JP2019014265A - Inkjet recording system and program - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide an inkjet recording device that can notify that ink should be injected into an ink chamber when residual ink amounts in a tank are kept constant.SOLUTION: The inkjet recording device memorizes a first discharge threshold and a second discharge threshold larger than the first discharge threshold. The device executes: an inquiry process for making a display part display inquiry information for inquiring presence/absence of injection of ink to an ink chamber when a count value of amounts of ink discharged from a recording part reaches the first discharge threshold and receiving an operation signal corresponding to the injection of the ink into the ink chamber; a threshold renewing process (S80) for renewing values determined by adding a difference between a current count value and the second discharge threshold to the first discharge threshold and the second discharge threshold respectively as a new first discharge threshold and a new second discharge threshold respectively in response to output of an operation signal in the inquiry process (S48:Yes); and a first initialization process (S49) for initializing the count value in response to output of the operation signal in the inquiry process (S48:Yes).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 tank can be refilled with marks. 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 color of the supplemented ink received through the inquiry screen in the supplement process.

JP 2012-066563 A JP2013-006320A

  Since image recording is performed after the tank is emptied, it is necessary to prevent air from entering the flow path from the tank to the recording head. That is, it is desirable to replenish the tank with ink before the tank is emptied, that is, with some ink remaining in the tank. For example, a certain amount of ink to be refilled in the tank is filled in a bottle. A certain amount of ink is replenished from the bottle to the tank by the user's operation. However, since the timing at which ink is replenished to the tank is determined by a user operation, the amount of ink remaining in the tank when ink is replenished varies. For example, even if the count value reaches a limit value after ink is replenished, the amount of ink remaining in the tank before replenishment may remain after replenishment. As a result, it is not possible to prompt ink replenishment at a timing when the ink remaining amount in the tank is always constant due to the ink remaining in the tank prior to ink replenishment.

  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 that can notify the user of ink replenishment when the remaining amount of ink stored in the tank is approximately constant. It is to provide.

  (1) An ink jet recording system according to the present invention discharges ink stored in the ink chamber, an ink chamber for storing ink, a tank in which an injection port for injecting ink into the ink chamber is formed, and A recording unit that records an image on a sheet, a display unit that displays information, and an operation unit that outputs an operation signal in response to accepting a user operation corresponding to injecting ink into the ink chamber. A control unit that controls operations of the display unit and the operation unit, and a storage unit that stores a first threshold value and a second threshold value that is larger than the first threshold value. The control unit needs to add and count the amount of ink discharged from the recording unit, and inject ink into the ink chamber in response to the count value reaching the first threshold value. In response to the first notification process for informing through the display section, and the fact that the count value has reached the second threshold value, it is notified through the display section that ink needs to be injected into the ink chamber. After executing the second notification process and the first notification process, inquiry information for inquiring whether or not ink has been injected into the ink chamber is displayed on the display unit, and the user operation is performed via the operation unit. In response to the first inquiry process to be accepted and the operation signal being output in the first inquiry process, the difference between the current count value and the second threshold value is determined as the first threshold value and the first threshold value. In response to a threshold update process in which values added to the threshold values are respectively updated as new first and second threshold values and stored in the recording unit, and the operation signal is output in the first inquiry process. And a first initialization process for initializing the count value.

  When the count value reaches the first threshold value, the control unit prompts the user to refill the tank with ink through the first notification process. In addition, when the count value reaches the second threshold value, the control unit prompts the user to replenish ink to the tank through the second notification process. After the first notification process, when the user performs a user operation corresponding to refilling the tank with ink, the control unit causes the ink remaining corresponding to the count value to reach the second threshold value. A value obtained by adding the value for the amount to the first threshold value and the second threshold value is updated as a new first threshold value and second threshold value, respectively. As a result, the updated first threshold value and second threshold value are values obtained by adding the remaining amount of ink in the tank immediately before the ink is replenished.

  (2) Preferably, the recording unit stores a third threshold value larger than the second threshold value and a fourth threshold value larger than the third threshold value, and the control unit is updated in the threshold value update process. The third threshold is updated as the first threshold in response to the first threshold exceeding the third threshold, and the second threshold is updated in response to the updated second threshold exceeding the fourth threshold. The 4th threshold is updated as the second threshold.

  When the remaining amount of ink just before ink replenishment is large, the third threshold value and the fourth threshold value are the maximum values of the first threshold value and the second threshold value, respectively. As a result, the remaining amount of ink is cumulatively added to prevent the first threshold value and the second threshold value from becoming larger than a certain level.

  (3) Preferably, in response to the count value reaching the second threshold value, the control unit performs a restriction process for restricting ink discharge from the recording part and the second notification process. Thereafter, inquiry information for inquiring whether or not ink has been injected into the ink chamber is displayed on the display unit, and the user operation is received via the operation unit, and the second inquiry process and the second inquiry process In response to the output of the operation signal, the second initialization process for initializing the count value and the restriction by the restriction process in response to the output of the operation signal in the second inquiry process. And canceling processing to be further executed.

  Thereby, after the count value reaches the second threshold value, ink is not further ejected from the recording unit, so that the tank is prevented from becoming empty.

  (4) Preferably, the tank is replenished with ink filled in one bottle, and the first threshold value and the second threshold value are less than the ink amount filled in the bottle.

  (5) Preferably, the tank is formed with a plurality of ink chambers for storing different colors of ink, and a plurality of inlets for injecting ink into the ink chambers. is there.

  (6) The present invention provides an ink chamber for storing ink, a tank in which an injection port for injecting ink into the ink chamber is formed, and the ink stored in the ink chamber is ejected to a sheet. A recording unit that records an image, a display unit that displays information, an operation unit that outputs an operation signal in response to receiving a user operation corresponding to injecting ink into the ink chamber, the display unit, A program that can be executed by a computer including a control unit that controls the operation of the operation unit, and a storage unit that stores a first threshold value and a second threshold value that is greater than the first threshold value, and is discharged from the recording unit The display unit that counts the ink amount by adding the ink amount and that the ink amount needs to be injected into the ink chamber in response to the count value of the ink amount reaching the first threshold value. A first notification process for notifying through the display unit, and a second notification process for notifying that the injection of ink into the ink chamber is necessary in response to the count value reaching the second threshold value. After the first notification process is executed, inquiry information for inquiring whether or not ink has been injected into the ink chamber is displayed on the display unit, and the user operation is received via the operation unit. And, in response to the output of the operation signal in the first inquiry process, a value obtained by adding the difference between the current count value and the second threshold value to the first threshold value and the second threshold value, respectively. In response to the threshold update process for updating the first threshold value and the second threshold value to be stored in the recording unit, and the operation signal being output in the first inquiry process, The first initialization process for initializing the count value may be regarded as a program for causing the computer to execute.

  According to the present invention, even if ink is replenished with ink remaining in the tank, the remaining amount of ink in the ink chamber is approximately constant in the process in which the recording unit subsequently discharges ink and the ink in the tank decreases. Sometimes the user can be notified of ink replenishment.

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 inquiry process C. FIG. 14 is a flowchart of the threshold update process. FIG. 15 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 system and an example of a computer.

[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. 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”. In addition, 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 the alphabet (B, M, C, Y) is given a different reference number, and when these are collectively referred to, the alphabet is omitted (for example, an inlet 112, an ink flow path 114, etc. described later). There is.

Here, the amount of each ink filled in an ink bottle to be described later injected into each ink chamber 111 is represented by V _max, and a space (hereinafter referred to as a lower wall 146 and a connection wall 147) behind and below the upper wall 145. The volume of “preliminary storage chamber” is V ₀ . In this case, the remaining amount threshold is represented by (V ₀ −α), the initial value of the first discharge threshold is represented by (V _max −V ₀ ), and the initial value of the second discharge threshold is [V _max − (V _0- α)]. 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 first discharge threshold and the second discharge threshold are updated as will be described later. The first discharge threshold is an example of a first threshold. The second discharge threshold is an example of a second threshold. The first discharge threshold and the second discharge threshold (these and the third discharge threshold and the fourth discharge threshold described later may be collectively referred to as “discharge threshold”) are compared with the count value described later. Value. Note that the remaining amount threshold and the discharge threshold may be different 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.

  The ink tank 100 is replenished with ink filled in one bottle. By inserting a bottle (not shown) into the injection port 112, the ink filled in the bottle is injected into the ink chamber 111 of the ink tank 100. A nozzle is formed on the bottle. By inserting the nozzle into the injection port 112, the ink filled in the bottle flows out to the ink chamber 111 through the nozzle. In the present embodiment, the amount of ink filled in one bottle is smaller than the maximum amount of ink that can be stored in each ink chamber 111 and larger than the discharge threshold (first discharge threshold to fourth discharge threshold).

[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 rotatably supported by the multifunction machine 10. 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. In the operation unit 17 according to the present embodiment, a first operation signal (an example of an operation signal) corresponding to the pressing of the [1] button included in the numeric keypad 17A, and the [2] button included in the numeric keypad 17A are pressed. The second operation signal corresponding to this or the third operation signal corresponding to the 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. Note that the method of updating the count value is not limited to the above example, for example, step S26, a value corresponding to the ink amount V _max which is filled in the ink bottle in S49 is set, it may be counted down in the step S69 . The count value to be counted down is compared with the corresponding remaining amount threshold value.

  Further, the EEPROM 134 stores a first discharge threshold value and a second discharge threshold value for each ink color. Further, the ROM 132 stores, for each ink color, a third discharge threshold value (an example of a third threshold value) that is larger than the second discharge threshold value and a fourth discharge threshold value (an example of a fourth threshold value) that is larger than the third discharge threshold value.

  Note that the discharge threshold storage location is not limited to that described above. For example, all the discharge threshold values may be recorded in the EEPROM 134. The first discharge threshold and the second discharge threshold may be stored in the RAM 133 when updated as will be described later, and the storage location may be moved from the RAM 133 to the EEPROM 134 immediately before the MFP 10 is turned off. The ROM 132, the RAM 133, and the EEPROM 134 are examples of a storage unit.

  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 15, the operation of the multifunction machine 10 according to the present embodiment will be described. Each process shown in FIGS. 8 to 15 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). As the injection notification screen, the control unit 130 alternates the character string “FILL ALL INK” and the character string “THEN CLOSE INK COVER” in step S11 when the first value is set in the initial flag. Are 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 first 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 first discharge threshold among all the ink colors, characters representing the corresponding ink color (ie, “M”, “C”, “Y”, "Any of" 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 first discharge threshold.

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

  Note that the processing in step S11 is continued until the 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 process of step S11, it is allowed that different character strings are displayed on the display unit 14 depending on the state of the multifunction machine 10. The same applies to steps S24, S31, S33, S41, S45, S613, 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 between steps S12 to S18.

  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, in response to the output of the first position signal from the cover sensor 72 (S13: Yes), the control unit 130 executes the processes after step S14. In step S14, the control unit 130 executes the inquiry process A in response to the first value being set as the initial flag (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.

  First, the control unit 130 sets the inquiry flag corresponding to each ink color to “OFF” (S21). The inquiry flag is temporarily stored in the RAM 133 when steps S23 to S25 are executed, for example. 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 method for confirming whether black ink has been injected is not limited to the remaining amount signal, and may be an operation signal output by the operation unit 17 that has received a user operation corresponding to the injection of black ink. .

  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”. Is set to "" (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.

  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 the initial flag to the second value. Then, the control unit 130 cancels the ink ejection restriction by the recording unit 24 (S20). That is, the control unit 130 can execute the image recording process shown in FIG. 11 in response to acquiring the recording instruction thereafter.

  On the other hand, in step S14, the control unit 130 executes the processing from S17 onward in response to the second value being set in the initial flag (S14: second value). In step S17, the control unit 130 executes the inquiry process B in response to the fact that the near empty color is not included among all the ink colors (S17: No) (S18). More specifically, in step S <b> 17, the control unit 130 determines that there is no ink color that satisfies the first discharge threshold ≦ the count value <the second discharge threshold among the count values of all ink colors. A negative determination is made (S17: No). 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.

  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”. In the present embodiment, the control unit 130 causes the display unit 14 to alternately display the two character strings. Moreover, the control part 130 starts the timer which monitors predetermined time in step S41. Then, while the timer does not time out (S42: No), the control unit 130 waits until any operation signal is output from the operation unit 17 (S43: No & S44: No). When the timer times out, that is, when the elapsed time after the timer reaches the count reaches the threshold time (S42: Yes), or when the second operation signal is output from the operation unit 17 before the timer times out. (S43: Yes), the inquiry process B is terminated.

  While the timer does not time 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 (S44: Yes). ), The process after step S45 is performed. Note that the timer started in step S41 is either when the timer times out (S42: Yes) or when either the first operation signal or the second operation signal is output from the operation unit 17 (S43: Yes, S44: Yes). The control unit 130 initializes the timer.

  In step S45, 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 is a character string “DID YOU REFILL” instead of the character string “DID YOU FILL”. Then, as in steps S42 to S44, the control unit 130 waits until any operation signal is output from the operation unit 17 while the timer does not time out (S46) (S46: No & S47: No).

  While the timer does not time 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, when the timer times out, that is, when the elapsed time since the timer reaches the count reaches the threshold time (S46: Yes), the control unit 130 receives the second operation signal from the operation unit 17 before the timer times out. In response to the output (S47: Yes), the processing from step 50 is executed without executing the processing in step S49.

  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 (S20).

  Note that, unlike the query process A, in the query process B, when the user presses the power button 17B, that is, in response to the output of the third operation signal from the operation unit 17, the control unit 130 performs the query process. B is ended, and the stop process described above is executed. On the other hand, similarly to the query process A, in the query process B, the control unit 130 can press the [4] to [9] button, the [Copy] button, or the [Scan] button included in the numeric keypad 17A. The control unit 130 ignores each output from these buttons and continues the inquiry process A.

  On the other hand, in step S17, the control unit 130 executes the inquiry process C shown in FIG. 13 in response to the fact that a near empty color is included among all ink colors (S17: Yes) (S19). . More specifically, in step S <b> 17, the control unit 130 determines that there is an ink color that satisfies the first discharge threshold ≦ the count value <the second discharge threshold among the count values of all the ink colors. Affirmative determination is made (S17: Yes). The inquiry process C is the same process as the above-described inquiry process B (see FIG. 11) except that a threshold update process (S80) described later is executed between the process of step S48 and the process of step S49. It is. Therefore, the threshold update process (S80) in the query process C will be described in detail below with reference to FIG. 14, and the description of the processes other than the threshold update process (S80) in the query process C will be omitted.

  The threshold update process is executed in response to the output of the first operation signal in the inquiry process C (S48: Yes, see FIG. 13). First, the control unit 130 calculates a difference value between the current second discharge threshold and the current count value (S81). Next, the control unit 130 updates the value obtained by adding the difference value to the first discharge threshold value as a new first discharge threshold value and stores it in the EEPROM 134 (S82). Further, the control unit 130 updates the value obtained by adding the difference value to the second discharge threshold value as a new second discharge threshold value, and stores it in the EEPROM 134 (S83).

  Next, the control unit 130 compares the first discharge threshold updated in the process of step S82 with the third discharge threshold (S84). In response to the first discharge threshold being greater than the third discharge threshold (S84: Yes), the control unit 130 updates the third discharge threshold as the first discharge threshold and stores it in the EEPROM 134 (S85). Then, the control part 130 performs the process of step S76. On the other hand, in response to the first discharge threshold being equal to or smaller than the third discharge threshold (S84: No), the control unit 130 executes the process of step S86 without executing the process of step S85.

  Next, the control unit 130 compares the second discharge threshold updated in the process of step S83 with the fourth discharge threshold (S86). In response to the second discharge threshold being greater than the fourth discharge threshold (S86: Yes), the control unit 130 updates the fourth discharge threshold as the second discharge threshold and stores it in the EEPROM 134 (S87). Thereafter, the control unit 130 ends the threshold update process. On the other hand, in response to the second discharge threshold being equal to or less than the fourth discharge threshold (S86: No), the control unit 130 ends the threshold update process without executing the process of step S87.

  Next, returning to FIG. 13, the control unit 130 executes the continuation of the inquiry process C (processes after step S49). Then, in response to the fact that the inquiry process for all ink colors has not been executed (S50: No), the control unit 130 executes the inquiry process for the next ink color (S51 → S46 to S48). On the other hand, the control unit 130 ends the inquiry process C 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 (S20).

  Similar to the query process B, in the query process C, when the user presses the power button 17B, that is, in response to the output of the third operation signal from the operation unit 17, the control unit 130 performs the query process. B is ended, and the stop process described above is executed. Similarly to the inquiry process B, in the inquiry process C, the control unit 130 controls the [4] to [9] button, the [copy] button, or the [scan] button included in the numeric keypad 17A. The unit 130 ignores the outputs from these buttons and continues the inquiry process A.

[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, the control unit 130 compares the count values corresponding to the four ink colors with the second discharge threshold value (S611). In response to the count value being less than the second discharge threshold value, the control unit 130 executes the processes after step S612. On the other hand, in response to the count value being equal to or greater than the second discharge threshold value (S611: Yes), the control unit 130 executes an empty process (S614). 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 S71 is an example of a second notification process for notifying through the display unit 14 that ink needs to be injected into the ink chamber 111 in response to the count value reaching the second discharge threshold. 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 second discharge threshold value and the count values corresponding to cyan and yellow are less than the second discharge threshold value, the control unit 130 determines “CANNOT PRINT” in step S71. , 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 continues to display the empty notification screen until the second position signal is output from the cover sensor 72 (S72: No) (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 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 process for informing through the display unit 14 that empty color ink is 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 continues displaying the injection notification screen until the first position signal is output from the cover sensor 72 (S74: No) (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) and ends the empty process. 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.

  And the control part 130 performs the inquiry process B, and when all the count values are less than a 2nd discharge | emission threshold value (S611: No), the process after step S612 is performed.

  In step S612, the control unit 130 compares the count value with the first discharge threshold value (S612). In response to the count value being less than the first discharge threshold value, the control unit 130 executes the processes after step S63. On the other hand, the control unit 130 displays a near empty notification screen in response to the count value being equal to or greater than the first discharge threshold value (S612: Yes) (S613). The process of step S613 executed by the control unit 130 is for informing (or replenishing) the user of ink of a color that does not restrict the discharge of ink from the recording unit 24 but has a low remaining amount. It is processing. Further, this process is an example of a first notification process for notifying through the display unit 14 that it is necessary to inject ink into the ink chamber 111 in response to the count value reaching the first discharge threshold.

  The near empty notification screen includes a character string “INK LOW [BLACK]”, a character string “INK LOW [YELLOW]”, a character string “INK LOW [CYAN]”, and a character string “INK LOW [MAGENTA]”. Any one of the character strings corresponding to the empty color is alternately displayed on the display unit 14. For example, when the count values corresponding to black and magenta are less than the second discharge threshold and greater than or equal to the first discharge threshold, and the count values corresponding to yellow and cyan are less than the first discharge threshold, the control unit 130 performs step S51. The character string “INK LOW BLACK” and the character string “INK LOW MAGENTA” are displayed on the display unit 14 in order. Then, the control part 130 performs the process after step S63.

  As long as the count value corresponding to at least one color of ink is equal to or greater than the second discharge threshold, the control unit 130 does not execute the processing after Step S63 (that is, the recording processing (S64) described later). That is, the control unit 130 executes a restriction process for restricting ink discharge from the recording unit 24 in response to the count value reaching the second discharge threshold value.

  In addition, when all the count values become less than the second discharge threshold, the control unit 130 executes processing after step S63 (that is, recording processing (S64) described later). That is, when all the count values are less than the second discharge threshold, the control unit 130 executes a release process for releasing the restriction by the restriction process.

  The cueing process executed in step S63 is a process of transporting the sheet to the transport unit 23 to a position where 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 ink amount ejected from the recording unit 24 in the recording process by adding each ink color, and temporarily stores the corresponding count value in the RAM 133 (S65). Steps S64 and S65 may be executed in parallel.

  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. Thereafter, the control unit 130 updates the count value of the EEPROM 134 using the count value temporarily stored in the RAM 133 (S69). The process of step S69 is an example of a count process. Note that the update of the count value is not limited to the timing of step 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 S611 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 above embodiment, when the count value reaches the first discharge threshold value (S612: Yes), the control unit 130 prompts the user to refill the ink tank 100 with the first notification process (S613). . In addition, when the count value reaches the second discharge threshold (S611: Yes), the control unit 130 prompts the user to refill the ink tank 100 with the second notification process (S614). After the first notification process, when the user performs a user operation corresponding to the replenishment of ink to the ink tank 100 with respect to the operation unit 17 (S54: Yes), the control unit 130 performs an inquiry process C (S19). The threshold update process (S80) is executed. In the threshold update process (S80), the control unit 130 adds values corresponding to the remaining amount of ink until the count value reaches the second discharge threshold to the first discharge threshold and the second discharge threshold, respectively. Each is updated as a new first discharge threshold and a second discharge threshold (S82, S83). As a result, the updated first discharge threshold and second discharge threshold are values obtained by adding the remaining amount of ink in the ink tank 100 immediately before ink is replenished.

  Further, according to the above-described embodiment, when the remaining amount of ink just before ink replenishment is large, the third discharge threshold and the fourth discharge threshold are the maximum values of the first discharge threshold and the second discharge threshold, respectively. (S85, S87). As a result, the remaining amount of ink is cumulatively added to prevent the first discharge threshold and the second discharge threshold from becoming larger than a certain level.

  Moreover, according to said embodiment, after a count value reaches | attains a 2nd discharge | emission threshold value, a regulation process is performed. Therefore, ink is not discharged from the recording unit 24, and the ink tank 100 is prevented from being emptied.

[Modification]
In the above embodiment, information to be notified to the user is displayed on the display unit 14 provided in the multifunction machine 10. However, the information to be notified to the user may be displayed on a display unit provided in an external device capable of performing wired communication or wireless communication with the multifunction machine 10 by the communication unit 25. An example of the external device is a personal computer. Further, as an example of the display unit, a liquid crystal display that constitutes a part of a personal computer and is integrated with the personal computer or connected to the personal computer can be given.

  Further, in the above-described embodiment, an instruction is input to the multifunction machine 10 through the operation unit 17 provided in the multifunction machine 10. However, an instruction input to the multifunction machine 10 may be performed through an operation unit provided in the above-described external device. As an example of the operation unit, an input device such as a keyboard or a mouse that constitutes a part of a personal computer and is integrated with the personal computer or connected to the personal computer can be given.

  In the above-described modification, the multifunction machine 10 and the external device are an example of an ink jet recording system, and the external device is an example of a computer.

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 (6)

An ink chamber for storing ink, and a tank formed with an inlet for injecting ink into the ink chamber;
A recording unit that discharges ink stored in the ink chamber and records an image on a sheet;
A display for displaying information;
A control unit for controlling the operation of the display unit;
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 is executed and the ink chamber is not replenished, or the initial process is executed. And a storage unit for storing an initial flag in which any one of the second values corresponding to the replenishment of ink into the ink chamber is provided,
The ink chamber has an outlet through which ink flows out on the bottom surface side, and a recess that includes the outlet in a concave space.
The control unit
A counting process for counting the amount of ink discharged by the recording unit;
In the state where the first value is set in the initial flag, it is necessary to inject ink into the ink chamber in response to the count value of the ink amount by the counting process reaching the first threshold value. A first notification process for notification through the display unit;
In response to the count value reaching a second threshold value that is greater than the first threshold value by a capacity corresponding to the concave space in a state where the second value is set in the initial flag, ink is supplied to the ink chamber. An ink jet recording apparatus that performs a second notification process for notifying that the injection is necessary through the display unit. The tank is refilled with ink filled in one bottle,
The inkjet recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the second threshold is larger than an amount of ink filled in the bottle. An operation unit that outputs an operation signal in response to receiving a user operation indicating that ink has been injected into the ink chamber;
The control unit
An inquiry process for displaying inquiry information for inquiring whether or not ink has been injected into the ink chamber after the first notification process is performed, and receiving the user operation via the operation unit;
And an initial flag update process for updating the first value set as the initial flag in the recording unit to the second value in response to the operation signal being output in the inquiry process. Item 3. The ink jet recording apparatus according to Item 1 or 2.   The ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the control unit further executes an initialization process for initializing the count value in response to the operation signal being output in the inquiry process.   5. The tank is formed with a plurality of ink chambers for storing different colors of ink, and a plurality of injection ports for injecting ink into the ink chambers. Any one of the inkjet recording apparatuses. An ink chamber for storing ink, a tank in which an injection port for injecting ink into the ink chamber is formed, a recording unit for discharging the ink stored in the ink chamber and recording an image on a sheet; A display unit for displaying information, a control unit for controlling the operation of the display unit, and an initial process for filling a flow path from the ink chamber to the recording unit with ink, and ink is supplied to the ink chamber. An initial value that is set to either a first value corresponding to the fact that replenishment has not been performed or a second value corresponding to the fact that the initial process has been performed and ink has been replenished to the ink chamber. A storage unit that stores a flag, and the ink chamber is a computer-executable program having an outflow port through which ink flows out on a bottom surface side and a recess including the outflow port in a recessed space. Te,
A counting process for counting the amount of ink discharged by the recording unit;
In the state where the first value is set in the initial flag, it is necessary to inject ink into the ink chamber in response to the count value of the ink amount by the counting process reaching the first threshold value. A first notification process for notification through the display unit;
In response to the count value reaching a second threshold value that is greater than the first threshold value by a capacity corresponding to the concave space in a state where the second value is set in the initial flag, ink is supplied to the ink chamber. A program for causing the computer to execute a second notification process for notifying through the display section that the injection of the above is necessary.

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