JP2009113418A - Printer and printing system - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To prevent a state of shortage of roll sheet with printing left unfinished when a user returns to a printer, by enabling to predict occurrence of shortage of roll sheet halfway of printing before printing is actually carried out, that is, before the user goes away from the printer. <P>SOLUTION: An amount of use of the roll sheet for printing jobs accumulated in a hard disk part is subtracted from a remaining amount of the roll sheet and displayed in an operation panel part. Alternatively, a remaining amount of the roll sheet after a waiting job is printed is calculated and displayed to a printer driver. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a printing apparatus and a printing system having a recording paper remaining amount display function, and more particularly to a display method when a print job is accumulated and continuously printed.

In recent years, there is a roll paper unit as a recording paper storage unit of a printing apparatus, and in this roll paper unit, a recording paper (hereinafter, roll paper) is wound around a shaft. When printing, the printing apparatus sequentially feeds the roll paper from the roll paper unit, supplies the roll paper to the head unit, and executes printing. The printing device calculates the amount of roll paper used from the roll paper feed amount, and subtracts the amount of roll paper used from the known total amount of roll paper input to the printing device by the user when the roll paper is set in the printing device in advance. Thus, a recording paper remaining amount calculation method for calculating the remaining amount of roll paper has been devised. Furthermore, a method for recording the remaining amount of roll paper on recording paper is known. (See Patent Document 1)
Further, when the user instructs printing from the host to the printing apparatus on the application, the print data instructed by one printing instruction processes one block sandwiched between the printing start command and the printing end command as a print job. . The print jobs are processed one by one, and when printing a plurality of print jobs, the printing apparatus sequentially accepts the print jobs in the reception buffer. In a printing apparatus having a hard disk device, a print job can be stored in the reception buffer using the hard disk device. Therefore, in a printing apparatus equipped with a hard disk device, a user continuously sends a print job in which information such as the number of copies and a print size is added to print data from a host via a printer driver. The printing apparatus that has received the print job sequentially processes the print job and performs printing. Further, the printing apparatus accumulates print jobs in a hard disk device that is a reception buffer. Further, since the user can store the print data in the hard disk device, the print data scheduled to be printed is once transmitted to the hard disk device and stored and stored. Thereafter, the number of copies, print size, etc. are designated on the operation panel or printer driver as necessary, and a plurality of jobs are printed together.

As an example of the above, Patent Document 1 below can be cited.
JP 2005-271354 A

  When a print job is continuously sent from the host to the printing device via the printer driver and the print job is sequentially processed by the printing device to perform printing, or after print data is once transmitted to the hard disk device and stored and stored, Sometimes jobs are printed together. However, in the above case, when the user finishes sending print data to the printing device and specifying the number of copies, the print size, etc., a large amount of printing takes time, and the user is away from the printing device. For this reason, when the remaining amount of roll paper is less than the print job stored in the hard disk device, when the user returns to the printing device, printing is not performed to the end, and the roll paper is in a state of running out, which is inconvenient.

  According to the first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a printing apparatus that executes printing upon receipt of a print medium supplied from a recording paper unit, and calculates a recording paper usage amount from a print job, and calculates the remaining recording paper. And a storage means and a display unit, and configured to display the remaining amount of recording paper after printing. In the second aspect of the invention, the recording paper is a roll paper. In the third aspect of the invention, the time for displaying the remaining recording paper is before executing the printing. In the fourth aspect of the invention, the printing is executed. The place where the remaining recording paper remaining amount is displayed is the display unit of the printing apparatus. According to the invention described in claim 5, the place where the remaining recording paper amount is displayed is the printer driver. The invention according to claim 1.

  According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a printing apparatus for receiving a print medium supplied from a recording paper unit and executing printing, the print job storing means, the stored print job selecting means, and the print job. A means for calculating the amount of recording paper used from a job, a means for calculating and storing the remaining amount of recording paper, and a display section, and a display section for displaying the remaining amount of recording paper after executing the print job selected by the means Configure to display in The invention according to claim 7 is the invention according to claim 6, wherein the recording paper is configured to be roll paper.

  According to the eighth aspect of the present invention, in a printing system including a printing apparatus that receives a printing medium from a recording paper unit and executes printing, and a printer driver installed in a host computer, the use of the recording paper from a print job is performed. A means for calculating the amount, a means for calculating and storing the remaining amount of recording paper, a means for displaying, and a means for communication between the printing apparatus and the host computer, so that the remaining amount of recording paper after printing is displayed on the printer driver. Configure. The invention according to claim 9 is the invention according to claim 8, wherein the recording paper is configured to be roll paper.

  As described above, according to the present invention, the roll paper usage amount of the print job stored in the hard disk unit is subtracted from the remaining roll paper and displayed on the operation panel unit. Alternatively, the remaining amount of roll paper after printing a job waiting for printing is calculated and displayed on the printer driver. Therefore, since it can be confirmed that the roll paper runs out during printing before actually printing, that is, before leaving the printing apparatus, printing is not performed until the end when the user returns to the printing apparatus, and the roll paper runs out. I can prevent it.

  Next, details of the present invention will be described in accordance with the description of the embodiments.

  The first embodiment of the present invention will be specifically described below with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 is an external perspective view of a printer according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

  In FIG. 1, reference numeral 100 denotes an upper case constituting the casing, and reference numeral 102 denotes a lower case constituting the casing. Reference numeral 103 denotes an upper cover constituting the housing, which rotates around a hinge (not shown) provided in the upper case 100.

  Reference numeral 104 denotes a translucent display window provided on the upper cover 103. Since the display window 104 is translucent, the inside of the printing apparatus can be seen and the moving state of the carriage can be known. Reference numeral 105 denotes a roll paper unit for accumulating roll paper, 106 denotes a roll paper after recording, 107 denotes an ink tank unit, and 108 denotes an operation panel.

  FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a basic configuration for carrying out the present invention.

  As shown in FIG. 2, a printer 3 is connected to a host computer (hereinafter referred to as a host) 1. An operating system (hereinafter referred to as OS) 7 and an application program (hereinafter referred to as application) 5 are installed in the host 1. A printer driver 9 is installed in the OS 7.

  The printer driver 9 generates print data corresponding to the drawing command from the application 5 in a data format that can be understood by the printer 3, and is generally provided to the user together with the printer 3 manufactured by the manufacturer of the printer 3. Installed in the OS 7 by the user.

  The host 1 and the printer 3 are connected via a bidirectional communication interface 11.

  The printer 3 includes an engine 13 including a mechanism necessary for printing such as a head driving mechanism, a carriage mechanism, and a roll paper supply / conveyance mechanism, and a controller 15 that processes print data from the host 1 and controls the print engine. .

  The controller 15 has a host I / F 17 for communicating with the host 1 and a CPU 19 for processing print data received from the host 1, as in a general printer. It has a ROM 21 on which a program necessary for the operation of the CPU 19 is mounted, and a flash ROM 33 in which an operation program for the CPU 19 and an operation program for an expansion board inserted in an expansion slot are stored. The RAM 23 and RAM 23 used as a main memory, work area, reception buffer, page memory, print buffer, and the like are brought into a self-refresh state by an instruction from the CPU 19, and power consumption can be suppressed. Further, the hard disk unit 22 has a function as a reception buffer capable of temporarily storing a print job from the host I / F 17 when the printing process is not in time, and a function of accumulating and storing print data from the host I / F 17. have. The CPU 19 transmits and receives data to and from the HDD controller 26 in the hard disk unit 22, and the HDD controller 26 has a function of storing print data on the RAM 23 in the hard disk 28 and reading and storing it on the RAM 23. . The operation panel 108 includes a switch for selecting and displaying a print job and an LCD 55 (liquid crystal display). The LCD 55 displays the remaining roll paper. It has an EEPROM 25 for holding the current status of the set printer 3, the total capacity and remaining amount of roll paper, and a character generator (hereinafter referred to as CG) 27 holding font data. An engine interface 29 for data communication with the engine 13, a power supply 24, an expansion slot 31 for storing the expansion board 30, and the like are provided. The total capacity of the roll paper is designated by the user in accordance with an instruction displayed on the LCD 55 on the operation panel 108 when replacing the roll paper. The length specified by the user is stored in the EEPROM 25 as a digital value.

  The engine 13 is also composed of a head 35 having a large number of nozzles and a head drive circuit 34 for driving the head 35, and ejects ink supplied from the ink tank unit 107, as in a general printer. To do. The carriage mechanism is mounted with the head unit 36 and can be driven in the main scanning direction (perpendicular to the paper feed direction). By rotating the CR motor 42 via the motor driver 41 under the control of the CPU 19, the head unit 36 is main-scanned in synchronization with ink ejection / non-ejection. The roll paper supply / conveyance mechanism includes a mechanism that pulls out the roll paper accumulated in the roll paper unit 105 and conveys it to a position where ink is ejected. By rotating the LF motor 43 through the motor driver 41 under the control of the CPU 19, sub-scanning is performed in synchronization with ink ejection / non-ejection. The CPU 19 has a function of counting the amount of roll paper fed by counting pulses for driving the LF motor 43. The number of pulses to be driven is counted not only when an image is printed but also during maintenance and idle feeding, and the roll paper feed amount is calculated from the count value. Here, the calculation of the feed amount only needs to detect the feed amount of the roll paper, and various configurations are possible. For example, a mechanism for detecting the rotation of the roll with an encoder circuit and calculating the feed amount, a mechanism for calculating the feed amount by sandwiching the roll paper between the pinch rollers and counting the number of rotations of the pinch roller, etc. are conceivable. The calculated roll paper feed amount, that is, the used roll paper amount is subtracted from the remaining roll paper amount, and the latest value is stored in the EEPROM 25 as the remaining roll paper amount.

  FIG. 3 is a diagram showing the operation panel 108, and FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a state in which a print job displayed on the LCD 55 is selected. A method in which the user selects and prints print data stored and stored in the hard disk unit 22 will be described with reference to FIGS. 3 and 4.

  A power switch 51 is used to turn on / off the printing apparatus. An online LED 52 is lit when the printing apparatus is ready for printing. 55 is an LCD, 53 is an up key, down key, right key and left key for moving the cursor of the LCD 55, and 54 is an enter key. FIG. 4 shows a display screen example. When the content display (not shown) of the hard disk unit is selected with the up / down / left / right keys, the selection / non-selection check box, the file name, the number of copies, and the size shown in the figure are displayed. First, the user selects print data by moving the cursor to the selection / non-selection check box at the top of the file name to be printed with the up / down / left / right keys and pressing the enter key 54. Secondly, the cursor is moved to the number of copies to be printed, the number of copies to be printed is selected by a number to be incremented / decremented by the up and down keys, and the enter key 54 is pressed. Third, the cursor is moved to the size, the print size is selected by the character string to be incremented / decremented by the up / down key, and the enter key 54 is pressed. When selecting a plurality of data files, the above first to third methods are repeated. There is no problem even if the order of the first to third methods is changed. Printing is started by moving the cursor with the up / down / left / right keys, placing the cursor on the start character string, and pressing the enter key 54.

  A print job from the host I / F 17 is stored in the hard disk unit 22 that is used as a reception buffer for temporarily storing a print job when the printing process is not in time. The print job is not displayed on the LCD 55 as print data, but is sequentially written and read on the hard disk unit 22 as printing progresses.

  FIG. 5 is a diagram displayed on the host 1 when the printer driver 9 is activated. When the printer driver 9 is activated, the remaining amount of roll paper after printing calculated by the printer 3 by a method described later is read from the interface 11 and displayed on the display screen of the printer driver 9 as the remaining amount of roll paper. Further, when the user changes the document size and the number of copies, the remaining amount of roll paper after printing calculated in the printer 3 is read and displayed each time.

  FIG. 6 is a view showing roll paper.

  FIG. 6A shows the entire roll paper, and FIG. 6B shows the roll paper viewed from the side. The roll paper 201 is wound around a hollow paper tube 202. The width of the roll paper varies depending on the size, such as 841 mm and 1030 mm, and there are roll papers having a length of 30 m and 50 m. FIG. 6C is a diagram showing a roll paper setting state. The spool 203 is inserted into the hollow portion of the paper tube 202 from both ends of the roll paper 201, set in the roll paper unit 105, and rotated inside the roll paper unit 105 with both ends of the shaft as fulcrums to supply the roll paper. To do. FIG. 6D is a view of the spool 203 viewed from the side. A holding member made of a transparent material is attached, and when viewed from the side, the remaining amount of the roll paper can be seen through. A plurality of scales are printed on the holding member, and the remaining amount of the roll paper that can be seen through the scale according to the thickness of the paper can be confirmed. The user confirms and sets the remaining amount of roll paper, that is, the length by the above-described method while following the roll paper remaining amount setting method displayed on the operation panel 108 when replacing the roll paper. If the roll paper to be replaced is new, the length is known in advance, and the value is set in the same manner. The remaining amount of roll paper set by the user is stored as a digital value in the EEPROM 25 by the CPU 19.

  FIG. 7 is a diagram showing the length of the roll paper according to the size to be printed. A value corresponding to the size is stored in advance in the ROM 21 as a digital value, and the printing length such as 4A5h is stored for the A0 size. The CPU 19 can read the value by accessing the ROM 21 as needed.

  FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing the means for calculating and displaying the roll paper remaining amount after printing the job designated by the user for execution by the CPU 19 in the printer 3.

The user selects print print data by operating the operation panel 108 by the above-described method (step S1). Next, the CPU 19 calculates the roll paper length necessary for printing from the print data selected in step S1 using the equation (1). To do. At this time, the CPU 19 reads a length data value corresponding to the paper size from the ROM 21. (Step S2)
(Size of selected data 1 x number of copies) + (Size of selected data 2 x number of copies)
+ (Size of selected data 3 × number of copies)... = Required roll paper length --- (1) equation Further, the CPU 19 reads the remaining amount of roll paper from the EEPROM 25 (step S3) and formula (2). Used to calculate the remaining amount after printing. (Step S4)
Roll paper remaining amount-required roll paper length = remaining amount after printing (2) Equation (2) Next, the CPU 19 displays the total roll paper capacity (capacity at the time of setting) as shown in FIG. A status bar is displayed so that the remaining amount after printing is filled. The roll paper remaining amount display is rewritten by the CPU 19 every time the user selects / deselects the print data by the method described above. (Step S5)
FIG. 9 shows communication with a means for calculating the remaining amount of roll paper after printing a job waiting for printing in order to display the remaining amount of roll paper on the display screen of the printer driver 9 executed by the CPU 19 in the printer 3. It is the flowchart shown about the means.

When the printer driver 9 is activated, it receives an inquiry command for the remaining amount of roll paper after printing from the communication interface 11. The inquiry command includes document size and number of copies information. (Step S11) Next, the CPU 19 calculates the roll paper length required for printing from the original size and number of copies information in step S1 and the original size and the number of copies of the job waiting for printing using the equation (1). At this time, the CPU 19 reads a length data value corresponding to the paper size from the ROM 21. (Step S12)
(Original size of step S1 × number of copies) + (Original size of print waiting × 1 number of copies)
+ (Original size of printing waiting 2 × number of copies)... = Required roll paper length --- (1) equation Further, the CPU 19 reads the remaining amount of roll paper from the EEPROM 25 (step S13), equation (2) Is used to calculate the remaining amount after printing. (Step S14)
Roll paper remaining amount-Required roll paper length = Remaining amount after printing--Equation (2) Next, the CPU 19 issues a response command for the remaining roll paper after printing via the communication interface 11. As shown in FIG. 5, the display screen of the printer driver 9 displays a status bar so that the remaining amount after printing is filled with respect to the total capacity of the roll paper (capacity at the time of setting). The roll paper remaining amount display is rewritten by repeating the above flow every time the user changes the document size and the number of copies on the display screen of the printer driver. (Step S15)
In the above-described embodiment, an example in which the inkjet printing apparatus is applied has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the printing apparatus can be applied to other printing apparatuses. In addition to the function of calculating the remaining amount of recording paper, a printing apparatus having a function of calculating the remaining amount of ink or the remaining amount of toner can be variously modified without departing from the gist of the present invention. .

1 is an external perspective view of a printer according to a first embodiment of the present invention. 1 is a block diagram showing a basic configuration for carrying out the present invention. The figure which showed the operation panel. The figure which showed a mode that the print job displayed on LCD was selected. FIG. 3 is a diagram displayed on the host 1 when the printer driver 9 is activated. The figure which showed roll paper. The figure which showed the length of the roll paper according to the size to print. 6 is a flowchart showing a means for calculating and displaying a roll paper remaining amount after printing a job designated by the user for execution by the CPU 19 in the printer 3. In the printer 3, a flowchart showing means for communicating with means for calculating the remaining amount of roll paper after printing a job waiting for printing in order to display the remaining amount of roll paper on the display screen of the printer driver 9 executed by the CPU 19. .

Explanation of symbols

1 Host computer 3 Printer 5 Application 7 Operating system 9 Printer driver 11 Bidirectional interface 13 Printer engine 15 Controller 17 Host I / F
19 CPU
21 ROM
22 Hard disk part 23 RAM
24 power supply 25 EEPROM
26 HDD controller 27 CG
28 Hard disk 29 Engine I / F
30 Expansion board 31 Expansion slot 33 Flash ROM
34 Head Drive Circuit 35 Head 36 Head Unit 41 Motor Driver 42 CR Motor 43 LF Motor 51 Power Switch 52 Online LED
53 Up / down / left / right key 54 Enter key 55 LCD
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 100 Upper case 102 Lower case 103 Top cover 104 Display window 105 Roll paper unit 106 Roll paper 107 Ink tank unit 108 Operation panel 201 Roll paper 202 Paper tube 203 Spool

Claims (9)

A printing apparatus that receives a print medium supplied from a recording paper unit and executes printing, a means for calculating the amount of recording paper used from a print job, a means for calculating and storing the remaining amount of recording paper, and a means for displaying Comprising
A printing apparatus for displaying a remaining amount of recording paper after printing.   The printing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the recording paper is roll paper.   The printing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the recording paper remaining amount is displayed before printing.   The printing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the place where the remaining amount of recording paper after printing is displayed is a display unit of the printing apparatus.   The printing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the printing paper remaining amount after printing is displayed is a printer driver. A printing apparatus that receives a print medium from a recording paper unit and executes printing. The printing apparatus stores a print job, selects the stored print job, and calculates the amount of recording paper used from the print job. And means for calculating and storing the remaining amount of recording paper, and a display unit,
A printing apparatus for displaying a remaining amount of recording paper after printing a print job selected by the means on a display unit.   The printing apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the recording paper is roll paper. In a printing system including a printing apparatus that receives printing medium supplied from a recording paper unit and executes printing, and a printer driver installed in a host computer,
A recording paper after printing execution, comprising: means for calculating the amount of recording paper used from a print job; means for calculating and storing the remaining amount of recording paper; means for displaying; means for communicating between the printing apparatus and a host computer. A printing system that displays a remaining amount on a printer driver.   The printing system according to claim 8, wherein the recording paper is roll paper.

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