JP2014108520A - Ink jet recording device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an ink jet recording device capable of determining whether a control substrate and an ID chip can communicate data with each other or determining whether the communicated data itself is normal in a circumstance in which rust or stain on a surface of an ID chip prevents a control substrate and an ID chip from communicating data are not communicated.SOLUTION: An ink jet recording device comprises: an ink cartridge 8 including a detection target object 30; detection means for detecting the detection target object 30; communication means for providing communication between the detection means and a control substrate 20; user notification means; and control means for determining whether the communication means is established and controlling the communication means.

Description

  The present invention relates to an ink jet recording apparatus including an ink cartridge.

  Conventionally, a technique for attaching a member to an outer case of an ink cartridge and attaching an optical sensor to a storage chamber side where the ink cartridge is attached and using both of them to determine whether or not the ink cartridge is correctly attached is already known. Yes.

  In Patent Document 1, for the purpose of preventing subsequent processing such as an image recording operation in a poorly mounted state, a protrusion is provided on the ink cartridge, and an optical sensor is provided on the main body side where the cartridge is inserted. Thus, there is disclosed a method of detecting a mounting state of whether or not an ink cartridge is inserted into a storage chamber.

  However, even if the conventional technique and the technique disclosed in Patent Document 1 can detect whether or not the ink cartridge is mounted in the storage chamber by an optical sensor, the control substrate (CTL) and the control board (CTL) Whether data can be exchanged between the control board and the ID chip in a situation where data cannot be exchanged correctly between the ID chips, or whether the exchanged data itself is normal even if the exchange is possible. There was a problem that it could not be determined.

  The present invention has been made to solve the above-described problems, and the object of the present invention is to provide a control board in a situation where data cannot be exchanged correctly between the control board and the ID chip due to rust or dirt on the surface of the ID chip. It is an object of the present invention to provide an ink jet recording apparatus that can determine whether or not data can be exchanged between an ID chip and an ID chip, or whether exchanged data itself is normal even if exchange is possible.

  In order to achieve this object, the present invention has the following features.

  An ink jet recording apparatus according to the present invention includes an ink cartridge provided with a detection object, a detection means for detecting the detection object, a communication means between the detection means and the control board, a notification means to a user, and the communication means. Control means for determining and controlling whether or not is established.

  According to the present invention, whether or not data can be exchanged between the control board and the ID chip in a situation where data cannot be exchanged correctly between the control board and the ID chip due to rust or dirt on the surface of the ID chip. Alternatively, even if the exchange is possible, it can be determined whether or not the exchanged data itself is normal.

It is a figure which shows the structure of the inkjet recording device which concerns on this embodiment. It is a figure which shows the front external appearance of the inkjet recording device which concerns on this embodiment. It is a perspective view of an ink cartridge according to the present embodiment. It is a figure which shows the ID chip which concerns on this embodiment. It is a figure which shows the detail of the ink cartridge connection part which concerns on this embodiment. It is a figure which shows the circuit structure of ID chip which concerns on this embodiment, a control board, and operation part LCD. It is a detection flow figure concerning this embodiment. It is a detection flow figure concerning this embodiment. It is a detection flow figure concerning this embodiment. 1 is a block diagram of an ink jet recording apparatus provided with a LAN I / F. 1 is a block diagram of an ink jet recording apparatus provided with a USB I / F. 1 is a block diagram of an ink jet recording apparatus provided with communication means according to IEEE 802.11.

  Hereinafter, the present embodiment will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of an ink jet recording apparatus according to the present embodiment. The carriage 1 is held by a guide lot 2 and scans in the main scanning direction via a pulley 4 passed between the carriage 1 and the main scanning motor 3. For example, a recording head 9 that discharges ink droplets of each color of yellow (Y), cyan (C), magenta (M), and black (K) is mounted on the carriage, and ink arranged in the recording head. Ink can be ejected from the ejection nozzle 10.

  An image is formed on the recording medium by ejecting ink droplets at a necessary position while moving the carriage 1 in the main scanning direction. The position information of the carriage 1 is obtained by reading the pattern recorded at equal intervals on the encoder sheet 5 fixed to the casing while moving the encoder sensor 6 fixed to the carriage 1 and adding / subtracting the count. be able to.

  By performing the carriage movement in the main scanning direction and the ink ejection operation once, an image can be formed on a band having the same width as the length of the nozzle row. If the scanning motor 7 is driven to move the recording medium in the sub-scanning direction and repeat the image forming operation for one band, an image can be formed at an arbitrary place on the recording medium.

  The recording head 9 and the ink cartridge 8 are connected by a tube 13, and ink can be sent from the ink cartridge 8 through the tube 13 to the recording head 9.

  FIG. 2 is a view showing the front appearance of the ink jet recording apparatus according to the present embodiment. An operation unit LCD 14 is provided on the front surface of the ink jet recording apparatus and can display characters. The user can be notified of the state of the inkjet recording apparatus.

  The ink cartridge 8 includes a black ink cartridge 16, a cyan ink cartridge 17, a magenta ink cartridge 18, and a yellow ink cartridge 19. The control board 20 controls the entire ink jet recording apparatus. The control board 20 and the ink cartridge 8 are connected by a harness 21.

  FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the ink cartridge according to the present embodiment. Here, the black ink cartridge 16 will be described. The ink cartridge 16 includes an ID chip 31 and a protrusion 30 for blocking the light of the optical sensor. The other ink cartridges 17 to 19 have the same configuration.

  The above-mentioned tube 13 is inserted into the ink delivery part 32, and serves as a port for delivering ink. The electrode 33 is provided in the ID chip 31 and exchanges data with the control board 20 via the harness 21 described above.

  FIG. 4 is a diagram showing the ID chip 31 according to the present embodiment. An EEPROM 35 is mounted on the ID chip 31 and data exchanged with the control board 20 via the harness 21 is written. The data to be written includes, for example, the remaining ink amount of the ink cartridges 16 to 19, color information, and a manufacturing number.

  FIG. 5 is a diagram showing details of the ink cartridge connecting portion according to the present embodiment. Here, the black ink cartridge 16 will be described. The same applies to the other ink cartridges 17 to 19, and a description thereof will be omitted. The ink cartridge 16 is inserted into the ink cartridge 8.

  The protrusion 30 of the ink cartridge 16 has a layout that enters the opening 22 of the ink cartridge container 8. At this time, the light of the optical sensor 40 is blocked, and the data of the optical sensor 40 is sent to the control board 20 through the harness 41.

  FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating a circuit configuration of the ID chip 31, the control board 20, and the operation unit LCD 14 according to the present embodiment. Communication between the control board 20 and the EEPROM 35 on the ID chip 31 is performed by the I2C method. On the other hand, a communication method between the control board 20 and the operation unit LCD 14 is arbitrary.

  FIG. 7 is a detection flowchart according to this embodiment. It is determined whether or not the protrusion 30 is detected by the optical sensor 40 (step S1). When the protrusion 30 is not detected (step S1, No), a message prompting the user to correctly mount the cartridge on the operation unit LCD is displayed (step S5).

  When the projection 30 can be detected by the optical sensor 40 (step S1, Yes), the data of the EEPROM 35 on the ID chip 31 is read and executed (step S2), and it is determined whether the data of the EEPROM 35 can be read (step S2). S3). If the data cannot be read (step S3, No), it is determined that the terminal surface 33 of the ink cartridge 16 is dirty and data reading is impossible, and the metal terminal surface 33 of the ink cartridge 16 is cleaned on the operation unit LCD. A message prompting the user is displayed (step S6).

  When the data of the EEPROM 35 can be read (step S3, Yes), it is determined whether or not the value is appropriate (step S4). If the value is not appropriate (step S4, No), the operation unit LCD 14 displays to notify the user that there is a cartridge abnormality (step S7). When the value is appropriate (step S4, Yes), a display for notifying the user that the printing is possible is performed on the operation unit LCD 14 (step S8).

<Example 2>
FIG. 8 is a detection flowchart according to the present embodiment. It is determined whether or not the protrusion 30 is detected by the optical sensor 40 (step S1). When the protrusion 30 is not detected (step S1, No), a message prompting the user to correctly mount the ink cartridge on the operation unit LCD 14 is displayed (step S5).

  When the projection 30 can be detected by the optical sensor 40 (step S1, Yes), the data of the EEPROM 35 on the ID chip 31 is read and executed (step S2), and it is determined whether the data of the EEPROM 35 can be read (step S2). S3). If the data cannot be read (step S3, No), it is determined that the terminal surface 33 of the ink cartridge 16 is dirty and data reading is impossible, and the operation unit LCD 14 is to clean the metal terminal surface 33 of the cartridge 16. A message prompting the user is displayed (step S6).

  When the data of the EEPROM 35 can be read (step S3, Yes), it is determined whether or not the value is appropriate (step S4). When the value is appropriate (step S4, Yes), a display for notifying the user that the printing is possible is performed on the operation unit LCD 14 (step S8).

  If the value is not appropriate (step S4, No), it is determined whether or not the abnormal color information is black (step S11). If it is black (step S11, Yes), the operation unit LCD 14 is displayed to notify the user that the black cartridge is abnormal (step S12).

  If the abnormal color information is not black (No in step S11), it is determined whether the abnormal color information is cyan (step S13). If it is cyan (step S13, Yes), the operation unit LCD 14 is displayed to notify the user that there is an abnormality in the cyan cartridge (step S14).

  If it is not cyan (step S13, No), it is determined whether or not the color information having an abnormality is magenta (step S15). If it is magenta (step S15, Yes), a display for notifying the user that there is an abnormality in the magenta color cartridge is displayed on the operation unit LCD 14 (step S16).

  If the abnormal color information is not magenta (No in step S15), a display for notifying the user that there is an abnormality in the yellow color cartridge is displayed on the operation unit LCD 14 (step S17). According to this embodiment, since a color can be designated with respect to a user, it has the effect that a user can respond without hesitating a color.

<Example 3>
FIG. 9 is a detection flowchart using the LAN I / F according to the present embodiment. It is determined whether or not the protrusion 30 is detected by the optical sensor 40 (step S1). When the protrusion 30 is not detected (step S1, No), a message prompting the user to correctly install the ink cartridge on the operation unit LCD 14 and the driver monitor is displayed (step S21).

  When the projection 30 can be detected by the optical sensor 40 (step S1, Yes), the data of the EEPROM 35 on the ID chip 31 is read and executed (step S2), and it is determined whether the data of the EEPROM 35 can be read (step S2). S3). If the data cannot be read (step S3, No), it is determined that the terminal surface 33 of the ink cartridge is dirty and data reading is impossible, and the metal terminal surface 33 of the ink cartridges 16-19 is displayed on the operation unit LCD 14 and the driver monitor. A message prompting the user to clean is displayed (step S22).

  When the data of the EEPROM 35 can be read (step S3, Yes), it is determined whether or not the value is appropriate (step S4). If the value is appropriate (step S4, Yes), a display for notifying the user that printing is possible is performed on the operation unit LCD 14 and the driver monitor (step S24).

  If the value is not appropriate (step S4, No), it is determined whether or not the abnormal color information is black (step S11). If it is black (step S11, Yes), the operation unit LCD 14 and the driver monitor are displayed to notify the user that there is an abnormality in the black cartridge (step S25).

  If the abnormal color information is not black (No in step S11), it is determined whether the abnormal color information is cyan (step S13). If it is cyan (step S13, Yes), the operation unit LCD 14 and the driver monitor are displayed to notify the user that there is an abnormality in the cyan cartridge (step S26).

  If the abnormal color information is not cyan (No in step S13), it is determined whether the abnormal color information is magenta (step S15). If it is magenta (step S15, Yes), a display for notifying the user that there is an abnormality in the magenta color cartridge is displayed on the operation unit LCD 14 and the driver monitor (step S27).

  If the abnormal color information is not magenta (step S15, No), the operation unit LCD 14 and the driver monitor are displayed to notify the user that the yellow cartridge is abnormal (step S23).

  FIG. 10 is a block diagram of an ink jet recording apparatus provided with a LAN I / F. The control board 20 includes an Ethernet (registered trademark) PHY 50 together with the CPU 51. The Ethernet PHY 50 and the CPU 51 can communicate with each other by an arbitrary method. The printer driver 53 is installed and the PC 52 connected to the network and the control board 20 can communicate with each other.

  The abnormality detection flow of FIG. 9 is the same as that of FIG. 8, but the means (specifically, steps S21 to S27) that finally informs the user is not only the display on the operation unit LCD 14, but also the printer driver 53 using the Network. The information is displayed on the driver monitor of the installed PC 52.

  According to the present embodiment, there is an effect that it is possible to notify an abnormality of an ink cartridge via a network even to a user who is away from the inkjet recording apparatus.

<Example 4>
FIG. 11 is a block diagram of an ink jet recording apparatus provided with a USB I / F. The control board 20 is provided with a USB Function 54 inside the CPU 51, the printer driver 53 is installed, and the PC 52 and the control board 20 connected by a USB cable are capable of USB communication.

  The abnormality detection flow of FIG. 9 is the same as that of FIG. 8, but the means (specifically, steps S21 to S27) that finally informs the user is not only the display on the operation unit LCD 14, but also the printer driver 53 using the USB cable. Is displayed on the driver monitor of the PC 52 on which is installed.

  According to the present embodiment, there is an effect that it is possible to notify the user who is away from the ink jet recording apparatus of the abnormality of the ink cartridge via the USB cable.

<Example 5>
FIG. 12 is a block diagram of an ink jet recording apparatus provided with communication means based on IEEE 802.11. The control board 20 includes the Ethernet PHY 50 and the IEEE 802.11 module 55 together with the CPU 51, and the Ethernet PHY 50, the CPU 51, and the IEEE 802.11 module 55 can communicate with each other by any method. The printer driver 53 is installed, and the PC 52 connected to the IEEE 802.11 and the control board 20 can communicate with each other.

  The abnormality detection flow of FIG. 9 is the same as that of FIG. 8, but the means for finally conveying to the user (specifically, steps S 21 to 27) is not only the display on the operation unit LCD 14 but also the printer driver using the IEEE 802.11. 53 is displayed on the driver monitor of the PC 52 in which 53 is installed.

  According to this embodiment, there is an effect that it is possible to notify a user who has not established a network environment of an abnormality of an ink cartridge via IEEE801.11.

8 Ink cartridge 14 Operation unit LCD
20 Control Board 21 Harness 22 Opening 30 Projection 31 ID Chip 35 EEPROM
40 optical sensor 50 Ethernet PHY
54 USB Function
55 IEEE802.11 module

JP 2010-228374 A

Claims (5)

An ink cartridge provided with a detection object;
Detecting means for detecting the detected object;
Communication means between the detection means and the control board;
Means for notifying the user;
Control means for determining and controlling whether the communication means is established;
An ink jet recording apparatus comprising:   2. The ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the control unit simultaneously reads out color information and displays the color of an undetected or abnormal ink cartridge on the notification unit.   The inkjet recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the control board includes a LAN I / F.   The ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the control board includes a USB I / F.   3. The ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the control board includes communication means based on IEEE 802.11.

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