on the cartridge mounting portion 47 may be detected as the ink supply abnormality. Further, the abnormality detected by the printer abnormality detection unit 40 is not limited to the ink supply abnormality state, and may be an abnormality that has occurred in the printer hardware. In any case, the processing operation similar to the processing operation when the ink end is detected can be performed.

  Furthermore, although the blank medium 10 is conveyed from the medium supply stacker 5 and data is written, the supplied medium is not limited to the blank medium. It is also possible to store write-once or rewritable media in which data has already been written in a part of the data writing area in the media supply stacker 5 and write predetermined data to them.

  In addition, although an inkjet printer is used as the label printer 4, the label printer may be a printer that performs label printing using toner ink, such as a laser printer.

It is a perspective view of a CD / DVD publisher to which the present invention is applied. It is a functional block diagram of a CD / DVD publisher. It is a flowchart which shows the processing operation of CD / DVD publisher. 4 is a flowchart showing a processing operation of a modification of the CD / DVD publisher shown in FIG. 3. 1 is a block diagram of a media processing system to which the present invention is applied. It is a flowchart which shows the control operation of the drive control apparatus of a media processing system. It is a flowchart which shows the processing operation of CD / DVD publisher of a media processing system.

Explanation of symbols

1, 1A CD / DVD publisher, 2. Media transport mechanism, 3. Media drive, 4. Label printer, 5. Media supply stacker, 6. Media storage stacker, 10. Blank media, 11. Housing, 12, 13. Opening / closing door, 14 / operation panel surface, 16 / warning display unit, 21 / vertical guide shaft, 22 / media carrier, 31 / data writing abnormality detection unit, 35, 45 / media tray, 40 / printer abnormality detection unit, 41 / Ink end detection unit, 42-Ink near end detection unit, 46-Ink cartridge, 47-Cartridge mounting unit, 70-Drive control device, 71, 91-Interface, 72, 92-Data reception unit, 73-Ink supply status monitoring unit 74, data write status monitoring unit, 75, stacker status monitoring unit, 78, 97 data transmission unit 79-Drive control unit 81-Conveyance command generation unit 82-Write process command generation unit 83-Print process command generation unit 84-Information acquisition command generation unit 93-Control unit 94-Write information notification unit 95・ Ink information notification unit, 96 ・ Stacker information notification unit, 100 ・ Media processing system

Claims (24)

Supply media from the media supply unit to the media drive,
Write data to the media by the media drive,
Supply written media after writing data to the printer,
When the written medium is a normal writing medium in which data is normally written, a label is printed on the normal writing medium,
If the written medium is a write abnormal medium in which a data write abnormality has occurred, print a write abnormality mark indicating that a data write abnormality has occurred on the write abnormal medium,
Store the printed media after the label printing or the writing abnormality mark is printed in a media storage stacker,
After detecting that the ink remaining amount of the printer has fallen into the ink near-end state with a predetermined amount or less, until the ink near-end state is cleared, the normal writing medium is printed without printing the label. A drive control method for a media processing device, wherein the media storage device stores the media storage stacker. In claim 1,
When it is detected that the printer has fallen into the ink near-end state at the time when the label is printed on the writing normal medium by the printer, the label printing operation of the printer is forcibly terminated,
A drive control method for a media processing apparatus, wherein the normal writing medium in the middle of printing is taken out from the printer and stored in the media storage stacker. In claim 1,
If it is detected that the printer has entered the ink near-end state while the label is being printed on the writing normal medium by the printer, printing on the writing normal medium during printing is in progress. Print a print error mark indicating that it has finished, forcibly terminate the label printing operation of the printer,
A drive control method for a media processing apparatus, wherein normal media on which the printing abnormality mark is printed is taken out from the printer and stored in the media storage stacker. In any one of claims 1 to 3,
The printer is a multicolor printer capable of printing a label using a plurality of types of ink,
A drive control method for a media processing apparatus, wherein the ink near-end state is detected for each ink. In claim 4,
Printing the writing abnormality mark using one predetermined ink,
For the ink used for printing the writing abnormality mark, after the ink end state in which the ink is substantially zero is detected and the ink falls into the ink end state, the remaining ink that has not fallen into the ink end state A method of controlling the drive of a media processing apparatus, wherein the writing abnormality mark is printed using any one of the above. In claim 1,
The printer is a multicolor printer capable of printing a label using a plurality of types of ink,
Detecting the ink near end state for each ink and the ink end state where the ink remaining amount is substantially zero;
When it is detected that the printer has fallen into the ink near-end state at the time when the label is printed on the writing normal medium by the printer, the label printing operation of the printer is continued to the end,
When it is detected that the printer has fallen into an ink end state at the time when the label is printed on the writing normal medium by the printer, the label printing operation of the printer is forcibly terminated.
A drive control method for a media processing apparatus, comprising: taking out the written normal medium that has been printed or being printed from the printer and storing the medium in the media storage stacker. In claim 6,
A media processing apparatus characterized in that an ink remaining amount that is a reference for detecting whether or not the ink near-end state is reached is an ink remaining amount that is greater than or equal to an ink consumption amount required for label printing on one medium. Drive control method. In claim 6 or 7,
Printing the writing abnormality mark using one predetermined ink,
After the ink falls into an ink end state, the writing abnormality mark is printed using any one of the remaining inks that have not fallen into the ink end state. In any one of claims 6 to 8,
When forcibly terminating the label printing operation of the printer, printing that indicates that printing has been completed on the writing normal medium in the middle of printing using any one of the remaining inks that have not fallen into the ink end state A drive control method for a media processing apparatus, wherein an abnormality mark is printed. In any one of claims 1 to 9,
When the ink near end state or the ink end state is detected, a warning to that effect is issued. In any one of claims 1 to 10,
When the data writing abnormality is detected, a warning to that effect is issued. A drive control device that drives and controls a media processing device according to any one of claims 1 to 11,
A drive control device for a media processing device, wherein the media processing device is driven and controlled from outside via a communication line. A media drive that writes data to the media,
A printer for printing on written media on which data has been written in the media drive;
A media storage stacker for ejecting media;
Data writing abnormality detecting means for detecting data writing abnormality of the media drive;
An ink near end detecting means for detecting that the ink remaining amount of the printer falls into an ink near end state of a predetermined amount or less;
It has a media transport mechanism that transports media,
The printer prints a label when the written medium is a writing normal medium in which data has been normally written, and when the written medium is a writing abnormal medium where a data writing abnormality has occurred, the written medium If it is a write abnormal medium in which a data write abnormality has occurred, a write abnormality mark indicating that a data write abnormality has occurred is printed on the write abnormal medium, and after detecting the ink near end state, the ink near end state In the meantime, the printer stops printing the label on the writing normal media,
The media processing apparatus, wherein the media transport mechanism stores the written media from the printer into the media storage stacker. In claim 13,
The media processing apparatus, wherein after the ink near end state is detected, the media transport mechanism stores the normal write medium from the media drive into the media storage stacker. In claim 13 or 14,
If the ink near-end state is detected while the label is being printed on the writing normal medium by the printer, the printer forcibly terminates the label printing operation, and the media transport mechanism is removed from the printer. A media processing apparatus, wherein the writing normal medium during printing is taken out and stored in the medium storage stacker. In claim 13 or 14,
If the ink near end state is detected while the label is being printed on the writing normal medium by the printer, the printer has finished printing on the writing normal medium in the middle of printing. Is printed, the label printing operation is forcibly terminated,
The media processing device, wherein the media transport mechanism takes out the writing normal media on which the printing abnormality mark has been printed from the printer and stores it in the media storage stacker. In any one of claims 13 to 16,
The printer is a multicolor printer capable of printing a label using a plurality of types of ink,
The ink processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the ink near-end detection unit detects the ink near-end state for each ink. In claim 17,
For each ink of the printer, it has an ink end detection means for detecting that the ink remaining amount has fallen into a substantially zero ink end state,
The printer prints the writing abnormality mark using one predetermined ink, and after the ink end state of the ink is detected, the printer is one of the remaining inks whose ink end state is not detected. A media processing apparatus that prints the writing abnormality mark using one. In claim 13 or 14,
The printer is a multicolor printer capable of printing a label using a plurality of types of ink,
For each ink of the printer, there is an ink end detection means for detecting that the ink remaining amount has fallen into a substantially zero ink end state,
The ink near-end detection means detects the ink near-end state for each ink of the printer;
If it is detected that the printer has entered the ink near-end state at the time when the label is being printed on the writing normal medium by the printer, the printer continues without ending the label printing operation,
When it is detected that the printer is in an ink end state at the time when the label is printed on the normal writing medium by the printer, the printer forcibly terminates the label printing operation, and the media transport mechanism A media processing apparatus characterized in that the written normal medium that has been printed or is being printed is taken out from the printer and stored in the media storage stacker. In claim 19,
A media processing apparatus characterized in that an ink remaining amount that is a reference for detecting whether or not the ink near-end state is reached is an ink remaining amount that is greater than or equal to an ink consumption amount required for label printing on one medium. . In claim 19 or 20,
The printer prints the writing abnormality mark using one predetermined ink, and after the ink end state of the ink is detected, the printer is one of the remaining inks whose ink end state is not detected. A media processing apparatus that prints the writing abnormality mark using one. In any one of claims 19 to 21,
When the label printing operation is forcibly terminated, the printer uses one of the remaining inks that have not fallen into the ink end state to indicate that printing has been completed on the writing normal medium in the middle of printing. A media processing apparatus that prints a printing abnormality mark, and the media transport mechanism takes out the writing normal medium on which the printing abnormality mark is printed from the printer and stores it in the media storage stacker. In any one of claims 13 to 22,
A media processing apparatus comprising: an ink state warning means for issuing a warning to the effect that the ink near end or the ink end is detected. 24. In any one of claims 13 to 23,
A drive control method for a media processing device, comprising: a writing state warning means for issuing a warning to that effect when a data writing abnormality is detected.

Images