JPH10226087A - Recording apparatus and information processing apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a recording apparatus or the like that is capable of facilitating process of specifying an ink cartridge to be replaced when a plurality of ink cartridges are mounted thereon. SOLUTION: An access cover 60 is attached to the upside of a recording apparatus 56 so that the cover can be opened and shut freely. When the cover 60 is opened, a carriage 65 is moved in accordance with a replacement position indication 63 corresponding to any one of ink cartridges 66-69. The carriage 65 is mounted on a guide shaft 64 so that the carriage can be moved freely in reciprocation.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a recording apparatus for performing recording using a recording head for discharging ink onto a recording medium,
The present invention relates to an information processing device such as a host computer that controls the recording device and an information processing method in the information processing device.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, as the above-described recording apparatus, a carriage on which a recording head and an ink cartridge for supplying ink to the recording head are mounted is orthogonal to a transport direction of a recording medium (hereinafter referred to as a sub scanning direction). There is known a so-called serial type printer that reciprocates in a direction (hereinafter, referred to as a main scanning direction) and also performs recording by feeding a recording medium in a sub-scanning direction.

[0003] An access cover mainly used for exchanging ink cartridges and the like is usually attached to this type of printer so as to be freely opened and closed. When the access cover is closed, the carriage stops at the home position (initial stop position). When the access cover is opened or the exchange key on the operation panel is pressed by the user, etc. Is controlled to move to a predetermined replacement position and stop at that position.

However, in the conventional printer, the stop position of the carriage is always constant when the ink cartridge is replaced. Therefore, when a plurality of ink cartridges are mounted on the carriage, it is necessary to specify the ink cartridge to be replaced. Was difficult.

[0005]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide a recording apparatus, an information processing apparatus, and an information processing method which solve the above-mentioned difficulties.

[0006]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present invention provides an ink cartridge holding means for detachably holding a plurality of ink cartridges, and a remaining amount information indicating the remaining amount of ink in the ink cartridge. Remaining information acquisition means for acquiring the remaining information, display means for displaying a message of replacement of the ink cartridge, and display of the message on the display means in accordance with the remaining ink information acquired by the remaining information acquisition means. And an ink cartridge moving means for moving the ink cartridge holding means to a different replacement position for each ink cartridge when replacing the ink cartridge.

Here, the indication of the ink cartridge replacement position may be provided on a fixed portion.

[0008] The fixing portion may be a part of the apparatus main body,
Further, the display means may be the display means.

The ink cartridge holding means may be covered with a cover which can be opened and closed.

[0010] The information processing apparatus may further include storage means for storing the open / closed state of the cover, wherein the display instruction means instructs the display means to display the open / closed state of the cover stored by the storage means. Good.

[0011] The ink cartridge moving means may start moving the ink cartridge holding means based on the cover opening information stored by the storage means.

[0012] The display means may display a message indicating that the ink cartridge has not been replaced in addition to the message indicating that the ink cartridge has been replaced. A plurality of messages by the display means may be selectable.

[0013] The ink cartridge holding means may hold a recording head for discharging ink contained in the held ink cartridge to a recording medium.

[0014] The ink cartridge moving means may reciprocate the ink cartridge holding means in a main scanning direction orthogonal to a conveying direction of the recording medium.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided an information processing apparatus for controlling a recording apparatus including means for detachably holding a plurality of ink cartridges. An amount information obtaining means;
Display means for displaying a message of replacement of the ink cartridge; display instruction means for instructing the display means to display the message in accordance with remaining ink amount information obtained by the remaining amount information obtaining means; When the cartridge is replaced, an ink cartridge moving means for moving the ink cartridge holding means to a different replacement position for each of the ink cartridges is provided.

Here, the indication of the ink cartridge replacement position may be provided on a fixed portion.

The fixing part may be a part of the apparatus main body,
Further, the display means may be the display means.

[0018] The ink cartridge holding means may be covered with an openable / closable cover.

[0019] The information processing apparatus may further include storage means for storing the open / closed state of the cover, and the display instruction means may instruct the display means to display the open / closed state of the cover stored by the storage means. Good.

[0020] The ink cartridge moving means may start moving the ink cartridge holding means based on the cover opening information stored by the storage means.

The display means may display a message of not replacing the ink cartridge in addition to the message of replacing the ink cartridge. A plurality of messages by the display means may be selectable.

The ink cartridge holding means may hold a recording head for discharging ink contained in the held ink cartridge onto a recording medium.

[0023] The ink cartridge moving means may reciprocate the ink cartridge holding means in a main scanning direction orthogonal to a conveying direction of the recording medium.

[0024] The recording apparatus may further include means for generating recording information to be recorded by the recording apparatus and outputting the recording information to the recording apparatus. The recording information may be image information. The remaining amount information acquiring means may acquire the remaining ink amount information from the recording device via a bidirectional interface. Further, the information processing apparatus may further include means for outputting recording information to the recording apparatus via a bidirectional interface.

In the present invention, by moving the ink cartridge to a different replacement position for each ink cartridge, it is possible to easily identify the ink cartridge to be replaced, for which the remaining ink amount is low. Also, move the carriage in conjunction with opening the access cover,
By specifying the ink cartridge to be replaced,
It is possible to quickly perform the ink cartridge replacement operation. Therefore, the recording time can be shortened by restarting the recording operation early.

[0026]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the information processing apparatus according to the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a schematic front view showing a printing system as an embodiment of the information processing apparatus of the present invention. In FIG. 1, reference numeral 51 denotes a host computer, and a system program manages the execution state of various application programs based on a predetermined OS (operation system). The host computer 51 has a CP
A system board 52 including a U, a RAM, a ROM, and the like is provided. The host computer 51 includes a hard disk (HD) 53 for storing an application program, a printer control program, and the like.
A floppy disk drive 54 that can access a floppy disk (FD) of various media is integrally incorporated. Reference numeral 55 denotes a display unit (display means) such as a CRT display capable of displaying a predetermined window corresponding to various applications.

The host computer 51 is connected to a printer 56 for executing a predetermined printing process and forming an image on a recording medium. This printer device 56
May be configured to be connected to the host computer 51 in a stand-alone state, or may be configured to be connected to a part of a predetermined network in a built-in state.

The host computer 51 is connected to input means 57 such as a keyboard, a mouse, a pointing device such as a finger or a pen point input means for inputting settings and the like corresponding to various applications. The components such as the host computer 51 and the like constitute a single information processing apparatus or information processing system as a whole.

Next, the configuration of the above-described printer will be described with reference to FIGS.

In FIGS. 2 and 3, reference numeral 60 denotes an access cover. The access cover 60 is attached to the device body 6.
It is attached to the upper part of 1 so that opening and closing is possible. Device body 6
An operation panel 62 is arranged at the upper center of the device 1.
In a horizontal portion near the operation panel 62, a plurality of display portions 63 arranged at equal intervals along a carriage scanning direction (main scanning direction) described later are provided. The display unit 63 is for displaying replacement positions of a plurality of ink cartridges mounted on a carriage described later for each ink cartridge. By positioning and stopping the ink cartridge corresponding to the replacement position indicated by the display section 63, the user can easily identify the ink cartridge to be replaced. The interval between the display of the replacement positions is set to be longer than the total distance of the width dimensions of a plurality of ink cartridges described later. This is because when the carriage stops at one replacement position, only one ink cartridge can be specified by displaying the replacement position.

A guide shaft 64 is provided at the inner bottom of the apparatus main body 61, and a carriage 65 is mounted on the guide shaft 64 so as to be reciprocally movable. In the present embodiment, four ink cartridges 66, 67, 68, and 69 can be detachably mounted on the carriage 65 as shown in FIG. These ink cartridges 66, 67, 68, and 69 contain black, yellow, magenta, and cyan inks, respectively. Above the mounting position of the ink cartridge of the carriage 65, a display for specifying the mounting position is provided.

The stop position of the carriage 65 shown in FIG. 2 corresponds to a home position provided with recovery means (not shown) for recovering the ejection performance of the recording head mounted on the carriage 65 together with the ink cartridge. The stop position of the carriage 65 shown in FIG. 3 corresponds to the replacement position of the second ink cartridge 67 from the left.

In the information processing apparatus having such a configuration, a printer driver for transmitting predetermined control information and output information to the printer device 56 detects the open / closed state of the access cover 60 of the printer device 56, and Is opened, the system board 52 calls the driver screen corresponding to the cover open state,
It is set and displayed on the display unit 55. In addition, when the access cover 60 is opened and there is an ink cartridge to be replaced whose ink remaining amount is reduced based on the ink remaining amount information, there is a replacement for identifying the ink cartridge in conjunction with the operation. Carriage 65 in position
To move.

The host computer 51 of the information processing apparatus described above can also acquire information on the amount of ink remaining in the ink cartridge in the printer 56 while communicating with the printer 56 via a predetermined interface. . By obtaining the remaining ink amount information, the carriage is moved to a predetermined replacement position as described above.

FIGS. 4 and 5 are plan views showing examples of the menu screen of the warning display displayed on the display unit 55 when the access cover 60 shown in FIGS. 2 and 3 is open.

In FIG. 4, the fact that the cover of the printer is open and the request to the user to close the cover are displayed. At this time, in the present embodiment, the type of ink whose remaining amount of ink is low is displayed on the same display screen, and then, it is asked whether to replace the ink tank, and the recording head is replaced. Ask whether or not. For any of the questions, a specific area to be pressed when exchanging is displayed on the screen, and a response can be made using a pointing device or the like. As shown in FIG. 4, the ink cartridge may be specified by the type of the ink color, or may be specified by a numeral or a symbol such as an alphabet as shown in FIGS. In short, what is necessary is just to be able to distinguish the ink cartridge.

FIG. 5 shows the fact that the cover of the printer is open and the request to the user to close the cover after the ink tank replacement sequence is completed.

FIG. 6 is a plan view showing an example of a menu screen displayed at the time of ink cartridge replacement displayed on the display unit 55 described above. Also in this case, execution keys corresponding to four types of exchanges of black exchange, blue exchange, red exchange, and yellow exchange are arranged so that a response can be made with a pointing device or the like. The execution key may be a key corresponding to four types of BK, C, M, and Y so as to directly indicate the color of the ink.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing an example of a procedure when the cover is opened in the embodiment. In addition,
It is assumed that the order of processing in each step in FIG. 7 can be freely changed.

In FIG. 7, first, in step (1), it is confirmed that the access cover 60 of the printer 56 is open. As a means for detecting the opening and closing of the cover 60, any type of sensor such as a mechanical type or an optical type can be used. In any case, the detection information is sent to the system board 52 and processed. If the cover 60 is open, the fact of the cover open is stored in the RAM or the like of the system board 52 in step (2). Next, in step (3), “cover open warning display 1” shown in FIG. 4 is displayed on the screen of the display unit 55, and the user is asked for the reason for opening the cover. If the reason for opening the cover is to replace the ink cartridge in step (4), the "cover open warning display 1" is displayed in step (5).
Is completed, the "ink cartridge replacement display" shown in FIG. 6 is displayed in step (6). Less than,
In steps (7) to (15), an ink cartridge replacement sequence is performed.

If the reason for opening the cover is to replace the recording head in step (16), the display of "cover open warning display 1" is terminated in step (17), and the head is opened in step (18). Perform the exchange sequence.

If neither the ink cartridge replacement sequence nor the head replacement sequence is selected and the cover is open, step (19)
To continue the display of the "cover open warning display 1". When the cover is closed in step (20), the display of the "cover open warning display 1" is terminated and the step (2) is completed.
In 1), the cover close is stored in the RAM or the like of the system board 52, and the process returns to the start.

When the respective exchange sequences have been completed, it is checked in step (22) whether or not the cover is open. If the cover is open, in step (23) the "cover" shown in FIG. Open warning display 2 "is displayed. If it is closed, the display of the "cover open warning display 2" is terminated in step (24), and the process proceeds to step (2).
In step 5), the cover close is stored in the RAM or the like of the system board 52, and the process returns to the start.

In this embodiment, when the printer driver displays the replacement of the ink cartridge, the user can be notified of the remaining amount of the ink in the ink cartridge of the printer on the display screen.

In this embodiment, when the user opens the cover of the printer, the carriage is moved to a predetermined replacement position of each ink cartridge, so that the identification of the ink cartridge is facilitated. Can also be performed quickly.

Further, the present invention may be applied to a configuration for detecting the remaining amount of ink, such as a method of electrically or optically detecting the amount of ink in a container, a method of calculating the amount of consumed ink, and the like. Known configurations can be applied.

The present invention can be applied to a system composed of a plurality of devices, and can also be applied to a device composed of a single device. Needless to say, the present invention can be applied to a case where the present invention is achieved by supplying a program to a system or an apparatus.

Further, the printer driver mentioned in this embodiment is generally a program that operates on an OS (operating system) of a computer. The present invention relates to, for example, Microsoft Windows.
Windows 3.1, Windows 95, Windows
It is needless to say that the present invention can be widely applied to a computer corresponding to an OS such as NT), Apple's MacOS, and UNIX (trade name), a recording device connected to the computer, and a system including the computer and the recording device.

[0050]

As described above, according to the present invention,
By moving the ink cartridge to a different replacement position for each ink cartridge, it is possible to easily identify the ink cartridge to be replaced, for which the remaining amount of ink is low. In addition, by moving the carriage in conjunction with the opening of the access cover and specifying the ink cartridge to be replaced, the ink cartridge replacement operation can be performed quickly. Therefore, the recording time can be shortened by restarting the recording operation early.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic front view illustrating a printing system as an embodiment of an information processing apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic perspective view showing an embodiment of the recording apparatus of the present invention, and shows a state where the carriage is stopped at a home position.

FIG. 3 is a schematic perspective view showing an embodiment of the recording apparatus of the present invention, and shows a state where the carriage is stopped at a specific ink cartridge replacement position.

FIG. 4 is a plan view showing an example of a menu screen of a warning display displayed on the display unit 55 when the access cover shown in FIGS. 2 and 3 is open.

FIG. 5 is a plan view showing another example of a menu screen for a warning display displayed on the display unit when the access cover shown in FIGS. 2 and 3 is open.

FIG. 6 is a plan view showing an example of a menu screen displayed at the time of ink cartridge replacement displayed on the display unit.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a procedure when a cover is opened according to the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

Reference Signs List 51 host computer 52 system board (display instruction means) 53 hard disk (ink remaining amount information obtaining means) 54 floppy disk drive (ink remaining amount information obtaining means) 55 display unit (display unit) 56 printer device (recording device) 57 input unit Reference Signs List 60 Access cover 61 Main body 62 Operation panel 63 Replacement position display 64 Guide shaft (ink cartridge moving means) 65 Carriage (ink cartridge holding means)

Claims (26)

[Claims] An ink cartridge holding unit for detachably holding a plurality of ink cartridges; a remaining amount information obtaining unit for obtaining remaining amount information indicating the remaining amount of ink in the ink cartridge; and a message for replacing the ink cartridge. Display means for displaying the remaining amount information acquired by the remaining amount information acquiring means, and display instruction means for instructing the display means to display the message according to the remaining ink amount information acquired by the remaining amount information acquiring means. An ink cartridge moving unit for moving the cartridge holding unit to a different replacement position for each of the ink cartridges. 2. The recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the indication of the ink cartridge replacement position is provided on a fixed portion. 3. The recording apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the fixing unit is a part of an apparatus main body. 4. The recording apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the fixing unit is the display unit. 5. The ink cartridge holding means is covered with an openable / closable cover.
5. The recording device according to any one of Items 4 to 4. 6. A storage unit for storing the open / closed state of the cover, wherein the display instruction unit instructs the display unit to display the open / closed state of the cover stored by the storage unit. The recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein: 7. The recording apparatus according to claim 6, wherein said ink cartridge moving means starts moving said ink cartridge holding means based on said cover opening information stored by said storage means. apparatus. 8. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said display means displays a message indicating that the ink cartridge has not been replaced in addition to the message indicating that the ink cartridge has been replaced. The recording device as described in the above. 9. The recording apparatus according to claim 8, wherein a plurality of messages by said display means can be selected. 10. The ink cartridge holding means according to claim 1, wherein said ink cartridge holding means holds a recording head for ejecting ink contained in said ink cartridge to a recording medium. The recording device according to the item. 11. The recording apparatus according to claim 10, wherein said ink cartridge moving means reciprocates the ink cartridge holding means in a main scanning direction orthogonal to a conveying direction of the recording medium. 12. An information processing apparatus for controlling a recording apparatus including means for detachably holding a plurality of ink cartridges, wherein a remaining amount information obtaining means for obtaining remaining amount information indicating the remaining amount of ink in the ink cartridge. Display means for displaying a message of replacement of the ink cartridge; display instruction means for instructing the display means to display the message in accordance with the remaining ink amount information acquired by the remaining amount information acquiring means; An information processing apparatus, comprising: an ink cartridge moving unit that moves the ink cartridge holding unit to a different replacement position for each of the ink cartridges when replacing the ink cartridge. 13. The ink cartridge replacement position indication is provided on a fixed portion.
2. The information processing apparatus according to item 2. 14. The information processing apparatus according to claim 13, wherein the fixing unit is a part of the apparatus main body. 15. The information processing apparatus according to claim 13, wherein the fixing unit is the display unit. 16. The information processing apparatus according to claim 12, wherein said ink cartridge holding means is covered with a cover which can be opened and closed. 17. A storage unit for storing the open / closed state of the cover, wherein the display instruction unit instructs the display unit to display the open / closed state of the cover stored by the storage unit. The information processing apparatus according to claim 12, wherein: 18. The information according to claim 17, wherein the ink cartridge moving means starts moving the ink cartridge holding means based on the cover opening information stored by the storage means. Processing equipment. 19. The apparatus according to claim 12, wherein said display means displays a message indicating that the ink cartridge has not been replaced in addition to the message indicating that the ink cartridge has been replaced. An information processing apparatus according to claim 1. 20. The information processing apparatus according to claim 19, wherein a plurality of messages by said display means can be selected. 21. The ink cartridge holding means according to claim 12, wherein said ink cartridge holding means holds a recording head for discharging ink held in said ink cartridge held onto said recording medium. An information processing device according to the item. 22. The information processing apparatus according to claim 21, wherein said ink cartridge moving means reciprocates the ink cartridge holding means in a main scanning direction orthogonal to a conveying direction of the recording medium. . 23. The information processing apparatus according to claim 12, further comprising means for generating recording information to be recorded by said recording device and outputting the recording information to said recording device. 24. The information processing apparatus according to claim 23, wherein said record information is image information. 25. The information processing apparatus according to claim 23, wherein said remaining amount information obtaining means obtains said remaining ink amount information from said recording device via a bidirectional interface. 26. The information processing apparatus according to claim 23, further comprising means for outputting recording information to said recording apparatus via a bidirectional interface.