JPH09123570A - Printer device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To obtain a printer device including a means for withdrawing the necessary information such as a parameter in the normal operation period in accordance with the aspects of changes thereof in the event of an abnormal end of the printer, and capable of being restored in a state immediately before the occurrence of an abnormality of the electric source by means of a small capacitance condenser. SOLUTION: The recovery means 4 comprises a storing information writing means 41, an abnormal state flag writing means 42, and a storage information recovering means 43. The storage information writing means 41 acts during the printing process to write changed information every change in EEPROM 5 as storage information with respect to discontinuous changed information in storage necessitating information to be required for storage, and also write information changed every predetermined time in EEPROM 5 as storage information with respect to continuous changed information in the storage necessitating information. The abnormal state flag writing means 42 operates in printing process period to write an abnormal state flag in EEPROM 5 In the event of an abnormal end. Further, the storage information restoring means 43 reads out the storage information stored in EEPROM 5 when the abnormal end state being generated in the printer is restored and becomes possible for normal operation, and performs a process to restore it in accordance with the content instructed by the abnormal state flag.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

The present invention relates to a printer device.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In a computer system, one of the causes of abnormal termination during operation of a host computer or a peripheral device is due to power failure such as power failure due to power failure or power switch off due to erroneous operation. .

In large / medium / small computer devices, if power shutdown occurs during processing due to a cause other than power switch off due to a normal procedure (including by a program), processing data on the RAM immediately before shutdown and Since the setting data such as parameters and the counter value by the system will be lost and it will not be possible to return to the state immediately before processing, the range and amount of data to be saved will differ depending on the scale and purpose of use of the computer device. , An emergency standby power source such as a large-capacity capacitor and a battery (depending on the scale of the computer device, a standby power generation device may be further provided) to keep the energized state for a certain period of time to prevent data loss on the RAM and Save the setting data such as data and parameters and the counter value by the system to the magnetic disk, Source to continue the processing is returned them during recovery, recovery measures are taken against the so-called power failure.

On the other hand, in the personal computer system, in addition to the occurrence of a power supply abnormality similar to that of the computer device described above, the power supply protection is simpler than that of the computer device described above, and, for example, the outlet is entangled with the foot and pulled out. Since there is a case where a power failure occurs due to such a situation, there is a greater chance that a power failure will occur as compared to the above-mentioned computer device, but there is an emergency backup power supply provided due to cost and physical size restrictions. Since the type and size (capacity) are limited, recovery measures are also limited, and in many cases, the saving of setting data such as parameters and the counter value by the system is limited.

Here, in the case of a peripheral device of a personal computer system, particularly in a printer device, a power cable is connected to the host computer side to obtain a power source, or a power source is separated from the host computer side (for example,
The power supply may be obtained by connecting the power cable with adapter to the household power supply. In addition to the power failure on the host side or the interruption of the printing process due to the host-side main switch being turned off due to an incorrect processing procedure, during the printing process, In some cases, the printing process is interrupted (abnormal termination) due to a power failure of the printer device itself, such as a power failure on the printer side or an outlet being unplugged.

As a measure against such interruption of the printing process, conventionally, a printer device is provided with a large-capacity capacitor.
The voltage of 5 V is held for about 100 msec, and the information (parameters, count value, etc.) necessary for the printer device is stored in the EEPROM during this period.

[0007]

Generally, in the personal computer system, there are price restrictions in addition to the physical size restrictions as described above, but this also applies to the peripheral devices constituting the system. Of course,
There is a design and sales demand that it is not desirable to equip a printer device with a large-capacity standby power supply in order to cope with abnormal termination of printing processing due to power supply abnormality.

Therefore, ideally, EE is used for the printer device.
A non-volatile memory such as a PROM that can be written / read out is always stored with necessary information such as parameters and count values, and after the power-off state is restored, the stored information is read out immediately before the abnormal state occurs. It is desirable to configure so that the necessary information such as the parameters and count values can be restored and the processing can be performed. However, since the number of writing times of the EEPROM is limited to about 100,000 times at the present time, as soon as writing is performed frequently As described above, according to the conventional technique, the life is shortened. Therefore, in the related art, only when the power is turned off (including the power-off according to the normal procedure and the interruption due to the power supply abnormality),
A voltage of 5 V is held for about 0 msec and writing is performed.

However, the time required for this writing is 5 V
Printers must be equipped with large-capacity capacitors to maintain the voltage of
The information you want to store tends to increase with speeding up,
In this case, a capacitor having a larger capacity than that of the conventional case is required, and each of them has a problem that it violates the above-mentioned design requirement of the printer device.

The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems, and in preparation for abnormal termination of the printer, necessary information such as parameters and count values is saved during normal operation according to the mode of change. Therefore, it is an object of the present invention to provide a printer device having a means capable of returning to the state immediately before the occurrence of a power failure when the power is restored with a capacitor having a smaller capacity than before.

[0011]

In order to achieve the above object, the printer device of the first invention has a writable / readable non-volatile memory, and interrupts and terminates the printing process during the printing process. In preparation for the occurrence of an abnormal end state, a printer having a recovery unit that saves information that needs to be restored to the state immediately before the abnormal end in a non-volatile memory and restores the saved information when printing processing is restarted A device, wherein the recovery means comprises a. For the non-continuous change information that does not change continuously during the printing process, the changed information is written to the non-volatile memory as the save information each time there is a change, and the continuous save information is saved. For the continuously changing information that changes to, the stored information writing unit that writes the changed information to the non-volatile memory as the stored information at predetermined time intervals, b. And an abnormal state flag writing means for writing the abnormal state flag to the non-volatile memory when the abnormal termination is performed during the printing process.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the printer device of the first aspect, the abnormal state flag comprises a main flag indicating that an abnormal end has occurred and a subordinate flag indicating a processing attribute at the time of abnormal end. It is characterized by being.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the printer device of the second aspect, the subordinate flag is a history flag indicating a time relationship between the abnormal end and the writing of the specific continuous change information by the storage information writing means. It is characterized by including.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the printer device according to the second or third aspect of the invention, the recovery means further determines the latest stored information and the dependent flag for the specific continuous change information when an abnormal end occurs. The present invention is characterized by including continuous change information value estimation means for estimating the value immediately before the abnormal end.

An ink jet printer device according to a fifth aspect of the present invention has the configuration of the printer device according to any one of the first to fourth aspects of the present invention, and the printing mechanism is being driven as specific continuous change information in the required storage information. It is characterized in that the abnormal state flag includes a count value of the number of dots ejected to a main flag indicating that an abnormal end has occurred and a subordinate flag indicating a processing attribute at the time of abnormal end. .

A laser printer according to a sixth aspect of the invention has the configuration of the printer device according to any one of the first to fourth aspects of the invention, and drives the printing mechanism as specific continuous change information in the required storage information. It is characterized in that it includes a count value of the amount of toner consumed therein.

[0017]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of a preferred embodiment of a printer apparatus of the present invention, in which a printer apparatus 100 is connected to a cable 2 from a host computer (not shown).
Output control information such as output format, character type, line control information, etc., and output data transmitted via 00 are received. Printer device 100 has interface 1, CP
U2, ROM3, recovery means 4, EEPROM5,
It has a RAM 6, a printing mechanism 7, and a capacitor (not shown) as an emergency standby power source and a power cable with an adapter for supplying power to the printer device from a household power source or a business power source.

The interface 1 receives the output control information and output data sent from the host computer via the cable 3, and sends them to the CPU 2 in accordance with the specifications of the printer 100.

The CPU 2 receives the output control information in the RAM
6 in the output control block (not shown) and the received data in the buffer area (not shown) of the RAM 6. Further, the CPU 2 writes the changed information in the EEPROM 5 by the recovery means 4 when the necessary information changes within a predetermined time interval (specifically, writing of each necessary information, as will be described later). Position is EEPROM5
The previous information is rewritten (updated) with the changed information, but if an abnormal termination due to a power failure occurs during the processing of the printer 100,
Only the abnormal state flag (see FIG. 5) is written in the EEPROM 5.

Further, when the printer 100 is restored from the abnormal state to the normal state and the processing is restarted, the CPU 2
The information stored in the EEPROM 5 is read by the recovery means 4, and the information is restored after the processing (or without the processing) according to the content indicated by the abnormal state flag.

Further, the CPU 2 controls the printing mechanism 7 based on the printing control information to realize the printing of data. Furthermore, the CPU 2 controls the output based on the above-mentioned output control information, compresses the received data and stores the compressed intermediate code, extracts the intermediate code for each predetermined block size, expands it into a bitmap image, and outputs it to the output buffer. While performing processing such as transfer, other printer device 10
Controls the entire operation of 0.

Recovery means 4 is stored in the ROM 3. The ROM 2 also stores output control based on output control information, means for developing a bitmap image based on received data, and other print control programs.

The recovery means 4 is the printer device 100.
In preparation for the occurrence of an abnormal end state in which the processing is interrupted due to a power supply abnormality during the printing process of (5), the EEPROM 5 stores the information necessary to return to the state immediately before the abnormal end (hereinafter, save required information) as save information. 2 for recovering the saved information when the printing process is restarted.
As shown in the block diagram of FIG. 3, the storage information writing means 41, the abnormal state flag writing means 42, and the storage information restoring means 43.
Contains.

As shown in the flow chart of FIG. 3 and the timing chart of FIG. 4, the save information writing means 41 regards information that does not change continuously (discontinuous change information) among the required save information during the printing process. Each time there is a change, the EEPR uses the changed non-continuous change information as storage information.
Regarding the information that needs to be written in the OM 5 and that continuously changes among the information that needs to be saved (continuously changed information), the information that changes at every predetermined time is written in the EEPROM 5 as saved information (FIG. 4).
reference).

As shown in the flow chart (a) of FIG. 3 and the timing chart of FIG. 4, the abnormal state flag writing means 42 is EEPRO when an abnormal end occurs during the printing process.
An abnormal state flag (see FIG. 5) is written in M5 (W3).

The stored information restoring means 43 is the printer device 10.
When the abnormal end state occurred in 0 is recovered and normal operation becomes possible, after the stored information stored in the EEPROM 5 is read and processing is performed (or without processing) according to the content indicated by the abnormal state flag. ), And write to a predetermined address in RAM 6. Although not shown in the figure, the storage information restoring means 43 is, in the case where an abnormal end occurs, as will be described later.
A continuous change information value estimation means for estimating a value immediately before the abnormal end from the latest stored information and the dependent flag for the specific continuous change information is included.

The EEPROM 5 is an example of a writable / readable non-volatile memory, stores the storage information written by the storage information writing means 41, and writes it by the abnormal state flag writing means 42. The stored abnormal condition flag is stored. Further, the stored information restoring means 43 can read out the abnormal state flag and the stored information stored and stored. A floppy disk or a magnetic disk can be used as the writable / readable nonvolatile memory for writing the stored information, but the writing time is longer than that of the EEPROM, and the drive power is large so that the emergency backup can be performed. It is desirable to use the EEPROM for the reason that the capacitor is not sufficient as the power source and the physical and price restrictions of the printer device are inconvenient.

The RAM 6 is a memory for storing output control information and received data received from the host computer, print control information such as printing conditions, and other necessary information, and an intermediate code storage area in which the stored received data is compressed. It is also used as a working memory for expanding the intermediate code as bit map image data, and a print image or an image image actually output is expanded as a bit map image. The printing mechanism 7 is RAM
The image data expanded in 6 is output under the control of the CPU 2 based on the output control information. Further, although not shown, the printer device 100 includes a capacitor having a capacity sufficient to maintain a predetermined voltage for a certain period of time required to write an abnormal state flag described later when the power is cut off. According to the present invention, as described above, a cycle of writing stored data and a pause of writing is provided as described later, and only the stored information that has changed in the writing period is updated. Since the capacitor itself is not used, only the abnormal state flag need be written at the time of abnormal termination. Therefore, since the time required to write the abnormal state flag is shortened, it is sufficient to provide a capacitor having a smaller capacity than the capacity of the capacitor for preparing for abnormal termination in the above-mentioned conventional technique.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the recovery means 4, and FIG. 3 is an example of a flowchart of the recovery means 4 whose execution is controlled by the CPU 2. The print processing block 30 shown in FIG. 2 includes a preparation process for printing output data and an actual print processing operation. Hereinafter, the operation of the CPU 2 at the time of recovery will be described with reference to FIGS.

FIG. 3A is a flow of writing the storage information and the abnormal state flag by the recovery means 4, and FIG.
In steps S1 to S5 of (a), the CPU 2 controls the execution of the saved information writing means 41. In step S1, the abnormality flag writing means 42 moves to step S6 when an abnormality occurs in the power supply, and writes the abnormality state flag in the EEPROM 5. Normally (when not in an abnormal end state), the process proceeds to step S2.

In step S2, it is checked whether or not the information required to be written in the EEPROM 5 (preserved information (setting parameter, counter value, etc.)) is different from the previous information, and even one of the preserved information is different. In this case, the process proceeds to step S3, and if no difference is found, the process returns to step S1. In this case, the "previous information" is an EEPROM
The information written in 5 may be taken out each time, or the information written in the EEPROM 5 may be read out and stored in the RAM 6 when the power is turned on, and the EEPROM 5 of the change information in step S5 described later may be read out. It may be updated at the same time when the data is written to.

In step S3, the changed storage-required information is checked to determine whether it is continuous change information. If it is continuous change information, the process proceeds to step S4. If it is not continuous change information (non-continuous change information). In the case of information), the process proceeds to step S5 and the change information is written in a predetermined address of the EEPROM 5. Here, in order to easily determine whether or not the required storage information is the continuous change information, information (table) indicating whether the required storage information is the continuous change information or the non-continuous information is stored in the ROM 3 or the EE.
It is desirable to register in the PROM 5 in advance.

As examples of the continuous change information, a dot counter value for knowing the remaining amount of ink, a waste liquid counter value for knowing the amount of waste liquid of the ink, and a toner usage amount for knowing the amount of toner used There is a specific counter value, such as the counter value (see examples).

In step S4, the time counter is checked to determine whether a predetermined time has passed. If the predetermined time has elapsed, the time counter is cleared to zero, and then the process proceeds to step S5 to write the change information into a predetermined address of the EEPROM 5. If the predetermined time has not elapsed, the process returns to step S1.

The time interval (the above-mentioned predetermined time) for writing the continuous change information in step S4 can be set arbitrarily, but if it is too short, the chances of writing the stored data in the EEPROM 5 increase, so As EEPROM
5 will shorten the service life, and errors will accumulate if it is too long. Therefore, when restoring stored information, which will be described later, let the stored information restoration means 43 estimate the state immediately before the abnormal end (for example, estimate the count value). In such a case, the estimation error becomes large, so about 20 minutes is appropriate as described later (see the example). Here, when the time interval is set to 20 minutes, the average life of a certain EEPROM 5 is calculated to be about 10
The year In step S5, the continuous change information or the non-continuous change information is written as the storage information at a predetermined address corresponding to each storage information of the EEPROM 5, respectively.

In step S6, the normal power supply is cut off, but as described above, the abnormal voltage is written by the abnormal state flag writing means 42 because the necessary voltage is held for the time required for writing the abnormal state flag by the capacitor. EE the status flag
Can be written to PROM5. As will be described later, the abnormal flag is composed of a main flag indicating the occurrence of an abnormal state and at least one subordinate flag indicating the processing attribute at the abnormal end (see FIG. 4).

FIG. 3B shows an example of a flow of reading out the abnormal state flag and the stored information and restoring the stored information by the recovery means 4. In step S11, when the printing process is restarted, the CPU 2 controls the execution of the saved data restoring means 43 and reads the saved information saved in the EEPROM 5. In step 12, the read stored information is written in a predetermined address of the RAM 6, respectively.

FIG. 3 (b ') is another example of the flow of reading out the abnormal state flag and the stored information by the recovery means 4 and restoring the stored information. In step S21, when the printing process is restarted, the CPU 2 controls the execution of the saved data restoring means 43 'and reads the abnormal state flag and the saved information saved in the EEPROM 5.

In step S22, the stored information corresponding to the continuous change information among the read stored information is corrected by linking it with the subordinate flag of the abnormal state flag, and the value of the continuous change information immediately before the abnormal state occurs is corrected. Estimate (see Examples).

In step 23, the non-continuous change information and the estimated continuous change information are written in predetermined addresses in the RAM 6, respectively.

FIG. 4 is a timing flow chart for explaining the writing timing of the storage information and the abnormal state flag. In FIG. 4, the writing of discontinuous change information (W
Although 1) is performed for each change, writing of continuous change information (W2) is performed at certain time intervals (for example, every 20 minutes) during the change unless an abnormal end state occurs. Further, the writing of the abnormal state flag (W3) must be performed within the predetermined voltage (for example, 5V) maintaining time of the capacitor when the abnormal end state occurs as described above.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of an abnormal state flag, and FIG. 5 (a) is an example in which the abnormal state flag is 1 byte (8 bits). In this example, the highest bit (bit 7) of them is shown. Is a main flag which means that an abnormal end has occurred when it is '1', and other bits (bit6
(0 to 0) are used as subordinate flags indicating what kind of processing state the printer device 100 was in immediately before the main flag became "1" (see the embodiment). FIG.
(B) is an example in which the abnormal state flag is 2 bytes (16 bits), and in this example, the most significant bit (b
itF) as a main flag and other bits (bitE ~).
0) is used as a subordinate flag (see the embodiment).

The length of the abnormal state flag is 1 or 2
It is not limited to bytes, but as the number of bytes increases, the writing time also increases and the required capacity of the capacitor also increases. Further, the number of abnormal state flags is not limited to one, but if the number of abnormal state flags is increased, the writing time is increased and the required capacity of the capacitor is also increased. Therefore, it is necessary to determine in consideration of these circumstances.

[0044]

【Example】

<Example of Application to Inkjet Printer> An example in which the present invention is applied to an inkjet printer as an embodiment will be described below. This example is an example in which the information necessary for knowing the state of the printing mechanism at the time of abnormal termination is the save required information. Regarding the constituent blocks of the recovery means, the save information, and the write timing of the abnormal state flag, the invention is implemented. The description in the paragraph of the form of FIG. 2 and FIGS. In the following description, components common to FIGS. 1 to 5 will be described using the same symbols.

The construction of the ink jet printer is almost the same as that of FIG. 1, but the recovery means is shown in FIG.
(A) and FIG. 3 (b ') are combined, and the structure of the printing mechanism is peculiar to inkjet (for example, a nozzle has a nozzle for ejecting ink, a paper feed mechanism for serial printing). Points having an ink supply mechanism and a dot counter for detecting the remaining amount of ink, and the like).

Also in the flowchart of the recovery means, the storage state writing means 41 and the abnormal state flag writing means 42 are the same as those in FIG. With regard to the stored information restoring means 31, in this embodiment,
As described above, the continuous change information estimation means for estimating the continuous change information before the abnormal end is generated by correcting the continuous change information in step S22 of FIG. 3B 'is also provided. Further, the abnormal state flag is similar to that described in the description of FIG. 5, but the meaning of the subordinate flag and the relationship between the above-mentioned continuous change information estimating means and the abnormal state flag will be described in the present embodiment. The inkjet printer device of this embodiment uses the number of dots ejected in order to know the remaining amount of ink (more precisely, the number of ink droplets ejected from the nozzle).
Is counting. Therefore, the number of dots is counted during the operation of the printing mechanism 7.
If the power is turned off before writing to the PROM5, an error will occur in the count value, and the detection of the remaining ink amount will not be performed correctly. There is a possibility that the remaining amount will be zero, and such a situation will have a large impact on the printing process itself, and will also have an adverse effect on the maintenance of the head that ejects ink. It will be.

Further, in the case where the storage required information is written in the EEPROM 5 only when the abnormal processing is performed as in the conventional method, 4 bytes × 4 colors (3 primary colors + Black) = 16 bytes are required, and it is necessary to maintain a voltage of 5 V for 32 to 80 msec in order to write such information. Therefore, when the information to be stored when the power is cut off is the count value including the count value of the number of ink dots and the value of the setting parameter, the time for maintaining the voltage of 5 V is 100 msec or more.

However, in the present embodiment, the storage information writing means 41 prints the non-continuous change information that occasionally changes, such as the setting parameter value and a certain count value, out of the storage required information. In the EEPROM 5, the previous value is updated and the value is continuously increased (changed) during the printing process. The recovery means is configured such that the value changed every 20 minutes is written to the EEPROM 5 to update the previous value, and the abnormal state flag writing means 42 writes the abnormal state flag in the case of abnormal termination. Therefore, the storage-needed information can be written by the normal power supply of the printer 100, and only the abnormal state flag is written by the capacitor necessary for writing the abnormal state flag. It is sufficient in the V-voltage maintenance time,
In this case, the time required to write the abnormal state flag is about 10 ms when the abnormal state flag is 1 byte or 2 bytes.
ec. Therefore, the capacity of the capacitor may be smaller than before, which contributes to reduction in size and cost. Also, even if the number of pieces of information to be stored increases, it is not necessary to increase the capacity of the capacitor.

Next, the meaning of the subordinate flag will be described. FIG. 5A shows a 1-byte abnormal state flag. When bit 7 is the main flag and the main flag is "1", abnormal termination occurs. This means that each of bits 6 to 0 is a subordinate flag indicating whether it is in the state of the main flag. The meaning of each bit in this embodiment is shown below. Bit7: A main flag indicating abnormal termination when set to "1". Bit6: When it is '1', it is a dependent flag indicating that an abnormal end has occurred during printing. Bit5: When it is '1', it is a subordinate flag indicating that an abnormal end has occurred during the cleaning process. Bit4: When set to '1', a subordinate flag indicating that an abnormal end has occurred during printing in a mode in which printing is performed using only a specific nozzle among a plurality of ejection nozzles in the head (hereinafter, micro weave mode) Is. -Bit3: When it is "1", it is a subordinate flag that indicates that an abnormal end occurred during printing when the print mode is bidirectional, and when it is "0", it is a unidirectional mark.
It means character mode. Bit2: a dependent flag indicating that the resolution was 1440 dpi when set to "1". Bit1: a subordinate flag indicating that the resolution was 720 dpi when set to '1' (note that bit2,1
When both are 0, it means that the resolution is 360 dpi. Bit0: A dependent flag indicating that the mode is the color mode when set to "1", and indicates a monochrome mode when set to "0".

[Example of Meaning of Combination of Main Flag and Each Dependent Flag] Next, an example of associating the abnormal state flag with the count of the number of ink dots as continuous change information will be shown. In this example, when the bit value is x, it means that the bit can take a value of "1" or "0".

(Abnormal State Flag) (Meaning and Processing) 0xxxxxxx: Means normal end (processing) ... No correction of dot count value is required.

10000000: Although it is an abnormal end, it is an abnormal end that occurred while performing a process that does not use ink, such as during paper feeding / paper discharging.

(Processing) -No correction of the dot count value is required.

11000000: Abnormal termination during printing, which means that the microweave mode, unidirectional printing mode, monochrome mode, and resolution of 360 dpi were used at that time.

(Processing) -The ink dot counter value obtained by the continuous change information estimating means is set as a default value (default value) in the monochrome mode when a standard value is printed under these conditions.
It is used as the reference correction value for the dot counter value before the abnormal termination occurs.

110xxxxxx: Abnormal termination that occurred during printing, meaning that it occurred in the processing state indicated by the subordinate flag that takes the value of x.

(Processing) ································· Uses the standard value when printed under the condition indicated by the subordinate flag taking the value of x as the reference correction value of the ink dot counter value by the continuous change information estimating means Estimate the dot counter value before occurrence.

101xxxxx0: An abnormal end occurred during the head cleaning process, which means that the head for monochrome printing was being cleaned.

(Processing) ······················································································································································· Estimate the value.

101XXXX1: Abnormal termination occurred during head cleaning processing, meaning that the head for color printing was being cleaned.

(Processing) The standard value (4 primary colors + 4 black values) when the head for color printing is cleaned is set to the dot counter value (3 primary colors) of the color ink by the continuous change information estimating means. + 4 types of black counter values)
It is used as a reference correction value for the dot counter value before the abnormal end occurs.

As described above, by combining the meanings of the main flag and the subordinate flag, the abnormal termination is caused by the printer device 10.
It is possible to know in what state 0 occurred. Further, by combining the dot number counter value (continuous change information) at the time of abnormal termination and the meaning of the subordinate flag, the latest dot stored in the EEPROM 5 by the continuous change information estimation means at the time of restoration of the stored information. It is possible to add the reference correction value to the number counter value, estimate the dot number counter value when the abnormal state occurs, and restore this value as the dot number counter value when the abnormal state occurs. This makes it possible to reduce the error in the dot number counter value on average.

However, for example, when the continuous change information writing cycle is set to 20 minutes, if an abnormal termination occurs 19 minutes after writing the previous dot number counter value in the EEPROM 5, it is an estimated value. Although it is sufficient, if an abnormal end occurs 1 minute after writing the previous dot number counter value in the EEPROM 5, the error is large. A flag (hereinafter referred to as a history flag) indicating the time relationship with the time when the latest dot number counter value is written by the information writing means is provided, and 5 minutes before the abnormal end of writing the latest dot number counter value. , 10 minutes ago, 15 minutes ago (in this case, the flag 2 bits can be used for meaning), and several bits are defined as row number bits. It may be configured to be set Te. In order to do so, if the number of dependent flags is insufficient with seven, the 2-byte abnormal state flag shown in FIG. 5 (b) may be used.
Since the number can be increased to 5, the state of the inkjet printer device, which can be given meaning by the subordinate flag, is expanded (here, READ / WRITE is performed every 2 bytes E
When using an EPROM, it takes the same time to write 1-byte data and 2-byte data).

Further, in order to restore the values with the smallest possible error among the plurality of counter values, for example,
For the number of dots of color ink, four counter values are required. In this case, the 2-byte abnormal state flag 4
Rather than providing one, by using eight of the 15 dependent flags of the 2-byte abnormal condition flag as history flags, it is possible to set the temporal history of four states for the latest writing for each of the four colors.

<Application Example to Laser Printer Device> As an application example, the present invention can be applied to the detection of the toner remaining amount of the laser printer device. This example is an example in which the information necessary for knowing the state of the printing mechanism at the time of abnormal termination is the save required information, and the configuration diagram of the printer device, the configuration block of the recovery means, the flowchart, the save information and the abnormal state flag are shown. The elements of this application, such as the write timing and the abnormal end flag, use the counter value of toner consumption instead of the ink dot number counter value as one of the save-required information, and associate it with the dependent flag immediately before the abnormal end. The description is omitted because it is the same as the above-described embodiment except that the value of is estimated. Further, the estimation of the counter value of the toner consumption amount may be performed in accordance with the case of the embodiment, so the description thereof will be omitted.

The embodiments of the present invention have been described above.
The present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, and it goes without saying that various modifications can be made.

[0067]

As described above, according to the first aspect of the present invention, during the normal operation of the printer device, the setting parameter value and a certain count value among the information that needs to be saved (information to be saved) such as a count value. The non-continuous change information that changes from time to time is written in the EEPROM every time it changes, and the previous value is updated. During printing, the value continuously increases (changes) like the count number of the number of ink dots. As for the continuous change information, the recovery means is configured so that the value changed every fixed time is written in the EEPROM, the previous value is updated, and in the case of abnormal termination, only the abnormal state flag is written. Therefore, there is no need to save the information that was conventionally required at the time of abnormal termination. Therefore, the voltage holding time after the power is shut off due to abnormal termination can be reduced, and the capacity of the capacitor for holding the voltage can be reduced, which is a great advantage in printer design. It can also contribute to size and cost.

Further, according to the second aspect of the invention, since the abnormal state flag is composed of the main flag and the subordinate flag, it is possible to easily determine the state of the printer device at the abnormal end.

Further, according to the third aspect of the invention, the subordinate flag has a history flag indicating the temporal relationship between the abnormal change and the writing of the continuous change information.
In addition to the invention described above, it is possible to estimate the value of the continuous change information immediately before the abnormal end with respect to a specific counter value or the like, and it is possible to reduce the error caused by the abnormal end of the counter values.

In the fifth aspect of the invention, in the ink jet printer device, the error due to the abnormal termination of the value of the ink dot number counter can be reduced, so that it is possible to detect the remaining amount of ink with less error. According to the sixth aspect of the invention, in the laser printer, the error due to the abnormal termination of the value of the consumed toner counter can be reduced, so that it is possible to detect the remaining toner amount with less error.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of a preferred embodiment of a printer device of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a recovery unit.

FIG. 3 is an example of a flowchart of a recovery unit executed and controlled by a CPU;

FIG. 4 is a timing flowchart of writing storage information and an abnormal state flag.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of an abnormal state flag.

[Explanation of symbols]

2 CPU 4 Recovery Means 5 EEPROM (Writable / Readable Nonvolatile Memory) 41 Saved Information Writing Means 42 Abnormal State Flag Writing Means 43 'Saved Information Restoring Means (Continuous Change Information Estimating Means) 100 Printer Device

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. A non-volatile memory that is writable / readable, and is capable of returning to a state immediately before the abnormal end in preparation for the occurrence of an abnormal end state in which the process is interrupted and ended during the printing process. A printer device having a recovery unit that saves necessary storage-required information in the nonvolatile memory and restores the saved information when the printing process is restarted, the recovery unit comprising: a. During the printing process, for the non-continuous change information that does not change continuously among the required save information, each time there is a change, the changed information is written to the nonvolatile memory as save information, and Of the continuously changing information, which continuously changes, a saved information writing unit that writes the changed information as saved information in the nonvolatile memory at predetermined time intervals; b. An abnormal state flag writing means for writing an abnormal state flag to the non-volatile memory when abnormal termination is performed during a printing process. 2. The printer according to claim 1, wherein
The abnormal state flag is configured by a main flag indicating that an abnormal end has occurred and a dependent flag indicating a processing attribute at the time of abnormal end. 3. The printer according to claim 2, wherein
The dependent flag includes a history flag indicating a time relationship between abnormal termination and writing of the specific continuous change information by the stored information writing means. 4. The printer device according to claim 2 or 3, wherein the recovery means, when an abnormal end occurs, immediately before the abnormal end from the latest storage information and the dependent flag for the specific continuous change information. It is characterized by including a continuous change information value estimation means for estimating the value of. 5. The printer apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the number of dots ejected during the driving of the printing mechanism is specified as the specific continuous change information in the storage required information. An inkjet printer device comprising a count value. 6. The printer according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the amount of toner consumed during the driving of the printing mechanism is specified as the continuous change information in the storage required information. A laser printer device including a count value.