JPH10250050A - Ink jet printer - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To simply eliminate an error state even if a power on reset cannot be executed by a power switch by providing in combination an error informing means, an error key and error eliminating means and an error elimination informing means. SOLUTION: When an error is generated, an MPU 26 controls a parallel port register 64 and informs occurrence of the error to a host computer 12. An operator observes a display of an ink jet printer, and knows that any error occurs. Then, the operator presses an error key 30. When the key 30 is pressed, the MPU 26 judges 'YES'. That is, when the error state occurs, the MPU 26 waits until the key 30 is pressed. And, when the key 30 is pressed, the MPU 26 eliminates the error state in cooperation with an ASIC 24.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an ink jet printer. More specifically, the present invention sends a print command and print data from a device driver of a host computer to an inkjet printer,
MPU (Microprocessor Uni) for inkjet printing
t) and ASIC (Application Specific Integrated
Circuit) processes them to control inkjet nozzles, carriers and feed motors.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art An ink jet printer of this type generally includes a CPU or MPU and an ASIC, and the ASIC controls a carrier motor, a feed motor, nozzle injection, and the like in accordance with instructions from the MPU. When a paper jam occurs, paper sensors provided in the print paper conveyance path and the discharge path detect the paper jam, and the control panel indicates that the paper jam has occurred. When the operator removes the paper sheet causing the paper jam according to the display, the paper sensor detects that the paper is no longer in the transport path or the discharge path, and makes a state where the printing operation can be resumed.

In some printers, when a paper jam occurs, the power switch is turned off, and the next time the power switch is turned on, the paper jam can be eliminated by "power-on reset".

[0004]

However, if the printer does not have a power switch, the above-described "power-on reset" cannot be used to eliminate paper jams. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Therefore, a main object of the present invention is to provide an ink jet printer which does not have a power switch and which can easily eliminate an error state.

[0005]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to an ink jet printer which is connected to a host machine and has no power switch, wherein an error notifying means for informing the host machine of the occurrence of an error condition, and operated in the error condition. An inkjet printer comprising: an error key; an error elimination unit that eliminates an error state in response to an operation of the error key; and an error elimination notification unit that notifies a host machine that the error state has been eliminated by the error elimination unit.

[0006]

When an error condition occurs, the error notifying means activates ("1") or inactivates ("0") a predetermined signal line to notify the host device of the error.
Report an error condition. When the error state is, for example, carrier stall, the error elimination means drives the carrier motor in response to the operation of the error key. Depending on,
The carrier is forcibly moved toward one end in the main scanning direction,
Therefore, carrier stall is eliminated.

When the error state is, for example, a paper jam, in response to the operation of the error key, the error elimination means:
The feed motor is driven in the forward direction by a predetermined number of steps (a predetermined amount). Accordingly, the feed roller is rotated so as to forcibly move the paper in the sub-scanning direction, so that the paper jam is eliminated. When the error state is, for example, out of paper, in response to the operation of the error key, the error elimination means operates the feed motor by a predetermined number of steps (a predetermined amount).
Drive in the opposite direction. Accordingly, the feed roller is forcibly rotated in the reverse direction, so that the paper break is eliminated.

When an error state, for example, a carrier stall, a paper jam, or a paper break is eliminated by the above-mentioned error eliminating means, the error eliminating notification means activates a predetermined signal line ("1") or inactivates ("0"). ) Informs the host machine that the error state has been resolved, that is, that the printing operation can be resumed.

[0009]

According to the present invention, even in an ink jet printer having no power switch, the error state can be eliminated by pressing the error key, and the printing operation can be resumed. The above and other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description of embodiments with reference to the drawings.

[0010]

Referring to FIG. 1, an ink jet printer system 10 of this embodiment includes a host computer 12 and an ink jet printer 14. The host computer 12 is a “Windows” -compatible computer and includes a device driver 16. The device driver 16 is firmware for interfacing the host computer 12 and the ink jet printer 14 and, as is well known, performs functions such as conversion of character data into bitmap data and conversion of bitmap data into nozzle data. And sends the nozzle data to the inkjet printer 14 together with necessary print commands.

Output port 18 of host computer 12
A printer cable or data cable 22, such as a parallel interface "Centronics" or a serial interface "232C", is connected between the printer and the input port 20 of the inkjet printer 14, for example. The data cable 22 includes a 1-bit strobe (STROBE) signal line, an 8-bit data (DATA) line, and a 1-bit interrupt (I) for transmitting data and signals from the host computer 12 to the inkjet printer 14.
NT) signal line, a 1-bit auto feed (AUTOFD) signal line, and a 1-bit select (SLCTIN) signal line. The data cable 22 also includes a printer error (PE) signal line, one bit each, for transmitting data or signals from the inkjet printer 14 to the host computer 12.
(ERROR) line, select-in (SLCT) signal line, busy (BUSY)
A second signal line and an acknowledge (ACK) signal line
The signal line group 22b is included.

The inkjet printer 14 is an ASIC.
24 and the MPU 26. In this embodiment, the MPU 26 is, for example, a 4-bit MPU for the purpose of reducing the cost of the inkjet printer 14. ASIC2
4 has a circuit scale of, for example, about 15,000 gates,
It is connected to the MPU 26 and to the SRAM 28 (for example, 32 Kbytes). In this embodiment, the SRAM 28 is used not only as a buffer for print data (nozzle data) but also as an acceleration / deceleration table for a printer carrier.

The ASIC 24 receives signals from the error key 30 and the sensor 32. The error key 30 is used for releasing an error. When an error such as a paper jam occurs, the user can escape from the error state by operating the error key 30 after removing the paper. The sensor 32 includes a home position sensor 32a for detecting whether a carrier (not shown) has returned to a home position, and a paper sensor for detecting that a print sheet is present on a transport path (not shown). 32b and a paper sensor 32c for detecting that the print paper is present in a paper feed unit (not shown). In addition,
The transport path includes a supply path for supplying the print paper toward the nozzle head, that is, the print position, and a discharge path for transporting the print paper from the nozzle head toward a discharge port (not shown). Therefore, the paper sensor 32b is provided in both the supply path and the discharge path, and is turned on when paper exists in either path. The paper sensor 32c is turned on when paper is present in the paper supply unit.

The ASIC 24 supplies control signals to the feed motor 34, the carrier motor 36, and the print head 38. The feed motor 34 is constituted by a stepping motor or a pulse motor in this embodiment, and drives a feed roller (not shown) to feed the paper to a print position, sequentially move the paper in the sub-scanning direction, or From the paper. The carrier motor 34 is a motor for driving a carrier (not shown) for moving the print head 38 in the main scanning direction. In this embodiment, the carrier motor 34 is constituted by a stepping motor or a pulse motor.

The ASIC 24 includes a command decoder 40 for storing three types of data from the host computer 12, such as a command, a Nibble Mode Request signal, and an SRAM 28 required for printing. (Nozzle data) is controlled. Briefly, when an 8-byte command is input from the host computer 12, the command decoder 40 interrupts the MPU 26 (INT1). The command decoder 40 also
The head byte of the 8-byte command is monitored, and if the head bit (bit number 7) of the head byte is “1”,
The address and data length to be transferred to the SRAM 28 are set for the first DMA controller 42. Then, the first DMA controller 42 transmits the SR
Each time data to be stored in the AM 28 is input from the selector 68 (described later), the data is transferred by one byte S
Write to RAM28.

In order to enable reverse data transfer from the printer 14 to the host computer 12 in response to a request for a device ID from the host computer 12 under a "Windows" environment, a nibble mode is used.
Execute the negotiation phase. for that reason,
The host computer 12 sends "1" and "0" to the select-in signal line and the auto-feed signal line of the first signal line group 22a, respectively, to notify the printer 14 that the negotiation phase has started. Accordingly, the command decoder 40 knows that the host computer 12 has issued a nibble mode request, and
An interrupt (INT0) is issued to U26. The MPU 26
The required scalability (Extensibili
Only one byte of (ty Request Value) is received from the command decoder 40.

The data in the SRAM 28 is read by the second / third first DMA controller 44 included in the ASIC 24 and sent to the carrier motor controller 46. The carrier motor controller 46 basically controls the drive pulse of the carrier motor 36 while
The ejection timing of a nozzle (not shown) of the print head 38 is controlled. For detailed timing control of the carrier motor 36 and the print head 38, a timing pulse is output from the timing generation circuit 48 to the motor controller 50 and the ejection controller 52. The motor controller 50 generates a drive signal that can actually drive a motor driver (not shown) according to the timing pulse. The ejection controller 52 generates a drive signal capable of actually driving a nozzle driver (not shown) in response to the timing pulse.

The ASIC 24 further includes a first system control register 54 of, for example, 8 bits. The first system control register 54 provides control data for controlling the carrier motor 36 to the carrier motor controller 46. The first system control register 54 is connected to the command decoder 40 via a bus 56 together with a second system control register 58, a system status register 60, a feed acceleration / deceleration table 62, and a parallel port register 64.
And the MPU 26.

The second system control register 58 provides data for controlling the feed motor 34 to the feed motor controller 66 in accordance with the acceleration / deceleration data from the feed acceleration / deceleration table 62 and the like. System status register 60 is, for example, 8 bits and notifies MPU 26 of data representing the status of the entire system. The parallel port register 64 notifies the host computer 12 of the status of the inkjet printer 14, such as data such as busy, PE error, select, halt, and acknowledgment, through the signal line group 22b. The parallel port register 64 is used for transmitting necessary data from the inkjet printer 14 to the host computer 12 in a negotiation phase when shifting from the compatibility mode to the nibble mode.

In the embodiment of FIG. 1, when an error occurs, the MPU 26 controls the parallel port register 64 to notify the host computer 12 of the occurrence of the error in step S1 of FIG. In this state, the operator looks at the display of the inkjet printer,
Know that some error has occurred. Then, the operator presses the error key 30.

When the error key 30 is pressed, the MPU 26 determines "YES" in step S2 in FIG. That is, when an error condition occurs, the error 26 waits until the error key 30 is pressed. When the error key 30 is pressed, the MPU 26 determines in step S3 that A
In cooperation with the SIC 24, the error state is released. Then, in the next step S4, the MPU 26
Based on a signal from the IC 24, it is determined whether or not the error state has been released. More specifically, by looking at a predetermined sensor signal input from the ASIC 24, the MPU
26 can determine whether the error condition has been released.

When the release of the error state is detected in step S4, the MPU 26 notifies the host computer 12 that the error state has been released in the following step S5. Therefore, the inkjet printer 14
Restart the printing operation. If the error is “carrier stall”, the MPU 26 determines in step S11 of FIG.
, Four signal lines SL included in the second signal line 22b
CT, Error, PE and Busy are inactive respectively.
Data is supplied to the parallel port register 64 so as to be active, inactive and active, that is, "0", "1", "0" and "1". Therefore, the host computer 12 knows that carrier stall has occurred by checking the state of each signal line.

When the operation of the error key 30 is detected in step S12, the MPU 26 sets the driving amount of the carrier motor 34 in the first system control register 54. The drive amount set in the first system control register 54 is provided to the carrier motor controller 46, and accordingly, the carrier motor 34 is driven. In response, the carrier (not shown) is forcibly moved rightward and returns to the home position. Then, in step S14, the ON signal of the home position sensor 30a becomes AS
When input from the IC 24, the MPU 26 determines that the carrier stall has been canceled, and in step S15, sets the four signal lines SLCT, Error, PE, and Busy to "1", "0", "0", and "0", respectively. 0 "
Data is given to the parallel port register 64. Therefore, the host computer 12 knows that the carrier stall has been released by checking the state of each signal line.

The error is "Paper jam (paper jam)"
In the case of, the MPU 26 determines in step S21 of FIG. 4 that the signal lines SLCT, Error,
PE and Busy are inactive, active, active and inactive, respectively.
Data is supplied to the parallel port register 64 so as to be "0", "1", "1", and "0". Therefore, the host computer 12 knows that a paper jam (paper jam) has occurred by checking the state of each signal line.

When the operation of the error key 30 is detected in step S22, the MPU 26 sets a predetermined number of steps in the second system control register 58. In response, the feed motor controller 66 drives the feed motor 36 in the forward direction by the predetermined number of steps. Therefore, a feed roller (not shown) rotates in the forward direction by a predetermined amount, and the paper that has been jammed in the paper transport path, that is, the supply path and / or the discharge path, is discharged. When a certain amount of paper feed operation is completed, the ASIC
The MPU 26 knows that the paper discharging operation has been completed by the interruption from the CPU 24.

In step S24, when the ON signal of the paper sensor 32b is input from the ASIC 24,
The MPU 26 determines that the paper jam has been cleared, and in step S25, sets the four signal lines SLCT, Error, PE, and Busy to “1”, “0”, “0”, and “0”, respectively.
Is given to the parallel port register 64 so that Therefore, the host computer 12 knows that the paper jam has been cleared by checking the state of each signal line.

If the error is "paper out (paper out)", the MPU 26 sets the signal lines SLCT, Error, PE and Busy to inactive, active, active and active, that is, at step S31 in FIG. Data is supplied to the parallel port register 64 so as to be "0", "1", "1", and "1". Therefore, the host computer 12 knows that paper-out (paper-out) has occurred by checking the state of each signal line.

When the operation of the error key 30 is detected in step S32, the MPU 26 sets a predetermined number of steps in the second system control register 58. In response, the feed motor controller 66 drives the feed motor 36 in the reverse direction by the predetermined number of steps. Therefore, the feed roller rotates reversely by a certain amount, and the paper is supplied to a paper feeding unit (not shown). Feed motor 3
6 when the paper feeding operation by a certain amount of reverse rotation is completed, AS
Upon interruption from the IC 24, the MPU 26 knows that the sheet feeding operation has been completed.

In step S24, when the ON signal of the paper sensor 32c is input from the ASIC 24,
The MPU 26 determines that the paper break has been released, and in step S25, sets the signal lines SLCT, Error, PE, and Busy to "1", "0", "0", and "0", respectively, to set the parallel port register 64. Give the data to.
Therefore, the host computer 12 knows that the paper break has been released by checking the state of each signal line.

If the paper sensor 32c is not turned on, it means that no paper is set in the paper feeding unit, and the error state is maintained. Then, when the operator notices that the paper has run out, sets the paper in the paper feed unit, and then presses the error key 30, the paper sensor 32c is on at this time. Therefore, the MPU 26 controls the feed motor 36 to feed the head of the paper to the printable area in order to continue the printing operation. When the feed is completed, the host computer 12 is notified of the release of the paper shortage in the same manner as in step S35.

As described above, in the embodiment shown in FIG. 1, the error state can be canceled only by pressing the error key 30 without the power switch.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing an error state elimination operation of the embodiment in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing an error state elimination operation when the error state is carrier stall;

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing an error state elimination operation when the error state is a paper jam (paper jam).

FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing an error state resolving operation when the error state is out of paper (paper out).

[Explanation of symbols]

 10 Inkjet printer system 12 Host computer 14 Inkjet printer 24 ASIC 26 MPU 30 Error key 32a Home position sensor 32b, 32c Paper sensor 34 Carrier motor 36 Feed motor 54 First system control register 58 ... Second system control register

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page (72) Inventor Mikio Shoki 7-7-1 Nakagakiuchi, Daito-shi, Osaka Funai Electric Co., Ltd.

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. An ink jet printer connected to a host machine and having no power switch, comprising: an error notifying means for notifying the host machine of an occurrence of an error state; an error key operated in the error state; An ink jet printer comprising: an error elimination unit that eliminates the error state in response to the operation; and an error elimination notification unit that notifies the host machine that the error state has been eliminated by the error elimination unit. 2. The apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising: a carrier; and a carrier motor for driving the carrier, wherein the error state is a carrier stall, and the error elimination means moves the carrier motor toward one end of the carrier in the main scanning direction. A first motor driving means for driving the carrier, and a means for detecting that the carrier has returned to the home position.
The ink-jet printer as described. 3. The apparatus according to claim 2, further comprising a feed motor for feeding the paper, wherein the error state is a paper jam in a paper transport path, and the error elimination means drives the second motor to rotate the feed motor in a forward direction by a predetermined amount. 3. The ink jet printer according to claim 1, further comprising: means for detecting that the paper has been discharged. 4. The apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising: a paper supply unit for supplying paper, and a feed motor for transporting the paper supplied to the paper supply unit, wherein the error state is a paper out condition in the paper supply unit, 4. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the error eliminating unit includes a third motor driving unit that rotates the feed motor in a reverse direction by a predetermined amount, and a unit that detects that paper is supplied to the paper feeding unit. An inkjet printer according to item 1.