JP2015163483A - Printing system and program - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To avoid inappropriate ink from being used for refilling to an ink tank of a printing apparatus.SOLUTION: If an ink amount supplied from an ink tank to an ejection head reaches a predetermined limit value, ink ejection is not permitted. If input of initialization data can be received and the input initialization data is appropriate, a count value of the ink amount is initialized, and the ink ejection is started again. In addition, the initialization data which is input once and determined to be appropriate is determined to be inappropriate initialization data thereafter. By this arrangement, although ink of inappropriate properties is used for the refilling, since appropriate initialization data may not be input, inappropriate ink can be avoided from being used for the refilling.

Description

  The present invention relates to a technique for printing an image by ejecting ink from an ejection head.

  A printing apparatus that prints an image by ejecting ink from an ejection head, such as an ink jet printer, is widely used. The ejected ink is accommodated in a special container called an ink cartridge, and is supplied to the ejecting head by its own weight or by a liquid feed pump.

  The inside of the ejection head has a complicated structure in which a fine ejection nozzle for ejecting ink and a thin ink passage for guiding ink to the ejection nozzle are formed. For this reason, if ink having an inappropriate property is supplied, the ejection nozzle, the ink passage, and the like may be clogged, and eventually the ejection head must be replaced. Therefore, in order to avoid supplying inappropriate ink, it is practiced to store authentication data by embedding a memory such as an IC chip in the ink cartridge. In this way, when an ink cartridge is installed in the printing apparatus, the authentication data stored in the memory is read to determine whether the ink cartridge is a genuine product. It can be determined that the ink has an appropriate property (Patent Document 1).

  Further, since there is a limit to the amount of ink that can be stored in the ink cartridge, when printing in large quantities, it is necessary to interrupt printing many times and replace the ink cartridge. Therefore, the ink is supplied from the ink tank provided in the printing device, and when the ink becomes low during printing, the ink tank is replenished with ink from a separately prepared ink bottle. There is also a technique for enabling printing (Patent Document 2).

JP 2004-074464 A Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2000-2111155

  However, the technology that enables continuous printing by replenishing ink from an ink bottle or the like has the following problems. First, it cannot be determined whether or not the ink replenished in the ink tank is an appropriate property ink. For this reason, improper ink is supplied and clogging occurs inside the ejection head, and the ejection head may need to be replaced. Moreover, even if the proper ink (recommended ink) recommended for use by the printer manufacturer is used, once the ink bottle is opened, the properties of the ink deteriorate with time. Therefore, when a deteriorated ink is replenished for a long time after opening, even if the replenished ink is a recommended ink, the inside of the ejection head may be clogged.

  The present invention has been made to solve at least a part of the above-described problems in the prior art, and is capable of continuous printing by replenishing ink from an ink bottle or the like. It is an object of the present invention to provide a technique capable of avoiding clogging occurring inside the ejection head due to replenishment of the advanced ink.

In order to solve at least a part of the problems described above, the program of the present invention employs the following configuration. That is,
An ink tank capable of replenishing ink from the outside and an ejection head that ejects ink supplied from the ink tank, and the count value of the amount of ink supplied from the ink tank to the ejection head reaches a predetermined limit value A program for controlling the operation of a printing apparatus having a function of stopping the ejection of ink from the ejection head when reaching using a computer,
A first function for acquiring, from the printing apparatus, information capable of at least discriminating whether or not the count value of the ink amount has reached the limit value;
A second function for receiving an input of initialization data, which is data for initializing the count value of the ink amount, when the count value of the ink amount reaches the limit value;
When the suitability of the input initialization data is determined and it is determined that the initialization data is appropriate, the count value of the ink amount in the printing apparatus is initialized and determined to be appropriate. The gist is to realize the third function of storing the initialization data as inappropriate initialization data using a computer.

  Such a program of the present invention has a function of controlling the operation of the printing apparatus having a function of stopping the ejection of ink when the count value of the ink amount reaches a predetermined limit value as follows. First, information capable of determining whether the count value of the ink amount has reached a limit value is acquired from the printing apparatus. Here, when the ink amount is counted inside the printing apparatus, the ink amount may be counted by directly measuring the flow rate of the ink supplied to the ejection head. However, from the operation in which the ejection head ejects ink. The amount of ink supplied to the ejection head may be indirectly counted. In addition, the aspect of counting the ink amount may be such that the count value increases as ink is supplied to the ejection head, or conversely, the count value may be decreased. Further, the program of the present invention only needs to be able to acquire information capable of determining whether or not the count value of the ink amount in the printing apparatus has reached a predetermined limit value, and therefore, the count value of the ink amount is acquired. Alternatively, information indicating the magnitude relationship between the count value of the ink amount and the limit value, or information indicating only whether the count value of the ink amount has reached the limit value may be acquired. When it is determined that the count value of the ink amount has reached a predetermined limit value, initialization data can be input. Here, the initialization data is data for initializing the count value of the ink amount in the printing apparatus. Furthermore, when initialization data is input, it is determined whether or not the data is appropriate. If it is determined that the data is appropriate, the count value of the ink amount in the printing apparatus is initialized. As a result, the printing apparatus is ready to eject ink again. Further, the initialization data determined to be appropriate is stored in order to determine that it is inappropriate initialization data thereafter.

  In this way, after the ink in the ink tank has decreased and the ink ejection has stopped, even if the ink tank is replenished, the printing apparatus does not eject the ink unless the proper initialization data is input. It will not be resumed. Therefore, for example, appropriate initialization data can be known only when ink with proper properties is obtained, for example, a label printed with appropriate initialization data is attached only to a genuine ink bottle. If this is the case, ink ejection cannot be resumed even if ink with inappropriate properties is replenished. For this reason, it is possible to prevent the inside of the ejection head from being clogged with ink having inappropriate properties. In addition, initialization data that has been used once is stored as inappropriate initialization data. As a result, the initialization data cannot be used. For this reason, even when the ink in the ink tank is reduced and the ejection of the ink is stopped again, a new ink having proper properties is obtained. As a result, it is possible to prevent the inside of the ejection head from being clogged with ink having inappropriate properties. In addition, since the initialization data can be used only once, when ink is replenished, it is replenished with as little ink as possible. For this reason, even though the ink was of an appropriate property at the time of acquisition, it has not been replenished after opening, so that time has passed and the deteriorated ink has been replenished, and the ejection head can be clogged. It can be avoided.

  If the ink tank can be replenished only when the count value of the ink amount reaches a predetermined value, the time has passed since opening even though the ink with the proper properties was obtained. It is possible to reliably avoid clogging of the ejection head due to the replenishment of the deteriorated ink. That is, for example, it is assumed that appropriate ink is obtained and half of the ink tank is replenished, and the other half is left without being refilled. In this case, the ink remaining without being replenished cannot be replenished until the count value of the ink amount initialized by the input of the initialization data reaches a predetermined limit value. After the count value of the ink amount reaches the limit value, the remaining ink initialization data can no longer be used, so that a new ink having proper properties is obtained. The ink left without is not used. For this reason, it is possible to avoid clogging the ejection head with ink that has deteriorated without being refilled in the ink tank. Moreover, since the ink left without replenishment becomes unusable, all the obtained ink is replenished. As a result, it is possible to avoid the occurrence of ink that has deteriorated and is not replenished after opening itself.

  Further, in the above-described program of the present invention, when the ink amount count value reaches a predetermined limit value, the function of accepting input of initialization data may be realized as follows. . First, when the count value of the ink amount reaches the limit value, a predetermined confirmation image (an image for confirming to the operator of the printing apparatus whether or not to refill the ink tank) is displayed. Thereafter, when it is detected by the operator of the printing apparatus that ink replenishment is to be performed, a predetermined input image for the operator to input initialization data may be displayed.

  In this way, when the operator of the printing apparatus does not want to replenish ink, an input image for inputting initialization data is not displayed. For this reason, it becomes possible to suppress a possibility that an operator may make an operation mistake.

  Further, the above-described program of the present invention may be configured as follows. First, a plurality of ink tanks are mounted on a printing apparatus, and an ejection head is provided for each ink tank. When the ink amount is counted, the ink amount is counted for each ink tank, and when the count value of the ink amount reaches a limit value in any of the ink tanks, a confirmation image (into the ink tank) about the ink tank is counted. An image for confirming with the operator of the printing apparatus whether or not to replenish ink is displayed. As a result, an input image for inputting initialization data may be displayed for the ink tank designated to be refilled with ink by the operator of the printing apparatus.

  In this way, even in a printing apparatus that prints an image using a plurality of types of ink, an input image for inputting initialization data is displayed only for the ink that the operator intends to replenish. For this reason, even if it is a printing apparatus in which a plurality of types of ink are mounted, it is possible to suppress the possibility that the operator will make an operation error.

  Further, as described above, in the program of the present invention in which a plurality of ink tanks are mounted on the printing apparatus and an ejection head is provided for each ink tank, each of the plurality of ink tanks has a different color ink. And initialization data including ink color information may be input.

  In this way, when ink of the wrong color is replenished when refilling the ink tank, it is determined that the initialization data is inappropriate. For this reason, it is possible to avoid a situation in which printing is started while supplementing the wrong color ink.

Further, the present invention described above can be grasped in the form of a printing system configured by a printing apparatus whose operation is controlled by the above-described program, a computer that executes the program, and the like. Alternatively, it can be understood as a printing system in which the above program is incorporated in a printing apparatus. The printing system of the present invention ascertained in this manner is
A printing system comprising: a printing unit that ejects ink replenished to an ink tank from outside using an ejection head; and a control unit that controls the operation of the printing unit,
The controller is
An ink amount counting means for counting the amount of ink supplied from the ink tank to the ejection head in the printing unit;
Means for storing a cumulative ink remaining amount or ink consumption of the ink tank counted by the ink amount counting means as a count value of the ink amount;
Ejection stop means for stopping ejection of ink from the ejection head when the count value of the ink amount reaches a predetermined limit value;
Initialization data receiving means for receiving an input of initialization data that is data for initializing the count value of the ink amount when the count value of the ink amount reaches the limit value;
When it is determined whether or not the input initialization data is appropriate and the initialization data is determined to be appropriate, the ink amount count value is initialized and the initialization data determined to be appropriate The gist of the present invention is to provide initialization data determination means for storing as inappropriate initialization data.

  In such a printing system of the present invention, the amount of ink supplied from the ink tank to the ejection head is counted, and when the count value reaches a predetermined limit value, the ejection of ink from the ejection head is stopped. Initialization data can be input. When the input initialization data is determined to be appropriate, the count value of the ink amount that has reached the limit value is initialized, so that it is possible to eject ink from the ejection head again. Further, the initialization data determined to be appropriate is determined to be inappropriate initialization data thereafter. When printing an image by connecting a computer for controlling the printing apparatus to the printing apparatus, the amount of ink in the computer connected to the printing apparatus and the control unit mounted on the printing apparatus The portion that controls the function of stopping the ejection of ink from the ejection head when the count value reaches a predetermined limit corresponds to the control unit of the present invention, and the control unit of the present invention in the printing apparatus. The portion that does not correspond to corresponds to the printing portion of the present invention. In addition, when the printing apparatus itself is equipped with a computer and an image is printed without being connected to an external computer, the computer installed in the printing apparatus corresponds to the control unit of the present invention. Corresponds to the printing unit of the present invention.

  In the printing system of the present invention as described above, as in the case of the program of the present invention described above, the ink supply cannot be resumed even if the ink having an inappropriate property is replenished. Therefore, it is possible to avoid clogging the inside of the ejection head. In addition, since the initialization data that has been used once can no longer be used, each time ink is replenished, ink having an appropriate property is obtained. As a result, it is possible to prevent the inside of the ejection head from being clogged with ink having inappropriate properties. In addition, since the initialization data can be used only once, when ink is replenished, it is replenished with as little ink as possible. For this reason, even though the ink was of an appropriate property at the time of acquisition, it has not been replenished after opening, so that time has passed and the deteriorated ink has been replenished, and the ejection head can be clogged. It can be avoided.

It is explanatory drawing which illustrated the inkjet printer as a printing apparatus of a present Example. It is explanatory drawing which showed the whole structure of the printing system of a present Example. 6 is a flowchart illustrating ink remaining amount management processing executed by the printer driver according to the present exemplary embodiment. FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a refill ink selection screen displayed on a monitor screen. FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram illustrating another aspect of a refill ink selection screen displayed on the monitor screen 202. 6 is a flowchart showing remaining ink amount correction processing executed in remaining ink amount management processing. FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an ink remaining amount confirmation screen displayed on a monitor screen. It is explanatory drawing which showed a mode that the ink remaining amount in an ink tank was confirmed from the confirmation window of a tank case. It is explanatory drawing which illustrated the supplement ink selection screen displayed after an ink residual amount confirmation screen. 6 is a flowchart of ink replenishment processing executed in ink remaining amount management processing. It is explanatory drawing which shows a mode that the tank case was removed from the inkjet printer. It is explanatory drawing which illustrated the ink replenishment screen displayed on the monitor screen. It is explanatory drawing which illustrated the ink bottle in which the replenishment ink was accommodated. It is explanatory drawing which illustrated the input screen displayed in order to input an ink ID number on a monitor screen. It is explanatory drawing which illustrated the re-input screen displayed in order to prompt the re-input of an ink ID number on a monitor screen. It is explanatory drawing which illustrated the replenishment completion screen displayed on the monitor screen. It is explanatory drawing which illustrated the ink bottle of the 3rd modification.

Hereinafter, in order to clarify the contents of the present invention described above, examples will be described in the following order.
A. Device configuration:
A-1. Structure of the inkjet printer of this embodiment:
A-2. Configuration of the printing system of this embodiment:
B. Ink level management process:
B-1. Ink level correction process:
B-2. Ink replenishment processing:
C. Variation:
C-1. First modification:
C-2. Second modification:
C-3. Third modification:
C-4. Fourth modification:

A. Device configuration :
A-1. Structure of the ink jet printer of this example:
FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an ink jet printer 100 as a printing apparatus according to the present embodiment. The illustrated ink jet printer 100 has a substantially box-like appearance, a front cover 103 is provided at the front center, and a paper feed tray 101 for setting the printing paper 1 is provided on the back side. Yes. In addition, a plurality of operation buttons 105 are provided on the front side of the inkjet printer 100 at a position corresponding to the front cover 103, and a touch panel type is provided on the upper surface side of the place where the operation buttons 105 are provided. The monitor screen 104 is provided. The front cover 103 is pivotally supported on the lower end side, and when the upper end side is tilted forward, an elongated discharge port 102 through which the printing paper 1 is discharged appears. When printing paper is set in the paper feeding tray 101 and the monitor screen 104 or the operation button 105 is operated, the printing paper 1 is sucked from the paper feeding tray 101. An image is printed on the surface of the printing paper 1 inside the ink jet printer 100 and then discharged from the paper discharge port 102.

  A box-shaped tank case 150 is provided on the side surface of the inkjet printer 100. As will be described in detail later, a plurality of ink tanks are provided inside the tank case 150, and ink used for printing by the inkjet printer 100 is supplied from these ink tanks.

  Further, image data to be printed (image data) is supplied to the inkjet printer 100 after being subjected to image processing by the computer 200 connected to the inkjet printer 100. When the inkjet printer 100 receives the image data after image processing from the computer 200, the inkjet printer 100 converts the image data into dot data indicating whether or not to form dots on the printing paper 1 and prints the printing paper according to the obtained dot data. Dots are formed by ejecting ink onto 1. As a result, an image is printed on the printing paper 1. That is, in the present embodiment, the printing system 10 is configured by the inkjet printer 100 and the computer 200 that performs predetermined image processing on the image data and supplies the image data to the inkjet printer 100.

A-2. Configuration of the printing system of this embodiment:
FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing the overall configuration of the printing system 10 of this embodiment. In the drawing, a rough internal structure of the ink jet printer 100 is also shown. First, the internal structure of the inkjet printer 100 will be briefly described. As shown in FIG. 2, a carriage 110 that reciprocates on the printing paper 1 is provided inside the inkjet printer 100, and an ejection head 112 that ejects ink is provided on the carriage 110. . In the ink jet printer 100 of the present embodiment, an image can be printed using four colors of ink of cyan (hereinafter C), yellow (hereinafter Y), magenta (M), and black (K). Corresponding to this, an ejection head 112 is provided for each ink color.

  The carriage 110 is driven by a drive mechanism (not shown) and repeats reciprocation on the printing paper 1 while being guided by the guide rail 130. The ink jet printer 100 is also provided with a paper feeding mechanism (not shown), and the printing paper 1 is fed little by little as the carriage 110 reciprocates. Then, in accordance with the movement in which the carriage 110 reciprocates and the movement in which the printing paper 1 is fed, the ejection head 112 sends C color ink (hereinafter referred to as C ink) and Y color ink (hereinafter referred to as Y ink). ), M color ink (hereinafter referred to as M ink), or K color ink (hereinafter referred to as K ink) is ejected to print an image on the printing paper 1.

  The ink ejected from the ejection head 112 is stored in an ink tank 151 provided in the tank case 150. In the ink jet printer 100 of the present embodiment, four types of ink, C ink, Y ink, M ink, and K ink, are used, so that the ink tank 151 also has an ink tank 151C, Y for C ink for each ink type. Four ink tanks 151 are provided: an ink tank 151Y for ink, an ink tank 151M for M ink, and an ink tank 151K for K ink. In the present specification, when it is not particularly necessary to distinguish between ink types, the ink tanks 151C, 151Y, 151M, and 151K for each ink type may be simply referred to as an ink tank 151. To do. The ink in the ink tank 151 is supplied to the ejection head 112 for each ink type via an ink tube 117 provided for each ink type.

  Furthermore, an area called a home position is provided at a position where the carriage 110 has moved along the guide rail 130 to the outside of the printing paper 1, and the carriage 110 is in a state where the inkjet printer 100 is not printing an image. Moved to home position. A cap 122 is provided at the home position, and the cap 122 can be moved in the vertical direction by a lifting mechanism (not shown). Then, when the carriage 110 is moved to the home position and the cap 122 is pressed against the bottom surface side of the carriage 110, a closed space is formed so as to cover the ejection head 112 and the ink in the ejection head 112 is prevented from drying. It is possible. In addition, a negative pressure pump 120 is connected to the cap 122 via a negative pressure tube 124. By operating the negative pressure pump 120 with the cap 122 pressed against the bottom surface side of the carriage 110, the ejection head can be operated. Ink in the ink 112 can be sucked out. For this reason, even when drying progresses in the ejection head 112 and the viscosity of the ink increases, it is possible to suck out such ink and maintain the ink in the ejection head 112 at an appropriate viscosity. It is.

  The inkjet printer 100 also includes a control unit 140 configured by a CPU that performs logical operations and arithmetic operations, a ROM that stores various programs and data, and a RAM in which the CPU temporarily stores data. Has been. Upon receiving image data after image processing from the computer 200, the control unit 140 converts the image represented by the image data into image data (dot data) expressed by ink dots. Then, in accordance with the dot data, the operation of reciprocating the carriage 110, the operation of feeding the printing paper 1, and the operation of the ejection head 112 ejecting ink to form dots are controlled. Also, when ink dots are formed, that much ink is consumed, and the remaining amount of ink in the ink tank 151 decreases. Therefore, the control unit 140 according to the present embodiment counts the remaining ink amount in the ink tank 151 for each ink type based on the dot data for each ink type, and the remaining ink amount is a predetermined lower limit (predetermined value). ) (When the ink runs out), the operation of ejecting ink from the ejection head 112 is stopped. By doing so, it is possible to prevent the ejection head 112 from being greatly damaged because the ejection head 112 is driven in a state where ink is not supplied.

  The computer 200 is configured by connecting a CPU, a ROM, a RAM, and the like via a bus so that data can be communicated with each other, and executes various programs stored in the ROM. The computer 200 is also equipped with a monitor screen 202. Among the plurality of programs stored in the ROM, a program called a printer driver 204 is stored. When the CPU executes the printer driver 204, predetermined image processing is performed on image data to be printed. And output to the inkjet printer 100.

  Further, if the operations of the printer driver 204 of this embodiment are classified by paying attention to the function, the part (image conversion module) related to the function of performing image processing on the image data, and the commuting to communicate with the inkjet printer 100 mutually. A part related to a function for managing the remaining amount of ink in the ink tank 151 by the functional unit (ink remaining amount management module), or a part related to a function for starting up the ink remaining amount management module to replenish the ink tank 151 (ink replenishment) Module). The “module” referred to here is a virtual concept in which the operation of the printer driver 204 is roughly classified by focusing on the functions, and can actually be embodied in various forms. For example, it can be realized as a program code group in which a plurality of commands are linked so that a desired function is realized, or can be realized as an LSI group that realizes a desired function in hardware. .

  As described above, the image conversion module performs predetermined image processing on the image data of the image to be printed and outputs the processed image data to the inkjet printer 100. This processing itself is performed by a general printer driver. The description is omitted here because it is the same as the processing. Further, in the printer driver 204 of the present embodiment, the ink remaining amount management module (or the ink replenishment module) executes the ink remaining amount management process described below while communicating data with the ink jet printer 100, whereby the ink jet printer. 100 avoids a situation where the ink runs out and printing becomes impossible. Further, it is possible to prevent clogging from occurring inside the ejection head 112 due to replenishment of ink having an inappropriate property. In the following, a process executed by the remaining ink management module in the printer driver 204 of this embodiment in order to realize such a function will be described.

B. Ink level management process:
FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing the remaining ink management process performed in the printer driver 204 of this embodiment. This process is a process executed by the ink remaining amount management module of the printer driver 204 while communicating with the control unit 140 of the inkjet printer 100.

  As shown in FIG. 3, in the remaining ink amount management process, first, the remaining ink amount in the ink tank 151 is acquired for each ink type from the control unit 140 of the inkjet printer 100 (step S100). As described above with reference to FIG. 2, the control unit 140 of the inkjet printer 100 converts the image data received from the computer 200 into dot data (image data in which an image is expressed by ink dots), and the ejection head 112 and the carriage 110. And the remaining amount of ink in the ink tank 151 is counted for each ink type based on the dot data. The counted ink remaining amount is stored in a RAM or ROM in the inkjet printer 100. In addition, since the following processes are all performed for each color of ink, the description given without specifying the type of ink particularly applies to all inks.

  When the ink remaining amount is acquired from the control unit 140 of the inkjet printer 100, it is determined whether or not the acquired ink remaining amount has reached a predetermined lower limit value (step S102). As a result, if the remaining amount of ink in any of the ink tanks 151 has decreased to a predetermined lower limit (step S102: yes), the remaining ink correction process (step S200) is started. As will be described in detail later, the ink remaining amount correction process is a process in which the operator of the ink jet printer 100 checks the ink remaining amount in the ink tank 151 and the ink jet printer 100 is actually used when ink still remains. This process corrects the remaining ink amount.

  On the other hand, when the ink remaining amount acquired from the ink jet printer 100 has not yet reached the lower limit (step S102: no), a predetermined operation for confirming the ink remaining amount is performed by the operator of the ink jet printer 100. It is determined whether or not (step S104). The predetermined operation for confirming the ink remaining amount is, for example, an operation in which the operator selects an icon of the inkjet printer 100 from the computer 200 and displays its properties. As a result, when the operation for confirming the ink remaining amount is not performed (step S104: no), the process returns to the top of the process, and after acquiring the ink remaining amount from the inkjet printer 100 again (step S100), The above-described series of processing is repeated.

  On the other hand, when the operator of the ink jet printer 100 performs a predetermined operation for checking the remaining ink amount (step S104: yes), a screen for selecting the ink to be replenished (replenishment ink). Is displayed on the monitor screen 202 of the computer 200 (step S106).

  FIG. 4 is an explanatory view exemplifying a replenishment ink selection screen (including an ink remaining amount confirmation screen) displayed on the monitor screen 202. As shown in the drawing, the replenishment ink selection screen displays an image indicating the approximate remaining ink amount for each of the C ink, Y ink, M ink, and K ink. This ink remaining amount is displayed based on the ink remaining amount acquired from the inkjet printer 100. In addition, a check box is displayed below the image indicating the approximate remaining ink amount, and the operator of the inkjet printer 100 can select the refill ink by checking the check box. Yes. However, it is not necessary to replenish ink for ink whose remaining ink amount has not decreased. Therefore, such ink is displayed in such a manner that the check box cannot be selected. In FIG. 4, the check boxes for the C, Y, M, and K inks are displayed with thin wavy lines to indicate that these check boxes cannot be selected.

  FIG. 5 is an explanatory view illustrating another aspect of the refill ink selection screen displayed on the monitor screen 202. In the example shown in FIG. 5, the remaining amount of ink for Y ink and M ink is reduced to a predetermined value (for example, 3% or less), and the check boxes for these inks are displayed in a selectable manner. In the figure, the check box displayed with a thick solid line indicates that the check box is displayed in a selectable manner. Also, for ink whose remaining ink amount has fallen below a predetermined value, place it in the triangle! The figure combining the marks is overwritten on the image showing the approximate remaining ink level, so that it can be easily recognized that the remaining ink level is decreasing. FIG. 5 illustrates the case where the remaining amounts of Y ink and M ink have decreased to a predetermined value or less, but the remaining amounts of other inks (for example, C ink) have decreased to a predetermined value or less. In this case, a check box for the ink (C ink) is displayed in a selectable manner, and a triangle is displayed on the image representing the rough ink remaining amount of the ink (C ink)! The figure combined with the mark is overwritten.

  As described above, in the remaining ink amount management process shown in FIG. 3, when the operator of the inkjet printer 100 performs a predetermined operation for checking the remaining ink amount (step S104: yes), at that time point If there is no ink whose remaining ink amount has decreased below the predetermined value, the replenishment ink selection screen is displayed in the manner shown in FIG. 4, and conversely, if there is an ink whose remaining ink amount has decreased below the predetermined value. For example, the replenishment ink selection screen illustrated in FIG. 5 is displayed (step S106). When the replenishment ink selection screen is displayed in the mode shown in FIG. 4, no check box for any ink is displayed in a selectable mode. Select the button labeled “Next” in the lower corner (hereinafter “Next” button). On the other hand, when the replenishment ink selection screen is displayed in the form illustrated in FIG. 5, the check box of the ink that the operator of the inkjet printer 100 intends to replenish is checked, and then the screen is displayed. The “Next” button in the lower right corner is selected. Of course, if the operator of the ink jet printer 100 does not want to refill any ink, the “Next” button is selected without checking any ink check boxes.

  In the ink remaining amount management process of FIG. 3, when the replenishment ink selection screen illustrated in FIG. 4 or FIG. 5 is displayed on the monitor screen 202 (step S106), the “next” button is clicked by the operator of the inkjet printer 100. In the meantime, it is determined as “no” in step S108, and is in a standby state. When the “next” button is pressed by the operator of the inkjet printer 100, the ink remaining amount management module of the printer driver 204 detects this (step S108: yes), and this time selects to replenish ink. It is determined whether or not there is any ink that has been checked (ink whose check box is selected in the refill ink selection screen) (step S110). As a result, when there is ink to be replenished (step S110: yes), an ink replenishment process described later is started (step S300).

  On the other hand, when the replenishment ink selection screen is displayed in a mode in which ink cannot be selected as shown in FIG. 4, or in a mode in which ink can be selected as shown in FIG. If no ink is selected, it is determined in step S110 that there is no ink to be replenished (step S110: no). In this case, without performing the ink replenishment process described later, the process returns to the head of the ink remaining amount management process as it is, and after acquiring the ink remaining amount from the ink jet printer 100 (step S100), the series of processes described above are performed. repeat.

  The process for displaying the refill ink selection screen when the operator of the inkjet printer 100 performs a predetermined operation for checking the remaining ink amount (step S104: yes) has been described above. As described above, when the operator of the ink jet printer 100 performs a predetermined operation, the replenishment ink selection screen is opened on the monitor screen 202 of the computer 200 regardless of the value of the remaining ink amount acquired from the ink jet printer 100. However, it is possible to display a rough ink remaining amount. On the other hand, when it is determined that the ink remaining amount acquired from the ink jet printer 100 has reached the predetermined lower limit (step S102: yes), the ink remaining amount correction process described below is started ( In step S200, a screen for displaying a rough ink remaining amount is automatically displayed. Hereinafter, such an ink remaining amount correction process will be described.

B-1. Ink level correction process:
FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing the remaining ink amount correcting process. As described above, this process is performed when it is determined that the remaining ink amount of any of the inks has reached a predetermined lower limit value in the remaining ink amount management process (step S102: yes in FIG. 3). This is a process executed by the remaining ink management module (see FIG. 2) of the driver 204.

  As shown in FIG. 6, when the ink remaining amount correction process is started, first, an ink remaining amount confirmation screen is displayed on the monitor screen 202 of the computer 200 (step S202). Here, the ink remaining amount confirmation screen is a screen that prompts the operator of the inkjet printer 100 to visually confirm the position of the ink liquid surface of the ink tank 151 and confirm the remaining ink amount actually remaining. . Details of the ink remaining amount confirmation screen will be described later.

  In addition, the reason why the operator of the ink jet printer 100 confirms the remaining amount of ink by visual observation is as follows. First, the ink remaining amount acquired from the ink jet printer 100 by the printer driver 204 is calculated by the control unit 140 of the ink jet printer 100 based on the dot data, and the ink ejection amount is accumulated. This is the remaining ink amount obtained by the above. However, since the actual ink ejection amount varies depending on the environment (for example, ambient temperature) in which the inkjet printer 100 is used, the calculated ink ejection amount includes some errors. Then, by accumulating these errors, the remaining ink amount obtained by calculation may not match the actual remaining ink amount. Therefore, when the calculated ink remaining amount reaches the lower limit value, the actual ink remaining amount reaches the lower limit value by visually checking whether the ink level in the ink tank 151 has actually dropped to the lower limit line. It is confirmed whether or not it has been reached.

  FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an ink remaining amount confirmation screen displayed on the monitor screen 202. As shown in the drawing, the ink remaining amount confirmation screen is roughly set for each of the C ink, Y ink, M ink, and K ink, as in the replenishment ink selection screen described above with reference to FIG. 4 or FIG. An image showing the remaining ink level is displayed. Then, by checking the images indicating the respective remaining ink amounts, it is possible to easily know whether or not the remaining ink amount has reached the lower limit value. For example, the image showing the remaining amount of C ink and the image showing the remaining amount of Y ink displayed in the figure are overwritten with a graphic in which a circle is combined with a circle. It is shown that the remaining amount of ink has decreased to the lower limit (the ink tank 151 is almost empty). Also, the image showing the remaining amount of M ink is inside the triangle! The figure that combines the marks has been overwritten. This is a display indicating that the remaining amount of ink has decreased to a level at which ink can be replenished, as in the replenishment ink selection screen described above with reference to FIG. Further, no image is overwritten on the image indicating the ink remaining amount of K ink, and this ink indicates that the ink remaining amount has not decreased to a level at which ink can be replenished. Yes.

  A square check box is displayed below the image indicating the remaining ink amount of each ink. Furthermore, above the image showing the remaining amount of ink, “Check the amount of ink remaining in the ink tank 151 and check the checkbox if there is ink that has not yet decreased to the lower limit line”. Is displayed. As described above with reference to FIG. 1, the ink tank 151 is accommodated in the tank case 150, but the tank case 150 is provided with a confirmation window described later. For this reason, the operator of the ink jet printer 100 can easily check the remaining ink amount in each ink tank 151.

  FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram showing how the remaining amount of ink in the ink tank 151 is confirmed from the confirmation window 152 provided in the tank case 150. As shown in the figure, a large confirmation window 152 is formed on the side surface of the tank case 150, and the ink tank 151 C for C ink, the ink tank 151 Y for Y ink, and the ink for M ink housed in the tank case 150. The tank 151M and the K ink ink tank 151K can be visually observed. In addition, each of the ink tanks 151C, 151Y, 151M, and 151K is formed of a transparent or translucent resin material. Therefore, it is possible to visually confirm the position of the liquid level of the ink remaining in each of the ink tanks 151C, 151Y, 151M, 151K.

  As shown in FIG. 8, a lower limit line 153 is displayed in each of the ink tanks 151C, 151Y, 151M, and 151K. The lower limit line 153 corresponds to the “lower limit value” determined for the ink remaining amount in the ink remaining amount management process shown in FIG. That is, the lower limit line 153 subtracts the ink ejection amount based on the dot data from the state where the ink tank 151 is full, and the ink liquid in the ink tank 151 decreases when the ink remaining amount decreases to the lower limit value. It is set to a position where the surface just drops.

  Accordingly, when it is determined that the calculated ink remaining amount based on the dot data has decreased to a predetermined lower limit value, an ink remaining amount confirmation screen as illustrated in FIG. 7 is displayed, and the operator of the inkjet printer 100 The actual ink remaining amount can be confirmed by confirming the position of the ink level in each ink tank 151 from the confirmation window 152. As a result, in terms of calculation, the remaining amount of ink has decreased to the lower limit value (that is, it is considered that the ink liquid level has reached the lower limit line 153), but actually, the ink liquid level is still at the lower limit line 153. If not, the corresponding ink check box is checked on the screen of FIG.

  In the example shown in FIG. 7, the calculated ink remaining amount is below the lower limit for the two inks, C ink and Y ink, and only the check boxes for these inks are checked. It is displayed in a selectable manner. On the other hand, the ink (M ink and K ink) whose calculated ink remaining amount does not reach the lower limit value is displayed in such a manner that the check box cannot be selected. For the Y ink of the C ink and the Y ink, the check box is checked on the assumption that the actually confirmed ink liquid level has not reached the lower limit line 153. In this way, the operator of the inkjet printer 100 visually confirms the position of the liquid level of each ink from the confirmation window 152 of the tank case 150, and after checking the check box according to the result, Click the button labeled “Next”.

  Then, in the ink remaining amount correction process shown in FIG. 6, it is determined that the “Next” button has been pressed (step S204: yes). 7 is displayed on the monitor screen 202 (step S202) and until the “next” button is clicked by the operator of the inkjet printer 100, “no” is displayed in step S204. It is judged that it is in a standby state.

  If it is determined that the “Next” button has been pressed (step S204: yes), this time, the ink that needs to be corrected in the calculated ink remaining amount (that is, a check box on the ink remaining amount confirmation screen in FIG. 7). In step S206, it is determined whether or not there is ink checked in (step S206). As a result, when there is an ink that needs to be corrected (step S206: yes), a command is transmitted to the control unit 140 of the inkjet printer 100 to thereby determine the remaining ink level of the corresponding ink. Is increased by a predetermined amount (for example, 3% of the full tank state) (step S208). In this way, even if there is a deviation between the calculated ink remaining amount and the actual ink remaining in the ink tank 151, the calculated ink remaining amount can be brought close to the actual ink remaining amount. It becomes. If there is no ink that requires correction of the remaining ink amount (step S206: no), the remaining ink amount correcting process in FIG. 6 is immediately terminated without correcting the remaining ink amount, and the ink in FIG. Return to the remaining amount management process.

  In this embodiment, the ink ejection amount of the ejection head 112 is estimated to be slightly larger than the actual amount, and therefore the calculated ink remaining amount is the ink of the ink actually remaining in the ink tank 151. It is set to always be less than the remaining amount. This is based on consideration that it is possible to surely avoid a situation in which printing cannot be continued due to running out of ink by prompting the preparation of replenishing ink early from the stage where ink still remains. Corresponding to this, in the remaining ink amount management process shown in FIG. 3, the remaining ink amount is corrected only when the calculated remaining ink amount reaches a predetermined lower limit (step S102: yes in FIG. 3). The processing is started and the operator of the ink jet printer 100 is made to confirm the actual ink level.

  However, there may be a case where the calculated ink remaining amount becomes larger than the ink amount actually remaining in the ink tank 151. Therefore, when the ink level has actually reached the lower limit line 153, but the remaining ink level has not yet reached the lower limit on the remaining ink level confirmation screen of FIG. The operator of the ink jet printer 100 may be configured such that the calculated ink remaining amount is adjusted to the actual ink remaining amount by reducing the calculated ink remaining amount from the monitor screen 202.

  As described above, after the remaining ink level is corrected in the remaining ink level correcting process in FIG. 7 (step S208 in FIG. 7), when the process returns to the remaining ink level managing process in FIG. An ink selection screen is displayed (step S106 in FIG. 3). That is, when the ink remaining amount reaches the lower limit, the operator of the ink jet printer 100 automatically displays the ink remaining amount confirmation screen of FIG. 7 without the operation, and the operator of the ink jet printer 100 displays the lower right corner of the screen. When the “Next” button is selected, the replenishment ink selection screen is displayed this time.

  FIG. 9 is an explanatory view exemplifying a replenishment ink selection screen displayed after the ink remaining amount confirmation screen. The basic configuration of the refill ink selection screen shown in FIG. 9 is the same as that of the refill ink selection screen described above with reference to FIG. 4 or FIG. However, since the replenishment ink selection screen shown in FIG. 4 or FIG. 5 is a screen displayed when the operator of the ink jet printer 100 performs a predetermined operation before the ink remaining amount reaches the lower limit value, For any ink, an image indicating that the remaining amount of ink has reached the lower limit value (an image of a graphic combining a cross in a circle) is not displayed. On the other hand, on the replenishment ink selection screen displayed after the ink remaining amount confirmation screen, as illustrated in FIG. 9, an image indicating that the ink remaining amount has reached the lower limit value may be displayed. This is because, according to the ink remaining amount confirmation screen illustrated in FIG. 7, the operator of the ink jet printer 100 visually confirms the ink remaining amount, and as a result, the ink level has decreased to the lower limit line 153. This is because the refilling ink selection screen is displayed without correcting the remaining ink amount because the chuck box for correcting the amount is not selected.

  In the example shown in FIG. 9, as for C ink, as a result of the check box not being checked in the ink remaining amount confirmation screen in FIG. 7, the ink remaining amount reaches the lower limit value also in the replenishing ink selection screen in FIG. An image indicating that there is a message is displayed. On the other hand, as for Y ink, as a result of checking the check box on the ink remaining amount confirmation screen in FIG. 7, the ink remaining amount has not reached the lower limit on the replenishing ink selection screen in FIG. It has been changed to an image indicating that it can be replenished (an image of a graphic combining a triangle with a! Mark).

  Then, as described above, the operator of the inkjet printer 100 checks the check box on the refill ink selection screen in FIG. 9 and selects the ink to be refilled, and then is displayed in the lower right corner of the screen. When the “Next” button is selected, the ink remaining amount management module activates the ink replenishment module. As a result, ink replenishment processing (step S300) for replenishing ink is started.

B-2. Ink replenishment process:
FIG. 10 is a flowchart of the ink replenishment process. This process is a process executed in the remaining ink management process by the remaining ink management module and the ink replenishment module installed in the computer 200. As shown in the drawing, when the ink replenishment process (step S300) is started, first, a command for unlocking the tank case 150 (lock release command) is transmitted to the ink jet printer 100 (step S302). This is due to the following reason.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the tank case 150 is configured separately from the ink jet printer 100 and is used in a state of being attached to the side surface of the ink jet printer 100. In a normal state, it is locked so that it cannot be removed from the inkjet printer 100. However, if the tank case 150 remains attached to the ink jet printer 100, ink cannot be replenished to the ink tank 151 in the tank case 150. Therefore, when the ink is replenished, an unlock command is transmitted from the computer 200 to the inkjet printer 100 so that the tank case 150 can be removed. When the controller 140 of the ink jet printer 100 receives the lock release command, it moves the actuator (not shown) built in the ink jet printer 100 to release the lock state of the tank case 150. As a result, the operator of the ink jet printer 100 can remove the tank case 150.

  FIG. 11 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a state where the tank case 150 is detached from the ink jet printer 100. FIG. 11 shows a state in which the tank case 150 is rotated so that the surface on the side attached to the inkjet printer 100 faces upward after the tank case 150 is removed. As shown in the figure, small protrusions 154 are erected at four locations on the surface on which the tank case 150 is attached to the inkjet printer 100. In addition, an insertion hole 109 for the protrusion 154 is provided on the surface of the inkjet printer 100 at a corresponding position.

  When the tank case 150 is attached to the ink jet printer 100, the position of the protrusion 154 and the position of the insertion hole 109 are matched, and the protrusion 154 is pushed into the insertion hole 109. Then, a small through hole portion provided at the tip of the protrusion 154 is locked by being engaged with a lock mechanism (not shown) provided in the insertion hole 109, and the tank case 150 is attached. Become. In addition, when the tank case 150 is removed, the upper surface cover 155 provided on the upper surface of the tank case 150 can be brought down. When the top cover 155 is tilted, the ink tank 151 appears as shown in FIG. As a result, the upper limit line 157 displayed on the side surface of each ink tank 151 can be visually confirmed. Furthermore, the cap 156 provided on the upper surface side of the ink tank 151 can be easily removed by tilting the upper surface cover 155 while the tank case 150 is rotated as shown in FIG.

  When the printer driver 204 of the computer 200 releases the lock state of the tank case 150 by transmitting an unlock command to the ink jet printer 100 in this manner (step S302 in FIG. 10), this time, ink is displayed on the monitor screen 202 of the computer 200. A replenishment screen is displayed (step S304).

  FIG. 12 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an ink replenishment screen displayed on the monitor screen 202. As shown in the drawing, the ink replenishment screen displays that the tank case 150 is removed and the ink is replenished from the cap 156 (see FIG. 11) of the ink tank 151. Below the display, as precautions when refilling ink, care should be taken not to leave all the ink in the ink bottle 160, which will be described later, to remain in the ink bottle 160, or to the ink tank 151. The contents such that care is taken so that the ink level does not exceed the provided upper limit line 157 (see FIG. 11) is displayed.

  FIG. 13 shows an ink bottle 160 containing ink for replenishment. The ink bottle 160 is a substantially cylindrical container formed of a resin material having excellent airtightness and light shielding properties, and a cap 162 is provided on the top of the container. Further, a paper label 164 is affixed to the side surface of the ink bottle 160, and an ink ID number to be described later is printed on the outside of the label 164.

  The ink bottle 160 of this embodiment is attached with the cap 162 fixed to the ink bottle 160. In this state, the inside of the ink bottle 160 is kept airtight. When refilling the ink, if the cap 162 is removed by screwing, an elongated spout appears from the inside. Therefore, after removing the tank case 150 as shown in FIG. 11, the cap 156 provided for each ink tank 151 is opened, and the ink in the ink bottle 160 is injected.

  Here, the amount of ink in the ink bottle 160 is such that when all the ink in the ink bottle 160 is injected with the ink level in the ink tank 151 lowered to the lower limit line 153, the ink tank 151 becomes almost full. Is set to the correct ink amount. Furthermore, since the cap 162 of the ink bottle 160 is only fixed to the ink bottle 160, once it is removed from the ink bottle 160, the cap 162 cannot be attached again. For this reason, in combination with the fact that the precautions for replenishing all the ink in the ink bottle 160 are displayed on the ink replenishment screen shown in FIG. All the ink in the bottle 160 is replenished in the ink tank 151.

  When all the inks that need to be refilled are thus replenished, the operator of the inkjet printer 100 selects the “Next” button displayed in the lower right corner of the ink refill screen of FIG. Then, in the ink replenishment process of FIG. 10, it is determined that the “Next” button has been pressed (step S306: yes), and a screen prompting the user to input the ink ID number of the replenished ink is displayed on the monitor screen 202. (Step S308). In addition, after displaying the ink replenishment screen of FIG. 12 (step S302) and until the “next” button is clicked by the operator of the inkjet printer 100, it is determined as “no” in step S306, and is on standby. It is in a state.

  FIG. 14 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an input screen for an ink ID number displayed on the monitor screen 202. As shown in the drawing, an input column is displayed on the ink ID number input screen in a state where the ink ID number can be input for the ink determined to be replenished by the replenishment ink selection process described above. In the example shown in FIG. 14, the C ink and M ink input fields are displayed in a state where the ink ID number can be input. In addition, for the ink that is determined not to be replenished (here, Y ink and K ink), an input field is displayed in a state where the ink ID number cannot be input. Therefore, the operator of the inkjet printer 100 confirms the label 164 of the ink bottle 160, inputs the ink ID number printed on the outside of the label 164, and then displays “Next” displayed in the lower right corner of the screen. Click the button.

  Then, in the ink replenishment process shown in FIG. 10, it is determined that the “next” button has been pressed (step S310: yes), the input ink ID number is read (step S312), and then read. It is determined whether or not the ink ID number is appropriate (step S314). The ink ID number is a code composed of a plurality of numbers and alphabets that is not meaningful at first glance. However, the ink ID number is a kind of code that includes information such as the type (color) of ink and the model of the ink jet printer 100 that can be used. It is data. This information can be acquired by the ink ID number decoding unit in the ink replenishment module decoding the ink ID number.

  As a result, the ink replenishment module has successfully completed the decoding of the ink ID number, and if the various information obtained (for example, the type of ink and the model of the ink jet printer 100) is correct, the ink ID number is correct. It can be judged that there is. On the other hand, when the ink ID number could not be decrypted or was able to be decrypted, it was obtained by decrypting, for example, the type of ink or the type of the ink jet printer 100 is different from the actual one. If various types of information are inconsistent, it can be determined that the ink ID number is not appropriate. In step S314 of the ink replenishment process shown in FIG. 10, it is thus determined whether or not the ink ID number is appropriate. As will be described in detail later, even if the ink ID number is appropriate, if the ink ID number that has been used once is input again, it is determined that the ink ID number is not appropriate. .

  As a result, if it is determined that the input ink ID number is not appropriate (step S314: no), a screen prompting the re-input of the ink ID number is displayed on the monitor screen 202 (step S316), and then again. , By repeating the process of determining whether or not the “Next” button has been pressed (step S310), the camera enters a standby state.

  FIG. 15 is an explanatory view exemplifying a screen (re-input screen) displayed on the monitor screen 202 for prompting re-input of the ink ID number. As shown in the drawing, the re-input screen displays the determination result as to whether or not the ink ID number is appropriate, in addition to the ink ID number previously input. For example, in the example shown in FIG. 15, the ink ID number input for C ink is determined to be appropriate, but the ink ID number for M ink is determined not to be appropriate. Therefore, the operator of the inkjet printer 100 again inputs the ink ID number of the M ink determined to be inappropriate, and then clicks the “Next” button again. Then, the printer driver 204 determines that the “Next” button has been pressed (step S310: yes in FIG. 10), reads the re-input ink ID number (step S312), and then checks whether the ink ID number is appropriate. It is determined whether or not (step S314).

  As a result, if it is determined that all the ink ID numbers are appropriate (step S314: yes), this time, the ink ID number determined to be appropriate is used as the used ID number in the RAM (or ROM) of the computer 200. Store (step S316). The used ID number stored in this way is referred to in the process of step S314 for determining whether or not the ink ID number is appropriate from the next time onward, and the input ink ID number can be correctly decoded. Even if there is no contradiction in the decrypted content, if the used ID number is stored, the ink ID number is determined to be inappropriate.

  Subsequently, the ink replenishment module transmits a command (initialization command) to the control unit 140 of the ink jet printer 100 via the communication function unit of the ink remaining amount management module, thereby controlling the control unit 140 of the ink jet printer 100. Is initialized to a full tank state (step S320). As described above with reference to FIG. 2, the control unit 140 of the inkjet printer 100 stops the operation of ejecting ink by the ejection head 112 when the calculated ink remaining amount reaches the lower limit value. Printing can be resumed by receiving the initialization command from the driver 204 and initializing the calculated ink remaining amount. As described above, since the ink remaining amount can be initialized only when the input ink ID number is appropriate, the ink ID number corresponds to “initialization data” in the present invention. It has become a thing.

  Here, the amount of ink stored in the ink bottle 160 is lowered to the lower limit line 153 when all the ink in the ink bottle 160 is supplied, and the ink liquid level of the ink tank 151 is substantially changed to the upper limit line 157. It is assumed that the ink amount is set to reach. Correspondingly, in step S320 of the ink replenishment process of FIG. 10, when the ink replenishment from the ink bottle 160 is completed, the calculated ink remaining amount is initialized to a full state. However, it is also possible to prepare a plurality of types of ink bottles 160 with different amounts of ink stored, and set the calculated ink remaining amount differently according to the amount of ink stored in the ink bottle 16. Further, the amount of ink stored in the ink bottle 160 can be incorporated into the ink ID number printed on the label 164.

  For example, if the input ink ID number is the ink ID number of the ink bottle 160 having the largest ink amount as a result of decoding the input ink ID number, the calculated ink remaining amount is returned to the full tank state. Let On the other hand, when the ink ID number is the ink ID number of the ink bottle 160 with a small ink amount, the ink bottle can be restored only to about half of the full tank state and the ink amount is medium. If the ink ID number is 160, only about two-thirds of the full ink state may be restored.

  When the calculated ink remaining amount counted by the control unit 140 of the ink jet printer 100 is restored as described above, a screen (replenishment completion screen) for notifying that ink replenishment is completed is monitored. It is displayed on the screen 202 (step S322). FIG. 16 illustrates a replenishment completion screen displayed on the monitor screen 202 of the computer 200. When the replenishment completion screen is displayed in this manner, the ink replenishment process shown in FIG. 10 is terminated, and after returning to the ink remaining amount management process of FIG. Repeat the process.

  As described above, in the printing system 10 of the present embodiment, the control unit 140 of the inkjet printer 100 counts the remaining ink amount based on the amount of ink ejected from the ejection head 112. The printer driver 204 of the computer 200 monitors the remaining amount of ink in the ink tank 151 by acquiring the remaining amount of ink from the inkjet printer 100 while executing the above-described remaining ink amount management process. When the remaining amount of ink decreases, the ink replenishment process shown in FIG. 10 is performed to cause the operator of the inkjet printer 100 to replenish ink. Therefore, in spite of adopting a method of replenishing ink from the ink bottle 160 to the ink tank 151 instead of a method of replacing the ink cartridge and replenishing ink, ink having an inappropriate property is replenished and ejected. It is possible to avoid clogging in the head 112. This point will be described below.

  First, as described above with reference to FIG. 2, the control unit 140 of the inkjet printer 100 counts the remaining amount of ink based on the dot data, and when the counted remaining amount of ink reaches the lower limit, the ejection head 112 The operation of ejecting ink is stopped. Therefore, in order to continue printing, it is necessary to initialize the remaining amount of ink counted by the control unit 140 of the ink jet printer 100. To that end, it is necessary to replenish the ink tank 151 with ink. When the operator of the ink jet printer 100 replenishes ink, a screen for inputting the ink ID number of the replenished ink appears on the monitor screen 202. Whether or not the input ink ID number is appropriate is determined by the printer driver 204, and only when the ink ID number is appropriate, the remaining amount of ink is initialized and ink can be ejected from the ejection head 112 again. Become. That is, even if ink is replenished to the ink tank 151, the ink in the ink tank 151 cannot be ejected from the ejection head 112 unless an appropriate ink ID number is input.

  As described above, since the ink ID number is code data in which a plurality of numbers and alphabets are seemingly meaninglessly arranged, the ink ID number printed on the label 164 of the ink bottle 160 is entered and input. Unless it is not possible to enter an appropriate ink ID number. As a result, the operator of the ink jet printer 100 naturally purchases an ink bottle 160 of a genuine product (or a product recommended by the manufacturer of the ink jet printer 100). Of course, if the ink ID number of the genuine ink bottle 160 purchased once is used many times, it is not possible to avoid replenishment of ink having an inappropriate property. However, the ink ID number accepted as being appropriate once is stored as a used ID number, and when the ink ID number is next input, it is determined that the ink ID number is not appropriate. For this reason, when ink is replenished, ink is always replenished from a newly purchased genuine product (or manufacturer recommended product) ink bottle 160, so that ink having an inappropriate property is supplied to the ejection head 112. It is possible to prevent the ejection head 112 from being clogged by being supplied.

  In addition, as described above with reference to FIGS. 4 and 5, in the printing system 10 of the present embodiment, the screen for selecting the ink to be replenished is monitored only when the ink level in the ink tank 151 decreases to the lower limit line 153. It is displayed on the screen 202 (see FIG. 5). Then, when all the ink in the ink bottle 160 is replenished to the ink tank 151, the ink capacity of the ink bottle 160 is such that the ink liquid level in the ink tank 151 is almost before the upper limit line 157 from the lower limit line 153. Is set. Therefore, the operator of the ink jet printer 100 naturally replenishes all the ink in the ink bottle 160 when replenishing ink. In addition, as illustrated in FIG. 12, since it is displayed on the monitor screen 202 that all the ink in the ink bottle 160 is replenished, there is no possibility of leaving a little ink in the ink bottle 160.

  As described above, even if the ink bottle 160 is a genuine product, once it is opened, the properties of the ink in the ink bottle 160 deteriorate as time passes. Therefore, if the ink remaining in the ink bottle 160 is replenished after being opened once, the inside of the ejection head 112 may be clogged. However, as described above, in the printing system 10 of the present embodiment, when the operator of the ink jet printer 100 replenishes ink, the ink is not left in the ink bottle 160. For this reason, since the ink bottle 160 is once opened and the ink is further deteriorated in the ink bottle 160, a situation in which the inside of the ejection head 112 is clogged can be avoided.

  In addition, as described above, since the ink ID number once entered and accepted cannot be used, a new ink bottle 160 is always purchased at the next replenishment, and the ink in the ink bottle 160 is removed. When all of them are charged, the ink liquid level in the ink tank 151 almost reaches the upper limit line 157. In addition, as illustrated in FIG. 12, on the monitor screen 202, a notice that the ink liquid level in the ink tank 151 does not exceed the upper limit line 157 is displayed. For this reason, even if a little ink remains in the old ink bottle 160, it is possible to prevent the old ink from being replenished in the ink tank 151 and clogging the inside of the ejection head 112. Become.

C. Modified example:
There are several variations of the printing system 10 of the present embodiment described above. Hereinafter, these modified examples will be briefly described.

C-1. First modification:
In the printing system 10 according to the above-described embodiment, an unlock command for the tank case 150 is transmitted from the computer 200 to the ink jet printer 100, and the operator of the ink jet printer 100 removes the tank case 150 and supplies ink to the ink tank 151. In the above description, it is assumed that a screen for inputting the ink ID number is displayed on the monitor screen 202 of the computer 200 after the replenishment. If the input ink ID number is not appropriate, the ink remaining amount is not initialized, so that ink is not sucked out from the ink tank 151. Therefore, after purchasing a genuine (or manufacturer recommended) ink bottle 160, the ink in the ink tank 151 can be discarded and replaced with an appropriate ink.

  However, when the unlocking command for the tank case 150 is transmitted from the computer 200 to the ink jet printer 100, a screen for inputting the ink ID number is displayed, and the input ink ID number is determined to be appropriate. For the first time, an unlock command for the tank case 150 may be transmitted. In this way, the tank case 150 cannot be removed unless an appropriate ink ID number is input, so that it is possible to avoid refilling the ink tank 151 with ink having an inappropriate property.

C-2. Second modification:
Further, in the printing system 10 of the above-described embodiment, it has been described that the ink tanks 151 of the respective color inks are accommodated in one tank case 150. Therefore, when the tank case 150 is removed to refill certain ink, it is possible that the ink tank 151 that has not yet been reduced to a refillable level will be refilled with ink.

  Therefore, the ink tanks 151 for the respective colors may be stored in separate tank cases 150 so that the tank case 150 can be removed only for the ink that is replenished with ink. Alternatively, each color ink tank 151 is housed in one tank case 150, but when refilling ink, instead of removing the tank case 150, the ink tank 151 of the ink to be replenished may be removed. Good.

  In this way, it is possible to avoid the possibility that another ink will be replenished after replenishing the ink that needs to be replenished. Further, since only the ink that needs to be refilled is in a state where ink can be refilled, it is possible to avoid a situation where ink is refilled in the wrong ink tank 151.

C-3. Third modification:
In the printing system 10 of the embodiment described above, the ink bottle 160 is formed of an opaque material, and the ink ID number is described as being printed on the outside of the label 164 attached to the ink bottle 160. However, at least a part of the ink bottle 160 may be formed of a transparent material, and the ink ID number may be printed on the inner side of the label 164 (that is, the surface attached to the ink bottle 160). For example, a portion where the label 164 is attached to the ink bottle 160 and a portion facing the portion are formed transparently. As shown in FIG. 17, it is difficult to read the ink ID number when ink is in the ink bottle 160, but when the ink in the ink bottle 160 runs out, printing is performed on the inner side of the label 164. The ink ID number may be read.

  In this way, since the ink ID number can be read only after the ink in the ink bottle 160 is replenished, the possibility that the ink ID number of another ink bottle 160 is erroneously input can be reduced.

C-4. Fourth modification:
In the above-described printing system 10 according to the present embodiment, the printer driver 204 has been described as executing the remaining ink management process in FIG. 3 on the computer 200. However, since the inkjet printer 100 is also provided with a control unit 140 including a CPU, RAM, and ROM, a monitor screen 104, an operation button 105, and the like, the printer driver 204 is displayed on the inkjet printer 100 in FIG. The remaining ink amount management process may be executed.

  Although various embodiments have been described above, the present invention is not limited to all the above embodiments, and can be implemented in various modes without departing from the scope of the invention.

  For example, in the above-described embodiment or modification, the ink remaining amount is calculated by accumulating the ink amount ejected by the ejection head 112 according to the dot data. However, an operation (cleaning operation) of sucking ink from the ejection head 112 may be performed using the cap 122 and the negative pressure pump 120 in order to appropriately maintain the properties of the ink in the ejection head 112. Since ink is consumed even when this cleaning operation is performed, the remaining amount of ink may be calculated in consideration of the amount of ink consumed.

  Alternatively, the ejection head 112 may eject ink while switching the amount of ink to be ejected in a plurality of stages. In such a case, the remaining ink amount may be calculated in consideration of not only the number of ink ejections but also the amount of ink ejected by each ejection.

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Printing paper, 10 ... Printing system, 100 ... Inkjet printer, 101 ... Paper feed tray, 102 ... Paper discharge port, 103 ... Front cover, 103 ... Paper discharge port, 104 ... Monitor screen, 105 ... Operation button, 109 ... Insertion hole, 110 ... carriage, 112 ... jet head, 117 ... ink tube, 120 ... negative pressure pump, 122 ... cap, 124 ... negative pressure tube, 130 ... guide rail, 140 ... control unit, 150 ... tank case, 151 ... Ink tank, 152 ... confirmation window, 153 ... lower limit line, 154 ... protrusion, 155 ... top cover, 156 ... cap, 157 ... upper limit line, 160 ... ink bottle, 162 ... cap, 164 ... label, 200 ... computer, 202 ... Monitor screen, 204... Printer driver.

The printing system of the present invention includes a plurality of ink tanks each capable of replenishing ink from an ink bottle, an ejection head that is provided for each ink tank and ejects ink supplied from the ink tank, and a control unit. A printing system comprising:
The control unit stores an ink amount counting unit that counts an ink amount supplied from the ink tank to the ejection head, and a count value of the ink amount supplied from the ink tank to the ejection head for each ink tank. And an ejection stop unit that stops ejection of the ink from the ejection head when the count value of the ink amount reaches a predetermined limit value, and the control unit includes the ink for each ink tank. A replenishment ink selection screen that allows an operator to select an ink tank that replenishes ink is displayed for an ink tank whose remaining ink amount has decreased below a predetermined value based on the count value of the amount.

Claims (5)

An ink tank capable of replenishing ink from the outside and an ejection head that ejects ink supplied from the ink tank, and the count value of the amount of ink supplied from the ink tank to the ejection head reaches a predetermined limit value A program for controlling the operation of a printing apparatus having a function of stopping the ejection of ink from the ejection head when reaching using a computer,
A first function for acquiring, from the printing apparatus, information capable of at least discriminating whether or not the count value of the ink amount has reached the limit value;
A second function for receiving an input of initialization data, which is data for initializing the count value of the ink amount, when the count value of the ink amount reaches the limit value;
When the suitability of the input initialization data is determined and it is determined that the initialization data is appropriate, the count value of the ink amount in the printing apparatus is initialized and determined to be appropriate. A program for realizing, using a computer, the third function of storing the initialization data as inappropriate initialization data. The program according to claim 1,
The second function is:
When the count value of the ink amount reaches the limit value, a sub-function for displaying a predetermined confirmation image for confirming to the operator of the printing apparatus whether or not to replenish the ink in the ink tank ( 2-1),
When it is detected by the operator of the printing apparatus that the ink is to be replenished, the operator displays a predetermined input image for inputting the initialization data (2-2). A program that is a function that realizes and using a computer. The program according to claim 2,
The printing apparatus includes: a plurality of the ink tanks; the ejection head provided for each ink tank; and the ink ejection for each ink tank when the amount of ink counted for each ink tank reaches the limit value. With the ability to stop
The first function is a function of acquiring information capable of determining at least for each ink tank whether or not the count value of the ink amount has reached the limit value.
The sub-function (2-1) is a sub-function for displaying the confirmation image for the ink tank in which the count value of the ink amount has reached the limit value,
The sub-function (2-2) is a program that is a sub-function for displaying the input image for inputting the initialization data for the ink tank designated to replenish the ink. The program according to claim 3,
Each of the plurality of ink tanks contains different colors of ink;
The initialization data is a program that is data including ink color information. A printing system comprising: a printing unit that ejects ink replenished to an ink tank from outside using an ejection head; and a control unit that controls the operation of the printing unit,
The controller is
An ink amount counting means for counting the amount of ink supplied from the ink tank to the ejection head in the printing unit;
Means for storing a cumulative ink remaining amount or ink consumption of the ink tank counted by the ink amount counting means as a count value of the ink amount;
Ejection stop means for stopping ejection of ink from the ejection head when the count value of the ink amount reaches a predetermined limit value;
Initialization data receiving means for receiving an input of initialization data that is data for initializing the count value of the ink amount when the count value of the ink amount reaches the limit value;
When it is determined whether or not the input initialization data is appropriate and the initialization data is determined to be appropriate, the ink amount count value is initialized and the initialization data determined to be appropriate A printing system comprising: initialization data determining means for storing as inappropriate initialization data.

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