JP7263883B2 - Display control device, display control method, display control program, and information processing device - Google Patents

Description

The present disclosure relates to technology for controlling display related to an image forming apparatus.

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2002-100000 describes a technique of showing changes in the remaining amount of coloring agent over time in a line graph, and predicting when to replace the cartridge using an approximate straight line obtained from the change in the remaining amount of coloring agent shown by the broken line. ing.

JP 2012-123311 A

However, there is a problem that the user of the image forming apparatus cannot understand how the coloring agent has been used and how the remaining coloring agent has decreased due to the change in the remaining amount of the coloring agent over time alone. rice field.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to make it possible to easily acquire information for understanding the cause of the decrease in the remaining amount of coloring agent due to how it was used.

The present invention is a display control device comprising a display unit, an input unit, a storage unit, and a control unit, wherein the control unit performs information acquisition processing, graph display processing, selection determination processing, and related information display. process.

In the information acquisition process, colorant-related information relating to a cartridge containing a colorant used for printing an image by the image forming apparatus is acquired each time a preset acquisition condition is satisfied, and stored in the storage unit. do.

In the graph display process, based on the colorant-related information acquired by the information acquisition process, a relationship between a plurality of times including at least dates and the remaining amount of colorant contained in the cartridge is displayed. A graph display screen including the graph information shown is displayed on the display unit.

The selection determination process determines whether or not a specific position in the graph information displayed on the graph display screen is selected based on the input operation information acquired from the input unit.
The related information display process is performed until the time corresponding to the selected position, which is the selected specific position, after the cartridge is replaced when the selection determination process determines that a specific position in the graph information is selected. A use-related object showing use-related information about the amount of colorant used in the colorant is displayed on the display together with the graph display screen.

In the display control device of the present invention configured as described above, when the user selects a specific position in the graph information indicating the temporal change in the remaining amount of the coloring agent, the selected position corresponds to the selected position after the cartridge is replaced. Displays usage-related information about the amount of colorant used up to the time of As a result, the display control device of the present invention can provide the user with use-related information at a plurality of times by a simple method of having the user sequentially select specific positions in the graph information. Therefore, the display control device of the present invention can enable the user to easily acquire information for understanding the cause of the decrease in the remaining amount of coloring agent due to how it was used.

1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of an image processing system; FIG. It is a flowchart which shows a 1st information acquisition process. It is a flow chart which shows the 2nd information acquisition processing. 4 is a flowchart showing a first part of graph data calculation processing; 9 is a flowchart showing a second part of graph data calculation processing; 7 is a flowchart showing graph display processing; 4 is a flowchart showing information display processing; FIG. 11 shows a line graph and usage-related objects; It is a figure which shows a line graph, a use related object, and an exchange prediction time object. FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a line graph when a cartridge is replaced within the graph display period;

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.
An image processing system 1 of the present embodiment includes an information processing device 10 and an image forming device 30, as shown in FIG. Information processing apparatus 10 and image forming apparatus 30 can perform data communication with each other.

Information processing apparatus 10 includes control unit 11 , storage unit 12 , display unit 13 , input unit 14 , and communication unit 15 . These units are interconnected via a bus line 18 .
In this embodiment, the control unit 11 has a CPU. The storage unit 12 includes semiconductor memory such as ROM, RAM, NVRAM, and flash memory. That is, the information processing device 10 has a microcomputer including a CPU and a semiconductor memory.

The control unit 11 implements various functions by executing a program stored in a non-transitional substantive recording medium. In this embodiment, the storage unit 12 corresponds to a non-transitional substantive recording medium storing programs. Various functions of the information processing apparatus 10 are basically realized by executing a program stored in the storage unit 12 by the control unit 11 . It should be noted that the various functions realized by the control unit 11 are not limited to being realized by executing a program, and a part or all of them may be realized using one or more pieces of hardware.

Various software and data are stored in the storage unit 12 . In this embodiment, the storage unit 12 stores a display control program 21 as software. The display control program 21 is a program for executing first and second information acquisition processing, graph data calculation processing, graph display processing, and information display processing, which will be described later.

The display unit 13 includes a display device (not shown) and displays various images on the display device.
The input unit 14 outputs input operation information for specifying an input operation performed by the user via a keyboard and mouse (not shown).

The communication unit 15 can perform data communication with the image forming apparatus 30 connected by wire or wirelessly.
The image forming apparatus 30 includes a control section 31 , a storage section 32 , a display section 33 , an input section 34 , a printing section 35 , a communication section 36 , a mounting section 37 and a cartridge circuit 38 . These units are interconnected via a bus line 39 .

The control unit 31 has a CPU. The storage unit 32 includes semiconductor memory such as ROM, RAM, NVRAM, and flash memory. That is, the image forming apparatus 30 has a microcomputer including a CPU and a semiconductor memory.

The control unit 31 implements various functions by executing a program stored in a non-transitional substantive recording medium. In this embodiment, the storage unit 32 corresponds to a non-transitional substantive recording medium storing programs. It should be noted that the various functions realized by the control unit 31 are not limited to being realized by executing a program, and a part or all of them may be realized using one or a plurality of pieces of hardware.

The display unit 33 includes a display device (not shown) and displays various images on the display device.
The input unit 34 includes an input device for receiving various input operations. The input unit 34 of this embodiment includes a touch panel as an input device.

The printing unit 35 has a printing mechanism of inkjet technology, and is capable of printing an image on a sheet of recording paper.
The communication unit 36 can perform data communication with the information processing device 10 connected by wire or wirelessly.

The mounting portion 37 is configured such that the cartridge 41 is detachable. The cartridge 41 contains a coloring agent (ink in this embodiment) that is adhered to the recording paper by the printing unit 35 in order to print an image on the recording paper. The cartridge 41 of this embodiment contains any one of black, cyan, magenta and yellow colorants. Cartridges 41 for black, cyan, magenta, and yellow are mounted in the mounting portion 40 . When the cartridge 41 is mounted, the mounting section 37 outputs a mounting signal indicating the fact to the control section 31 .
The cartridge circuit 38 can acquire information about the cartridge 41 by attaching or detaching the cartridge 41 to or from the attachment portion 37 .

The image forming apparatus 30 has a sub-tank 42 . When the cartridge 41 is attached to the attachment portion 37 , the colorant contained in the cartridge 41 flows out to the sub-tank 42 through the passage from the cartridge 41 to the sub-tank 42 . The sub-tank 42 stores the colorant that has flowed out of the cartridge 41 . The coloring agent is supplied to the printing unit 35 by flowing out the coloring agent from the sub-tank 42 to the printing unit 35 .

Next, the procedure of the first information acquisition process executed by the control unit 11 of the information processing device 10 will be described. The first information acquisition process is a process that is repeatedly executed during the operation of the control unit 11, and the process of storing the acquired information is executed when the triggers of S10, S50, and S70 are generated.
When the first information acquisition process is executed, as shown in FIG. 2, the control section 11 first determines in S10 whether or not the cartridge has been replaced. That is, the control unit 11 determines whether or not the non-mounted state in which the cartridge 41 is not mounted in the mounting unit 40 has transitioned to the mounted state in which the cartridge 41 is mounted in the mounting unit 40 .

Here, if it is determined that the cartridge has been replaced, the controller 11, in S20, updates the current cartridge information corresponding to the color of the cartridge 41 determined to have been replaced in S10 (hereinafter referred to as the corresponding color) to the previous cartridge. It is stored in the storage unit 12 as information.

The storage unit 32 stores current cartridge information such as the current cumulative number of printed pages D1, the current cumulative printing ink usage D2, the current cumulative number of manual cleaning times D3, and the current cumulative number of automatic cleaning times D4.

Note that the current cumulative number of printed pages D1 is provided corresponding to each of the colors of the four cartridges 41 (hereinafter referred to as cartridge colors). That is, current cumulative print page numbers D1_B, D1_C, D1_M, and D1_Y are provided as the current cumulative print page number D1 for the four cartridge colors.

Similarly, the current cumulative printing ink usage D2, the current cumulative manual cleaning count D3, and the current cumulative automatic cleaning count D4 are provided for each of the four cartridge colors.

The storage unit 32 is provided with a previous cumulative printed page count D11, a previous cumulative printing ink usage D12, a previous cumulative manual cleaning frequency D13, and a previous cumulative automatic cleaning frequency D14 as previous cartridge information.

Note that the previous cumulative printed page number D11 is provided for each of the four cartridge colors. That is, the previous cumulative printed page numbers D11_B, D11_C, D11_M, and D11_Y are provided as the previous cumulative printed page numbers D11 for the four cartridge colors.

Similarly, the previous cumulative printing ink usage D12, the previous cumulative manual cleaning count D13, and the previous cumulative automatic cleaning count D14 are provided for each of the four cartridge colors.

Specifically, in S20, the control unit 11 stores the value of the current cumulative number of printed pages D1 for the corresponding color in the previous cumulative printed page number D11 for the corresponding color. For example, when the corresponding color is black, the control unit 11 stores the value of the current cumulative number of printed pages D1_B in the previous cumulative number of printed pages D11_B.

Similarly, the control unit 11 sets the values of the current cumulative printing ink usage D2, the current cumulative manual cleaning count D3, and the current cumulative automatic cleaning count D4 of the corresponding color to the previous cumulative printing ink usage D12, It is stored in the previous cumulative manual cleaning count D13 and the previous cumulative automatic cleaning count D14.

Then, in S30, the control section 11 clears the current cartridge information of the corresponding color. Specifically, the current cumulative number of printed pages D1, the current cumulative printing ink usage D2, the current cumulative manual cleaning count D3, and the current cumulative automatic cleaning count D4 are set to zero. For example, if the corresponding color is black, the current cumulative number of printed pages D1_B, current cumulative printing ink usage D2_B, current cumulative manual cleaning count D3_B, and current cumulative automatic cleaning count D4_B are set to zero.

Further, in S40, the control unit 11 stores the replacement date and time of the cartridge 41 determined to have been replaced in S10 in the storage unit 12, and ends the first information acquisition process.
If it is determined in S10 that the cartridge has not been replaced, the control section 11 determines in S50 whether or not the image forming apparatus 30 has performed printing. Specifically, control unit 11 determines that printing has been performed by image forming apparatus 30 when a print completion notification indicating that printing has been completed is received from image forming apparatus 30 . If the image forming apparatus 30 performs printing, the controller 11 calculates the cumulative number of printed pages and the cumulative amount of ink used during printing for each of the four cartridge colors in S60. , ends the first information acquisition process. Specifically, first, the control unit 11 receives from the image forming apparatus 30 current printing information indicating the number of pages to be printed and the amount of ink used during printing for each of the four cartridge colors. Then, the control unit 11 stores the added value obtained by adding the received number of printed pages to the value of the current cumulative number of printed pages D1 in the current cumulative number of printed pages D1 for each of the four cartridge colors. Similarly, for each of the four cartridge colors, the control unit 11 sets the value obtained by adding the received ink usage amount during printing to the value of the current cumulative printing ink usage amount D2 as the current cumulative printing ink usage amount D2. Remember.

If the image forming apparatus 30 is not printing in S50, the controller 11 determines in S70 whether or not the cartridge 41 has been cleaned. Specifically, the control unit 11 determines that the cleaning of the cartridge 41 has been performed when a cleaning completion notification indicating that cleaning has been completed is received from the image forming apparatus 30 .

If the cartridge 41 has not been cleaned, the control unit 11 terminates the first information acquisition process. On the other hand, if the cartridge 41 has been cleaned, the controller 11 updates the cumulative number of times of cleaning in S80 and terminates the first information acquisition process. Specifically, the control unit 11 first determines the color of the cartridge 41 that has been cleaned and whether the cleaning is manual or automatic based on the cleaning completion notification. If the cleaning is manual, the controller 11 increments (that is, adds 1) the current cumulative number of manual cleanings D3 for the color of the cartridge that has been cleaned.

On the other hand, if the cleaning is automatic, the control unit 11 increments the current cumulative number of automatic cleaning times D4 for the cartridge color in which cleaning was performed.
Next, the procedure of the second information acquisition process executed by the control unit 11 of the information processing device 10 will be described. The second information acquisition process is a process that is repeatedly executed while the control unit 11 is operating.

When the second information acquisition process is executed, as shown in FIG. 3, the control unit 11 first determines in S210 whether it is the regular acquisition date and time. The regular acquisition date and time is, for example, 00:00 every day.
Here, if it is not the regular acquisition date and time, the control unit 11 terminates the second information acquisition process. On the other hand, if it is the regular acquisition date and time, the control unit 11 stores the current regular acquisition date and time, the cumulative number of printed pages, the cumulative amount of ink used during printing, and the cumulative number of cleaning times in the storage unit 12 in S220. It is stored, and the second information acquisition process ends. Specifically, the control unit 11 determines the date and time of regular acquisition, the value of the current cumulative number of printed pages D1 for each cartridge color, the value of the current cumulative printing ink usage D2 for each cartridge color, and the current cumulative printing amount D2 for each cartridge color. The value of the accumulated manual cleaning frequency D3 and the value of the current accumulated automatic cleaning frequency D4 for each cartridge color are stored in the storage unit 12 . In addition, the control unit 11 determines the date and time of periodic acquisition, the value of the previous cumulative number of printed pages D11 for each cartridge color, the value of the previous cumulative printing ink usage D12 for each cartridge color, and the previous cumulative number of manual cleaning operations for each cartridge color. The storage unit 12 stores the value of D13 and the value of the previous cumulative number of automatic cleaning times D14 for each cartridge color.

Next, a procedure of graph data calculation processing executed by the control unit 11 of the information processing device 10 will be described. The graph data calculation process is executed when input operation information instructing display of a line graph of the remaining amount of ink is obtained from the input unit 14 .

When the graph data calculation process is executed, the control unit 11 first sets the graph display start date to the M month and D day in S310 as shown in FIG. The graph display start date is, for example, six months before the current time.

Then, in S320, the control unit 11 sets the date M2 month D2 after a preset graph interval from the date M month D. In this embodiment, the graph interval is the number of days from the D day of the M month to the first day of the next month.

Then, in S330, the control unit 11 determines whether or not the date M2 month D2 is before the present. Here, if the date M2 month D2 is earlier than the current date, the control unit 11, in S340, reads from the storage unit 12 the current cumulative printed page number D1 on M2 month D2 for each of the four cartridge colors. , current cumulative printing ink usage D2, current cumulative manual cleaning count D3, and current cumulative automatic cleaning count D4.

Further, in S350, the control unit 11 calculates the ink remaining amount, the average coverage, and the ISO-converted number of sheets on M2 month D2 for each of the four cartridge colors. The remaining amount of ink is calculated from the difference between the amount of ink that can be accommodated by the cartridge 41 and the sub-tank 42 and the accumulated amount of ink used during printing acquired in S340. The average coverage is calculated by "(cumulative amount of ink used in printing acquired in S340)/(cumulative number of printed pages acquired in S340)/(amount of ink used when printing on A4 paper with 100% coverage)". . The ISO-converted number of sheets is calculated by "(cumulative amount of ink used in printing obtained in S340)/(reference amount of ink used for ISO conversion)".

Then, in S360, the control unit 11 shifts to S330 with M2 month D2 as M month D day.
Also, if it is determined in S330 that the date M2 month D2 is not earlier than the current date, the control unit 11 determines in S370 whether or not the cartridge 41 has been replaced within the graph display period. The graph display period is the period from the graph display start date to the present time.

Here, if the cartridge 41 is replaced within the graph display period, the control unit 11 periodically acquires the color of the replaced cartridge 41 from the storage unit 12 after the replacement date of the cartridge 41 in S380. Acquire the previous cartridge information in the information acquired at the date and time. Specifically, for the color of the replaced cartridge 41, the previous cumulative number of printed pages D11, the previous cumulative printing ink usage D12, and the previous cumulative manual The values of the cleaning count D13 and the previous cumulative automatic cleaning count D14 are obtained.

Further, in S390, the control unit 11 calculates the ink remaining amount, the average coverage, and the ISO-converted number of sheets at the replacement date and time for the color of the replaced cartridge 41, and proceeds to S400. The remaining amount of ink is calculated from the difference between the amount of ink that can be accommodated by the cartridge 41 and the sub-tank 42 and the accumulated amount of ink used during printing acquired in S380. The average coverage is calculated by "(cumulative amount of ink used in printing obtained in S380)/(cumulative number of printed pages obtained in S380)/(ink amount used when printing on A4 paper with 100% coverage)". . The ISO-converted number of sheets is calculated by "(cumulative amount of ink used in printing obtained in S380)/(reference amount of ink used for ISO conversion)". Note that the processing of S380 and S390 is executed for all replacements.

Also, in S370, if the cartridge 41 has not been replaced within the graph display period, the control unit 11 proceeds to S400.
In S400, as shown in FIG. 5, the controller 11 determines the current cumulative number of printed pages D1, current cumulative ink usage D2, current cumulative number of manual cleaning times D3, and The value of the current cumulative automatic cleaning count D4 is acquired.

In S410, the control unit 11 also calculates the ink remaining amount, the average coverage, and the ISO-converted number of sheets at the present time for each of the four cartridge colors. The remaining amount of ink is calculated from the difference between the amount of ink that can be accommodated by the cartridge 41 and the sub-tank 42 and the accumulated amount of ink used during printing acquired in S400. The average coverage is calculated by "(cumulative amount of ink used in printing obtained in S400)/(cumulative number of printed pages obtained in S400)/(ink amount used when printing on A4 paper with 100% coverage)". . The ISO-converted number of sheets is calculated by "(cumulative amount of ink used in printing obtained in S400)/(reference amount of ink used for ISO conversion)".

Then, in S420, the control unit 11 replaces the cartridge 41 with the number of printable sheets indicating the number of originals that can be printed with the current remaining amount of ink for each of the four cartridge colors based on the current remaining amount of ink. Then, the predicted replacement timing is calculated, and the graph data calculation process is terminated. Specifically, the control unit 11 first calculates the number of printable sheets in ISO conversion and the number of printable sheets in usage condition conversion. The number of printable sheets in ISO conversion is the number of printable sheets calculated based on the manuscript and setting environment defined by the standards established by the International Organization for Standardization. The number of printable sheets in terms of usage conditions is the number of printable sheets calculated based on the data of the amount of ink consumed by the document actually printed by the image forming apparatus 30 and the setting environment.

Further, the control unit 11 calculates a first predicted replacement time when the cartridge 41 becomes empty and a second predicted replacement time when the sub-tank 42 becomes empty.
The second replacement prediction time is calculated by adding the printable days to the current date. The number of printable days is calculated by "(the number of printable sheets in terms of usage conditions)/average number of printable sheets per day". The average number of printed pages per day is calculated by "the cumulative number of printed pages/(the number of days from the replacement of the cartridge 41 to the present time)".

The first predicted replacement timing is calculated by adding the number of empty cartridge days to the current date. The number of cartridge empty days is calculated by "(number of printable days)×(remaining amount of ink in cartridge 41)/(remaining amount of ink in cartridge 41+remaining amount of ink in subtank 42)".

Next, a procedure of graph display processing executed by the control unit 11 of the information processing device 10 will be described. The graph display process is executed when input operation information instructing display of a line graph of the remaining amount of ink is obtained from the input unit 14 .

When the graph display process is executed, as shown in FIG. 6, the control unit 11 first determines in S510 whether or not the calculation of the graph data has been completed. Specifically, when the graph data calculation process is completed, the control unit 11 determines that the calculation of the graph data has been completed. Here, if the calculation of the graph data has not been completed, the control unit 11 waits until the calculation of the graph data is completed by repeating the process of S510.

When the calculation of the graph data is completed, in S520, the control unit 11 creates a line graph for each of the four cartridge colors based on the remaining ink amount and the date corresponding to the calculated remaining ink amount. Then, the graph display screen including this line graph is displayed on the display unit 13, and the graph display processing is terminated.

A graph display screen DG1 shown in FIG. 8 is an example of a graph display screen displayed by the graph display process. The graph display screen DG1 includes a line graph GR1. The line graph GR1 is a line graph in which the vertical axis represents the remaining amount of ink [%] and the horizontal axis represents the date and time. A polygonal line L1 indicates the remaining amount of black ink. A polygonal line L2 indicates the remaining amount of magenta ink. A polygonal line L3 indicates the remaining amount of cyan ink. A polygonal line L4 indicates the remaining amount of yellow ink.

Also, dots are displayed on the polygonal lines L1, L2, L3, and L4 at locations corresponding to the first day of the month. A point is also displayed at a position corresponding to the current time point on the polygonal lines L1, L2, L3, and L4. Then, points corresponding to the current time are displayed differently from points corresponding to dates and times that are not the current time. For example, the point P1 on the polygonal line L4 indicating the remaining amount of yellow ink indicates the remaining amount of ink on November 1st. Similarly, points P2, P3, P4, and P5 on the polygonal line L4 indicate the remaining amount of ink on December 1st, January 1st, February 1st, and March 1st, respectively. A point P6 on the polygonal line L4 indicates the current amount of ink remaining.

A graph display screen DG2 shown in FIG. 10 is an example of a graph display screen displayed by the graph display processing when the cartridge 41 is replaced within the graph display period. Graph GR2 is a line graph with the vertical axis representing the remaining amount of ink [%] and the horizontal axis representing the date and time.

A polygonal line L11 indicates the remaining amount of black ink. A polygonal line L12 indicates the remaining amount of magenta ink. A polygonal line L13 indicates the remaining amount of cyan ink. A polygonal line L14 indicates the remaining amount of yellow ink.

A point is displayed on the polygonal lines L11, L12, L13, and L14 at locations corresponding to the first day of the month. A point is also displayed at a position corresponding to the current time point on the polygonal lines L11, L12, L13, and L14. In addition, dots are also displayed on the polygonal lines L11, L12, L13, and L14 at locations corresponding to the cartridge replacement date and time.

For example, a point P11 on the polygonal line L14 indicating the amount of yellow ink remaining indicates the amount of ink remaining on November 1st. Similarly, points P12, P13, P14, P15, and P16 on the polygonal line L14 indicate the remaining amount of ink on December 1st, January 1st, February 1st, March 1st, and April 1st, respectively. .

A point P17 on the polygonal line L14 indicates the remaining amount of ink before replacement at the cartridge replacement date and time. Note that the point P17 is displayed based on the information acquired in the process of S380. A point P18 on the polygonal line L14 indicates the current amount of ink remaining.
Next, a procedure of information display processing executed by the control unit 11 of the information processing device 10 will be described. The information display process is repeatedly executed when the line graph is displayed.

When the information display process is executed, as shown in FIG. 7, first in S610, the control unit 11 determines whether or not the cursor is placed on a point of the line graph. Here, when the cursor is not placed on the point of the line graph, the control unit 11 terminates the information display process.

On the other hand, when the cursor is placed on the point of the line graph, the control unit 11 determines in S620 whether the cursor is placed on the point of the latest date and time. Here, if the point is not the latest date and time, in S630, the control unit 11 selects the cartridge color corresponding to the point where the cursor is placed (hereinafter, cursor-corresponding color), the cumulative number of Use-related objects indicating the number of sheets, the average coverage, the ISO-converted number of sheets, and the remaining amount of ink are added and displayed in the graph display screen, and the information display processing is terminated. Specifically, the control unit 11 calculates the cumulative number of cleanings corresponding to the date and time at which the cursor is placed, the cumulative number of printed pages, and the average coverage for the cursor-corresponding color from the calculation results of the graph data calculation process. , the ISO-converted number of sheets, and the remaining amount of ink are extracted and displayed as use-related objects.

The use-related object OB1 shown in FIG. 8 is displayed when the cursor CS is placed on the point P4 on the line L4 in the line graph GR1. Usage-related objects OB1 include object OB11, object OB12, object OB13 and object OB14.

Object OB11 indicates the cumulative number of manual cleanings and the cumulative number of automatic cleanings for yellow as of February 1st. The object OB12 indicates the number of yellow pages printed (that is, the cumulative number of printed pages), the average coverage, and the ISO-converted number of pages as of February 1st. Object OB13 indicates the remaining amount of yellow ink as of February 1st.

Object OB14 includes a remaining ink image IR1, a remaining ink image IR2, and a usage indication image UC1. The ink remaining amount image IR1 indicates the ink remaining amount of the yellow cartridge 41 as of February 1st. The ink remaining amount image IR2 shows the ink remaining amount of the yellow sub-tank 42 as of February 1st. The usage status instruction image UC1 indicates the transition from the state where the remaining ink amount is 100% to the current remaining ink amount.

If it is the latest date and time in S620, the control unit 11 performs S640 for the cursor-corresponding color. After displaying the amount, the number of printable sheets, and the expected replacement time, the information display process is terminated. Specifically, the control unit 11 calculates the cumulative number of cleanings, the cumulative number of printed pages, the average coverage, the number of sheets converted to ISO, and the amount of remaining ink for the cursor-corresponding color based on the calculation results of the graph data calculation process. The amount, the number of printable sheets, and the estimated replacement time are extracted and displayed as a use-related object and an estimated replacement time object.

The use-related object OB2 shown in FIG. 9 is displayed when the cursor CS is placed on the point P6 on the line L4 in the line graph GR1. Usage-related objects OB2 include object OB21, object OB22, object OB23 and object OB24.

Object OB21 indicates the current cumulative manual cleaning count and yellow cumulative automatic cleaning count. Object OB22 indicates the current number of yellow prints, the average coverage, and the number of sheets converted to ISO. Object OB23 indicates the current remaining amount of yellow ink.

Object OB24 includes a remaining ink image IR3, a remaining ink image IR4, and a usage indication image UC2. The ink remaining amount image IR3 indicates the ink remaining amount of the yellow cartridge 41 as of February 1st. The ink remaining amount image IR4 shows the ink remaining amount of the yellow sub-tank 42 as of February 1st. The usage status instruction image UC2 shows the transition from the state where the ink remaining amount is 100% to the current ink remaining amount.

The predicted replacement time object OB3 shown in FIG. 9 is displayed when the cursor CS is placed on the point P6 on the line L4 in the line graph GR1. Exchange prediction time object OB3 includes object OB31, object OB32 and object OB33.

Object OB31 indicates the number of printable sheets for yellow at the present time in terms of ISO conversion and usage status conversion. The object OB32 indicates the predicted replacement timing when the yellow cartridge 41 is empty and the predicted replacement timing when the yellow sub-tank 42 is empty.

Object OB33 includes a remaining ink image IR5, a remaining ink image IR6, and a remaining ink instruction image UC3. The ink remaining amount image IR5 indicates the ink remaining amount of the yellow cartridge 41 at the present time. The ink remaining amount image IR6 indicates the ink remaining amount of the yellow sub-tank 42 at the present time. The remaining ink amount instruction image UC3 shows the transition from the current remaining amount of ink until the remaining amount of ink reaches 0%.

According to the embodiment described above, the following effects are obtained.
In the information processing apparatus 10 of the present embodiment, when the user selects a point in the line graph showing the chronological change in the remaining amount of ink, the number of cleanings and Displays the number of prints and remaining ink. Accordingly, the information processing apparatus 10 can provide the user with the number of times of cleaning, the number of prints, and the amount of remaining ink for a plurality of dates and times by a simple method of having the user sequentially select points in the line graph. Therefore, the information processing apparatus 10 can enable the user to easily obtain information for understanding the cause of the decrease in the remaining amount of ink.

Further, when the selected point corresponds to the latest time in the line graph, the information processing apparatus 10 displays a replacement prediction time object OB3 indicating replacement prediction time information predicting when the cartridge 41 needs to be replaced. Displayed in part 13. As a result, the information processing apparatus 10 can enable the user to easily obtain information for grasping the replacement timing of the cartridge 41 .

Further, when the selected point corresponds to the latest time in the line graph, the information processing apparatus 10 displays on the display unit 13 an object OB32 indicating the predicted sub-tank time when the sub-tank 42 will become empty. As a result, the information processing apparatus 10 enables the user to easily obtain information for grasping the replacement timing of the sub-tank 42 .

The information processing apparatus 10 also displays objects OB24 and OB33 including the ink usage information and remaining ink amount of the sub-tanks 42 and cartridges 41 together with the graph display screen DG1. As a result, the information processing apparatus 10 can enable the user to easily obtain the information for grasping the ink usage information and the remaining ink amount of the sub-tanks 42 and the cartridges 41 .

In the embodiment described above, the information processing device 10 corresponds to the display control device, S10 to S80, S210, and S220 correspond to the information acquisition process and the information acquisition step, and S310 to S420, S510, and S520 correspond to the graph display processing graph. Corresponds to the display step.

Also, S610 corresponds to the selection determination process and the selection determination step, and S620 to S640 correspond to the related information display process and the related information display step.
In addition, the cumulative number of printed pages, the cumulative amount of ink used during printing, the cumulative number of manual cleanings, and the cumulative number of automatic cleanings correspond to colorant-related information, and the line graph corresponds to the graph information. , and the number of cleanings, the number of prints, and the amount of remaining ink correspond to usage-related information.

The number of times of cleaning indicated by objects OB11 and OB21 corresponds to the number of times of cleaning information, and the estimated sub-tank timing indicated by object OB32 corresponds to predicted timing of sub-tank. Further, object OB32 corresponds to the predicted sky time object, and objects OB24 and OB33 correspond to objects containing ink usage information and ink remaining amount.
An embodiment of the present disclosure has been described above, but the present disclosure is not limited to the above embodiment, and can be implemented in various modifications.

The information processing device 10 is an example of the information processing device, and the present invention can be applied to other information processing devices other than the information processing device 10 .
The image forming apparatus 30 is an example of an image forming apparatus, and the present invention is also applicable to printing devices having other configurations than the image forming apparatus 30 .

In the above embodiment, the colorant is ink, but the colorant may be toner.
In the above-described embodiment, the control unit 11 of the information processing device 10 executes the display control program 21 to display various types of information on the display unit 13 . However, various information may be displayed on the display unit 33 by the control unit 31 of the image forming apparatus 30 executing the display control program 21 . In this case, the image forming device 30 corresponds to the display control device.

A plurality of functions possessed by one component in the above embodiment may be implemented by a plurality of components, or a function possessed by one component may be implemented by a plurality of components. Also, a plurality of functions possessed by a plurality of components may be realized by a single component, or a function realized by a plurality of components may be realized by a single component. Also, part of the configuration of the above embodiment may be omitted. Moreover, at least part of the configuration of the above embodiment may be added or replaced with respect to the configuration of the other above embodiment.

In addition to the information processing device 10 and the image forming device 30 described above, a system having the information processing device 10 and the image forming device 30 as constituent elements, a program for causing a computer to function as the information processing device 10 and the image forming device 30, The present disclosure can also be realized in various forms such as a non-transitional physical recording medium such as a semiconductor memory recording this program, a display control method, and the like.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10... Information processing apparatus 11, 31... Control part 12, 32... Storage part 13, 33... Display part 14, 34... Input part 21... Display control program 30... Image forming apparatus

Claims (10)

a display unit;
an input unit;
a storage unit;
A display control device comprising a control unit and
The control unit
Information acquisition processing for acquiring colorant-related information about a cartridge containing a colorant used for printing an image by an image forming apparatus each time a preset acquisition condition is satisfied, and storing the information in the storage unit. and,
Based on the colorant-related information acquired by the information acquisition process, a relationship between a plurality of times including at least dates and the remaining amount of colorant contained in the cartridge is shown. a graph display process for displaying a graph display screen including graph information on the display unit;
a selection determination process for determining whether or not a specific position in the graph information displayed on the graph display screen is selected based on the input operation information acquired from the input unit;
If the selection determination process determines that the specific position in the graph information is selected, by the time corresponding to the selected position, which is the selected specific position, after the cartridge is replaced and a related information display process for displaying a use related object showing use related information related to the amount of the coloring agent used together with the graph display screen on the display unit. The display control device according to claim 1,
The related information display processing includes replacement prediction timing indicating replacement prediction timing information that predicts when the cartridge needs to be replaced when the selected specific position corresponds to the latest time in the graph information. A display control device for displaying an object on the display unit. The display control device according to claim 1 or 2,
The display control device, wherein the use-related information includes cleaning number information indicating the number of times the cartridge has been cleaned from the time the cartridge is replaced until the time corresponding to the selected position. The display control device according to claim 2,
The image forming apparatus includes a sub-tank for storing a part of the coloring agent contained in the cartridge mounted on the mounting portion of the image forming apparatus,
In the related information display processing, when the selected position corresponds to the latest time in the graph information, an empty prediction time object indicating sub-tank prediction time information that predicts when the sub-tank will become empty is displayed on the display unit. A display controller that displays. The display control device according to any one of claims 1 to 4,
The image forming apparatus includes a sub-tank for storing a part of the coloring agent contained in the cartridge mounted on the mounting portion of the image forming apparatus,
In the related information display process, the display control device displays an object including the ink usage information of the sub-tanks and the cartridges and the remaining amount of ink together with the graph display screen. The display control device according to any one of claims 1 to 5,
The acquisition condition includes at least one of: replacement of the cartridge; execution of printing by the image forming apparatus; cleaning of the cartridge; Control device. The display control device according to any one of claims 1 to 6,
A display control device comprising a printing unit configured to print an image using the colorant contained in the cartridge. A display control method used in a display control device comprising a display unit, an input unit, a storage unit, and a control unit,
an information acquisition step of acquiring colorant-related information about a cartridge containing a colorant used for printing an image by the image forming apparatus each time a preset acquisition condition is satisfied, and storing the information in the storage unit; and,
Based on the colorant-related information acquired in the information acquisition step, a relationship between a plurality of times including at least dates and the remaining amount of colorant contained in the cartridge is shown. a graph display step of displaying a graph display screen including graph information on the display unit;
a selection determination step of determining whether or not a specific position in the graph information displayed on the graph display screen is selected based on the input operation information acquired from the input unit;
If the selection determining step determines that the specific position in the graph information is selected, by the time corresponding to the selected position, which is the selected specific position, after the cartridge is replaced A display control method comprising: a related information display step of displaying a use related object showing use related information related to the amount of the used colorant on the display unit together with the graph display screen. A display control program executable by the control unit in a display control device comprising a display unit, an input unit, a storage unit, and a control unit,
to the control unit,
Information acquisition processing for acquiring colorant-related information about a cartridge containing a colorant used for printing an image by an image forming apparatus each time a preset acquisition condition is satisfied, and storing the information in the storage unit. and,
Based on the colorant-related information acquired by the information acquisition process, a relationship between a plurality of times including at least a date and a remaining amount of the coloring agent contained in the cartridge is shown. a graph display process for displaying a graph display screen including graph information on the display unit;
a selection determination process for determining whether or not a specific position in the graph information displayed on the graph display screen is selected based on the input operation information acquired from the input unit;
By the time corresponding to the selected position, which is the selected specific position, after the cartridge is replaced when the selection determination process determines that the specific position in the graph information is selected and a related information display process for displaying a use related object indicating use related information related to the amount of the used colorant on the display unit together with the graph display screen. a communication unit configured to perform data communication with an image forming apparatus;
a display unit;
an input unit;
a storage unit;
An information processing device comprising a control unit,
The control unit
Information acquisition for acquiring colorant-related information about a cartridge containing a colorant used for printing an image by the image forming apparatus each time a preset acquisition condition is satisfied, and storing the information in the storage unit. processing;
Based on the colorant-related information acquired by the information acquisition process, a relationship between a plurality of times including at least a date and a remaining amount of the coloring agent contained in the cartridge is shown. a graph display process for displaying a graph display screen including graph information on the display unit;
a selection determination process for determining whether or not a specific position in the graph information displayed on the graph display screen is selected based on the input operation information acquired from the input unit;
If the selection determination process determines that the specific position in the graph information is selected, by the time corresponding to the selected position, which is the selected specific position, after the cartridge is replaced and a related information display process of displaying a use related object indicating use related information related to the amount of the used colorant on the display unit together with the graph display screen.

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