JPH02231144A - Controlling method for ink jet recorder - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To prevent recording from being interrupted by invalidating ink end when the end occurs to record one page during recording, interrupting a recording operation when one page is recorded, and executing the return of the recording operation under the conditions that an ink cartridge is replaced and the end is eliminated. CONSTITUTION:An ink jet recorder has ink end detecting means 18, cartridge detecting means 25 for detecting presence or absence of an ink cartridge 16, and ink end invalidating means for invalidating an ink end. A CPU 24 controls a recorder 21, and stores control software in a ROM and a RAM 23. When the ink end occurs, the end is invalidated, and one page during recording is recorded. When the state of the end is continued until one page is completely recorded, an ink end error is set to interrupt the recording operation. The return from the interruption of the recording operation is so controlled as to be executed under the conditions that the cartridge 16 is replaced and the end is then eliminated.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Field of Industrial Application] The present invention relates to a method of controlling an inkjet recording apparatus that uses a cut sheet as a recording medium and is equipped with a replaceable ink cartridge at the time of ink end detection.

[Conventional technology]

Recording devices such as printers and facsimile machines are configured to form a dot pattern on a recording medium corresponding to the recorded information by driving the dot forming means of the recording head based on the recorded information. Depending on the type of forming means, it can be divided into inkjet type, wire dot type, thermal type, and laser beam type.

Among these, the inkjet type 2 (inkjet recording device) supplies ink to a recording head, ejects the ink from the ejection opening of the recording head to form flying ink droplets, and the ink droplets adhere to the recording medium. It is configured so that it can be recorded while

Furthermore, inkjet recording apparatuses generally use replaceable ink cartridges (ink tanks) as ink supply sources.

By the way, in conventional inkjet recording devices,
The remaining amount of ink has fallen below the set value (ink end)
When it detects this, it will record to the end of the line that was being recorded at that time, then an ink end error will occur and recording will be interrupted, and recovery from the ink end error will only require a return command from the host or by pressing the online switch. was configured to run.

[Technical Problems to be Solved by the Invention] However, in the above-mentioned conventional operating method when the ink runs out, even if there is sufficient ink remaining in the cartridge, the ink level in the cartridge changes due to vibrations of the recording device, etc. Even if an ink end is temporarily detected, such as when an ink end is detected, it is immediately recognized as an ink end error and recording is interrupted, which poses a problem in handling.

In addition, even if the ink-empty cartridge is not replaced after the ink has run out, it is possible to continue printing one line at a time, so the ink that has accumulated between the cartridge and the print head can be completely removed. There was also the problem that the ink could be used up over time, resulting in ink failure (recording failure).

The present invention has been developed in view of the above-mentioned conventional technical problems.If there is sufficient ink remaining, even if an ink end is temporarily detected, an ink end error will occur, leading to recording interruption. This can be prevented, and
An object of the present invention is to provide a control method for an inkjet recording device that can prevent recording from continuing without replacing a cartridge that has run out of ink.

[Means for Solving the Problems] The present invention provides an inkjet recording device including an ink end detection means, a cartridge detection means for detecting the presence or absence of an ink cartridge, and an ink end disabling means for disabling the ink end. , when the ink end occurs, disable the ink end and record the 1 page being recorded, 1
If the ink-out condition continues until the page is finished printing, an ink-end error is generated and the recording operation is interrupted.The ink-out condition is resolved after replacing the ink force - 1 - printer. The above objective is achieved by controlling the process so that it is executed under the condition.

[Effect]

According to the control method of the present invention, after the ink end is detected, the recording sheet that was being recorded at the time of the ink end detection is printed to the end, and the ink end state continues until the time when the recording sheet is ejected. Control is performed so that an ink end error is generated and printing is interrupted only when there is an ink end error, so if there is sufficient ink remaining in the cartridge, an ink end error may occur due to a temporary ink end caused by vibration or other changes in the ink level. It is prevented from becoming.

Furthermore, since the condition for recovering from the ink end error is that the ink end is resolved after replacing the cartridge, it is prevented from continuing recording without replacing a cartridge that has run out of ink.

〔Example〕

The present invention will be specifically described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 2 is a schematic vertical cross-sectional view showing the main part configuration of an inkjet recording apparatus suitable for carrying out the control method according to the present invention.

In Figure 2, 11 is a recording sheet as a recording medium.
(cut sheet), 12 is a recording head (inkjet head), 13 is a platen, 14 is a sheet feed roller that rotates to feed the recording sheet 11, and 15 is a sheet feed roller 14 that presses the recording cartridge 11 to create friction. Vinch roller that generates conveyance force, 16 is a replaceable ink cartridge, 17 is an ink supply pipe that feeds ink (recording liquid) from ink cartridge 16 to recording head 12, and on the 1st, the remaining amount of ink is below a set value. 19 is an ink end detection means composed of a diaphragm switch or the like to detect when the ink has run out; 19 is a recording sheet detection means composed of a reflective sensor or the like to detect the presence or absence of a recording sheet; A pail roller that rotates in synchronization with a sheet feed roller 14 for conveying the recording sheet I1 to a not-shown stacker (a place where recorded sheets are stored after recording) is shown, respectively.

As described above, ink is supplied to the recording head 12, and the ink ejecting means in the recording head 12 is driven based on recording information (image data, etc.) from the host, and the flying ink is formed by ejecting the ink. Droplets on recording medium 1
An inkjet recording apparatus is configured in which a dot pattern is formed by depositing the dots on one line, and the sheet is fed by a sheet feed roller 14 every time one line is recorded to record the next line.

As the recording sheet 11, a cut sheet cut into a predetermined length is used.

The recording head 12 may be a full-line head that records one line at a time, a carriage scanning type that is mounted on a carriage slide (not shown) that moves along the recording sheet 11, or a carriage scanning head that records one page at a time. This may be the case with a page print head that records data all at once.

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram showing a schematic configuration of a control system of an inkjet recording apparatus that implements the control method of the present invention.

In FIG. 3, 21 indicates an inkjet recording device, 24 a CPU that controls this recording device 21, and 23 a ROM and RAM in which control software is stored.
, 18 is an ink end detection means constituted by a diaphragm switch or the like to detect an ink end state in which the remaining amount of ink is below a set value, and 25 is an exchangeable cartridge l6 as an ink supply source to the recording head 12. presence or absence(
26 and 27 respectively indicate an online switch provided on the exterior of the device and operated by the user's hand, and a panel LED that displays the status of the recording device. .

The inkjet recording device 21 is connected to a host 2 that transfers recording command signals, recording information data, etc. to the recording device.
2 via a parallel or serial interface.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing the appearance of the recording device and host.

28 is an interface cable that connects the recording device and the host.

According to the present invention, an inkjet recording apparatus is provided with an ink end detection means, a cartridge detection stage 25 for detecting the presence or absence of an ink cartridge l6, and an ink end disabling means for disabling an ink end. , When the ink end occurs, disable the ink end and record the current page, and when the ink end state continues until the end of page I is recorded, the ink end error is generated and the recording operation is interrupted, and the recording operation is stopped. A control method for an inkjet recording apparatus is provided that performs control such that recovery from an interruption is performed on the condition that the ink runout is resolved after the ink cartridge 16 is replaced.

In FIG. 1, the CPU 24 of the recording device 21
Command (command) from host 1/22 at step S1
Wait for the command, if no command is sent, step S2
, the online switching process 2 is carried out inside the recording device.
6 and panel LED 27 management, etc.
Steps S1 and S until a command from the host 22 is received.
Loop at 2.

If a command comes from the host 22, the process advances to step S3 and determines whether it is a recording start command. If so, in step S4 recording information (data) etc. is received from the host 22 and recording is started, but before that, step S5 At this point, the ink end detection means (ink end switch) 18 checks whether or not the ink is out.

If the ink has run out, a flag indicating that the ink has run out is turned ON in step S6, and if the ink has not run out, the process advances to step S7 and the flag is turned OFF.

Thereafter, the process advances to step S8, and recording is performed according to the recording information sent from the host 22.

After recording according to the recording information, return to step S1 again,
Waits for a command from the host 22.

If it is determined in step S3 that it is not a recording start command, the process advances to step S9 to determine if it is a paper feed command.

If so, proceed to step S10 and 1 dot (step)
Perform paper feed. After the paper is fed by one dot, the presence or absence of the recording sheet 11 is confirmed by the recording sheet detection means 19 in step Sll. If there is a recording sheet 11, the process advances to step 312, and it is determined whether the number of dots (steps) specified by the paper feed command sent from the host 22 has been sent. If not, the process returns to step SIO and the specified number of dots have been sent. SION up to the number of dots (steps)
After repeating S12 and sending the specified number of dots, the process returns to step S1 and waits for a command from the host 22. Here, if there is no recording sheet 11 in step S11, the process advances to step S13 and it is determined whether or not to search for recording sheet 11. The determination as to whether or not to wander depends on whether or not the recording sheet 11 has been sent a certain arbitrary number of n dots (n steps) after the recording sheet 11 is no longer detected by the recording sheet detection means 19. This is because, as can be seen from FIG. 2, there is a certain distance from the position of the recording sheet detection means 19 to the position of the recording head l2, so the recording sheet 11 is not detected by the recording sheet detection means 19. Even after this, recording is possible while the paper is fed by n dots. If n dots (n steps) have not been sent since the recording sheet 11 was no longer detected in step 513, step S
Return to step 12 and perform the operations described above. If n dots have been fed, the process advances to step S14 and the recording sheet 11 is moved to a stacker (not shown) by the pail roller 20 or the sheet feed roller 1.
Rotate 4 and feed it out (paper ejection).

If it is determined in step S9 that the command is not a paper feed command, the process advances to step 318 to determine if it is a Haiki command. If so, the recording sheet 11 is sent to a not-shown stacker as in step S13 (step S19). In STESOB S19, the recording sheet detection means 19 is used to check the presence or absence of the recording sheet 11, and only the necessary amount (
Send it to the stacker with only the necessary dot loss).

If it is not a paper discharge command in step 31B, the command is executed in step S20 (commands other than recording, paper feeding, and paper discharge).

After feeding out the recording sheet 11 in steps 314 and S19 (after ejecting the sheet), in the step 315, the flag that was ON or OFF in step S6 or S7 (
A flag indicating the presence or absence of ink end is checked, and if the flag is O'N (ink end is present), the process proceeds to step S16, which indicates an ink end error. If not, the process returns to step 31 and waits for a command from the host 22.

When the process proceeds to step S16, where an ink end error occurs, the panel LED 27 that displays the status of the recording device is displayed.
Some kind of display will be displayed to indicate that there is an ink end error. Next, in Step S17, a message is displayed to the host 22 via the interface that an ink end error has occurred. Here, the host 22 is the display screen 2
9 to notify the user that the ink is at an end.

Next, the process proceeds to step S21, where the cartridge detection means (
Wait until the ink cartridge 16 is removed while checking the cartridge refill switch 25.

When the ink cartridge 16 is removed, step S2
Proceed to step 2 and wait while checking the cartridge detection stage 25 until the next ink cartridge 16 is installed.

After the ink cartridge l6 is installed, step S2
In step 3, the ink end detection means (ink end switch) 18 checks whether the ink end has been resolved (recovered) or not.

If the ink end is not resolved, step 321
The process returns to the step before checking whether or not the ink cartridge 16 has been removed, and repeats the above-described operation.

If the amount of ink remaining is sufficient and the ink end has been resolved, it is possible to terminate normally from the ink end error, and the process proceeds to step 324, where it waits for a return command from the host 22 or for the online switch 25 to be pressed.

Return command from host 22 and online switch 25
If is pressed, the process advances to steps S25 and S26, and displays on the panel LED 27 and the host 22 that the process has recovered from the read/queue error.

During the ink end error from steps 321 to S23,
No return command from the host 22 or return operation by the online switch 26 is accepted.

In the method of controlling an inkjet recording apparatus described above, control is performed so that an ink-end error does not occur unless the 1 liter of recording sheet that was being printed at the time when ink-end is detected is printed to the end. Even if the ink temporarily runs out due to changes in the ink level in the cartridge 16 due to vibrations, etc., it will not cause an error.
This makes it possible to prevent ink wastage.

In addition, since the control is set to recover from the ink end error on the condition that the ink end is resolved after replacing the ink cartridge 16, printing continues even though there is no ink in the cartridge 16, and the print head 12 and cartridge It is now possible to prevent the ink between 16 and 16 times from being used up and causing ink non-ejection (recording failure).

The recording head according to the embodiment of the present invention is preferably a bubble jet type inkjet head in which each liquid path is provided with an electrothermal conversion element for generating thermal energy and ejecting liquid. The reason for this is that the remaining ink (liquid amount) can be ejected in an appropriate amount without wasting it, so that the remaining recording can be reliably performed even when there is no remaining ink.

Furthermore, the present invention can be applied to devices in which the recording head is removable from the main device, devices in which the recording head is a disposable type with an integrated ink tank, and devices in which only the ink cartridge is replaceable. be. Therefore, the present invention can be applied to detecting the remaining amount of ink by either a float type or a type that detects inter-electrode current or resistance, and the detection position may be in the ink cartridge, the recording head, or the ink supply path. [Effects of the Invention] As is clear from the above description, according to the method for controlling an inkjet recording apparatus of the present invention, the ink end detection means, the cartridge cartridge detection means for detecting the presence or absence of an ink cartridge, and the ink end detection means, which disables the ink end. In an ink jet recording apparatus equipped with an ink end disabling means, when an ink end occurs, the ink end is disabled and one page being recorded is recorded, and the ink end state continues until the one page is finished recording. The printing operation is interrupted due to an ink end error, and the recovery from the interruption of the printing operation is executed on the condition that the ink end is resolved after replacing the ink cartridge, so there is no remaining ink. To provide a control method for an inkjet recording device that can prevent ink from being wasted due to an ink end error, and can also prevent ink from being ejected due to recording without replacing a cartridge that has run out of ink.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a flowchart for carrying out the method for controlling an inkjet recording apparatus according to the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of a joint 22 and a main part of an inkjet recording apparatus suitable for carrying out the control method according to the present invention. −・・・−・−Host, 2l・−・・−・・Inkjet recording device,
11-・-・-・1・・・・・Recording sheet, I2・−・1・−～−−1 recording head, 14・・・・・・・・・・・・・
-Sheet feed roller, 16 ink cartridges, I8・
・-・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・
・−・１・・・Cartridge detection means (cartridge switch).

Claims (1)

[Claims] (1) In an inkjet recording device equipped with an ink end detection means, a cartridge detection means for detecting the presence or absence of an ink cartridge, and an ink end disabling means for disabling the ink end, the ink end is disabled when the ink end occurs. When the ink-out condition continues until the page is finished recording, an ink-end error is generated and the recording operation is interrupted. To recover from the interruption of the recording operation, replace the ink cartridge. A method for controlling an inkjet recording apparatus, characterized in that control is performed on the condition that the ink runout is resolved later.