KR20000059458A - Apparatus and method for checking ink cartridge of inkjet printer - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: An apparatus and a method for checking an ink cartridge of an ink jet printer are provided to check the kind of ink cartridge and whether the ink cartridge is secured in the printer or not even when an output impedance deviation of a detection port in the ink cartridge is larger than a standard deviation of general ink cartridge. CONSTITUTION: An apparatus for checking an ink cartridge of an ink jet printer includes an ink cartridge(100) for outputting ink cartridge data according to an input control signal, a plurality of pull-up resistances(200) connected to the ink cartridge and having different resistance value for the selection of proper resistance value according to an impedance of a cartridge detection port in the ink cartridge, a switching element(300) for connecting the respective pull-up resistances to a power supply(Vcc), and control part(400) for controlling the switching element to selectively connect any one of the pull-up resistances to the power supply according to a predetermined sequence when initiating the system and substituting the ink, and simultaneously checking the ink cartridge data after outputting a control signal to the ink cartridge, wherein the control part controls the switching element to connect all the plurality of pull-up resistances to the power supply in sequence until the ink cartridge data is checked when the ink cartridge data was not checked.

Description

Ink cartridge check apparatus and method thereof of an inkjet printer {APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR CHECKING INK CARTRIDGE OF INKJET PRINTER}

The present invention relates to an ink cartridge checking apparatus and method thereof of an ink jet printer, and more particularly to an ink cartridge checking apparatus of an ink jet printer even when a deviation of an output impedance of a cartridge detection port configured in the ink cartridge is larger than a standard deviation of a general ink cartridge. The present invention relates to an ink cartridge checking apparatus of an inkjet printer and a method thereof for identifying a type and mounting thereof.

In general, inkjet printers, unlike dot printers, use a micro injecting device equipped with an ink cartridge, which enables color implementation, low noise, and beautiful print quality. Has an advantage.

Such an ink jet printer jets ink through a nozzle of a micro injecting device onto printing paper while driving the micro injecting device to the left and right to perform a printing operation. As the carriage return motor is driven, the micro injecting device is moved from side to side, and ink is ejected through the fine nozzles formed in the micro injecting device to print various characters and pictures on the printing paper. Here, the carriage return motor uses a direct current (DC) motor.

Such an ink jet printer is provided with an ink cartridge checking apparatus for checking whether an ink cartridge is mounted and whether it is a color cartridge or a mono cartridge, as shown in FIG.

Referring to FIG. 1, first, the ink cartridge 10 outputs ink cartridge information as an 8-bit serial signal through an output port according to an input control signal.

The pull-up resistor R is connected to a power supply Vcc to the output port of the ink cartridge 10 so that the information of the ink cartridge can be output through the cartridge detection port. In consideration of the output impedance, it is configured to have an appropriate resistance value.

The central processing unit 20 is configured to output a control signal to the ink cartridge 10 and then receive ink cartridge information output from the ink cartridge 10 to check whether the ink cartridge 10 is mounted and the type thereof.

The operation of the ink cartridge checking apparatus of the conventional inkjet printer is described as follows.

First, when the system is initialized or the ink cartridge 10 is replaced, the central processing unit 20 outputs a control signal to the ink cartridge 10.

Then, the ink cartridge 10 outputs 8-bit ink cartridge information serially through the output port.

For this reason, the CPU 20 checks whether the ink cartridge 10 is mounted and the type of the ink cartridge information output from the ink cartridge.

However, according to such a conventional ink cartridge check apparatus, the following problems occur.

The pull-up resistance value selection of the cartridge detection port configured in the ink cartridge uses the resistance value determined by taking into account the variation of the output impedance of the cartridge detection port for the various types of ink cartridges by the experimental value. When the impedance of the detection port deviates from the standard deviation of the general ink cartridge, the output signal of the ink cartridge cannot be recognized and the type of the ink cartridge cannot be confirmed by the central processing unit.

Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to solve such a problem, and an object of the present invention is to provide a plurality of pull-up resistors having different resistance values, and a multiplexer (MUX) for selectively connecting each pull-up resistor and a power supply terminal. Each pull-up resistor is selectively connected to the power supply terminal according to the impedance of the cartridge detection port configured in the various types of ink cartridges to maintain the output signal of each ink cartridge at a constant level. Even if the deviation of the output impedance deviates from the standard deviation of the general ink cartridge, the inkjet printer can check the type and mounting of the ink cartridge, thereby improving the detection power of the ink cartridge.

1 is a block diagram showing an ink cartridge check apparatus of a conventional inkjet printer,

Figure 2 is a block diagram showing an ink cartridge check apparatus of the inkjet printer according to the present invention,

3 is a flowchart illustrating an ink cartridge checking method of an inkjet printer according to the present invention.

<Description of the code | symbol about the principal part of drawing>

10, 100: ink cartridge 20, 400: central processing unit

200: multiple pull-up resistor 300: multiplexer

R: pull-up resistor R1 to Rn: first to n-th pull-up resistor

Vcc: power

A feature of the present invention for achieving this object is that the ink cartridge outputs ink cartridge information in accordance with an input control signal; The plurality of pull-up resistors are connected to the ink cartridge and have different resistance values to select an appropriate resistance value according to the deviation of the impedance of the cartridge detection port configured in the ink cartridge; Switching means connects each pull-up resistor and a power supply stage; When the system is initialized, the controller controls the switching means to selectively connect one of the pull-up resistors of the plurality of pull-up resistors to the power supply terminal in the preset order, and simultaneously outputs a control signal to the ink cartridge, and then prints the ink cartridge. If the information is checked, but the ink cartridge information is not confirmed, the switching means is controlled until the ink cartridge information is confirmed so that the plurality of pull-up resistors and the power terminals are sequentially connected in a predetermined order.

Here, the switching means is a multiplexer (MUX) for selectively connecting the power supply terminal and any one pull-up resistor of the plurality of pull-up resistors according to the control signal of the controller.

In addition, the preset order is a sequence of connecting the pull-up resistor having the highest resistance value to the pull-up resistor having the lowest resistance value among the plurality of pull-up resistors or the power terminal in the reverse order.

According to another aspect of the present invention, when the system is initialized, a plurality of switches may be provided in a predetermined order so as to recognize the output of the ink cartridge information output from the ink cartridge by controlling the switching means installed on the connection line between the power supply terminal and the plurality of pull-up resistors. Connect the first pull-up resistor and the power stage of the two pull-up resistors; Check the ink cartridge information when the first pull-up resistor and power stage are connected; If the information on the ink cartridge is not confirmed, the ink cartridge information is checked while sequentially connecting the n-th pull-up resistor and the power supply terminal of the plurality of pull-up resistors in a predetermined order; As a result of the check, if the ink cartridge information is not confirmed, it is determined that the ink cartridge is not installed.

Here, the preset order is a sequence of connecting the pull-up resistor having the highest resistance value to the pull-up resistor having the lowest resistance value among the plurality of pull-up resistors or the power terminal in the reverse order.

Hereinafter, exemplary embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

2 is a configuration diagram showing an ink cartridge checking apparatus of an ink jet printer according to the present invention, and FIG. 3 is an operation flowchart for explaining an ink cartridge checking method of an ink jet printer according to the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 2, first, the ink cartridge 100 is configured to serially output 8-bit ink cartridge information to the central processing unit 400 through an output port according to a control signal input from the central processing unit 400.

The plurality of pull-up resistors 200 may be connected to the output ports of the ink cartridges 100 to have different resistance values so as to select an appropriate resistance value according to the impedance of the cartridge detection port configured in each ink cartridge 100. It is composed.

In addition, the multiplexer (MUX) 300 is installed on the line connecting the power supply terminal (Vcc) and a plurality of pull-up resistors 200 and the power supply terminal (Vcc) in accordance with the control signal of the central processing unit (400) It is configured to selectively connect a specific pull-up resistor among the plurality of pull-up resistors 200.

On the other hand, the central processing unit 400 controls the inkjet printer as a whole, and in particular, when the system is initialized, that is, when the power is turned on or the ink cartridge is replaced, the multiplexer 300 is controlled to control the plurality of pull-ups according to a preset order. The pull-up resistor of any one of the resistors 200 is connected to the power supply terminal (Vcc) and at the same time outputs a control signal to the ink cartridge 100 and then check the ink cartridge information. Thus, if the ink cartridge information is not recognized because the ink cartridge 100 cannot recognize the output level of the ink cartridge information, the multiplexer 300 is controlled to control the n pull-up resistor and the power supply terminal Vcc according to a preset order. To sequentially check the ink cartridge information. In this case, when the ink cartridge information is not checked, the CPU 400 may have the second to nth pull-up resistors R2 which are remaining except for the first pull-up resistor R1 among the plurality of pull-up resistors 200. Connect ~ Rn) to power supply terminal (Vcc) sequentially. In addition, if the central processing unit 400 cannot recognize the ink cartridge information even after checking the ink cartridge information after connecting the n-th pull-up resistor Rn and the power terminal Vcc, the ink cartridge 100 is mounted. We do not judge.

Hereinafter, a method of checking an ink cartridge of an inkjet printer according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to FIG. 3.

First, when the system is initialized or the ink cartridge needs to be checked due to replacement of the ink cartridge (S110), the central processing unit 400 sets the order value K of the multiplexer 300 to "0" (S120). Control the multiplexer 300 to connect the first pull-up resistor R1 and the power supply terminal Vcc of the plurality of pull-up resistors 200 and output a control signal to the ink cartridge 100. Then check the ink cartridge information (S130, S210).

Then, the central processing unit 400 checks whether the ink cartridge 100 is a mono cartridge (S220), and checks whether the ink cartridge 100 is a color cartridge (S230).

Thus, if the ink cartridge 100 is not a color cartridge, the central processing unit 400 compares the multiplexer order value K with a preset final value T (S240), whereby the multiplexer order value K is set to the final value. If it is less than the value T, after adding "1" to the multiplexer order value K (S310), the process returns to step 130 (S130) and the process after step 130 (S130) is performed.

Meanwhile, if the multiplexer order value K is equal to the preset final value T in step 240 (S240), the CPU 400 determines that the ink cartridge 100 is not installed (S300).

And, in step 220 (S220), if the central processing unit 400 is determined to be a mono cartridge, it is determined that the mounting of the mono cartridge (S221) to control the system to correspond to the mono cartridge, and in step 230 (S230) to check the color cartridge In step S231, the system is controlled to correspond to the color cartridge.

For example, first, the CPU 400 checks the type of the ink cartridge 100 by controlling the multiplexer 300 to connect the first pull-up resistor R1 and the power terminal Vcc. If the type of the ink cartridge 100 is not confirmed, the type of the ink cartridge 100 is again checked by connecting the second pull-up resistor R2 and the power supply terminal Vcc. Therefore, when the type of the ink cartridge 100 is not confirmed, the CPU 400 checks the type of the ink cartridge 100 by connecting the third pull-up resistor R3 and the power supply terminal Vcc, and the ink If the type of the cartridge 100 is not checked again, the type of the ink cartridge 100 may not be confirmed by connecting the n-th pull-up resistor Rn and the power terminal Vcc to check the type of the ink cartridge 100. If not, it is determined that the ink cartridge 100 is not installed.

Therefore, even if the deviation of the output impedance of the cartridge detection port mounted in the ink cartridge deviates from the standard deviation of the general ink cartridge, it is possible to determine the type and mounting of the ink cartridge in the inkjet printer.

As described above, in the detailed description of the present invention, specific embodiments have been described, but various modifications are possible without departing from the scope of the present invention. Therefore, the scope of the present invention should not be limited to the described embodiments, but should be defined by the claims below and equivalents thereof.

As described above, according to the ink cartridge checking apparatus of the inkjet printer, the following advantages are generated.

That is, a plurality of pull-up resistors having different resistance values and a multiplexer (MUX) that selectively connects each pull-up resistor and a power supply terminal are used according to the impedance of the cartridge detection port configured in each ink cartridge. By selectively connecting the pull-up resistor with the power supply to keep the ink cartridge output signal at a identifiable level, the inkjet printer can be used even if the deviation of the output impedance of the cartridge detection port configured in the ink cartridge is greater than the standard deviation of a typical ink cartridge. You can check the type and installation of the ink cartridge.

Claims (7)

An ink cartridge for outputting ink cartridge information in accordance with an input control signal; A plurality of pull-up resistors connected to the ink cartridge and having different resistance values so as to select an appropriate resistance value according to an impedance of a cartridge detection port configured in the ink cartridge; Switching means for connecting each pull-up resistor and a power supply stage; And When the system is initialized or the ink is replaced, the switching means is controlled to selectively connect one of the pull-up resistors of the plurality of pull-up resistors to the power supply terminal according to a preset order, and simultaneously control signals to the ink cartridge. After checking the ink cartridge information, and if the ink cartridge information is not confirmed, the predetermined order of the plurality of pull-up resistors and the power stage by controlling the switching means until the ink cartridge information is confirmed. Ink cartridge check apparatus of the ink jet printer, characterized in that it comprises a control unit for sequentially connecting in accordance with. The method of claim 1, wherein the switching means, And a multiplexer (MUX) for selectively connecting the power supply terminal and one pull-up resistor among the plurality of pull-up resistors according to a control signal of the controller. The method of claim 1, wherein the preset order is: And a pull-up resistor having the highest resistance value among the plurality of pull-up resistors, and a pull-up resistor having the lowest resistance value, in order to sequentially connect with the power supply. The method of claim 1, wherein the preset order is: And a pull-up resistor having the lowest resistance value from the plurality of pull-up resistors to a pull-up resistor having the highest resistance value, in order to sequentially connect the power supply terminal to the ink cartridge printer. When the system is initialized or when the ink is replaced, the plurality of the plurality of pull-up resistors are controlled by switching means installed on the connection line so as to recognize the output level of the ink cartridge information outputted from the ink cartridges in the preset order. Coupling the first pull-up resistor of the pull-up resistor to the power supply stage; Checking the ink cartridge information when the first pull-up resistor and the power terminal are connected; Confirming the ink cartridge information by sequentially connecting the n-th pull-up resistor and the power supply terminal of the plurality of pull-up resistors according to the preset order if the information of the ink cartridge is not confirmed as a result of the checking; ; And And determining that the ink cartridge is not installed if the ink cartridge information is not confirmed as a result of the checking. The method of claim 4, wherein the preset order is: And a pull-up resistor having the highest resistance value among the plurality of pull-up resistors, and a pull-up resistor having the lowest resistance value, in order to sequentially connect with the power supply. The method of claim 4, wherein the preset order is: And a pull-up resistor having the lowest resistance value among the plurality of pull-up resistors, and a pull-up resistor having the highest resistance value, in order to sequentially connect with the power supply.