KR19980065808A - Apparatus and method for informing when to replace waste ink absorber - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a device and a method for notifying when a waste ink absorber is replaced, and comprising: a control unit for receiving print data from a computer and outputting a print control signal; and a print control signal for receiving a print control signal output from the control unit. A head driver for outputting a head control signal according to a signal, an ink cartridge receiving a head control signal output from the head driver, and spraying ink according to an applied head control signal to perform a print job, and ink drying in the ink cartridge In order to prevent the phenomenon, it consists of a waste ink absorbent and a weight sensing unit that sense the weight of the waste ink absorbed to absorb the discharged ink, and has a message function according to the amount of waste ink absorbed in the waste ink absorber. Notify users of heavy work when to replace waste ink absorbers In addition, users who print a small amount can reduce the manufacturing cost by reducing the size of the waste ink absorber (Absorber).

Description

Apparatus and method for informing when to replace waste ink absorber

The present invention relates to a device and a method for informing when to replace the waste ink absorber (absorber), in particular to absorb the ink ejected in order to prevent the ink cartridge dry (Felt) or absorbent (Absorber) consisting of a sponge The present invention relates to an apparatus and a method for informing a user of a waste ink absorber replacement time for recognizing a stored ink amount.

In general, inkjet printers generate bubbles like soap bubbles when heat is applied to ink stored in ink cartridges. The generated bubbles are sprayed through the nozzle to form letters and attached to the printing paper to print.

The number of nozzles used in an inkjet printer using this printing method is generally about 56, and maintains a constant distance between odd and even nozzles. In addition, the font type can be downloaded by a program (Down Load), it is also possible to print a picture or a picture. The resolution of a font or a picture of such an inkjet printer is about 360 DPI (Dot Per Inch), and color printing is performed using color ink according to the type of ink cartridge to be installed. .

In order to prevent clogging of the nozzles due to exposure to air before and after the print job, such ink cartridges are operated by driving the ink cartridges at a certain place after the power is turned on for the first time or after a certain time during printing, or after the printing is completed. The ink is ejected from. Such a jetting operation is called a spitting operation or a purge, and the ejected ink is collected in an absorber such as a felt or a sponge.

In order to find out such an absorbent, the state in which the absorbent is mounted in the inkjet printer will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

1 is an assembly configuration of a conventional waste ink absorber (Absorber). As shown, a waste ink absorber 1a consisting of a bottom ink absorber 1a for absorbing and storing waste ink and a top waste ink absorber 1b and an absorber sheet 1c 1 ) And a lower case (2) formed with a left fixing piece (2a) and a right fixing piece (2b) for mounting and assembling the waste ink absorber (1).

Referring to the operation according to the configuration as follows.

First, the ink cartridge is exposed to the outside during the ink ejection or initialization operation. Since the ink cartridge exposed to the outside is exposed to the outside, the ink cartridge is spitting or purging the ink to prevent ink drying. That is, a certain amount of ink is ejected to prevent the ink from the nozzle of the ink cartridge from drying out due to external exposure.

The ink discharged to prevent the drying of the ink is called waste ink, and the waste ink absorbent 1 absorbs waste ink to prevent contamination of the ink jet printer and the surroundings due to the waste ink. The waste ink absorbent 1 passes through a hole formed in the waste ink absorbent 1 in the left fixing piece 2a and the right fixing piece 2b of the lower case 2 of the inkjet printer to absorb the waste ink. The waste ink absorber 1a and the top waste ink absorber 1b and the absorbent sheet 1c are fixed in this order.

The state in which the waste ink absorber 1 is mounted will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 2 is a state diagram in which the ink absorber shown in FIG. 1 is assembled. As shown, the waste ink absorber 1 is mounted on the lower case 2.

Such a conventional waste ink absorber (Absorber) 1 occupies a large area of the lower case 2 and its size is large, and the printing amount is small because the user's actual use time or the number of sheets to be printed varies from user to user. There is an increase in the manufacturing cost burden due to the waste ink absorber (1), on the contrary, in the case of a large amount of printing, waste ink overflows due to printing a large amount regardless of the capacity of the waste ink absorber (1). There is a problem that the inkjet printer or the surroundings are contaminated.

Therefore, in order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present invention senses the weight of the waste ink absorber (Absorber) when a certain weight or more is recognized by the user to know the waste ink for informing the replacement time of the waste ink absorber (Absorber) It is an object of the present invention to provide an apparatus and method for informing when to change an absorber.

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a control unit for receiving print data from a computer and outputting a print control signal, and a head driver for receiving a print control signal output from the control unit and outputting a head control signal according to the print control signal. And a print cartridge receiving a head control signal output from the head driver and spraying ink according to the applied head control signal, and a waste ink discharged from the ink cartridge to prevent ink drying. It characterized by consisting of a waste ink absorbent and a weight sensing unit for sensing the weight of the waste ink absorbed easily.

1 is an assembly configuration of a conventional waste ink absorber (Absorber),

FIG. 2 is a state in which an ink absorber shown in FIG. 1 is assembled;

3 is a block diagram of an internal circuit of the inkjet printer to which the present invention is applied;

4 is a circuit diagram showing in detail the waste ink absorbent and the weight sensing unit shown in FIG. 3;

5 is a waveform diagram according to a switching signal generated in the waste ink absorber and the weight sensing unit illustrated in FIG. 4;

6 is a configuration diagram showing an internal state of an inkjet printer to which a waste ink absorbent and a weight sensing unit according to the present invention are applied;

7 is a configuration diagram showing the configuration of a waste ink absorber and a weight sensing unit in the inkjet printer shown in FIG. 6;

8 is a flowchart illustrating a method for sensing the weight of a waste ink absorbent according to the present invention.

The present invention having such features will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

3 is a block diagram of an internal circuit of an inkjet printer to which a circuit for measuring the weight of a waste ink absorbent according to the present invention is applied. As shown, the control unit 11 receives print data from a computer (not shown) and outputs a print control signal, and a ROM 12 storing a bias (BIOS) program and other application programs for controlling an inkjet printer. And a RAM 13 for temporarily storing the program stored in the ROM 12 in the control unit 11 and a font for generating font data required for a print job according to the print data applied from the control unit 11. ROM 14, a nonvolatile RAM 15 storing a result or state currently executed in the control unit 11, and a print control signal output from the control unit 11, the head control according to the print control signal The head drive unit 16 outputs a signal, the head control signal output from the head drive unit 16 is applied, and the ink is ejected according to the applied head control signal to print the job. A motor driving unit 18 that receives a cartridge 17, a print control signal output from the control unit 11, and outputs a motor control signal according to the applied print control signal, and a motor output from the motor driving unit 18. In the carrier motor 19 and the motor control signal output from the motor driver 18 which generate a rotational force for performing the left and right reciprocating motion of the ink cartridge 17 by receiving the carrier motor control signal from the control signal. A line feed motor 20 which receives a line feed motor control signal and feeds media in accordance with an applied line feed motor control signal; The ink cartridge 17 is composed of a waste ink absorbent and a weight sensing unit 21 for sensing the weight of the waste ink absorbed to absorb the waste ink discharged to prevent the ink dryness. .

Referring to the operation according to the configuration as follows.

First, when print data is generated from a computer, the generated print data is received by the controller 11. The control unit 11 receiving the print data generates a print control signal according to the applied print data. At this time, the controller 11 reads a bias program and an application program stored in the ROM 12, temporarily stores the RAM program in the RAM 13, executes the font data stored in the font ROM 14, if necessary. Load and execute to generate and output a print control signal.

The output print control signal is applied to the head driver 16. The head driver 16 receiving the print control signal outputs the head control signal according to the applied print control signal. The output head control signal is applied from the ink cartridge 17 to form ink on the media through a nozzle (not shown).

At this time, the motor control unit 18 receives a print control signal output from the control unit 11 to print one line of the medium through the ink cartridge 17. The motor driver 18 receiving the print control signal generates and outputs a motor control signal according to the applied print control signal.

The carrier motor control signal is applied by the carrier motor 19 among the motor control signals output from the motor driver 18. The carrier motor 19 receiving the carrier motor control signal rotates in accordance with the applied carrier control signal to provide a rotational force capable of left and right reciprocating motion with the ink cartridge 17.

When the ink cartridge 17 reciprocates left and right by the carrier motor 19 to print one line on the media, the paper moves to print the next line. In order to move the paper, the motor driving unit 18 outputs a line feed motor control signal according to the motor control signal. The LF motor 20, which receives the output line feed motor control signal, controls the LF motor 20 according to the applied line feed motor control signal to generate rotational force. The rotational force generated causes the media to move to the next print line.

Through this repetitive job, a print job is executed, and the state of the print job is stored in the nonvolatile RAM 15. The nonvolatile RAM 15 stores various information such as a basic paper size of the printer, an emulation mode, a page counter of a media, a dot counter, and the like.

As such, the ink cartridge 17 is exposed to the outside due to a print job or an initialization operation through the ink cartridge 17. When the ink cartridge 17 is exposed to the outside, a nozzle (not shown) of the ink cartridge 17 is exposed. ), The ink remaining in the) dry due to the quick drying.

In order to prevent such dryness, the ink cartridge 17 discharges a certain amount of ink through the nozzle. The discharged ink is absorbed, and the absorbed waste ink weight is sensed by the waste ink absorbent and the weight sensing unit 21 to generate a potential level signal according to the detected result.

The generated potential level signal is superimposed on the DC voltage V _CC applied through the resistor 21-1 and applied to the controller 11. The control unit 11 receiving the potential level signal displays a message according to the replacement timing of the waste ink absorber according to the applied potential level. In other words, if the amount of the waste ink absorbed by the waste ink absorbent and the weight sensing unit 21 is small, the message is not displayed. Displayed through a device (not shown) to be recognized by the user.

The waveform of the potential level signal according to the amount of waste ink detected by the waste ink absorbent and the weight sensing unit 21 and the waste ink absorbent and the weight sensing unit 21 will be described with reference to FIGS. 4 and 5 as follows. same.

First, the waste ink absorbent and the weight sensor 21 will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

4 is a circuit diagram showing in detail the waste ink absorber and the weight sensing unit shown in FIG. As shown, the waste ink absorber and the weight sensing unit 21 (shown in FIG. 3) are formed of an absorber 21a that absorbs the waste ink and an absorber 21a that absorbs the waste ink. It consists of the micro switch 21c which performs a switching operation according to the weight of the case 21b to be attached and the case 21b which attached the said waste ink absorber 21a.

The waveform generated by the control unit 11 (shown in FIG. 3) according to the switching signal output from the waste ink absorbent and the weight sensing unit 21 according to the above configuration will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

5 is a waveform diagram according to a switching signal generated in the waste ink absorber and the weight sensing unit illustrated in FIG. 4. When the open operation is performed in the micro switch 21c that opens and closes according to the amount of waste ink absorbed by the ink absorber 21a, the high level potential signal A is shown in the waveform. ) Is output.

That is, when less waste ink is absorbed from the waste ink absorber 21a, the micro switch 21c outputs a switching signal according to an open state. The level of the output switching signal is applied to the port PA of the controller 11 (shown in FIG. 3) as a high level potential signal. In this case, the high level potential signal A applied is overlapped with the DC voltage V _CC applied through the resistor R.

In addition, when a large amount of waste ink is absorbed from the waste ink absorber 21a to a predetermined weight or more, the micro switch 21c performs a close operation. The micro switch 21c outputs a switching signal according to a close operation, and the potential level of the output switching signal becomes a low level potential signal B as shown in the waveform.

The output low level potential signal B is applied by being overlapped with a DC voltage V _CC that is induced and applied through the resistor R. When the low level potential signal B is applied to the port PA of the control unit 11, the control unit 11 uses a display device (not shown) according to the applied low level potential signal B. The waste ink absorber 21a displays a message indicating that the ink is full.

The internal configuration of the inkjet printer to which the waste ink absorbent and the weight sensing unit 21 are applied will be described below with reference to FIGS. 6 and 7.

Figure 6 is a block diagram showing the internal state of the inkjet printer to which the waste ink absorber and the weight sensing unit according to the present invention is applied. As shown, a paper feed unit 31 for storing paper, a main circuit board 32 for generating and processing a print control signal for spraying ink onto the paper stored in the paper feed unit 31, and the main circuit board. A printer engine 33 that receives the print control signal generated at 32 and prints according to the applied print control signal, and an ink cartridge 17 for a print job according to the rotational force generated at the print engine 33; 3) and a carrier 34 for performing left and right reciprocating motion, and an ink cartridge 17 for ejecting ink while reciprocating along the carrier 34 is exposed to the outside. It consists of a lower case 35 equipped with a waste ink absorber 21a (shown in FIG. 4) for absorbing the waste ink discharged to prevent dryness.

The waste ink absorber (Absorber) 21a for absorbing waste ink during such a configuration will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 7 is a configuration diagram illustrating a configuration of a waste ink absorbent and a weight sensing unit in the inkjet printer shown in FIG. 6. As shown, a case 21b for mounting the waste ink absorber 21a for absorbing waste ink, the case 21b for mounting the waste ink absorber 21a, and the waste ink absorber 21a. And a micro switch 21c for opening and closing operation according to the weight of the case 21b, a connector 21d for transmitting a switching signal generated by the micro switch 21c, and the waste ink absorber. It consists of the lower case 35 which provided the case fixing frame 35a for inserting and fixing the case 21b which attached 21a).

Referring to the operation according to this configuration is as follows.

When print data is generated in a computer (not shown), the generated print data is applied from the main circuit board 32 to generate a print control signal according to the applied print data. The paper stored in the paper feed unit 31 is fed to the bottom surface of the carrier 34 in accordance with the generated print control signal.

The paper fed is sprayed onto the paper by an ink drop ejected from the ink cartridge 17 (shown in FIG. 3) mounted on the carrier 34 to perform a printing operation. At this time, the mechanical operation is performed by receiving a rotational force generated from the printer engine 33 to perform a print job.

When the print job is performed, the ink cartridge 17 is exposed to the outside. When the ink cartridge 17 is exposed to the outside, ink drying occurs due to quick drying of the ink in the nozzle of the ink cartridge 17. In order to prevent such ink dryness, the ink which discharges a certain amount of ink is called waste ink, and the generated waste ink is absorbed by the waste ink absorber 21a.

The waste ink absorber 21a is mounted on the case 21b, and the case 21b on which the waste ink absorber 21a is mounted is placed on the fixing frame 35a formed on the lower case 35 of the inkjet printer. Inserted and fixed.

The waste ink is absorbed by the waste ink absorber 21a which is inserted into the fixing frame 35a and fixed. The weight of the case 21b equipped with the waste ink absorber 21a increases according to the weight of the absorbed waste ink, and the micro switch 21c opens and closes according to the weight of the increased case 21b. Done. When the opening and closing operation of the micro switch 21c is performed, a switching signal according to the opening and closing operation is generated, and the generated switching signal is applied to the controller 11 through the connector 21d.

A method of processing the switching signal applied by the control unit 11 receiving the switching signal generated by the micro switch 21c as described above will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

8 is a flowchart illustrating a method for sensing the weight of a waste ink absorbent according to the present invention. As shown, a start step S11-1 of selecting a message function according to waste ink absorption and a switching signal according to the weight of waste ink when the waste ink absorption function is selected in the start step S11-1 are read. The control unit 11 (shown in FIG. 3) when the switching signal is read in step S11-2 to read and the switching signal is read in the switching signal read step S11-2. A low level determining step (S11-3) of the port for determining whether the potential level applied to the port PA of the low level (Low level) and a low level determining step (S11-3) of the port to the port PA Absorbent full flag set step (S11-4) for setting a full to the absorbent flag (Full) when a low level potential is input, and the absorbent full flag set In step S11-4, when the absorbent pull lag is set to full, the waste ink is stored in the waste ink absorber 21a in the control panel. The control panel display step (S11-5) indicating fullness and the message corresponding to the waste ink full in the control panel display step (S11-5) are displayed or the control unit (S11-3) in the low level determination step (S11-3). It is comprised by the termination step S11-6 which complete | finishes when the port PA of 11) is judged to be high level.

Referring to the operation according to the configuration as follows.

In the start step S11-1, the message function according to the waste ink absorption is selected. If the message display function for waste ink absorption is selected in the start step S11-1, the message display function for waste ink is executed. When the message display function according to the waste ink is executed, the switching signal generated by the micro switch 21c (shown in FIG. 7) is sensed through the switching signal read step S11-2. When the switching signal is read and read in the switching signal read step S11-2,

In the low level determining step S11-3 of the port, it is determined whether the switching signal applied to the port PA of the controller 11 is a low level. As a result, when the switching signal applied to the port PA of the control unit 11 is at a low level, waste ink is added to the absorbent flag in the absorbent flag set step S11-4. Set the flag according to the full.

When the absorbent flag is set to the full flag, the waste ink absorber 21a is displayed on the display device of the inkjet printer through the control panel display step S11-5 to indicate that the waste ink is full. The exchange of the waste ink absorber 21a is informed.

On the other hand, the switching signal applied to the port PA of the control unit 11 in the low level determination step (S11-3) of the port is a high level or the inkjet printer through the control panel display step (S11-5). When the waste ink absorber 21a indicates that the waste ink is full on the display device, the process ends in the end step S11-6.

As described above, the present invention has a message function according to the amount of waste ink absorbed in the waste ink absorbent, so that a user who prints a lot of jobs can notify the replacement time of the waste ink absorber and print a small amount. The user can reduce the manufacturing cost by reducing the size of the waste ink absorber (Absorber).

Claims (5)

A control unit for receiving print data from a computer and outputting a print control signal, a head driver for receiving a print control signal output from the control unit and outputting a head control signal according to the print control signal, and a head control output from the head drive unit. It senses the weight of the ink cartridge which receives the signal and sprays ink according to the applied head control signal, and the amount of waste ink absorbed to absorb the waste ink discharged to prevent ink dryness in the ink cartridge. Apparatus for informing when to replace the waste ink absorbent (Absorber) comprising a waste ink absorber and a weight sensing unit. According to claim 1, wherein the waste ink absorber and the weight sensing unit is equipped with an absorber (Absorber) for absorbing the waste ink, a case for mounting the absorber (Absorber) for absorbing the waste ink, and the waste ink absorber (Absorber) is mounted Device for informing when to replace the waste ink absorber (Absorber), characterized in that consisting of a micro-switch to switch according to the weight of one case. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein the micro switch is provided with a connector for transmitting the generated switching signal. A switching signal read step of reading a switching signal according to the weight of waste ink and a reading of the switching signal in the switching signal read step are applied to the port PA of the controller. The low level determination step of the port determining whether the potential level is a low level, and when a low level potential is input to the port PA in the low level determination step of the port, The absorbent full flag set step of setting the full and the absorbent pull flag set to the full in the absorbent full flag set step, the waste ink absorbent ( A method for informing when to replace the waste ink absorbent (absorber), including a control panel display step of displaying the waste ink to the absorber. 5. The method of claim 4, wherein when a message indicating that the waste ink is full is displayed in the control panel display step, or when the port PA of the controller 11 is determined to be high level in the low level determination step, A method for informing when to replace the waste ink absorbent (Absorber), characterized in that the end step is further provided.