JPH03259658A - Communication terminal equipment - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To suppress a time loss up to printing at reception by applying head storage processing after the reception of a session end command and returning an affirmative acknowledge after the end of processing. CONSTITUTION:An ink jet head applies head recovery processing every time the print processing by one page is finished. When the head recovery processing results in a fault, a document page border NACK (RDPBN) is sent and as soon as the communication of a succeeding page is interrupted, a sender side discriminates it that the data of a 1st page whose reception is finished is not correctly received. When it is discriminated that the head recovery is normally implemented, a document page border ACK (RDPBP) is sent and the processing transits to the reception and print processing of the succeeding pages. Call identification information is printed out on a header part of succeeding page and the result is used as a trial print for the ink jet head.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Field of Industrial Application] The present invention relates to a communication terminal device having a recording system having an inkjet recording head.

[Conventional technology]

Conventionally, the recording systems used in communication terminal devices such as facsimile machines and telex machines that have a recording system have been mainly thermal paper recording using a thermal head, wire dot printers, and the like. However, in recent years, with the advancement of non-impact printers, there has been a movement to use inkjet printers as recording systems for communication terminal devices.

[Problem that the invention is trying to solve]

However, inkjet recording heads are designed to eject ink with a certain degree of viscosity from minute nozzles to prevent clogging, and the existence of a control system for this is something that conventional recording systems did not have. be. The communication terminal device is required to be on standby for 24 hours, and a special means is required to automatically perform the trigger and timing for saving and restoring the inkjet recording head in addition to manual operation by the operator.

(Means for Solving the Problems) The present invention performs head recovery processing triggered by reception of a session start command in a communication control protocol controlled by a communication terminal device, and also performs head recovery processing between pages by receiving document page boundary commands. In addition to doing
After confirming that the recovery process was performed normally, an acknowledgment is sent. Further, head storage processing is performed using the reception of a session end command as a trigger, and the timing of head control is determined by associating the communication control protocol with head control.

(Embodiments) Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

Recording system (printer configuration example) Figures 1 and 2 show configuration examples of an inkjet printer suitable as a recording system for a facsimile machine to which the present invention is applied. IJC is a freely attachable inkjet cartridge that is integrated with the inkjet head IJH and has a tank IT that supplies ink to the inkjet head IJH, and IJRA is the main body of the inkjet recording apparatus.

As can be seen from the perspective view of FIG. 1, the inkjet cartridge IJC in this example has a shape in which the tip of the inkjet head IJH ejects ink slightly beyond the front surface of the ink tank IT. This inkjet head cartridge IJC is an inkjet recording device main body I which will be described later.
It is a disposable type that is fixedly supported by a carriage placed on the JRA and can be attached to and detached from the carriage.

The first ink tank IT (10) that stores ink to be supplied to the inkjet head IJH includes an ink absorber, a container into which the ink absorber is inserted, and a lid member (both not shown) that seals the ink absorber. ).

This ink tank IT (10) is filled with ink, and ink is sequentially supplied to the inkjet head side as the ink is ejected.

Further, in this embodiment, the top plate 4 is made of a resin such as polysulfon, polyethersulfon, polyphenylene oxide, or polypropylene, which has excellent ink resistance.

Inkjet cartridge I configured as above
JC is an inkjet recording device IJRA which will be explained below.
It is removably mounted on the carriage HC in a predetermined manner,
A desired recorded image is formed on the recorded member by relative movement of the carriage HC and the recorded member using a predetermined recording signal.

FIG. 2 is an external perspective view showing an example of an inkjet recording apparatus IJRA equipped with a mechanism for the above processing.

In this figure, 20 is an inkjet head (recording head) of an inkjet head cartridge IJC that is equipped with a nozzle group that ejects ink toward the recording surface of recording paper fed onto a platen 24, and 16 is a recording head. A carriage HC that holds the head 20, and two guide shafts 19A that are connected to a part of the drive belt 18 that transmits the driving force of the drive motor 17 and are arranged parallel to each other.
By making the recording head 20 slidable with 19B and 19B, it is possible to reciprocate the recording head 20 over the entire width of the recording paper.

A head recovery device 26 is disposed at one end of the movement path of the recording head 20, for example, at a position opposite to the home position. The head recovery device 26 is operated by the driving force of the motor 22 via the transmission mechanism 23, and the recording head 20 is capped. In connection with the capping portion of the recording head 20 by the cap portion 26A of the head recovery device 26, ink is absorbed by an appropriate suction means (for example, a suction pump) provided in the head recovery device 26 or ink is transferred to the recording head 20. Ink is force-fed using an appropriate pressurizing means provided in the supply path, and ink is forcibly discharged from the ejection port (dry ejection) to perform ejection recovery processing such as removing thickened ink within the ejection port. . Furthermore, the recording head is protected by capping it at the end of recording.

A blade 31 is disposed on the side surface of the head recovery device 26 and is made of silicone rubber and serves as a wiping member. The blade 31 is held in the form of a cantilever by a blade holding member 31A, and similarly to the head recovery device 26, it is operated by a motor 22 and a transmission mechanism 23, and can be engaged with the ejection surface of the recording head 20. As a result, at an appropriate timing during the recording operation of the recording head 20, or after ejection recovery processing using the head recovery device 26,
The blade 31 is made to protrude into the moving path of the recording head 2o, and wipes off condensation, wetness, dust, etc. on the ejection surface of the head 20 as the head 20 moves.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of the hardware configuration of this embodiment. The main control unit 41 has a CPU that controls the cooperative operation of each unit of the communication terminal device, and its operation follows a program stored in the ROM of 41-a. 41
The RAM -b is used to temporarily store data necessary for the operation of the main control section, and is also used for receiving and passing data to and from each unit. A communication control unit 42 is a unit that controls communication means according to commands from the main control unit 41 when performing data communication with others through a line. The operation display unit 43 is a unit that realizes an interface with the operator of this communication terminal device, and the ROM 4 in the main control unit
Based on the operation flow control of the program 1-a, the display of messages to the operator, the manual entry of keys, etc. are controlled. The reading control unit 44 has a function of reading a document when transmitting image data from the communication terminal device and inputting the image data to RAMI-b of the main control unit 41. The recording control unit 45 includes the communication control unit 2 and the reading control unit 44.
This is a unit that controls a printer that prints data input from the main control unit 41-b and stored in the RAM of the main control unit 41 and data generated by the main control unit 41 on recording paper. The printer that performs the recording operation in this embodiment is of an inkjet type, and an inkjet head 45-a and its driver, an inkjet head driver 45-b, are placed under the control of a recording controller 45. The inkjet head is driven by a head movement motor 45-c, and the movement position is confirmed by a head position sensor 45-d. Both the head movement motor and the head position sensor are controlled by the recording control section. The recording control unit also includes an ink filling circuit 45- which performs ink replenishment processing to the inkjet head.
It also controls the recording paper transport motor 45-f that transports the recording paper.

In a communication terminal device with such a hardware configuration,
The control of the inkjet head is performed in association with the communication procedure control performed by the communication control section. FIG. 4 shows the communication control section 42.
FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of a communication procedure when communicating a document consisting of two pages. Pl is a session start command (CSS) in which the document data sending terminal requests the receiving terminal to establish a session. The receiving terminal is C3
If it receives S and determines that communication is possible, it sends a session start acknowledgment (R3SP) P2. When the sender receives R35P, it determines that the session has been established, and then sends a document capability list command (CDCL) P3 to negotiate non-basic terminal characteristics.After receiving CDCL, the receiver determines the capabilities of its own terminal. A document function list acknowledgment (RDCLP) P4 is sent that describes the document function list. The sending terminal compares its own terminal capability in CDCL and the capability of the other party's terminal in RDCLP, and sends the P5 document start command (CD) to exchange documents within the capability of the other party's terminal.
S), then transfer the first page data (
P6). When all the data for the first page has been transferred, the sending side uses the document page boundary command (CDP) in P7.
B) to notify the other party's terminal that the page has ended. Upon receiving the CDPB, the receiving side sends a document page boundary acknowledgment (RDPBP) of P8 if it has successfully received the data of that page and determines that it is possible to receive the data of the next page. The sending side is RDPB
When P is received, transfer the second page data (P9)
. % 2 /< - When the transfer of all the data is completed, the sending side sends a PIO document end command (CDE) to notify the other party terminal that the transfer of the data of all the pages of the document has been completed. Upon receiving the CDE, the receiving side checks whether the document data reception process has completed normally, and if it has completed normally, sends a document end acknowledgment (RDEP) Pi 1.

If the document transfer phase is completed and it is determined that it is OK to release the session, the sending side sends a session end command (C3E) on Pi2, and after receiving C3E, the receiving side sends a session end acknowledgment ( RSEP)
is sent to end the communication.

FIG. 5 shows a flow of processing in which an inkjet head is associated with such a communication procedure. This flow is the processing flow of the communication terminal device on the receiving side in Figure 4,
It starts from receiving C3S. Step S
1 indicates that the communication terminal device is waiting to receive a CSS (session start command), and C3 in P1 of FIG.
If S is received, the process advances to step S2. Step S2 is a subroutine call for performing inkjet head recovery processing shown at 45-a in FIG. 1 in response to a session start request. In order to prevent nozzle clogging, the inkjet head is moved to the head storage position after storage processing when not in use.

Then, at the time of use, a recovery process is performed and the head is moved to the printing operation range. Step S2 is a process for placing the head in a standby state upon reception of the session start command. The flow of head recovery processing is shown in FIG. In order to confirm that the ink is normally ejected from the inkjet head and to make the ink density uniform during the printing operation, ink is idle-ejected in step S31.

Then, in the next step S32, the ink discharge sensor 45-f
The discharge operation is determined by , and if it is normal, the process returns to the subroutine call source. If it is not confirmed that the ejection is performed normally, the process advances to the next step S33, and the head position sensor 45-d checks whether the head is located at a location where the ink ejection sensor can detect it.

If the head position has shifted, the head moving motor 45-C corrects the position in step S34, and it is checked in step S35 whether the position has been corrected.

If the head position is corrected correctly, step S31
Return to , perform dry ejection again, and perform the same confirmation process. If the head position cannot be corrected, the process advances to step S36, and after outputting and displaying on the operation display unit 43 that the head recovery is abnormal, the process returns to the subroutine call source. If no abnormality is found in the head position in step S33, the process advances to step S37, and it is confirmed whether or not there is ink in the head. If there is ink, the process advances to step S36, where a head recovery error is displayed and the process returns. If there is no ink, an ink filling process is performed by the ink filling circuit 45-e in step 338, and after the ink is replenished, the process returns to step S31 and the same process is performed. The result of the head recovery process is shown in step S of the flow in Figure 5.
3 is notified, and if it is recognized as abnormal, step S4
A session start negative response (RSSN) is sent, the communication is rejected, and the reception process is terminated. If the head recovery process is performed normally, a session start acknowledgment (RSSP) is sent in step S5. This is P in Figure 4.
2, a session is established between the sending and receiving terminals. The receiving terminal extracts call identification information from the received C5S parameters and prints the information in step S6.

The printing of this call identification information is used as a trial print by the inkjet head, and the ink ejection sensor 45-f detects whether or not the printing was performed correctly. If an abnormality is detected, a session cancellation command is issued in step S8. (
C3A), the established session is forcibly released, and the reception process is stopped. If the call identification information has been printed correctly, proceed to the next step S9 to continue receiving processing.
Proceed to. In step S9, the receiving terminal device waits to receive the document function list command (CDCL) 23 in FIG. When the CDCL is received by P3, the document function list acknowledgment (RDCLP) corresponding to 23 in FIG. 4 is sent in the next step SIO. The next step Sll is the document start command (C
DS). When the CDS is received, in the next step S12, the first page data transfer phase 23 in FIG. 4 is entered, and data reception processing and printing processing of the received data are performed. The process of step S12 is repeated until the document page boundary command (CDPB) 23 in FIG. 4 is received. If CDPB reception is detected in step 313, the process advances to the next step S14. This inkjet head performs a head recovery process every time printing for one page is completed, and step S14 calls the head recovery process subroutine shown in FIG. 6 as in step S2.

The result of the head recovery process is notified to step S15, and in case of an abnormality, a document page boundary negative response (RDPBN) is sent out in step S16.

In this case, at the same time as the communication of the next page is terminated, the transmitting side determines that the data of the first page, for which the reception process has been completed, has not been correctly received. If it is determined in step S15 that the head recovery has been performed normally, the process proceeds to step S17, where a document page boundary acknowledgment (RDPBP) is sent, and the process proceeds to reception printing processing for the next page. Step 518 is a step of embedding call identification information in a part of the header of the next page, and step S
Similar to 6, it is used as a trial print for an inkjet head. The result of the trial printing is evaluated in step S19, and if an abnormality is found, a session abort command (C3A) is sent in step S20, the session is forcibly released, and the reception process is aborted. By the way, in this case, the first
Since a positive response is returned for the page data, the sending side recognizes that it has been correctly transferred. If it is determined to be normal in step 519, the process enters the second page data transfer phase 23 in FIG. 4, and in step S21, data reception processing and printing processing of the received data are performed. The process in step S21 is the document end command (C
DE) is received. When the CDE is received in step S22, a document end acknowledgment (RDEP) of pH in FIG. 4 is sent, and a session end command (CSE) PI3 is waited for in step S323. CS
When reception of E is detected, the process advances to the next step S24, and head storage processing is performed. The head storage process includes wiping the head, ejecting wasteful ink from the nozzles, moving the inkjet head to a storage position, and attaching a cap. It is determined in step S25 whether or not these storage processes were performed normally. If an abnormality is found, a session termination command (C3A) is sent in step S26 to abnormally terminate the session. When the head storage process ends normally, a session end acknowledgment (R3EP) is sent in step S27, and the reception process ends.

[Other Examples]

In the embodiment described above, head recovery processing is performed every time page data is received, but this may be omitted if the communication procedure processing between pages is performed quickly and no time lag occurs. Conversely, if the time lag between pages is large, it is also possible to perform head storage processing every time one page is received.

〔Effect of the invention〕

As explained above, after receiving the session start command and document page boundary command in the communication protocol, head recovery processing is performed, and after the processing is completed, an acknowledgment is sent. In addition, by filling the head memory after receiving the session end command and returning an affirmative response after the process is completed, it is possible to reduce the time loss until the print operation is performed upon receiving the command, and to ensure operation. be. Furthermore, if an abnormality is found during head recovery or storage, a negative response is returned to prevent communication and guarantee operation. Furthermore, by printing call identification information before printing image data and thereby confirming that ink is coming out, it is possible to guarantee the operation of the inkjet head.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the recording head of this embodiment, and FIG.
FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of the hardware configuration of the printer of this embodiment. FIG. 4 is a diagram of an example of the communication procedure of this embodiment. FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing an example of the processing sequence of the receiving terminal device that performs the processing of the embodiment. FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing an example of the processing sequence of the head recovery processing subroutine in FIG. 1... Main control section 1-a... ROM 1-b... RAM 2... Communication control section 3... Operation display section 4... Reading control section 5... Recording control section 5 -a...Inkjet head s-b...Head driver 5-c...Head movement motor 5-d...Head position sensor 5-e...Ink filling circuit 5-f...Ink discharge Sensor JJ month tripping diagram 1st year diagram ■

Claims (5)

[Claims] (1) A head that ejects colored droplets onto a recording material, a head storage unit that performs a static storage process for the head, and a head recovery unit that performs empty ejection or colored liquid filling to perform a recovery process of the head. and processing control means that performs the recovery process after receiving a session start command in a communication protocol, and performs the storage process after receiving a session end command. (2) The communication terminal device according to claim 1, wherein the processing control means performs the recovery processing when receiving a document page boundary command after receiving one page of information. (3) When the communication terminal receives the session start command or the document page boundary command from the transmitting side, it does not send an acknowledgment until the recovery process is completed. Device. (4) A means for detecting the position of the head or the position of the cap in the recovery process, and detecting when an abnormality is found in the presence or position of the head and whether empty ejection is being performed normally. 4. The communication terminal device according to claim 3, further comprising: a negative response to the session start command or the document page boundary command if an abnormality is found in the dry ejection. (5) After the recovery process has been successfully completed and an acknowledgment has been sent, a call identification line is printed before printing the actual data of the document, thereby confirming that ink is coming out. communication terminal equipment.