JP2016132220A - Inkjet recording system and program - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an inkjet recording system that can appropriately initialize a count value.SOLUTION: The inkjet recording system executes: a count process for counting amounts of ink discharged by a recording part for each ink color; notification processes (S71 and S73) for notifying through a display part that ink with first color needs to be injected in response to the fact that a count value corresponding to the first color of a plurality of ink colors reaches a first discharge threshold; an inquiry process (S75) for making a display part display inquiry information for inquiring presence/absence of injection of ink with each of a plurality of ink colors with respect to each of the ink colors, in response to output of a completion signal by which completion of injection of the ink with the first ink color can be estimated (S73:Yes) and receiving through an operation part first operation or second operation corresponding to the ink with each ink color; and an initialization process for initializing a count value of corresponding ink color in response to output of a first operation signal in the inquiry process.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 13

Description

  The present invention relates to an ink jet recording system that records an image by discharging ink stored in a tank capable of injecting ink through an injection port.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, an ink jet recording apparatus including a tank that can be refilled with ink through an injection port is known instead of a replaceable ink cartridge. In such an ink jet recording apparatus, for example, as described in Patent Documents 1 and 2, there is an ink jet recording apparatus in which a sensor or the like cannot detect how much ink of which color has been replenished. Therefore, the printing systems described in Patent Documents 1 and 2 execute ink replenishment processing that allows the user to input which color of ink has been replenished to the tank when ink is replenished to the tank.

  Specifically, when a user operates a computer connected to the inkjet printer, the computer transmits an unlock command for unlocking the tank case to the inkjet printer. As a result, an ink replenishment screen is displayed on the monitor of the computer. Next, the user rotates the tank case and opens the refill port so that the ink can be refilled. Next, the user replenishes the ink from the ink bottle to the tank, returns the tank case, and selects the [Next] button on the ink replenishment screen. Thereby, a screen for inquiring the color of the replenished ink (hereinafter referred to as “inquiry screen”) is displayed on the monitor. Then, the user inputs through the inquiry screen which color ink has been replenished to the tank.

  In addition, the ink jet printers described in Patent Documents 1 and 2 count the amount of ink ejected by the ejection head by software, and prohibit ink ejection when the count value reaches a limit value. Then, the ink jet printer resets the count value corresponding to the refill ink color received through the inquiry screen in the refill process.

JP 2012-066563 A JP2013-006320A

  In the inquiry screen, it is possible to input only that the color ink with a small remaining amount is replenished, and it is not possible to input that the color ink with a large remaining amount is replenished. However, the user who opens the tank case does not always replenish only the ink of the designated color (that is, the color with a small remaining amount). For this reason, if the count value of the color cannot be reset even though the ink has been replenished, the ink remaining amount specified by the count value and the actual ink remaining amount are greatly different.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide an ink jet recording system capable of appropriately initializing the count value of ink discharged by a recording unit when ink is injected into a tank. It is to provide.

  (1) The inkjet recording system according to the present invention includes a plurality of ink chambers for storing inks of different ink colors, and a plurality of inlets for injecting ink into each ink chamber, A tank in which the ink in the ink chamber can be visually recognized from the outside of the apparatus, a recording unit that discharges ink stored in the ink chamber and records an image on a sheet, a display unit that displays information, and a received user operation An operation unit that outputs an operation signal according to the control unit, and a control unit that controls operations of the recording unit and the display unit. The operation unit outputs the first operation signal that is the operation signal in response to receiving the first operation that is the user operation corresponding to the ink injection, and the ink is not injected. In response to receiving the corresponding second operation that is the user operation, a second operation signal that is the operation signal is output. The control unit counts the amount of ink discharged by the recording unit for each ink color, and that the count value corresponding to the first color among the plurality of ink colors has reached the first discharge threshold. Accordingly, a notification process for notifying that the injection of the first color ink is necessary is output through the display unit, and an end signal capable of estimating the completion of the injection of the first color ink is output. Accordingly, for each of the plurality of ink colors, inquiry information for inquiring whether or not the ink of the ink color has been injected is displayed on the display unit, and the first operation or the second operation corresponding to the ink color is displayed. Inquiry processing for accepting an operation via the operation unit, and in response to the output of the first operation signal in the inquiry processing, initializing the count value of the corresponding ink color To run the process.

  According to the above configuration, the first color ink injection with a small amount of remaining ink is notified in the notification process. On the other hand, a user who visually recognizes the amount of ink in each ink chamber can inject ink into ink chambers other than the first color. Therefore, in the inquiry process, by accepting the first operation or the second operation for all ink colors, the count value corresponding to the replenished color ink can be initialized appropriately.

  (2) Preferably, the ink jet recording system includes a covering position that covers all the injection ports and restricts the injection of ink into the ink chambers, and exposes all the injection ports to ink into the ink chambers. And a cover sensor which outputs a position signal corresponding to the position of the cover. The end signal is the position signal corresponding to the movement of the cover to the covering position.

  (3) Preferably, in the notification process, the control unit determines that the first color ink is low in response to the count value corresponding to the first color reaching the first discharge threshold value. A first notification process that notifies through the display unit, and the position signal corresponding to the position of the cover at the exposed position is output from the cover sensor, and corresponds to a second color of the plurality of ink colors. A second notification that informs through the display section that the first color and the second color ink are to be injected in response to the count value reaching the second discharge threshold before the first discharge threshold. The notification process is executed.

  According to the above configuration, the first notification process is executed in response to the count value of the first color ink reaching the first discharge threshold (for example, the empty state). In the second notification process executed in response to the user moving the cover to the exposure position in order to inject the first color ink, the count value is not only the first color ink but also the second discharge value. The injection of the second color ink that has reached the threshold (for example, near empty state) is also notified. Thereby, for example, it is suppressed that the ink of each color is sequentially in an empty state and the image recording process is interrupted many times.

  (4) Preferably, in the inquiry process, the control unit displays the inquiry information for the first color on the display unit, and performs the first operation or the second operation corresponding to the first color. In response to the first inquiry process to be received by the operation unit and the completion of the first inquiry process, the inquiry information for the second color is displayed on the display unit, and the second color corresponds to the second color. A second inquiry process for causing the operation unit to accept the first operation or the second operation is executed.

  According to the above configuration, the presence or absence of ink injection can be individually input for each ink color in each inquiry process, so that the occurrence of erroneous input can be suppressed. As a result, the control unit can cause the recording unit to eject ink while properly recognizing the amount of ink in the tank. In addition, since the user answers inquiries to all ink colors in order, it is possible to grasp which ink color is in what state. Note that “incorrect input” means, for example, that the second operation is executed in the inquiry process for the injected ink color, or the first operation is executed in the inquiry process for the ink color that has not been injected.

  (5) Preferably, in the ink jet recording system, the first value corresponding to the fact that the initial process for filling the flow path from the ink chamber to the recording unit with ink has not been performed yet, or the initial process has already been performed. A storage unit is further provided for storing an initial flag in which one of the second values corresponding to the setting is set. The control unit executes the second inquiry process in response to the output of the first operation signal in the first inquiry process executed in a state where the first value is set in the initial flag. .

  (6) Preferably, the control unit detects the cover in response to the output of the second operation signal in the first inquiry process executed in a state where the first value is set in the initial flag. Is further executed through the display unit to notify that the first color ink is injected by moving the ink to the exposure position.

  The initial process is a process of discharging ink from the recording unit until the flow path from the ink chamber to the recording unit is filled with ink. That is, if the initial process is executed in a state where some ink colors are not injected, the ink discharged from the recording unit is wasted. Therefore, according to each of the above configurations, since the second inquiry process is executed after confirming that the ink has been injected into the first color, it is surely confirmed that all ink colors have been injected. can do.

  (7) Preferably, the control unit performs the re-execution in response to the output of the second operation signal in the second inquiry process executed in a state where the first value is set in the initial flag. The notification process is executed, and in the inquiry process executed after the re-notification process is executed, the second inquiry process is executed without executing the first inquiry process.

  According to the above configuration, the user who has seen the re-notification process moves the cover to the exposure position, injects the second color ink, and moves the cover to the covering position. At this time, in the inquiry process to be executed again, the first inquiry process in which the ink injection has already been confirmed is omitted, so that the user operation can be further simplified.

  (8) Preferably, in the ink jet recording system, the first value corresponding to the fact that the initial process for filling the flow path from the ink chamber to the recording unit with ink has not been performed yet, or the initial process has already been performed. A storage unit is further provided for storing an initial flag in which one of the second values corresponding to the setting is set. The control unit executes the second inquiry process regardless of the operation signal output in the first inquiry process in the inquiry process executed with the second value set in the initial flag. To do.

  The amount of ink consumed after the initial processing is executed differs for each ink color. For this reason, it is desirable to execute the second query process regardless of the operation received in the first query process.

  (9) For example, the control unit regulates ink ejection by the recording unit in response to output of the position signal corresponding to the position of the cover at the exposed position from the cover sensor. In response to the completion of the process and the inquiry process, a cancellation process for releasing the restriction by the restriction process is further executed.

  (10) The program according to the present invention includes a plurality of ink chambers for storing inks of different ink colors, and a plurality of injection ports for injecting ink into each ink chamber. A tank in which the ink in the room can be seen from the outside of the apparatus, a recording unit that records an image on a sheet by discharging the ink stored in the ink chamber, a display unit that displays information, and an ink injection An operation unit that outputs a first operation signal in response to receiving a corresponding first operation, and that outputs a second operation signal in response to receiving a second operation corresponding to no ink being injected; It can be executed by a computer comprising The program is configured to count the amount of ink discharged by the recording unit for each ink color, and that the count value corresponding to the first color among the plurality of ink colors has reached the first discharge threshold. Accordingly, a notification process for notifying that the injection of the first color ink is necessary is output through the display unit, and an end signal that can be estimated that the injection of the first color ink has ended is output. In response, for each of the plurality of ink colors, inquiry information for inquiring whether or not the ink of the ink color has been injected is displayed on the display unit, and the first operation or the second operation corresponding to the ink color is displayed. In response to the inquiry process for receiving the image data via the operation unit and the output of the first operation signal in the inquiry process, the corresponding count value of the ink color is initialized. And initialized processing to be executed by the computer.

  According to the present invention, the ink injection of the first color with a small remaining amount of ink is notified by the notification process, and the first operation or the second operation for all ink colors is accepted by the inquiry process. The count value corresponding to can be initialized appropriately.

1A and 1B are external perspective views of the multifunction machine 10, in which FIG. 1A shows a state where the cover 70 is closed, and FIG. 1B shows a state where the cover 70 is opened. FIG. 2 is a plan view showing the recording unit 24 and the ink tank 100. FIG. 3 is a front perspective view of the ink tank 100. FIG. 4 is a rear perspective view of the ink tank 100. FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional perspective view taken along the line V-V in FIG. 3. 6A is a cross-sectional view taken along VI (A) -VI (A) in FIG. 5, and FIG. 6B is a cross-sectional view taken along VI (B) -VI (B) in FIG. 3. FIG. 7 is a block diagram of the multifunction machine 10. FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing the processing at the time of the cover OPEN. FIG. 9 is a flowchart of the inquiry process A. FIG. 10 is a flowchart of the reinjection notification process. FIG. 11 is a flowchart of the inquiry process B. FIG. 12 is a flowchart of the image recording process. FIG. 13 is a flowchart of the empty process.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described. The embodiment described below is merely an example of the present invention, and it is needless to say that the embodiment of the present invention can be changed as appropriate without departing from the gist of the present invention. In this specification, the vertical direction 7 is defined with reference to a state where the multifunction machine 10 is installed so that it can be used, and the front-rear direction 8 is defined with the side where the opening 13 of the multifunction machine 10 is provided as the front side (front surface). Then, the left-right direction 9 is defined when the multifunction device 10 is viewed from the front side (front surface).

[Overall configuration of MFP 10]
As shown in FIG. 1, the multifunction machine 10 is formed in a substantially rectangular parallelepiped. The multifunction machine 10 has a print function for recording an image on a sheet by an inkjet recording method. As shown in FIGS. 1, 2, and 7, the multifunction machine 10 includes a feeding tray 20, a discharge tray 21, a transport unit 23, a recording unit 24, and an ink tank 100 (an example of a tank). It has. The multifunction machine 10 may have various functions such as a facsimile function and a scanner function. The multifunction machine 10 is an example of an ink jet recording apparatus.

[Feed tray 20, discharge tray 21]
As shown in FIG. 1, the feeding tray 20 is inserted into and removed from the multifunction device 10 in the front-rear direction 8 through the opening 13 formed in the front surface of the multifunction device 10 and in the central portion in the left-right direction 9. The feeding tray 20 can support a plurality of stacked sheets. The discharge tray 21 is disposed above the feeding tray 20 and is inserted and removed together with the feeding tray 20. The discharge tray 21 supports the paper discharged by the transport unit 23.

[Conveying unit 23, recording unit 24]
The transport unit 23 transports the paper supported by the feeding tray 20 to the discharge tray 21 via a position facing the recording unit 24. The transport unit 23 is configured by, for example, a roller that rotates in contact with a sheet. The recording unit 24 records an image on the paper transported by the transport unit 23 by discharging the ink stored in the ink tank 100. The recording unit 24 includes, for example, a carriage that moves in a direction that intersects the paper conveyance direction, and a recording head that is mounted on the carriage and discharges ink.

  As shown in FIG. 2, an ink tube 32 and a flexible flat cable 33 are connected to the recording unit 24. The ink tube 32 supplies the ink stored in the ink tank 100 to the recording unit 24. More specifically, four ink tubes 32B, 32M, 32C, and 32Y through which ink of each color (black, magenta, cyan, and yellow) circulates (these may be collectively referred to as “ink tube 32”). .) Are extended from the ink tank 100 and connected to the recording unit 24 in a bundled state. The flexible flat cable 33 transmits a control signal output from the control unit 130 (see FIG. 7) to the recording unit 24.

[Ink tank 100]
As shown in FIG. 1, the ink tank 100 is disposed inside the multifunction peripheral 10. The ink tank 100 is fixed to the multifunction device 10 so that it cannot be easily removed from the multifunction device 10. The ink tank 100 includes a front wall 101, a right wall 102, a left wall 103, an upper wall 104, and a lower wall 105. On the other hand, the rear surface of the opened ink tank 100 is sealed with a film 106.

  The front wall 101 constitutes the front end of the ink chamber 111 in the front-rear direction 8. The front wall 101 is composed of a base wall 101A that extends substantially in the vertical direction 7 from the lower wall 105, and an inclined wall 101B that inclines backward from the upper end of the base wall 101A with respect to the base wall 101A. The front wall 101 has such a light-transmitting property that the ink in the ink chamber 111 is visible from the outside of the ink tank 100 by the user. In addition, it is not limited to only the front wall 101 having translucency, All the walls 101-105 may have translucency.

  The lower wall 105 constitutes the lower end of the ink chamber 111 in the vertical direction 7. As shown in FIG. 5, the lower wall 105 includes an upper wall 145, a lower wall 146, and a connection wall 147. The upper wall 145 contacts the inner surface of the front wall 101 (more specifically, the base wall 101A). The lower step wall 146 contacts the film 106. Further, the lower step wall 146 is located below the upper step wall 145 and behind the upper step wall 145. The connection wall 147 has an upper end connected to the rear end of the upper stage wall 145 and a lower end connected to the front end of the lower stage wall 146.

[Ink chamber 111]
As shown in FIG. 4, the ink tank 100 has a plurality of partition walls 107, 108, and 109 that partition the internal space of the ink tank 100. Each of the partition walls 107, 108, and 109 extends in the up-down direction 7 and the front-rear direction 8, and contacts the front wall 101, the upper wall 104, the lower wall 105, and the film 106. In addition, the partition walls 107 to 109 are spaced apart from each other in the left-right direction 9. As a result, the internal space of the ink tank 100 is partitioned into four ink chambers 111B, 111M, 111C, and 111Y for storing ink.

  Ink chambers 111B, 111M, 111C, and 111Y store inks of different ink colors. Specifically, black ink is stored in the ink chamber 111B, cyan ink is stored in the ink chamber 111C, magenta ink is stored in the ink chamber 111M, and yellow ink is stored in the ink chamber 111Y. Cyan, magenta, and yellow are examples of the first color, and black is an example of the second color. The ink chambers 111M, 111C, and 111Y are examples of the first ink chamber, and the ink chamber 111B is an example of the second ink chamber. The ink injected into each ink chamber 111 is provided with a predetermined amount filled in an ink bottle.

  However, the form of the ink tank 100 is not limited to the above example. For example, the multifunction machine 10 may include four ink tanks each having an ink chamber for storing inks of different ink colors. Further, the number of ink chambers 111 and the ink color are not limited to those described above. Hereinafter, the ink chambers 111B, 111M, 111C, and 111Y may be collectively referred to as “ink chamber 111”. Further, four components corresponding to each ink chamber 111 (for example, inlets 112B, 112M, 112C, and 112Y described later, ink flow paths 114B, 114M, 114C, and 114Y, etc.) Only (B, M, C, Y) are given different reference numbers, and when these are collectively referred to, the alphabet may be omitted (for example, an inlet 112, an ink channel 114, etc., which will be described later). .

Here, the amount of ink filled in the ink bottle is denoted by V _max, and a space surrounded by the lower wall 146 and the connection wall 147 behind and below the upper wall 145 (hereinafter referred to as “preliminary storage chamber”). Let V ₀ be the volume. In this case, the remaining amount threshold value is represented by (V ₀ −α), the first discharge threshold value is represented by [V _max − (V ₀ −α)], and the second discharge threshold value is represented by (V _max −V ₀ ). expressed. Although the specific value of (alpha) is not specifically limited, For example, you may determine as follows.

For example, α corresponds to the volume of the preliminary storage chamber between the upper surface of the upper wall 145B and the upper end of the opening 115. More specifically, α may be set to a value that is the same as or slightly smaller than the volume. As a result, in the image recording process described later, the ink level in the ink chamber 111 falls below the upper end of the opening 115, and air is mixed into the ink flow path 114, the ink tube 32, and the recording head of the recording unit 24. Can be suppressed. Further, α> 0, α <(V _max −V ₀ ), and α <V ₀ are satisfied.

  The remaining amount threshold is a value corresponding to the amount of ink in the ink chamber 111 when the remaining amount signal output from the remaining amount sensor 125 described later changes. The first discharge threshold corresponds to the amount of ink consumed after the ink for one ink bottle is injected into the empty ink chamber 111 until the amount of ink in the ink chamber 111 reaches the remaining amount threshold. The second discharge threshold was consumed after the ink for one ink bottle was injected into the empty ink chamber 111 until the liquid level in the ink chamber 111 and the height of the upper wall 145 coincided with each other. Corresponds to the ink amount. The first discharge threshold and the second discharge threshold (these may be collectively referred to as “discharge threshold”) are values that are compared with a count value to be described later. Note that the remaining amount threshold, the first discharge threshold, and the second discharge threshold may be different values for each ink chamber 111.

[Inlet 112]
The inclined wall 101B of the ink tank 100 is formed with inlets 112B, 112M, 112C, and 112Y for injecting ink into the ink chambers 111. The inlet 112 penetrates the inclined wall 101B in the thickness direction, and connects the corresponding ink chamber 111 to the outside of the ink tank 100. The inclined wall 101 </ b> B has an inner surface facing each ink chamber 111 and an outer surface facing the outside of the ink tank 100. The inlet 112 may be formed on the upper wall 104 instead of the inclined wall 101B.

  The ink tank 100 has caps 113B, 113M, 113C, and 113Y that can be attached to and detached from the respective inlets 112. As shown in FIG. 1A, the cap 113 attached to the injection port 112 is in close contact with the periphery of the injection port 112 to close the injection port 112. On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 1B, when the cap 113 is removed from the inlet 112, the inlet 112 is opened. The cap 113 is attached to and detached from the inlet 112 in a state where a cover 70 to be described later is positioned at the exposed position. Further, the user can inject the ink in the ink bottle into the ink chamber 111 by removing the cap 113 from the injection port 112.

[Ink channel 114]
As shown in FIGS. 4 to 6, ink channels 114 </ b> B, 114 </ b> M, 114 </ b> C, and 114 </ b> Y are formed in the ink tank 100. The ink flow paths 114M, 114C, and 114Y communicate with the ink chambers 111M, 111C, and 111Y through openings 115M, 115C, and 115Y formed near the lower ends of the partition walls 107, 108, and 109. The ink flow path 114B communicates with the ink chamber 111B through an opening 115B formed near the boundary between the right wall 102 and the lower wall 105. Further, each ink flow path 114 extended from each opening 115 reaches the right side surface of the ink tank 100 through the openings 116B, 116M, 116C, and 116Y formed in the right wall 102.

  Further, the ink flow path 114 extends upward from the opening 116 along the outer surface of the right wall 102 and is connected to the connecting portion 118. Four ink tubes 32B, 32M, 32C, and 32Y (see FIG. 2) corresponding to ink of each color are connected to each connecting portion 118 formed so as to protrude from the upper wall 104 of the ink tank 100. That is, the ink flow path 114 is a flow path that guides the ink flowing out from the corresponding ink chamber 111 to the recording unit 24 through the ink tube 32 connected to the corresponding connection unit 118.

  As shown in FIG. 4, a plurality of protruding walls 121 </ b> A to 121 </ b> I are formed on the right wall 102 of the ink tank 100. The protruding wall 121 protrudes rightward from the outer surface (right side surface) of the right wall 102 and extends along the outer surface of the right wall 102. A film 122 is welded to the right ends of the protruding walls 121A to 121I. The ink flow path 114 between the opening 116 and the connecting portion 118 indicates a space defined by the adjacent protruding walls 121 </ b> A to 121 </ b> H and the film 122.

[Additional ink chamber 123]
Further, an additional ink chamber 123 is formed on the right side surface of the ink tank 100. The additional ink chamber 123 is defined by the right wall 102, protruding walls 121 </ b> H and 121 </ b> I that are continuous in the circumferential direction, and a film 122. The additional ink chamber 123 communicates with the ink chamber 111B through through holes 123A and 123B that penetrate the right wall 102. Further, in the additional ink chamber 123, a detected portion 124 is formed by a portion of the protruding wall 121I that defines the lower end of the additional ink chamber 123 surrounding the front, rear, and lower sides of the through hole 123A.

  In the present embodiment, the height of the lower end of the through hole 123A (in other words, the lower end of the detected portion 124) is located below the upper surface of the upper wall 145B. Thus, ink enters the detected portion 124 through the through hole 123A in response to the amount of ink in the ink chamber 111B being equal to or greater than the remaining amount threshold value. On the other hand, in response to the amount of ink in the ink chamber 111B being less than the remaining amount threshold value, the ink in the detected portion 124 is discharged to the ink chamber 111B through the through hole 123A, and there is ink in the detected portion 124. Disappear.

[Remaining amount sensor 125]
As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the multifunction machine 10 includes a remaining amount sensor 125. The remaining amount sensor 125 includes a light emitting unit 125A and a light receiving unit 125B that are disposed facing each other in the front-rear direction 8 with the detected portion 124 interposed therebetween. The light emitting unit 125A outputs light (eg, visible light or infrared light) that passes through the protruding wall 121I and does not pass through the black ink toward the light receiving unit 125B. The light receiving unit 125B outputs a remaining amount signal to the control unit 130 according to whether or not the light output from the light emitting unit 125A has been received. In other words, the remaining amount sensor 125 outputs a remaining amount signal corresponding to the amount of ink stored in the ink chamber 111 </ b> B to the control unit 130.

  The remaining amount sensor 125 according to the present embodiment is a first remaining amount signal corresponding to the presence of ink in the detected portion 124 (in other words, the amount of ink in the ink chamber 111B is greater than or equal to the remaining amount threshold value). Is output. On the other hand, the remaining amount sensor 125 outputs a second remaining amount signal corresponding to the absence of ink in the detected portion 124 (the amount of ink in the ink chamber 111B is less than the remaining amount threshold value). In the present embodiment, the signal level of the first remaining amount signal is 0V, and the signal level of the second remaining amount signal is 3.3V. That is, “the remaining amount sensor 125 outputs a remaining amount signal” includes that the signal level is 0V. However, the combination of signal levels is not limited to the above example. The same applies to the position signal of the cover sensor 72 described later.

  That is, when black ink for one ink bottle is injected into the empty ink chamber 111B and an amount of ink corresponding to the second discharge threshold is consumed, the liquid level of the ink remaining in the ink chamber 111B and the upper wall The height of the upper surface of 145B substantially matches. At this time, the remaining amount sensor 125 outputs a first remaining amount signal. Furthermore, when the ink consumption reaches the first discharge threshold, the ink level remaining in the ink chamber 111B is located below the upper wall 145B. At this time, the remaining amount sensor 125 outputs a second remaining amount signal.

[Atmospheric communication passage 126]
In the ink tank 100, as shown in FIG. 4, atmospheric communication paths 126B, 126M, 126C, and 126Y are formed. The atmosphere communication path 126 allows the corresponding ink chamber 111 to communicate with the atmosphere. More specifically, the atmosphere communication passage 126 communicates with the corresponding ink chamber 111 through a notch 127 formed at the upper end of the ink chamber 111, and communicates with the outside of the ink tank 100 through the opening 128.

[Cover 70]
As shown in FIG. 1, the multifunction machine 10 includes a cover 70. The cover 70 is supported by the multifunction machine 10 so as to be rotatable (an example of movement). The cover 70 can be rotated between the covering position shown in FIG. 1A and the exposed position shown in FIG.

  The covering position is a position where the cover 70 covers a part of all the injection ports 112 and restricts the injection of ink into all the ink chambers 111. When the cover 70 is located at the covering position, a part of each inlet 112 (in other words, a part of each cap 113) is covered. Then, the user's operation to remove the cap 112 is restricted by the cover 70 that covers a part of each cap 113. That is, since the removal of each cap 113 is restricted by the cover 70 located at the covering position, the opening of each inlet 112 is restricted. Thereby, the injection of ink into all the ink chambers 111 is regulated by the cover 70 located at the covering position. However, the entire cover 112 may be covered by the cover 70. That is, the cover 70 may be configured such that the ink injection into the ink chamber 111 can be regulated by the cover 70 located at the covering position. The exposure position is a position where all the injection ports 112 are exposed to the outside of the multi-function device 10 by the cover 70 and ink injection into all the ink chambers 111 is allowed.

  That is, a series of ink injection operations by the user is, for example, as follows. First, the user moves the cover 70 at the covering position to the exposed position, and removes the cap 113 of the injection port 112 corresponding to the ink color to be injected. Next, the user inserts the tip of the ink bottle into the opened inlet 112 and injects all the ink in the ink bottle into the ink chamber 111. Next, the user who has finished injecting the ink attaches the removed cap 113 to the corresponding injection port 112 and moves the cover 70 to the covering position.

  Further, the cover 70 has a transmission window 71 that faces the front wall 101 of the ink tank 100 at the covering position. Accordingly, the user can visually recognize the remaining amount of ink in the ink chamber 111 through the front wall 101 regardless of whether the cover 70 is at the covering position or the exposed position. Further, the transmission window 71 is configured such that the height of the lower side of the transmission window 71 of the cover 70 (position in the vertical direction 7) and the height of each upper wall 145 are approximately the same. For this reason, when ink is stored only in the preliminary storage chamber, it becomes difficult for the user to visually recognize the ink, and at a glance, the user can feel that the ink is not stored in each ink chamber 111.

[Cover sensor 72]
Furthermore, the multifunction machine 10 includes a cover sensor 72 (see FIG. 7). The cover sensor 72 may be, for example, a mechanical sensor such as a switch that contacts and separates the cover 70, or may be an optical sensor that blocks or transmits light depending on the position of the cover 70. The cover sensor 72 outputs a position signal corresponding to the position of the cover 70 to the control unit 130. The cover sensor 72 according to the present embodiment outputs a first position signal corresponding to the cover 70 being located at the covering position or a second position signal corresponding to the cover 70 being located at the exposure position to the control unit 130. To do. In the present embodiment, the signal level of the first position signal is 0V, and the signal level of the second position signal is 3.3V.

[Display unit 14]
As shown in FIG. 1, the multifunction machine 10 includes a display unit 14. The display unit 14 displays information to be notified to the user as a message. Although the specific configuration of the display unit 14 is not particularly limited, for example, a liquid crystal display (abbreviation of Liquid Crystal Display), an organic EL display (abbreviation of Organic Electro-Luminescence Display), or the like can be employed.

  The display unit 14 according to the present embodiment is a rectangle of 8 dots long × 80 dots wide. That is, the display unit 14 can display a maximum of 16 characters (including spaces) of 8 dots long × 5 dots wide (about 8 mm long × about 5 mm wide). Further, when a character string exceeding 16 characters is to be displayed on the display unit 14, the character string is scroll-displayed. Furthermore, when it is going to display the character string of several lines on the display part 14, the character string of each line is displayed in order.

[Operation unit 17]
As shown in FIG. 1, the multifunction machine 10 includes an operation unit 17. The operation unit 17 is an input interface that receives an instruction input to the multifunction machine 10 from a user. The operation unit 17 according to the present embodiment includes, for example, a plurality of push buttons such as a numeric keypad 17A and a power button 17B. However, the specific configuration of the operation unit 17 is not limited to a push button, and may be a touch sensor superimposed on the display screen of the display unit 14.

  The operation unit 17 outputs an operation signal corresponding to the pressed push button to the control unit 130. The operation unit 17 according to the present embodiment has a first operation signal corresponding to pressing of the [1] button included in the numeric keypad 17A, and a second corresponding to pressing of the [2] button included in the numeric keypad 17A. An operation signal or a third operation signal corresponding to pressing of the power button 17B is output to the control unit 130. The buttons corresponding to the first operation signal, the second operation signal, and the third operation signal are not limited to the above-described example.

[Communication unit 25]
As illustrated in FIG. 7, the multifunction machine 10 includes a communication unit 25. The communication unit 25 is an interface for communicating with an external device. In other words, the multifunction machine 10 outputs various data to the external device through the communication unit 25 and receives various data from the external device through the communication unit 25. The communication unit 25 may function as a FAX receiving unit that receives FAX data from an external device.

[Control unit 130]
As shown in FIG. 7, the control unit 130 includes a CPU 131, a ROM 132, a RAM 133, an EEPROM 134, and an ASIC 135, which are connected by an internal bus 137. The ROM 132 stores a program for the CPU 131 to control various operations. The RAM 133 is used as a storage area for temporarily recording data and signals used when the CPU 131 executes the program, or as a work area for data processing. The EEPROM 134 stores settings, flags, and the like that should be retained even after the power is turned off.

  The EEPROM 134 stores an initial flag, for example. The initial flag is a value corresponding to whether or not the multifunction device 10 has executed initial processing. Specifically, the initial flag indicates a first value corresponding to the fact that the initial process has not yet been executed, or a second value corresponding to the fact that the initial process has already been executed. The initial process is a process of filling the flow path from the ink chamber 111 to the recording unit 24 (that is, the ink flow path 114 and the ink tube 32) with ink.

  When the multifunction machine 10 is shipped, the flow path from the ink chamber 111 to the recording unit 24 is not filled with ink. That is, at the time of shipment of the multifunction machine 10, the first value is set in the initial flag. When the control unit 130 executes the initial processing, the ink flow path 114, the ink tube 32, and the recording head of the recording unit 24 are filled with ink, and the multifunction device 10 can record an image on a sheet. It becomes a state. That is, the second value is set in the initial flag after execution of the initial process. When the multifunction machine 10 is shipped, a shipping liquid dedicated for shipping that is not used for recording a sheet image may be filled in the flow path instead of the ink. In this case, when the control unit 130 executes the initial process, the shipping liquid in the flow path is discharged and the flow path is filled with ink.

The EEPROM 134 stores a count value indicating the amount of ink discharged from the recording unit 24 for each ink color. The count value stored in the EEPROM 134 is initialized (that is, 0 is set) in steps S26 and S49 described later, and is counted up in step S69 described later. The count value is compared with the first discharge threshold and the second discharge threshold. The update method of the count value is not limited to the above example. For example, a value corresponding to the maximum amount V _{max of} ink that can be stored in the ink chamber 111 is set in steps S26 and S49, and the count value is counted down in step S69. Also good. The count value to be counted down is compared with the corresponding remaining amount threshold value.

  Connected to the ASIC 135 are a transport unit 23, a recording unit 24, a display unit 14, a communication unit 25, an operation unit 17, a cover sensor 72, and a remaining amount sensor 125. The control unit 130 causes the conveyance unit 23 to convey the paper, causes the recording unit 24 to eject ink, causes the display unit 14 to display information, and causes the communication unit 25 to communicate with an external device. Further, the control unit 130 acquires an operation signal from the operation unit 17, acquires a position signal from the cover sensor 72, and acquires a remaining amount signal from the remaining amount sensor 125. For example, the control unit 130 reads the position signal output from the cover sensor 72 and the remaining amount signal output from the remaining amount sensor 125 at predetermined time intervals (for example, 50 msec).

[Operation of MFP 10]
With reference to FIGS. 8 to 13, the operation of the multifunction machine 10 according to the present embodiment will be described. Each process shown in FIGS. 8 to 13 is executed by the CPU 131 of the control unit 130. The following processes may be executed by the CPU 131 reading out and executing a program stored in the ROM 132, or may be realized by a hardware circuit mounted on the control unit 130.

[Process during cover OPEN]
First, the control unit 130 executes the process shown in FIG. 8 in response to the output of the second position signal from the cover sensor 72. This process is executed, for example, in response to the movement of the cover 70 from the covering position to the exposure position when the multifunction machine 10 is in a standby state (a state in which an image recording process described later is not executed). This process is a process of prompting the user to inject ink into the ink chamber 111 and confirming with the user whether or not the ink has been injected into each ink chamber 111.

  First, the control unit 130 displays an injection notification screen on the display unit 14 (S11). In step S11 when the first value is set in the initial flag, the control unit 130 alternately displays the character string “FILL ALL INK” and the character string “THEN CLOSE IN COVER” as the injection notification screen. It is displayed on the display unit 14.

  On the other hand, the control unit 130 changes the character string displayed on the display unit 14 in accordance with the count value stored in the EEPROM 134 in step S11 when the second value is set in the initial flag. Specifically, when all the ink color count values are equal to or greater than the second discharge threshold, the control unit 130 character strings “REFILL M / C / Y / BK” and “THEN CLOSE INK COVER”. The columns are alternately displayed on the display unit 14. In addition, when there is an ink color whose count value is less than the second discharge threshold, a character representing the corresponding ink color from the above character string (that is, one of “M”, “C”, “Y”, “BK”) ) Is omitted. Further, the control unit 130 causes the display unit 14 to display a character string “CLOSE INC COVER” when the count values of all ink colors are less than the second discharge threshold value.

  Hereinafter, an ink color having a count value equal to or greater than the second discharge threshold may be referred to as “near empty color”. Further, an ink color having a count value equal to or greater than the first discharge threshold value may be referred to as “empty color”. That is, step S11 when the second value is set in the initial flag is a process for informing through the display unit 14 that near empty color and empty color ink are to be injected.

  The process of step S <b> 11 is an example of a notification process for notifying that ink is injected into the ink chamber 111 through the display unit 14. The notification process is continued until a first position signal is output from the cover sensor 72 in step S13 described later, that is, until it is detected that the cover 70 is located at the covering position. In the notification process, it is allowed that different character strings are displayed on the display unit 14 according to the state of the multifunction machine 10. The same applies to steps S24, S31, S33, S41, S45, S71, and S73 described later.

  Further, the control unit 130 regulates ink ejection by the recording unit 24 (S12). That is, the control unit 130 does not start the image recording process shown in FIG. 11 even if a recording instruction to be described later is acquired during steps S12 to S18. The process of step S12 is an example of a restriction process.

  The user who has seen the injection notification screen can remove the cap 113 from the injection port 112 and inject ink into the ink chamber 111. The user who has injected the ink can close the injection port 112 with the cap 113 and move the cover 70 to the covering position. Here, the user may inject only the ink of the ink color notified on the injection notification screen. Alternatively, the user may inject all colors of ink or may not inject ink of any color. However, the control unit 130 cannot detect which ink color has been injected.

  Next, the control unit 130 executes the inquiry process A in response to the output of the first position signal from the cover sensor 72 and the first value being set in the initial flag (S13: Yes & S14: first value). (S15). In other words, the inquiry process A is executed in response to the cover 70 being moved from the exposure position to the covering position in the multifunction machine 10 for which the initial process has not been executed. The details of the inquiry process A will be described with reference to FIG.

[Query processing before initial processing]
First, the control unit 130 sets the inquiry flag corresponding to each ink color to “OFF” (S21). For example, the inquiry flag is temporarily stored in the RAM 133 when the inquiry process A is started. Next, in response to the output of the first remaining amount signal from the remaining amount sensor 125 (S22: Yes), the control unit 130 performs inquiry processing for each of the four ink colors (S23 to S25, S29). Execute. The first remaining amount signal output in step S22 corresponds to the black ink being injected into the ink chamber 111B. That is, in the inquiry process A, the inquiry process corresponding to each color is executed at least in response to the confirmation of the black ink injection.

  The first position signal in step S13 is an example of an end signal that can be used to estimate that ink injection has ended. However, the specific example of the end signal is not limited to this, and may be, for example, an operation signal output by the operation unit 17 that receives a user operation corresponding to the end of ink injection. The process of step S22 is an example of a prior confirmation process for confirming whether or not at least black ink has been injected. However, the method for confirming whether or not black ink has been injected is not limited to the remaining amount signal, and may be an operation signal output from the operation unit 17 that has received a user operation corresponding to the injection of black ink. .

  In the query process A, among the plurality of query processes (S23 to S25, S29) executed in order, the query process executed first is an example of the first query process, and the query process executed later is the second query process. It is an example of an inquiry process. In this embodiment, an example in which inquiry processing is executed in the order of magenta, cyan, yellow, and black will be described, but the execution order is not limited to this. The same applies to inquiry processing (S45 to S48, S51) of inquiry processing B described later.

  In response to the fact that “OFF” is set in the inquiry flag corresponding to magenta (S23: Yes), the control unit 130 displays an inquiry screen for magenta on the display unit 14 (S24). The inquiry screen includes inquiry information for inquiring whether or not the corresponding ink color has been injected. The inquiry information corresponding to magenta includes, for example, a character string “DID YOU FILL” and a character string “[M]? 1. YES 2. NO”. Further, the control unit 130 according to the present embodiment causes the display unit 14 to alternately display the two character strings.

  Next, the control unit 130 waits until any operation signal is output from the operation unit 17 (S25: No & S29: No). In step S25, the user operation of pressing the [1] button included in the numeric keypad 17A is an example of a first operation corresponding to ink being injected. In step S29, the user operation of pressing the [2] button included in the numeric keypad 17A is an example of a second operation corresponding to the fact that ink has not been injected. However, the first operation and the second operation are not limited to the above example. For example, when the operation unit 17 has [↑] [↓] buttons, pressing the [↑] button is the first operation. The pressing of the [↓] button may be the second operation.

  Further, the user operation for pressing the power button 17B is an example of a third operation for instructing execution of a stop process for stopping the supply of power to the multifunction machine 10. However, even if the third operation signal is output from the operation unit 17 in the inquiry process A (S25: No & S29: No), the control unit 130 performs the inquiry without executing the stop process corresponding to the third operation signal. Continue processing. In addition, the specific example of 3rd operation is not limited to this, What is necessary is just operation different from 1st operation and 2nd operation. Other examples of the third operation include pressing the [4] to [9] buttons included in the numeric keypad 17A, pressing the [Copy] button, or pressing the [Scan] button. Even if these buttons are pressed in the inquiry process A, the control unit 130 ignores the operation signal corresponding to the pressed button and continues the inquiry process A.

  Then, in response to the output of the first operation signal from the operation unit 17 (S25: Yes), the control unit 130 initializes the count value corresponding to magenta and sets the inquiry flag corresponding to magenta to “ON”. (S26). The process of initializing the count value in step S26 is an example of the initialization process.

  Next, in response to the fact that the inquiry process for all ink colors has not been executed (S27: No), the control unit 130 executes the inquiry process for the next ink color (S28 → S23 to S25, S29). Then, the control unit 130 ends the inquiry process A in response to the inquiry process for all ink colors being executed (S27: Yes).

  On the other hand, in response to the output of the second remaining amount signal from the remaining amount sensor 125 in step S22 (S22: No), the control unit 130 executes the reinjection notification process shown in FIG. 10 (S30). . Similarly, the control unit 130 does not output the first operation signal from the operation unit 17 in step S25 (S25: No), and outputs the second operation signal in step S29 (S29: Yes). The inquiring process being executed is interrupted, and the reinjection notification process is executed (S30). The re-injection notification process is a process for urging to inject ink by moving the cover 70 to the exposed position.

  The control unit 130 causes the display unit 14 to display a reinfusion notification screen in the reinfusion notification process shown in FIG. 10 (S31). The reinfusion notification screen includes, for example, a character string “FILL INK” and a character string “OPEN INK COVER”. Further, the control unit 130 according to the present embodiment causes the display unit 14 to alternately display the two character strings. The process of displaying the re-injection notification screen is an example of the re-notification process of notifying through the display unit 14 that the cover 70 is moved to the exposure position and the corresponding ink is injected.

  Next, the control unit 130 waits until the cover 70 is moved to the exposure position, in other words, until the second position signal is output from the cover sensor 72 (S32: No). At the same time, the control unit 130 continues to display the reinfusion notification screen (S31). When the second position signal is output in step S32, the process after step S33 is executed instead of the process shown in FIG. And the control part 130 displays the injection | pouring alerting | reporting screen on the display part 14 similarly to step S11 according to the 2nd position signal being output from the cover sensor 72 (S32: Yes) (S33). Next, the control unit 130 waits until the cover 70 is moved to the covering position, in other words, until the first position signal is output from the cover sensor 72 (S34: No). At the same time, the control unit 130 continues to display the injection notification screen (S33). And the control part 130 complete | finishes a reinjection alerting | reporting process according to the 1st position signal being output from the cover sensor 72 (S34: Yes), and performs the process after step S22 again.

  Inquiry processing (S23 to S25, S29) corresponding to other ink colors is executed in the same manner. For example, in the inquiry information corresponding to other ink colors, characters (that is, “C”, “Y”, “BK”) corresponding to the ink colors are arranged at the position of [M] described above. Further, in response to the output of the first operation signal from the operation unit 17 in the inquiry process corresponding to another ink color (S25: Yes), the control unit 130 initializes the count value corresponding to the ink color. At the same time, the inquiry flag corresponding to the ink color is set to "ON" (S26).

  Further, in response to the inquiry flag being “ON” in Step S23 (S23: No), the control unit 130 executes the processes after Step S27 without executing Steps S24 to S26 and S29. For example, when the [1] button is pressed in the inquiry process for magenta and the [2] button is pressed in the inquiry process for cyan, the control unit 130 executes the inquiry process for magenta after executing the reinjection notification process. Without executing the query processing for cyan.

  Furthermore, although illustration is omitted, the control unit 130 outputs the second position signal from the cover sensor 72 during the execution of the inquiry process (more specifically, while waiting to accept the first operation or the second operation). Accordingly, the inquiry process may be interrupted and the injection notification screen may be displayed on the display unit 14 again. Then, the control unit 130 may resume the interrupted inquiry process in response to the output of the first position signal from the cover sensor 72.

  Next, returning to FIG. 8, the control unit 130 executes an initial process (S16). Specifically, the control unit 130 causes the pump (not shown) to suck air and ink in the flow path from the ink chamber 111 to the recording unit 24. In addition, the control unit 130 sets a second value for the initial flag. Then, the control unit 130 cancels the restriction of ink ejection by the recording unit 24 (S18). That is, the control unit 130 can execute the image recording process shown in FIG. 12 in response to acquiring the recording instruction thereafter. The process of step S18 is an example of a release process for releasing the restriction by the restriction process.

  On the other hand, the control unit 130 executes the inquiry process B in response to the output of the first position signal from the cover sensor 72 and the setting of the second value in the initial flag (S13: Yes & S14: second value). (S17). That is, the inquiry process B is executed in response to the movement of the cover 70 from the exposure position to the covering position in the multifunction machine 10 for which the initial process has already been executed. The details of the inquiry process B will be described with reference to FIG. A detailed description of points common to the inquiry process A will be omitted, and the differences will be mainly described.

[Query processing after initial processing]
First, the control unit 130 displays a prior inquiry screen on the display unit 14 (S41). The pre-inquiry screen includes, for example, a character string “DID YOU REFILL” and a character string “INK? 1. YES 2. NO”. Further, the control unit 130 according to the present embodiment causes the display unit 14 to alternately display the two character strings. Further, in step S41, the control unit 130 starts a timer for monitoring the threshold time.

  Next, the control unit 130 waits until any operation signal is output from the operation unit 17 until the timer times out (S42: No) (S43: No & S44: No). Then, the control unit 130 performs the second operation from the operation unit 17 in response to the time-out, that is, the elapsed time after the timer is started reaches the threshold time (S42: Yes) or before the timer times out. In response to the output of the signal (S43: Yes), the inquiry process B is terminated.

  In addition, before the timer times out (S42: No), the control unit 130 does not output the second operation signal from the operation unit 17 (S43: No) and responds to the output of the first operation signal (S43: No). (S44: Yes), the process after step S45 is performed. In addition, the control part 130 cancels | releases the timer started at step S41, when either the 1st operation signal and the 2nd operation signal are output from the operation part 17 (S43: Yes, S44: Yes). .

  Next, the control unit 130 displays an inquiry screen for magenta on the display unit 14 (S45). The process of step S45 is almost the same as the process of step S24. The only difference from step S24 is that the inquiry screen in step S45 includes the character string “DID YOU REFILL” instead of the character string “DID YOU FILL”. In step S45, the control unit 130 starts a timer that monitors the threshold time. Then, as in steps S42 to S44, the control unit 130 waits until any operation signal is output from the operation unit 17 until the timer times out (S46: No) (S47: No & S48: No). ). Note that the threshold times monitored by the timers in steps S42 and S46 may be the same time or different times.

  Until the timer times out (S46: No), the control unit 130 responds to the output of the first operation signal instead of the second operation signal (S47: No) from the operation unit 17 (S48: Yes), the count value corresponding to magenta is initialized (S49). The process in step S49 is an example of an initialization process. On the other hand, in response to the time-out of the timer, that is, the elapsed time from when the timer is started reaches the threshold time (S46: Yes), or before the timer times out, In response to the output of the two operation signals (S47: Yes), the processing after step 50 is executed without executing the processing of step S49. The control unit 130 cancels the timer started in step S46 in response to the output of either the first operation signal or the second operation signal from the operation unit 17 (S47: Yes, S48: Yes). .

  Then, in response to the fact that the inquiry process for all ink colors is not executed (S50: No), the control unit 130 executes the inquiry process for the next ink color (S51 → S45 to S48). On the other hand, the control unit 130 ends the inquiry process B in response to the inquiry process for all ink colors being executed (S50: Yes). Further, the control unit 130 cancels the restriction of ink ejection by the recording unit 24 (S18).

  Unlike the inquiry process A, the control unit 130 ends the inquiry process B in response to the power button 17B being pressed in the inquiry process B, that is, in response to the output of the third operation signal from the operation unit 17. The stop process described above is executed. On the other hand, similarly to the query process A, even if the [4] to [9] button, the [Copy] button, or the [Scan] button included in the numeric keypad 17A is pressed in the query process B, the control unit 130 The inquiry signal B is continued ignoring the operation signal corresponding to the button that has been pressed.

[Image recording processing]
Next, the control unit 130 executes the image recording process shown in FIG. 12 in response to the recording instruction being input to the multifunction machine 10. However, the control unit 130 does not execute the image recording process even if the first value is set in the initial flag or the recording instruction is acquired during the execution of the inquiry process B. Then, the image recording process based on the recording instruction is executed in response to the setting of the second value in the initial flag or the completion of the inquiry process B.

  The recording instruction is an instruction for causing the multi-function peripheral 10 to perform an image recording process for recording an image indicated by image data on a sheet. The acquisition destination of the recording instruction is not particularly limited. For example, the recording instruction may be acquired from the user through the operation unit 17 or may be acquired from an external device through the communication unit 25. The recording instruction may be an instruction to record an image indicated by the FAX data on a sheet.

  First, in response to the presence of a count value equal to or greater than the first discharge threshold among the count values corresponding to the four ink colors (S61: Yes), the control unit 130 executes an empty process (S62). The empty process is a process for causing the user to replenish ink of a color with a small remaining amount. Details of the empty process will be described with reference to FIG.

  First, the control unit 130 displays an empty notification screen on the display unit 14 (S71). The process of step S <b> 71 is an example of a first notification process for notifying that the amount of empty color ink is low through the display unit 14. The empty notification screen includes a character string “CANNOT PRINT”, a character string “REFILL [BK] INK”, a character string “REFILL [Y] INK”, a character string “REFILL [C] INK”, and “REFILL”. [M] INK "character string corresponding to an empty color. The control unit 130 according to the present embodiment uses a character string “CANNOT PRINT”, a character string “REFILL [BK] INK”, a character string “REFILL [Y] INK”, and “REFILL [C] as an empty notification screen. ] And the character string corresponding to the empty color of the character string “REFILL [M] INK” are alternately displayed on the display unit 14.

  For example, when the count values corresponding to magenta and black are greater than or equal to the first discharge threshold and the count values corresponding to cyan and yellow are less than the first discharge threshold, the control unit 130 determines “CANNOT PRINT” in step S51. , The character string “REFILL [M] INK”, and the character string “REFILL [BK] INK” are displayed on the display unit 14 in order. A user who has seen the empty notification screen can move the cover 70 to the exposure position in order to inject ink into the ink tank 100.

  Next, the control unit 130 waits until the cover 70 is moved to the exposure position, in other words, until the second position signal is output from the cover sensor 72 (S72: No). At the same time, the control unit 130 continues to display the empty notification screen (S71). When the second position signal is output in step S72, the process after step S73 is executed instead of the process shown in FIG. Then, in response to the output of the second position signal from the cover sensor 72 (S72: Yes), the control unit 130 causes the display unit 14 to display an empty color and near empty color injection notification screen (S73). . The process of step S73 is common to the process of step S11. The process in step S73 is an example of a second notification process that notifies the display unit 14 that the near empty color and empty color ink are to be injected.

  In the above-described example, when the count value corresponding to yellow is equal to or greater than the second discharge threshold value and the count value corresponding to cyan is less than the second discharge threshold value, the control unit 130 sets “REFILL M / C / BK”. A character string and a character string of “THEN CLOSE INK COVER” are alternately displayed on the display unit 14. The user who has seen the injection notification screen can inject ink into the ink chamber 111 and move the cover 70 to the covering position.

  Next, the control unit 130 waits until the cover 70 is moved to the covering position, in other words, until the first position signal is output from the cover sensor 72 (S74: No). At the same time, the control unit 130 continues to display the injection notification screen (S73). Then, in response to the output of the first position signal from the cover sensor 72 (S74: Yes), the control unit 130 executes the inquiry process B (S75) shown in FIG. 11 and ends the empty process. To do. That is, the inquiry process B is executed in response to the movement of the cover 70 from the exposure position to the covering position. By the inquiry process B, the count value corresponding to the ink color for which the first operation has been performed is initialized. Note that the inquiry process B has already been described with reference to FIG.

  Next, returning to FIG. 12, the control unit 130 executes the empty process again in response to the presence of a count value equal to or greater than the first discharge threshold even if the empty process is executed (S61: Yes). . On the other hand, in response to all count values being less than the first discharge threshold value (S61: No), the control unit 130 performs cueing processing (S63). The cueing process is a process in which the sheet is conveyed to the conveying unit 23 until the area where the image is first recorded faces the recording unit 24.

  Next, the control unit 130 executes a recording process (S64). The recording process is a process for causing the recording unit 24 to eject ink toward a sheet facing the recording unit 24. Further, the control unit 130 counts the amount of ink ejected from the recording unit 24 in the recording process for each ink color, and temporarily stores the corresponding count value in the RAM 133 (S65). Steps S64 and S65 may be executed in parallel. Note that the count value temporarily stored in the RAM 133 is different from the count value stored in the EEPROM 134.

  Next, in response to the fact that the image recording on the sheet has not yet been completed (S66: No), the control unit 130 executes a conveyance process (S67). The transport process is a process of transporting the paper to the transport unit 23 by a predetermined line feed width. Then, the control unit 130 repeatedly executes the processes of steps S64 to S67 until the image recording on the sheet is completed (S66: Yes).

  Next, in response to the completion of image recording on the sheet (S66: Yes), the control unit 130 executes a discharge process (S68). The discharge process is a process for discharging the sheet on which the image is recorded to the discharge tray 21. Next, the control unit 130 updates the count value in the EEPROM 134 using the count value temporarily stored in the RAM 133 (S69). The process of steps S65 and S69 is an example of a count process.

  Note that the update of the count value is not limited to the timings of steps S65 and S69. For example, for maintenance of the recording unit 24, a so-called flushing process in which the recording unit 24 discharges ink toward an ink receiving unit (not shown), or a so-called purge process in which ink in the recording unit 24 is sucked by a pump (not shown). In this case, the amount of ink discharged from the recording unit 24 in each process may be added to the corresponding count value.

  Next, the control unit 130 repeatedly executes the processes of steps S61 to S69 until all the images indicated by the recording instruction are recorded on the sheet (S70: No). Then, the control unit 130 ends the image recording process in response to recording all the images indicated by the recording instruction on the sheet (S70: Yes).

[Operational effects of this embodiment]
According to the empty processing according to the above-described embodiment, empty color ink injection is notified through the empty notification screen. On the other hand, a user who visually recognizes the amount of ink in each ink chamber 111 can inject ink into ink chambers 111 other than the empty color. Therefore, by executing the inquiry process for all ink colors in the inquiry process B, the control unit 130 can appropriately initialize the count value corresponding to the replenished color ink.

  Further, according to the empty process according to the above-described embodiment, near empty color and empty color ink injection are notified through the injection notification screen in response to the user moving the cover 70 to the exposure position. Thereby, the user can notice that the ink of the color with a small remaining amount should be injected. As a result, for example, it is suppressed that the ink of each color is in an empty state in order and the image recording process is interrupted many times.

  Further, according to the above-described embodiment, even if the empty process is executed, if there is a count value equal to or greater than the first discharge threshold, the process of recording an image on the paper is not executed. In other words, the control unit 130 can record an image on a sheet in response to receiving the first operation in the inquiry process B for all empty colors. Thereby, it is possible to prevent the ink from running out during the image recording process. On the other hand, even if the control unit 130 receives the second operation in the inquiry process for the near empty color, in other words, the control unit 130 can execute the image recording process without receiving the first operation. This eliminates the need to inject all color inks at once.

  Further, according to the image recording process according to the above-described embodiment, the empty process is executed before the cueing process (when images are recorded on a plurality of sheets, before the cueing process for each sheet). On the other hand, even if the count value reaches the first discharge threshold during the recording of the image on the sheet (S63 to S67), the empty process is not executed. Thereby, it is possible to prevent the image recording on the paper from being interrupted in the middle. Further, even when the count value reaches the first discharge threshold, it is possible to continue image recording using the ink stored in the preliminary storage chamber.

  Further, according to the ink tank 100 according to the above-described embodiment, the preliminary storage chamber is disposed at a position that is difficult for the user to see (a position away from the front wall 101 and below the upper wall 145). This makes it possible for the user who has visually recognized the ink tank 100 to feel that there is no near empty color or empty color ink remaining, so that the injection of the ink of the near empty and the color of the empty ink is further performed. Can be urged.

  In the above embodiment, the control unit 130 can start processing to be executed in response to the start of ink injection in response to the movement of the cover 70 to the exposure position. Further, the control unit 130 can start a process to be executed in response to the completion of ink injection in response to the movement of the cover 70 to the covering position. That is, the user operation indicating the start of ink injection and the user operation indicating the end of ink injection can be simplified as compared with the conventional ink replenishment process. Moreover, since all user operations should just be performed with respect to the multifunction machine 10, a user's burden can be eased.

  Further, according to the above-described embodiment, in each inquiry process, the presence or absence of ink injection can be individually input for each ink color, so that it is possible to suppress the occurrence of erroneous input. The image recording process can be executed in a state where the ink amount in the ink tank 100 is properly recognized. In addition, since the user answers inquiries to all ink colors in order, it is possible to grasp which ink color is in what state. However, the inquiry processing method is not limited to the above-described method, and the inquiry processing for all ink colors may be executed collectively.

  Further, according to the above-described embodiment, the control unit 130 can detect whether the ink has been injected into the ink chamber 111 </ b> B using the remaining amount sensor 125. Therefore, the control unit 130 may omit the inquiry process for black ink in the inquiry processes A and B. That is, the control unit 130 may inquire at least the user whether or not ink has been injected into the ink chamber 111 where the remaining amount sensor 125 is not provided in the inquiry processes A and B.

  Further, the remaining amount of ink specified by the count value may not exactly match the actual remaining amount of ink. Therefore, by accurately detecting that the remaining amount of black ink is less than the remaining amount threshold by the remaining amount sensor 125, it is possible to suppress the black ink from being lost during the image recording process. This is particularly effective in the multifunction machine 10 that can execute image recording processing on FAX data. Note that remaining amount sensors may be provided in the other ink chambers 111M, 111C, and 111Y.

  Further, in the above embodiment, if the initial process is executed in a state where ink is not injected into some of the ink chambers 111, the ink discharged from the recording unit 24 is wasted. The ink chamber 111 at the time of purchase of the multifunction device 10 is empty. Therefore, in the inquiry process A, it is desirable to execute the inquiry process for each ink color after confirming the ink injection into the ink chamber 111B by the prior confirmation process. On the other hand, when the prior confirmation process cannot confirm the ink injection into the ink chamber 111B, it is desirable to execute the re-injection notification process to prompt the ink injection into all the ink chambers 111.

  On the other hand, the amount of ink consumed after the initial process is executed differs for each ink chamber 111. Therefore, during execution of the process shown in FIG. 8, there is a possibility that ink is injected only into some ink chambers 111 and ink is not injected into other ink chambers 111. Therefore, in the inquiry process B, it is desirable to execute the inquiry process for each ink color regardless of the remaining amount signal output from the remaining amount sensor 125 provided only in the ink chamber 111B for black ink.

  In the inquiry process A, the second inquiry process is executed only in response to the output of the first operation signal in the first inquiry process. In other words, in the inquiry process A, the first inquiry process is continued until the first operation is accepted, and the second inquiry process is executed in response to the acceptance of the first operation. Then, only when the first operation signal is output in the inquiry process for all ink colors, the initial process is executed. As a result, for example, since magenta ink injection is confirmed, the process proceeds to checking whether cyan ink has been injected. Thus, it is possible to reliably confirm that ink has been injected into all the ink chambers 111.

  Note that “the first inquiry process is continued until the first operation is received” indicates that the first inquiry process is not terminated due to a timer timeout, for example. In the example of FIG. 9, the first inquiry process is interrupted in response to the acceptance of the second operation in the first inquiry process, and the first inquiry process is resumed after the reinjection notification process is executed. It is assumed that such a process flow is also included in “the first inquiry process is continued”.

  On the other hand, the amount of ink consumed after the initial process is executed differs for each ink chamber 111. Therefore, during execution of the process shown in FIG. 8, there is a possibility that ink is injected only into some ink chambers 111 and ink is not injected into other ink chambers 111. Therefore, in the inquiry process B, it is desirable to execute the second inquiry process regardless of the operation signal output from the operation unit 17 in the first inquiry process. Further, in the inquiry process B, the same process as that when the second operation is performed is executed in response to the time-out of the timer. Thereby, when the user operation for the inquiry process B is not performed, it is possible to prevent a situation in which the subsequent process cannot be executed.

  Further, according to the inquiry process A according to the above-described embodiment, the necessity of the inquiry process for each ink color is determined by the inquiry flag. Accordingly, it is possible to prevent the ink color inquiry process that has already been completed from being executed again by executing the reinjection notification process. As a result, the user operation in the inquiry process A can be simplified. Similarly, when the cover 70 is opened and closed during the inquiry process A, the already-executed inquiry process may be omitted and the interrupted inquiry process may be resumed.

  Furthermore, a part of the processing shown in FIGS. 8 to 13 can be executed by an information processing apparatus that can communicate with the multifunction machine 10. The information processing apparatus includes a display unit, an operation unit, a communication unit, and a control unit. The function of each component included in the information processing apparatus is common to each component of the multifunction machine 10. Although the specific example of information processing apparatus is not specifically limited, For example, PC (Personal Computer), a smart phone, or a tablet terminal etc. may be sufficient.

  Then, the control unit of the information processing device displays, for example, an injection notification screen, an inquiry screen, a reinjection notification screen, an empty notification screen, and the like on the display unit. The control unit receives the first operation and the second operation via the operation unit. The control unit receives signals output from the cover sensor 72 and the remaining amount sensor 125, an initial flag, a count value, and the like from the multi-function device 10 through the communication unit, and transmits an operation instruction for operating the multi-function device 10 to the communication unit. To the multi-function device 10. That is, the present invention can also be realized as an inkjet recording system including the multifunction machine 10 and the information processing apparatus that can communicate through a communication network.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... MFP 14 ... Display part 17 ... Operation part 24 ... Recording part 25 ... Communication part 70 ... Cover 72 ... Cover sensor 100 ... Ink tank 111 ...・ Ink chamber 112... Inlet 125.

Claims (10)

A plurality of ink chambers for storing inks of different ink colors and a plurality of inlets for injecting ink into each ink chamber are formed, and the ink in the ink chamber can be visually recognized from the outside of the apparatus. A tank,
A recording unit that discharges ink stored in the ink chamber and records an image on a sheet;
A display for displaying information;
An operation unit that outputs an operation signal corresponding to the received user operation;
A control unit for controlling the operation of the recording unit and the display unit,
The operation unit is
In response to accepting the first operation that is the user operation corresponding to the ink injection, the first operation signal that is the operation signal is output,
In response to receiving the second operation, which is the user operation corresponding to the fact that no ink has been injected, a second operation signal, which is the operation signal, is output.
The control unit
A counting process for counting the amount of ink discharged by the recording unit for each ink color;
Notification processing for notifying through the display unit that the injection of the first color ink is necessary in response to the count value corresponding to the first color among the plurality of ink colors reaching the first discharge threshold value. When,
Inquiry information for inquiring whether or not the ink of the ink color has been injected for each of the plurality of ink colors in response to the output of an end signal capable of estimating the completion of the injection of the first color ink. An inquiry process for displaying the first operation or the second operation corresponding to the ink color through the operation unit,
And an initialization process for initializing the count value of the corresponding ink color in response to the output of the first operation signal in the inquiry process. It is possible to move between a covering position that covers all the injection ports and restricts the injection of ink into the ink chamber, and an exposed position that allows all the injection ports to be exposed and allows ink injection into the ink chamber. Cover and
A cover sensor that outputs a position signal corresponding to the position of the cover, and
The inkjet recording system according to claim 1, wherein the end signal is the position signal corresponding to the movement of the cover to the covering position. In the notification process, the control unit
A first notification process for notifying that the first color ink is low in response to the count value corresponding to the first color reaching the first discharge threshold;
The position signal corresponding to the position of the cover at the exposure position is output from the cover sensor, and the count value corresponding to the second color of the plurality of ink colors is before the first discharge threshold. 3. A second notification process for informing through the display unit that the first color and the second color ink are injected in response to the fact that the second discharge threshold is reached. Inkjet recording system. In the inquiry process, the control unit
A first inquiry process for displaying the inquiry information for the first color on the display unit and causing the operation unit to accept the first operation or the second operation corresponding to the first color;
In response to completion of the first inquiry process, the inquiry information for the second color is displayed on the display unit, and the first operation or the second operation corresponding to the second color is displayed on the operation unit. The inkjet recording system according to claim 2, wherein a second inquiry process to be received by the printer is executed. Either the first value corresponding to the fact that the initial process of filling the flow path from the ink chamber to the recording unit with ink has not been executed yet, or the second value corresponding to the initial process having already been executed Is further provided with a storage unit that stores an initial flag in which is set,
The control unit executes the second inquiry process in response to the output of the first operation signal in the first inquiry process executed in a state where the first value is set in the initial flag. The inkjet recording system according to claim 4.   The control unit moves the cover to the exposure position in response to the output of the second operation signal in the first inquiry process executed in a state where the first value is set in the initial flag. The inkjet recording system according to claim 5, further executing a re-notification process for informing through the display unit that the first color ink is injected. The control unit
In response to the output of the second operation signal in the second inquiry process executed with the first value set in the initial flag, the re-notification process is executed,
The inkjet recording system according to claim 6, wherein in the inquiry process executed after the re-notification process, the second inquiry process is executed without executing the first inquiry process. Either the first value corresponding to the fact that the initial process of filling the flow path from the ink chamber to the recording unit with ink has not been executed yet, or the second value corresponding to the initial process having already been executed Is further provided with a storage unit that stores an initial flag in which is set,
The control unit executes the second inquiry process regardless of the operation signal output in the first inquiry process in the inquiry process executed with the second value set in the initial flag. An ink jet recording system according to any one of claims 4 to 7. The control unit
A restriction process for restricting ink ejection by the recording unit in response to the position signal corresponding to the position of the cover being in the exposed position being output from the cover sensor;
The inkjet recording system according to any one of claims 2 to 8, further executing a release process for releasing the restriction by the restriction process in response to the completion of the inquiry process. A plurality of ink chambers for storing inks of different ink colors and a plurality of inlets for injecting ink into each ink chamber are formed, and the ink in the ink chamber can be visually recognized from the outside of the apparatus. A tank, a recording unit that discharges ink stored in the ink chamber and records an image on a sheet, a display unit that displays information, and a first operation corresponding to the injection of ink; And a program that can be executed by a computer including an operation unit that outputs a second operation signal in response to receiving a second operation corresponding to the fact that the first operation signal is output and ink is not injected. And
A counting process for counting the amount of ink discharged by the recording unit for each ink color;
Notification processing for notifying through the display unit that the injection of the first color ink is necessary in response to the count value corresponding to the first color among the plurality of ink colors reaching the first discharge threshold value. When,
Inquiry information for inquiring whether or not the ink of the ink color has been injected for each of the plurality of ink colors in response to the output of an end signal capable of estimating the completion of the injection of the first color ink. An inquiry process for displaying the first operation or the second operation corresponding to the ink color through the operation unit,
A program that causes the computer to execute an initialization process for initializing the count value of the corresponding ink color in response to the output of the first operation signal in the inquiry process.

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