KR19990084811A - Apparatus and method for ink-level measurement of ink head of ink-jet printer - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to an ink jet printer capable of calculating the ink amount of an ink head by a formula derived from a second law of motion in a state in which the ink head is mounted on the carriage of the ink jet printer, The present invention relates to an apparatus and a method for measuring the ink amount of an ink head of a carriage in which a sensing sensor is provided at one side of a mounting frame to measure the time required for the carriage to move between positions set to the left and right along the guide rod, (The time at which the ink head moves after using the ink, and the time at which the ink head moves before using the ink) can be substituted into the formula derived from the second law of the motion to calculate the ink amount of the ink head, It is possible to easily and precisely calculate the remaining amount of ink used.

Description

Apparatus and method for ink-level measurement of ink head of ink-jet printer

The present invention relates to a method for calculating the ink amount of an ink head installed in an ink jet printer, and more particularly, to a method of calculating an ink amount of an ink head by a formula derived from a law of motion in a state in which an ink head is mounted on a carriage, And an ink head can be replaced at an appropriate time.

Generally, an ink jet printer receives an electrical signal from a computer and outputs contents (data) on a computer monitor to a paper or the like, and prints an ink head.

The ink head is mounted on a carriage, which is a printing apparatus of the ink jet printer, and has two types of mono and color.

As shown in FIG. 1, the inkjet printer includes a paper feeding unit 20 for feeding paper, a feeding unit 30 for feeding paper from the paper feeding unit 20, A printing apparatus unit 40 for printing on a sheet fed by the feeding unit 30 and a sheet discharging unit 50 for discharging the sheet printed out by the printing unit 40 to the outside, Is mounted on a mounting platform (11) provided in the vehicle.

The printing apparatus unit 40 is provided with an ink head 42 having a nozzle (not shown) for ejecting ink, which is mounted on the carriage 41 and moves along the left and right of the carriage 41, So as to be printed on the sheet fed by the sheet feeding section (30).

The carriage 41 is supported and mounted on the separation preventing portion 13 and the guide rod 14 mounted on the upper and lower sides of the side of the mounting frame 11 and is mounted in the middle of the side face of the mounting frame 11 with a driving timing pulley And a driven timing pulley 45. A timing belt 43 is wound around the outer peripheral surface of the driving timing pulley and the driven timing pulley 45 and connected to the motor 46 for driving timing pulley.

That is, when the motor 46 is driven, the timing belt 43 is rotated while the driving timing pulley is rotated. Finally, the carriage 41 is reciprocated left and right along the separation preventing portion 13 and the guide rod 14, Is moved.

The paper feeding unit 20 includes an automatic paper feeding unit 21 for storing paper and a pick-up roller for feeding the paper stored in the automatic paper feeding unit 21 to the feeding unit 30. The automatic paper feeding unit 21, A guide groove 28 is formed on one side of the upper end of the automatic paper feed unit 21 and a paper adjusting hole 27 is provided in the guide groove 28 so that the paper stored in the automatic paper feed unit 21 can be aligned in one side.

2 shows a printing process by an ink jet printer. The paper 25 stored in the automatic paper feed unit 21 is conveyed to the friction roller 32 of the conveying unit 30 in a sheet- And the feed roller 31 so as to perform feeding for printing.

The conveyed paper passes through the guide frame 53 and reaches the paper discharge unit 50, and is conveyed between the paper discharge roller 51 and the document contact wheel 52, and is discharged to the outside of the inkjet printer.

On the other hand, when the feed roller 31 is rotated in a state where the drive roller 33 is engaged with the discharge roller 51 and the feed roller 31, the drive roller 33 receives the drive power and transmits the drive power to the discharge roller 51 So that the delivery roller 51 is rotated.

The paper feeding unit 20 includes an automatic paper feed unit 21 for storing the paper 25 and a pickup roller 25 for feeding the paper 25 stored in the automatic paper feed unit 21 one by one to the feeding unit 30, The automatic paper feed unit 21 includes a main frame 22 and a knock-up plate 23 that collects the paper 25 in one place and stores the same in a straight line. And a knock-up spring 24 is mounted between the lower end of the knock-up plate 23 and the lower end of the knock-

On the other hand, when the timing belt 43 is moved by the one side of the timing belt 43 being fastened to the belt hooking portion 44 on the back side of the carriage 41, the carriage 41 A nozzle unit 47 is formed at the lower end of the ink cartridge 42 mounted on the carriage 41 to eject ink onto the paper.

The mounting frame 11 is provided inside the case 10 and the lid 12 is mounted in front of the inkjet printer so as to be in contact with the case 10. [

In the conventional method of measuring the amount of ink remaining in the ink head 42 after using the ink head 42, the ink amount of the new ink head 42 is first stored in the ink-jet printer, The number of ink dots is measured and the amount of ink is displayed on the monitor of the computer.

However, the conventional ink amount measuring method does not quantitatively measure the ink amount, so that it is not possible to transmit an accurate measurement amount to a user. In addition, if the ink head 42 is in a poor manufacturing condition, There was a problem that it would be absent.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Accordingly, the present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems, and it is an object of the present invention to provide an ink jet recording apparatus capable of calculating the ink amount of the ink head by the law of motion and the detection sensor in a state where the ink head is mounted on the carriage, And an apparatus and method for measuring the ink amount of the ink in the printer.

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention is characterized in that a sensing sensor is provided on one side of a mounting frame installed in an inkjet printer to measure the time required for the carriage to move between positions set to the left and right along the guide rod do.

Checking whether a new ink head is mounted on the carriage;

Detecting and storing the time taken for the carriage having the new ink head to travel from the fixed point to the fixed point along the guide rod by using the detection sensor;

The time required for the carriage to travel from a certain point along a guide rod to a predetermined point after a certain amount of ink is used by the printing operation of the ink head is calculated by a sensor, and a formula derived from the law of motion, M ₂ = (t ₂ / calculating a mass of the ink head by t ₁ ) ² M ₁ ;

Determining an exchange time of the calculated M ₂ ;

And displaying the M ₂ on a monitor screen of the computer when the M ₂ is to be exchanged.

1 is a perspective view showing the inside of a conventional printer,

Fig. 2 is a right side view of the printer showing the printing process according to Fig. 1,

FIG. 3 is a view showing a state in which the detection sensor according to the present invention is installed inside an ink-jet printer;

Figure 4 is a schematic diagram illustrating the law of motion,

5 is a flow chart illustrating a method for implementing the present invention.

DESCRIPTION OF REFERENCE NUMERALS

11; Mounting platform 14; Guide rod

41; A carriage 42; Ink head

43; Timing belt 46; motor

60; Detection sensor

Hereinafter, the structure and operation of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

3 is a view showing a state in which the detection sensor 60 according to the present invention is installed on the mounting frame 11 of the inkjet printer.

A new ink head 42 is mounted on the carriage 41 of the ink jet printer and the carriage 41 is connected to the timing belt 43. The timing belt 43 is connected to the motor 46, The carriage 41 is moved leftward and rightward along the guide rod 14. In this case,

The detection sensor 60 is a sensor connected to the RAM of the PCB of the inkjet printer. When the carriage 41 is moved right and left along the guide rod 14, a signal emitted from the detection sensor 60 hits the carriage 41 Reads the reflected signal, calculates the movement time of the carriage 41, and transmits the calculation result to the RAM.

That is, when the distance the carriage 41 is moved from A to B in a state in which the ink head 42 is mounted on the carriage 41 is set to a state in which the new ink head 42 is mounted on the carriage 41 The detection sensor 60 detects the time required for the movement from A to B and stores it in the RAM. After the ink is consumed in the ink head 42 by printing, the ink head 42 is moved in the same manner as described above, The sensing sensor 60 detects the required time when the sensor 41 is moved and stores it in the RAM.

FIG. 4 illustrates the law of motion and shows a formula for calculating the mass (M ₂ ) of the ink head 42 after ink is consumed by deriving a constant formula from the second law of motion.

In other words, the second law of motion is that the direction of acceleration that occurs when a force acts on an object is the same as the direction of the force, its magnitude is proportional to the magnitude of the force, and is inversely proportional to the mass of the object. Acceleration is different due to the difference in moment of inertia when pushing or pulling on different objects with the same force.

Here, the mass of the ink head 42 is constant for each manufacturer, and the mass M ₁ of the ink head 42 before the ink is used is constant.

F = M ₁ a ₁ = M ₂ a ₂

The acceleration (a _1, a ₂ ) refers to the rate of change of velocity over a certain period of time. If the same force (F) acts on an object (M _1, M ₂ ) , And the inverse of

The ratio of the acceleration of the ink head 42 that does not use ink to the ink head 42 that uses the ink to some extent and the ratio of the acceleration of the ink head 42 to the ink head 42 The remaining amount can be measured.

The torque T of the motor driving the carriage also has a certain dimension.

Therefore, T = Fr = constant (where r = radius of the motor pulley)

And since r is also constant

F = Schedule

Then, the carriage is moved to a constant torque (T) value at a certain point of the ink jet printer to have a time t value reaching the position B of the sensing sensor 60 for sensing the position of the carriage.

Therefore, the acceleration until it is detected by the sensing sensor 60 at a certain point of the inkjet printer is

---------- (Formula 1)

.

When the ink is used after the new ink head 42 is mounted, calculation is performed in the same manner as described above

---------- (Formula 2)

.

The formula for measuring the amount of ink after using Formula 1 and Formula 2 is as follows.

M ₁ a ₁ = M ₂ a _{2 -} (Formula 3)

---------- (Formula 4)

---------- (Formula 5)

Here, the acceleration a is a change amount of velocity with respect to time

---------- (Formula 6)

Where? V; Velocity variation, v; V ₀ = 0 (initial speed, the speed of the first arbitrary point is 0 since it is in a stop state), t = time to pass through the detection sensor 60 at an arbitrary point

In the above equation, v ₀ is the velocity at an arbitrary point, so 0

Thus, Equation 5

---------- (Formula 7)

And the speed is again

v = s / t ---------- (Formula 8)

s; Distance, t = time the distance traveled

And the distance s is a constant distance, so s ₁ = s ₂ .

Therefore, by summarizing Formulas 7 and 8

---------- (Formula 9)

The time t _{1 at which} the predetermined distance S of the new ink head 42 has been detected and the predetermined distance S after the use of the ink head has been calculated by knowing the mass M ₁ of the initial ink head 42 If the time t ₂ is known, the mass M ₂ of the ink head 42 after using the ink can be calculated.

Referring to Formula 9 above

The mass M ₁ of the initial ink head 42 is a given constant value,

1. After the initial ink head 42 is mounted on the carriage, the arrival time t ₁ from the predetermined point A to the sensing sensor 60 is measured and stored in the RAM of the ink-jet printer,

2. When the contents (data) on the monitor of the computer are printed on the paper to use the ink, and the time (t ₂ ) required for the movement of the ink head 42 by the same method as described above is known

3. The mass (M ₂ ) of the ink of the remaining ink head 42 used can be calculated.

As an example applied to the formula thus derived, it is assumed that the initial ink head 42 (M ₁ ) has been moved so that the time t ₁ is 0.9 seconds and the mass M ₁ of the new ink head mounted on the carriage is 76 g If the time t ₂ required for moving the carriage from the fixed point A to the fixed point B is 0.85 sec after using the ink of the fixed amount of the ink head M ₂ ,

1. When moving a new ink head

Speed of point A v ₀ = 0 m / s

Speed of point B v ₁ = S / t ₁

Acceleration from point A to point B, a ₁ = (v ₁ - v ₀ ) / t ₁

Since v ₀ = 0 m / s

a ₁ = S / (t ₁ ) ²

And the force F ₁ acting on the motor

F ₁ = M ₁ a ₁ = M ₁ S (t ₁ ) ² ------------ (1)

2. When moving the ink head M ₂ after using a certain amount of ink

When you summarize the above formula

F ₂ = M ₂ a ₂ = M ₂ S (t ₂ ) ^{2 -} (2)

Since the torque acting on the motor is the same

F ₁ = F ₂ = F

Therefore, by summarizing the above equations (1) and (2)

M ₁ S / (t ₁ ) ² = M ₂ S / (t ₂ ) ²

M ₂ = (t ₂ / t ₁ ) ² M _{1 -} (Formula 9)

So, if you calculate by substituting the numerical values in the above example

M ₂ = (0.85 / 0.9) ² x 76 g = 67.8 g

Therefore, the mass (M ₂ ) of the ink head after using the ink is calculated to be 67.8 g.

That is, Formula 9 is a formula for determining the mass M ₁ of the initial ink head 42 and calculating the time taken to move the ink head 42 from a certain point A to a certain point B along the guide rod knows a t _1), with detection time (t ₂₎ it takes to move from a certain point along the print head guide rod (14) (a) and then with the ink of the ink head to a certain point (B) the sensor 60 The mass M ₂ of the ink head 42 after using the ink of the ink head 42 mounted on the ink-jet printer at a certain point of time can be substituted into the formula 9 and calculated.

An example of a process of calculating the remaining amount of ink after using the ink of the ink head by this method will be described with reference to the flowchart of Fig.

A user who uses the inkjet printer first turns on the power supply in a state where the new ink head is mounted on the carriage to make a carriage movement instruction (S61).

Accordingly, the inkjet printer receiving the movement command checks the mounting state of the ink head (S62) and transmits the mounting state of the current ink head to the computer.

In the computer, the mounting state of the ink head transferred from the ink jet printer is checked. If the ink head is mounted, the detection sensor is operated (S63).

Between the measured time (t ₁₎ it takes to move from a certain point in a state of mounting a new print head into the carriage by operation of the sensor (S63), and in addition after using the ink print head is certain points, such as the The time (t ₂ ) required for movement is measured and stored in the RAM of the inkjet printer.

The mass (M ₂ ) of the ink head after using the ink is obtained by multiplying the measured time (t _1, t ₂ ) and the mass (M ₁ ) of the given initial ink head by the formula [M ₂ = (t ₂ / t ₁ ) ² M ₁ ] (S 64).

If it is determined that the calculated M ₂ is to be exchanged (S 65), it is displayed on the monitor of the computer (S 66). If the M ₂ is not to be exchanged, the time t ₂ do.

When the replacement time of the ink head is displayed on the monitor screen of the computer, the operation is terminated (S67).

Meanwhile, the method of measuring the mass of the ink head according to the present invention is not limited to the ink jet printer, but may be applied to all office automation devices using ink heads such as a multifunction printer, an Amundsen printer, etc., Can be measured.

Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a method of calculating a time taken for an ink head to reciprocate from a predetermined point to a predetermined point before printing in a state where the ink head is mounted on a carriage of an inkjet printer, And the amount of ink remaining and used in the ink head can be calculated easily and accurately by applying the detected time to the formula M ₂ = (t ₂ / t ₁ ) ² M ₁ It is effective.

Claims (2)

The ink-jet printer according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the ink-jet printer is provided with a detection sensor on one side of a mounting frame provided inside the ink-jet printer and measures the time required for the carriage, Measuring device. Checking whether a new ink head is mounted on the carriage; Detecting and storing the time taken for the carriage having the new ink head to travel from the fixed point to the fixed point along the guide rod by using the detection sensor; The time required for the carriage to travel from a certain point along a guide rod to a predetermined point after a certain amount of ink is used by the printing operation of the ink head is calculated by a sensor, and a formula derived from the law of motion, M ₂ = (t ₂ / calculating a mass of the ink head by t ₁ ) ² M ₁ ; Determining an exchange time of the calculated M ₂ ; And displaying on the monitor screen of the computer when the M ₂ is to be exchanged.