WO2019140898A1 - 一种耗材状态指示系统、方法及其所用模块和耗材容器 - Google Patents

一种耗材状态指示系统、方法及其所用模块和耗材容器 Download PDF

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Publication number
WO2019140898A1
WO2019140898A1 PCT/CN2018/100813 CN2018100813W WO2019140898A1 WO 2019140898 A1 WO2019140898 A1 WO 2019140898A1 CN 2018100813 W CN2018100813 W CN 2018100813W WO 2019140898 A1 WO2019140898 A1 WO 2019140898A1
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WO
WIPO (PCT)
Prior art keywords
light
consumable
module
transmissive
transmitting
Prior art date
Application number
PCT/CN2018/100813
Other languages
English (en)
French (fr)
Inventor
彭新平
吴宏志
陆扣留
方莎莎
Original Assignee
杭州旗捷科技有限公司
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Application filed by 杭州旗捷科技有限公司 filed Critical 杭州旗捷科技有限公司
Priority to JP2020538531A priority Critical patent/JP6984026B2/ja
Publication of WO2019140898A1 publication Critical patent/WO2019140898A1/zh

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Classifications

    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B41—PRINTING; LINING MACHINES; TYPEWRITERS; STAMPS
    • B41J—TYPEWRITERS; SELECTIVE PRINTING MECHANISMS, i.e. MECHANISMS PRINTING OTHERWISE THAN FROM A FORME; CORRECTION OF TYPOGRAPHICAL ERRORS
    • B41J2/00—Typewriters or selective printing mechanisms characterised by the printing or marking process for which they are designed
    • B41J2/005—Typewriters or selective printing mechanisms characterised by the printing or marking process for which they are designed characterised by bringing liquid or particles selectively into contact with a printing material
    • B41J2/01—Ink jet
    • B41J2/17—Ink jet characterised by ink handling
    • B41J2/175—Ink supply systems ; Circuit parts therefor
    • B41J2/17566—Ink level or ink residue control
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B41—PRINTING; LINING MACHINES; TYPEWRITERS; STAMPS
    • B41J—TYPEWRITERS; SELECTIVE PRINTING MECHANISMS, i.e. MECHANISMS PRINTING OTHERWISE THAN FROM A FORME; CORRECTION OF TYPOGRAPHICAL ERRORS
    • B41J2/00—Typewriters or selective printing mechanisms characterised by the printing or marking process for which they are designed
    • B41J2/005—Typewriters or selective printing mechanisms characterised by the printing or marking process for which they are designed characterised by bringing liquid or particles selectively into contact with a printing material
    • B41J2/01—Ink jet
    • B41J2/17—Ink jet characterised by ink handling
    • B41J2/175—Ink supply systems ; Circuit parts therefor
    • B41J2/17566—Ink level or ink residue control
    • B41J2002/17573—Ink level or ink residue control using optical means for ink level indication
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B41—PRINTING; LINING MACHINES; TYPEWRITERS; STAMPS
    • B41J—TYPEWRITERS; SELECTIVE PRINTING MECHANISMS, i.e. MECHANISMS PRINTING OTHERWISE THAN FROM A FORME; CORRECTION OF TYPOGRAPHICAL ERRORS
    • B41J2/00—Typewriters or selective printing mechanisms characterised by the printing or marking process for which they are designed
    • B41J2/005—Typewriters or selective printing mechanisms characterised by the printing or marking process for which they are designed characterised by bringing liquid or particles selectively into contact with a printing material
    • B41J2/01—Ink jet
    • B41J2/17—Ink jet characterised by ink handling
    • B41J2/175—Ink supply systems ; Circuit parts therefor
    • B41J2/17566—Ink level or ink residue control
    • B41J2002/17576—Ink level or ink residue control using a floater for ink level indication

Definitions

  • the present invention relates to the field of printer consumables, and in particular, to a light transmissive module, a consumable container, a consumable chip, a consumable status indication system and method.
  • the consumable parts are installed on the printer, which is completed by the consumable chip, consumables and consumable containers.
  • the printer establishes a communication connection with the consumable chip, and the two perform data interaction. Specifically, the printer determines information such as the manufacturer, consumable capacity, consumables, and date of manufacture through the information recorded by the consumable chip; at the same time, the printer returns the date of the machine, the number of pages printed, the amount of consumables, etc. according to the use of the consumables.
  • the consumable chip will feedback the printer's normal printing, abnormal printing, and insufficient printing consumables according to the printer's write-back record.
  • the printer performs normal printing, stop printing, and print out the shortage of consumables according to the feedback signal.
  • Consumable containers are often structurally tested, such as prisms, buoys, and locating holes.
  • Printer manufacturers use the inspection components and installed inspection programs installed on the printer to complete consumables (such as color, capacity), consumables, and installation.
  • Process detection Specifically, on the one hand, the action of the installation process is detected by detecting the consumable structural component, and the actual action of the user on the consumable is determined. For example, in the process of replacing the consumable container, the printer increases the action of the ink to ensure the print quality; By detecting the state of the consumables, the user is prompted to purchase the consumables in advance; on the other hand, by detecting the characteristics of the casing, the amount of printing of the current consumables is determined.
  • FIG. 1 a side cutaway view of a conventional consumable container with a buoy is shown.
  • the consumable chip is mounted on a consumable container.
  • the consumable container has a lid and a box.
  • the cartridge includes an ink chamber for accommodating and storing ink, an air passage for communicating the ink chamber with the external atmosphere, an ink supply port for supplying ink to the ink supply needle of the ink jet printer, and for detecting consumables
  • the detection chamber 12 is in fluid communication with the ink chamber.
  • the air enters the detection chamber 12 along the ink passage, exchanges with the ink in the detection chamber 12, and then begins to consume the ink of the detection chamber 12, and detects the ink in the chamber 12.
  • the ink supply port enters through the port at the bottom; as the ink in the detection chamber 12 is consumed, the buoyancy gradually disappears, and the buoy 11 drops.
  • the printer does not recognize the buoy 12 and prompts the ink to be exhausted.
  • the buoy 11 can correctly give the true state of the ink chamber.
  • the casing is also provided with an ink viewing area 13 through which the status of the ink level in the consumable container can be conveniently monitored.
  • the ink viewing area 13 includes an A area which is constituted by a limiting wall in the detecting chamber, configured to allow light to propagate through the area in a direction perpendicular to the insertion/extraction direction; the B area, which is the A area and the C
  • the void area between the regions, the light emitted by the light source can be detected by the light receiving structure to provide information on the type of consumable container;
  • the C region is partially configured to attenuate the amount or intensity of light to a level sufficient for the light source receiving structure to detect Partially configured to provide information about the type of consumable container by attenuating the light emitted by the light source.
  • the printer sequentially detects the C area, the B area, and the A area of the consumable container state observation area 13.
  • the invention patent CN102886988B discloses a method for judging the type of the ink cartridge by the printer and a printer.
  • the light receiver receives the light emitted by the light emitting unit of the ink cartridge
  • the printer stores a threshold value range of the light amount received by the light receiver that determines whether the ink cartridge can be normally installed when the ink cartridge is installed, and determines whether the light amount of the received light is in the light amount.
  • the threshold range is used to detect the cartridge installation process.
  • the invention also utilizes the amount of light of the received light to be compared to the cartridge type reference value to determine the type of cartridge.
  • the invention does not solve the problem of the detection of the consumables and the amount of printing, and the acquisition of the light quantity is affected to some extent by the external environment.
  • the light intensity actually received by the light receiver is weak, the light quantity value is affected.
  • the accuracy which in turn affects the cartridge installation process, the detection and judgment of the cartridge type.
  • the invention solves the problems existing in the prior art, and proposes a light transmission module, a consumable container, a consumable container detection module, a consumable condition indication system and a method which are easy to implement, low in cost, simple in state indication, and highly versatile.
  • a light transmissive module is configured for assembling a consumable container on a printer for indicating a consumable status; the light transmissive module comprises:
  • a light transmissive device for receiving a light source; the light transmissive device having a plurality of light transmissive units;
  • the light-transmissive driving sub-module is configured to switch the light-transmitting state of the light-transmitting unit in the light-transmitting device; the light-transmitting control sub-module is connected to the consumable chip for controlling the light-transmitting driving sub-module to perform a switching operation.
  • the light transmissive device comprises an LCD light transmissive screen.
  • the light transmissive module is integrated into the consumable container.
  • the light transmission control sub-module includes a receiving unit configured to receive a consumable status indication instruction stored by the consumable chip, an analysis unit configured to parse the consumable status indication instruction, and a sending unit to indicate the parsed consumable status indication instruction Sending to the light transmissive driving sub-module;
  • the consumable status indication instruction includes an instruction to allow one or more of the light transmissive units in the light transmissive device to be in a light transmitting state or an opaque state.
  • the consumable status indication instruction further includes consumable container identification information, consumable container installation information, consumable remaining amount identification information, print quantity information, and consumable container type information.
  • a consumable container includes a consumable container body, a consumable chip disposed on the consumable container body, and a light transmissive module as described above disposed on the consumable container.
  • the consumable chip includes a power supply unit that supplies power to the light transmissive device.
  • a consumable chip includes a light transmissive driving module, and the transparent driving module includes:
  • a light-transmitting driving sub-module for switching a light-transmitting state of the light-transmitting unit in the light-transmitting device; the light-transmitting state is used to indicate a state of the consumable;
  • the light-transmitting control sub-module is communicatively coupled to the light-transmitting driving sub-module for controlling the light-transmitting driving sub-module to perform a switching operation.
  • the light transmission control sub-module includes a receiving unit configured to receive a consumable status indication instruction stored by the consumable chip, an analysis unit configured to parse the consumable status indication instruction, and a sending unit to indicate the parsed consumable status indication instruction Sending to the light transmissive driving sub-module;
  • the consumable status indication instruction includes an instruction to allow one or more of the light transmissive units in the light transmissive device to be in a light transmitting state or an opaque state.
  • the consumable status indication instruction further includes consumable container identification information, consumable container installation information, consumable remaining amount identification information, print quantity information, and consumable container type information.
  • the consumable chip further includes a power supply unit that supplies power to the light transmissive device.
  • a consumable container includes a consumable container body, a consumable chip disposed on the consumable container body as described above, and a light transmissive device disposed on the consumable container.
  • a consumable status indication system comprising a consumable container, a printer as described above; the printer being provided with a light emitter providing a light source, and light transmissive and opaque information for receiving from the light transmissive device An optical receiver that is sent to the printer to feed back the status of the consumables.
  • the printer includes a decoding unit that parses light and opaque information.
  • the printer includes a drive unit that drives the light emitter to emit a light source.
  • the optical receiver has a plurality of light receiving units, the number of which is equal to the number of the light transmitting units.
  • a consumable status indication system comprising a consumable container, a printer as described above; the printer being provided with a light emitter providing a light source, and light transmissive and opaque information for receiving from the light transmissive device An optical receiver that is sent to the printer to feed back the status of the consumables.
  • the printer includes a decoding unit that parses light and opaque information.
  • the printer includes a drive unit that drives the light emitter to emit a light source.
  • the optical receiver has a plurality of light receiving units, the number of which is equal to the number of the light transmitting units.
  • a method for indicating a consumable status using the light transmissive module including
  • the light transmission control sub-module receives the consumable status indication instruction stored by the consumable chip; parses the consumable status indication instruction, and sends the parsed consumable status indication instruction to the transparent driving sub-module; wherein the consumable status indication instruction
  • the invention includes instructions for allowing one or more light transmissive units in the light transmissive device to be in a light transmitting state or an opaque state;
  • the light-transmitting driving sub-module switches the light-transmitting state of the light-transmitting unit in the light-transmitting device according to the analyzed consumable state indication instruction.
  • the consumable status indication instruction further includes consumable container identification information, consumable container installation information, consumable remaining amount identification information, print quantity information, and consumable container type information.
  • the consumable condition indication instruction can be used for any one of the consumable container installation state indication, the consumables state indication, the print quantity status indication, the consumable container type indication, or any combination of any three or Four.
  • the present invention provides a consumable status indication system, method, and module and consumable container therefor, which have the following advantages:
  • the threshold value of the printing amount in the consumable chip can be changed to realize the control of different printing quantities
  • a light-transmitting unit represents a kind of information prompt to facilitate the direct provision of a variety of information indications; can also use multiple light-transmitting unit combinations
  • the coding state is indicated, for example, four light transmission units can convey 16 states;
  • the information indication is convenient, the state can be directly indicated by the light transmission unit, and the state can be further fed back by the printer; in addition, since the power consumption required for driving the light transmitting device is extremely low, the consumable material can be realized without using the consumable material to the printer.
  • the power supply on the power supply indicates the amount of consumables.
  • Figure 1 is a side cutaway view of a prior art consumable container
  • FIG. 2 is a structural block diagram of a light transmitting module according to the present invention.
  • FIG. 3 is a structural block diagram of a consumable chip according to the present invention.
  • FIG. 4 is a structural block diagram of the light transmission control sub-module of FIG. 3;
  • Figure 5 is a structural block diagram of a consumable status indication system of the present invention.
  • FIG. 6 is a flow chart of an embodiment of a method for indicating a state of a consumable material according to the present invention
  • FIG. 7 is a flow chart of another embodiment of a method for indicating a state of a consumable material according to the present invention.
  • the present invention provides a light transmissive module.
  • the light transmissive module is configured to assemble a consumable container on the printer for indicating a consumable status.
  • the consumable status indication referred to herein includes a consumable container installation status indication that the consumable container is effectively mounted on the printer, a printer print quantity status indication, a consumable material status indication in the consumable container, and a consumable container type indication.
  • the light transmitting module includes a light transmitting device, a light transmitting driving submodule, and a light transmission control submodule.
  • the light transmissive device is for receiving a light source, such as an LED light source mounted on a printer, or a light emitter capable of generating an emission source, which may be visible or invisible.
  • the light transmissive device comprises a plurality of light transmitting units, seg 1 , seg 2 , ... seg n , n being a natural number greater than 1.
  • the light transmitting device may be a light transmissive screen.
  • the transparent screen is a fully transparent LCD screen.
  • the plurality of light transmitting units may be sequentially arranged in a parallel manner to form a light transmitting device, or may not be disposed on the same horizontal line, so as to achieve light source receiving and light source light transmissive effects.
  • the arrangement on the same horizontal line facilitates the arrangement and assembly, reduces the number of light transmission units, and saves costs.
  • the light-transmissive driving sub-module controls switching between the light-transmitting and opaque states of one of the light-transmitting units, or controls switching between any combination of light-transmitting and opaque states of the plurality of light-transmitting units.
  • the light-transmissive driving sub-module may include a light-transmitting driving circuit, such as a light-transmitting driving circuit having a plurality of driving different light-transmitting units to exhibit a light-transmitting or opaque state, or using different strobing channels or different controls
  • a light-transmitting driving circuit such as a light-transmitting driving circuit having a plurality of driving different light-transmitting units to exhibit a light-transmitting or opaque state, or using different strobing channels or different controls
  • One or several light-transmissive driving circuits of the switch use different strobe channels or control switches to make the different light-transmitting units appear light-transmitting or opaque.
  • the light transmission control sub-module is communicatively coupled to the consumable chip for controlling the light-transmitting drive sub-module to perform a switching operation.
  • the printer can obtain the information of the consumable chip by sending an instruction to the communication bus, thereby knowing whether the consumable is easily installed on the printer, and also knowing the consumable information stored in the consumable chip.
  • the printer also sends it to the consumable chip based on the consumable usage and updates the stored information within the consumable chip.
  • the light transmission control sub-module obtains a consumable state indication instruction that controls the light-transmitting drive sub-module to perform a switching operation from the storage information in the consumable chip.
  • the light transmission control sub-module includes a receiving unit, configured to receive a consumable state indication instruction stored by the consumable chip, an analysis unit, configured to parse the consumable status indication instruction, and a sending unit, to send the parsed consumable status indication instruction to the Light transmission drive submodule.
  • the consumable status indication instruction stored by the consumable chip can be stored in a mapping manner, for example, the large-capacity consumable container L corresponds to the storage instruction “1”, and the “1” is identified as the transmissive unit permeable state, specifically in a high-level manner.
  • the driving light transmission unit is in a light transmissive driving circuit; or if the consumables amount is close to the full ink FM corresponding storage instruction "11", the consumable allowance is 70% M1 corresponds to the storage instruction "10”, and the consumable allowance is 40%. M2 corresponds to the storage command "01”, and the consumables amount is close to the combination of the ink level M0 corresponding to the storage instruction "00” and the like.
  • the parsing unit parses the consumable status indication instruction into an executable instruction, such as the above-mentioned level signal, and then sends it to the transparent driving sub-module, and the transparent driving sub-module operates according to the level signal.
  • the light-transmitting control sub-module controls the light-transmitting driving sub-module to perform the working state of each light-transmitting unit in the light-transmitting device according to the consumable state indication instruction in the consumable chip, for example, controlling the light transmission
  • the driving circuit in the driving sub-module is such that the seg 1 is in a light-transmissive working state, and the seg 2 is in a state of being opaque, and the light source is in a light-transmitting state through the seg 1 and opaque in the seg 2 .
  • the consumable status indication command includes an instruction to allow one or more of the light transmissive units in the light transmissive device to be in a light transmissive state or an opaque state. Specifically, there are the following situations:
  • the type of consumable container provided seg 1 detects the size of the capacity of the ink cartridge, when the light-transmitting setting seg 1 denotes a large-capacity ink container cartridge, the print cartridge is a small-capacity ink cartridge when seg 1 opaque.
  • the detected consumable containers are containers of different capacity according to the light transmission and opaque state of seg 1 .
  • Two light transmissive units seg 1 and seg 2 may also be provided, and the black ink cartridge is set when seg 1 is transparent, and the color ink cartridge is seg 2 when light is transmitted, and accordingly, a plurality of light transmitting units may be disposed to form different combined codes.
  • Status, the implementation of the cartridge type includes capacity, color, model and many other indications.
  • seg 1 When detecting the installation of the consumable container, set seg 1 to indicate the detection signal of the installation process.
  • the light source is always blocked without being blocked.
  • seg 1 is lighted for 1 second and is opaque for 1 second. When the flashing status indicates that the ink cartridge is installed in place.
  • a plurality of light transmissive units can be arranged, such as two seg 1 and seg 2 , when seg 1 and seg 2 are opaque, the consumables are sufficient, close to full ink; when seg 1 is transparent, seg 2 is opaque When the amount of consumables is sufficient, about 70% of the ink; when seg 1 is opaque, seg 2 is light, the consumables are generally sufficient, about 40% of the ink; when seg 1 and seg 2 are transparent At the time, the consumables are insufficient, less than 10% or close to the ink.
  • the consumable chip When detecting the print amount, the consumable chip presets the consumable print amount threshold, and when the consumable chip detects that the amount of ink used by the printer does not reach the print amount threshold, seg 1 is set to be opaque, and when the consumable chip detects the use of the printer When the amount of ink reaches the print amount threshold, seg 1 is set to the light transmitting state.
  • an indication of different printing states can be achieved by using a plurality of light transmitting units and a plurality of multi-stage printing amount thresholds.
  • the present invention can also be implemented by simultaneously setting the above two indications or three indications or four indication manners on the same light transmission module.
  • seg 1 is set to detect the size of the ink cartridge. When seg 1 is light-transmissive, it is a large-capacity ink cartridge, otherwise it is a small-capacity ink cartridge;
  • seg 2 is set to detect the installation state of the ink cartridge, and seg 2 is installed in place when flashing light is transmitted, otherwise Not installed in place;
  • seg 3 is set to detect the remaining amount of consumables, the remaining amount is not sufficient when transmitting light, otherwise the margin is sufficient;
  • seg 4 is set to detect the amount of consumables printed, the amount of printing reaches the preset threshold when light is transmitted, otherwise it can still be Continue to print.
  • the consumable status indication instruction further includes consumable container identification information, consumable container installation information, consumable residue identification information, print quantity information, consumable container type information, and multiple consumable container detections can be simultaneously performed on one printer, or different in different stages. Consumable container inspection. When the above detection is performed, the consumable container identification information is sent to the light transmission control sub-module by the consumable chip together with the light transmission state or the opaque state instruction.
  • the consumable container identification information determines which consumable container is detected, and the consumable container installation information, the consumable remaining amount identification information, the print quantity information, and the consumable container type information are also sent to the light transmission control sub-module, and the specific consumable container is Instructions for the above-mentioned consumable container installation, print volume, consumables, and consumable container type.
  • the light transmissive module can be integrated into the consumable container.
  • the light-transmitting driving sub-module is communicatively connected with the consumable chip, and the power supply of the transparent module can be provided by an external power supply or a consumable chip. If the power consumption of the transparent driving sub-module is extremely low, a battery can be added to the consumable chip. powered by.
  • the light-transmissive driving sub-module and the light-transmitting control sub-module in the light-transmitting module are integrated on a consumable chip, and the light-transmitting device is disposed on the consumable container.
  • the transparent driving module is connected to the consumable chip, and the power supply of the transparent module can be provided by a consumable chip or an external power supply.
  • the light transmitting means is preferably disposed in the consumable viewing area.
  • the invention also provides a consumable container comprising a consumable container body, a consumable chip and the above-mentioned light transmissive module.
  • the light transmissive module and the consumable chip are both mounted on the consumable container body.
  • the consumable container can be placed directly on the printer for targeted consumable status indication.
  • an indication of the consumables of the consumables and the type of consumable containers can be realized, and the consumables chip is provided with a power supply unit, such as a battery, for supplying power to the light transmissive device.
  • the present invention further provides a consumable chip, including a transparent driving module, wherein the transparent driving module comprises a transparent driving sub-module and a light transmission control sub-module.
  • the transparent driving sub-module is configured to switch a light transmitting state of the light transmitting unit in the light transmitting device, and the light transmitting state is used to indicate a consumable state.
  • the light transmission control sub-module is communicatively coupled to the light-transmitting driving sub-module for controlling the light-transmitting driving sub-module to perform a switching operation.
  • the light transmission control sub-module includes a receiving unit for receiving a consumable status indication instruction stored by the consumable chip, an analysis unit for parsing the consumable status indication instruction, and a sending unit that parses the consumable status.
  • the instruction command is sent to the light transmission submodule.
  • the consumable status indication instruction stored by the consumable chip can be stored in a mapping manner, for example, the large-capacity consumable container L corresponds to the storage instruction “1”, and the “1” is identified as the transmissive unit permeable state, specifically in a high-level manner.
  • the driving light transmission unit is in a light transmissive driving circuit; or if the consumables amount is close to the full ink FM corresponding storage instruction "11", the consumable allowance is 70% M1 corresponds to the storage instruction "10”, and the consumable allowance is 40%. M2 corresponds to the storage command "01”, and the consumables amount is close to the combination of the ink level M0 corresponding to the storage instruction "00” and the like.
  • the parsing unit parses the consumable status indication instruction into an executable instruction, such as the above-mentioned level signal, and then sends it to the transparent driving sub-module, and the transparent driving sub-module operates according to the level signal.
  • the light-transmitting control sub-module controls the light-transmitting driving sub-module to perform the working state of each light-transmitting unit in the light-transmitting device according to the consumable state indication instruction in the consumable chip, for example, controlling the light transmission
  • the driving circuit in the driving sub-module is such that the seg 1 is in a light-transmissive working state, and the seg 2 is in a state of being opaque, and the light source is in a light-transmitting state through the seg 1 and opaque in the seg 2 .
  • the consumable status indication command includes an instruction to allow one or more of the light transmissive units in the light transmissive device to be in a light transmissive state or an opaque state. Specifically, there are the following situations:
  • the type of consumable container provided seg 1 detects the size of the capacity of the ink cartridge, when the light-transmitting setting seg 1 denotes a large-capacity ink container cartridge, the print cartridge is a small-capacity ink cartridge when seg 1 opaque.
  • the detected consumable containers are containers of different capacity according to the light transmission and opaque state of seg 1 .
  • Two light transmissive units seg 1 and seg 2 may also be provided, and the black ink cartridge is set when seg 1 is transparent, and the color ink cartridge is seg 2 when light is transmitted, and accordingly, a plurality of light transmitting units may be disposed to form different combined codes.
  • Status, the implementation of the cartridge type includes capacity, color, model and many other indications.
  • seg 1 When detecting the installation of the consumable container, set seg 1 to indicate the detection signal of the installation process.
  • the light source is always blocked without being blocked.
  • seg 1 is lighted for 1 second and is opaque for 1 second. When the flashing status indicates that the ink cartridge is installed in place.
  • a plurality of light transmissive units can be arranged, such as two seg 1 and seg 2 , when seg 1 and seg 2 are opaque, the consumables are sufficient, close to full ink; when seg 1 is transparent, seg 2 is opaque When the amount of consumables is sufficient, about 70% of the ink; when seg 1 is opaque, seg 2 is light, the consumables are generally sufficient, about 40% of the ink; when seg 1 and seg 2 are transparent At the time, the consumables are insufficient, less than 10% or close to the ink.
  • the consumable chip When detecting the print amount, the consumable chip presets the consumable print amount threshold, and when the consumable chip detects that the amount of ink used by the printer does not reach the print amount threshold, seg 1 is set to be opaque, and when the consumable chip detects the use of the printer When the amount of ink reaches the print amount threshold, seg 1 is set to the light transmitting state.
  • an indication of different printing states can be achieved by using a plurality of light transmitting units and a plurality of multi-stage printing amount thresholds.
  • the present invention can also be implemented by simultaneously setting the above two indications or three indications or four indication manners on the same light transmission module.
  • seg 1 is set to detect the size of the ink cartridge. When seg 1 is light-transmissive, it is a large-capacity ink cartridge, otherwise it is a small-capacity ink cartridge;
  • seg 2 is set to detect the installation state of the ink cartridge, and seg 2 is installed in place when flashing light is transmitted, otherwise Not installed in place;
  • seg 3 is set to detect the remaining amount of consumables, the remaining amount is not sufficient when transmitting light, otherwise the margin is sufficient;
  • seg 4 is set to detect the amount of consumables printed, the amount of printing reaches the preset threshold when light is transmitted, otherwise it can still be Continue to print.
  • the consumable status indication instruction further includes consumable container identification information, consumable container installation information, consumable residue identification information, print quantity information, consumable container type information, and multiple consumable container detections can be simultaneously performed on one printer, or different in different stages. Consumable container inspection. When the above detection is performed, the consumable container identification information is sent to the light transmission control sub-module by the consumable chip together with the light transmission state or the opaque state instruction.
  • the consumable container identification information determines which consumable container is detected, and the consumable container installation information, the consumable remaining amount identification information, the print quantity information, and the consumable container type information are also sent to the light transmission control sub-module, and the specific consumable container is Instructions for the above-mentioned consumable container installation, print volume, consumables, and consumable container type.
  • the transparent driving sub-module is communicatively connected with the consumable chip, and the power supply of the transparent module can be provided by an external power supply or a consumable chip, for example, considering that the power consumption of the transparent driving sub-module is extremely low, and can be on the consumable chip. Add battery power.
  • the light transmitting means is preferably disposed in the consumable viewing area.
  • the invention also provides a consumable container, comprising a consumable container body, a consumable chip disposed on the consumable container body as described, and a light transmissive device disposed on the consumable container.
  • the consumable container can be placed directly on the printer for targeted consumable status indication.
  • an indication of the consumables of the consumables and the type of consumable containers can be realized, and the consumables chip is provided with a power supply unit, such as a battery, for supplying power to the light transmissive device.
  • the present invention further provides a method for indicating a state of a consumable, including
  • the light transmission control sub-module receives the consumable status indication instruction stored by the consumable chip; parses the consumable status indication instruction, and sends the parsed consumable status indication instruction to the transparent driving sub-module; wherein the consumable status indication
  • the instructions include instructions to allow one or more of the light transmissive units in the light transmissive device to be in a light transmissive state or an opaque state;
  • the light-transmitting driving sub-module switches the light-transmitting state of the light-transmitting unit in the light-transmitting device according to the analyzed consumable state indication instruction.
  • the above method can be adopted when the light-transmitting module is used to indicate the state of the consumables on the printer.
  • the state of the consumables is indicated by the light-transmitting device receiving the light source and then exhibiting a light-transmitting or opaque state.
  • the inspector can determine the state of the consumables directly by the state presented on the light transmissive device, or can be decoded by the optical receiver on the printer or the optical receiver disposed on the printer later.
  • the light source is not limited to a light source or a light emitter that has been mounted on a printer, or a light source or light emitter that is later mounted on a printer.
  • Figure 5 illustrates a consumable status indication system of the present invention.
  • the system includes the above consumable container and printer.
  • the printer is provided with a light emitter that provides a light source, and a light receiver for transmitting light transmissive and opaque information received from the light transmissive device to the printer to feed back the consumable state.
  • the light emitter emits a visible or invisible light source, and the light transmissive device in the light transmissive module is controlled to be permeable or impermeable to allow the emitted light source to pass through the light transmissive or opaque state.
  • the light emitter is mounted on the printer such that the consumable container mounted on the printer for detection can receive the light source emitted by the light emitter.
  • the light receiver may be a light receiving structure previously provided on the printer, or a light receiver correspondingly disposed according to the light emitter structure, and having the same number of light receiving units as the light emitting unit, such as IN 1 , IN 2 , ...,IN n , n is a natural number greater than 1.
  • the light receiver is mounted on the printer such that the light source mounted on the printer can receive the light transmitting device.
  • the light receiver is communicatively coupled to the printer for transmitting light transmissive and opaque information received from the light transmissive device to a printer to feed back a consumable condition.
  • the printer comprises a decoding unit for analyzing the light-transmitting and opaque information, that is, the light receiver receives the light source transmitted from the light-transmitting device, and outputs a corresponding high and low level, and the different levels are defined as 1 Or 0 states.
  • the decoding unit transmits the received on-off signal to form a combination of different array signals to the printer control center, and the printer pre-stores an information table corresponding to the array signal combination or signal, such as “1”, the print quantity reaches a preset threshold. For example, "11" is marked as the consumables margin is close to full ink FM, such as "00" is marked as the consumables remaining as ink.
  • the printer further includes a driving unit that drives the light emitting device to emit a light source
  • the driving unit is a driving circuit that controls the printer to start the driving circuit to drive the light emitting device to emit the light source when detecting or starting, or to control the light source to emit Continuous emission or interval time emission, and can also control the brightness of the emitted light source, the color of the emitted light source, and the like.
  • FIG. 7 shows a consumable state indication method in another example, which is implemented in accordance with the consumable state indication system described above.
  • the method specifically includes:
  • the printer controls the light emitter to emit a light source
  • the light transmission control sub-module receives the consumable status indication instruction stored by the consumable chip; parses the consumable status indication instruction, and sends the parsed consumable status indication instruction to the transparent driving sub-module; wherein the consumable status
  • the instruction instruction includes an instruction to allow one or more of the light transmitting units in the light transmitting device to be in a light transmitting state or an opaque state;
  • the light-transmitting driving sub-module switches the light-transmitting state of the light-transmitting unit in the light-transmitting device according to the analyzed consumable state indication instruction;
  • the light receiver of the printer receives the light transmissive and opaque information from the light transmissive device, and the printer feeds back the consumable state.
  • the consumable status indication method is performed under the established consumable status indication system.
  • This document is not limited to the inspection for the assembly of consumable containers on a printer, but also to fax machines, copiers, and the like.

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Abstract

一种耗材状态指示系统、方法及其所用模块和耗材容器，属于打印机耗材技术领域。透光模块包括透光器件，用于接收光源且具有多个透光单元；透光驱动子模块，用于切换透光器件中透光单元的透光状态；透光控制子模块，与耗材芯片通信连接用于控制透光驱动子模块执行切换操作。耗材状态指示方法包括透光控制子模块接收耗材芯片存储的耗材状态指示指令；解析耗材状态指示指令并发送给透光驱动子模块（S11）；其中，耗材状态指示指令包括允许透光器件中一个或多个透光单元呈透光状态或不透光状态的指令；透光驱动子模块切换透光器件中透光单元的透光状态（S12）。该技术方案易于实现，成本低，状态指示简便，能用于耗材容器安装、打印量、耗材余量的状态指示。

Description

一种耗材状态指示系统、方法及其所用模块和耗材容器 技术领域
本发明涉及打印机耗材技术领域，尤其涉及一种透光模块、耗材容器、耗材芯片、耗材状态指示系统和方法。
 背景技术
打印领域中，耗材配件安装在打印机上，是由耗材芯片，耗材、耗材容器三部分共同作用完成。在将装有耗材芯片的耗材容器安装在打印机上进行打印作业时，打印机与耗材芯片会建立通信连接，两者进行数据交互。具体地，打印机通过耗材芯片记录的信息确定厂家、耗材容量、耗材余量、生产日期等信息；同时，打印机根据耗材使用的情况将上机日期、已经打印的页数、耗材余量等信息回写记录到耗材芯片内。而耗材芯片会根据打印机回写记录反馈打印机正常打印、异常打印、打印耗材余量不足等信号。打印机根据反馈信号执行正常打印、停止打印、打印耗材余量不足提示等打印操作。
耗材容器在结构上往往会有检测部件，如棱镜、浮标、定位孔，打印机厂商利用检测部件和设置于打印机上的装机检测程序完成耗材匹配度（如颜色、容量大小）、耗材余量、安装过程的检测。具体地，一方面，通过检测耗材结构部件实现安装过程的动作，判断出用户对耗材的实际动作，如在更换耗材容器的过程中，打印机会增加冲墨的动作以保证打印质量；一方面，通过检测耗材余量状态，提前提示用户及时购买耗材；另一方面，通过检测壳体特征，判断当前耗材的打印量。
参见图1，图中示出了现有带浮标的耗材容器的侧切截面图。本文以此为示例，进一步说明。耗材芯片装于耗材容器上。所述耗材容器具有盒盖和盒体。所述盒体包括用于容纳和储备墨水的墨腔、用于使墨腔与外部大气相连通的气道、用于向喷墨打印机的供墨针供应墨水的供墨口、 用于检测耗材容器中墨水存量的检测腔12和设于所述检测腔12的浮标11、用于开启/关闭墨腔和供墨口之间的墨水通道的单向阀。所述检测腔12与所述墨腔流体连通。当墨腔和单向阀内的墨水消耗完后，空气会沿着墨水通道进入检测腔12，与检测腔12中的墨水进行交换，于是开始消耗检测腔12的墨水，检测腔12中的墨水经其底部的端口进入供墨口；随着检测腔12中墨水的消耗，浮力渐渐消失，浮标11会下降，当下降到一定高度时，打印机识别不到浮标12就会提示墨尽。当耗材容器安装在打印机上时，浮标11能正确给出墨腔的真实状态。
所述盒体还设有墨水观察区域13，通过该区域可方便监测耗材容器中墨水液位状况。所述墨水观察区域13包括A区域，其由检测腔内的一限制壁构成，被配置为允许在垂直于插入/取出方向的方向传播光从该区域穿过；B区域，为A区域和C区域之间的空隙区域，可以通过光源发出的光被光接受结构检测到来提供耗材容器的类型的信息；C区域，部分被配置为将光的量或强度衰减为足以光源接受结构检测到的水平，部分被配置为通过衰减光源发出的光来提供关于耗材容器类型的信息。在耗材容器使用过程中，耗材容器安装入打印机的过程中，打印机依次对耗材容器状态观察区域13的C区域、B区域、A区域进行检测。
由此可见，通过浮标，甚至是其他检测部件如棱镜、定位孔进行耗材安装、耗材余量状态、当前打印量的检测功能的实现过程复杂，成本高，状态指示单一，集成度低。而对于现有耗材容器在用尽后投入再生市场的使用，一方面采用不同检测部件检测，检测获得的信息存在差异，无法充分使用耗材容器中的墨水；另一方面由于耗材容器的结构特殊性，如不同容量耗材容器，其墨水观察区域的结构、尺寸都有显著变化，需要对耗材容器观察区域，尤其是C区域进行改造才能达到通用性再生的效果。
为了简化检测，统一检测标准，提高检测通用性，发明专利CN102886988B公开了打印机对墨盒的类型判断方法及打印机。该发明中光接收器接收墨盒发光单元发射的光，打印机内存储有墨盒安装时判断墨盒是否可以正常安装的光接收器所接收到的光量阈值范围，通过判断接收光的光量值是否在光量阈值范围来检测墨盒安装过程。该发明还利用接收光的光量值与墨盒类型参考值比较，以判断墨盒类型。但是该发明并未解决耗材余量、打印量检测的问题，且光量值的获取在一定程度上受外界环境影响，当光接收器实际接收的光强较弱，则会影响光量值获取的准确性，继而影响墨盒安装过程、墨盒类型的检测判断。
 技术问题
本发明针对现有技术存在的问题，提出了一种易于实现、成本低、状态指示简便、通用性高的透光模块、耗材容器、耗材容器检测模块、耗材状态指示系统和方法。
 技术解决方案
本发明是通过以下技术方案得以实现的：
一种透光模块，用于耗材容器装配于打印机上进行耗材状态指示；所述透光模块包括：
透光器件，用于接收光源；所述透光器件具有多个透光单元；
透光驱动子模块，用于切换透光器件中透光单元的透光状态；透光控制子模块，与耗材芯片通信连接用于控制所述透光驱动子模块执行切换操作。
作为本发明优选，所述透光器件包括LCD透光屏。
作为本发明优选，所述透光模块集成为一体设于耗材容器上。
作为本发明优选，所述透光控制子模块包括接收单元，用于接收耗材芯片存储的耗材状态指示指令；解析单元，用于解析耗材状态指示指令；发送单元，将解析后的耗材状态指示指令发送给透光驱动子模块；耗材状态指示指令包括允许透光器件中一个或多个透光单元呈透光状态或不透光状态的指令。
作为本发明优选，所述耗材状态指示指令还包括耗材容器标识信息、耗材容器安装信息、耗材余量标识信息、打印量信息、耗材容器类型信息。
一种耗材容器，包括耗材容器本体、设于所述耗材容器本体上的耗材芯片、以及设于耗材容器上的如上所述的透光模块。
作为本发明优选，所述耗材芯片包括为透光器件供电的电源单元。
一种耗材芯片，包括透光驱动模块，所述透光驱动模块包括：
透光驱动子模块，用于切换透光器件中透光单元的透光状态；所述透光状态用于指示耗材状态；
透光控制子模块，与所述透光驱动子模块通信连接,用于控制所述透光驱动子模块执行切换操作。
作为本发明优选，所述透光控制子模块包括接收单元，用于接收耗材芯片存储的耗材状态指示指令；解析单元，用于解析耗材状态指示指令；发送单元，将解析后的耗材状态指示指令发送给透光驱动子模块；耗材状态指示指令包括允许透光器件中一个或多个透光单元呈透光状态或不透光状态的指令。
作为本发明优选，所述耗材状态指示指令还包括耗材容器标识信息、耗材容器安装信息、耗材余量标识信息、打印量信息、耗材容器类型信息。
作为本发明优选，所述耗材芯片还包括为透光器件供电的电源单元。
一种耗材容器，包括耗材容器本体、设于所述耗材容器本体上如上所述的耗材芯片、以及设于耗材容器上的透光器件。
一种耗材状态指示系统，包括如上所述的耗材容器、打印机；所述打印机上设有提供光源的光发射器、以及用于将从所述透光器件接收到的透光和不透光信息传送给打印机以反馈耗材状态的光接收器。
作为本发明优选，所述打印机包括解析透光和不透光信息的译码单元。
作为本发明优选，所述打印机包括驱动所述光发射器发射光源的驱动单元。
作为本发明优选，所述光接收器具有多个光接收单元，所述光接收单元的数量与所述透光单元的数量相等。
一种耗材状态指示系统，包括如上所述的耗材容器、打印机；所述打印机上设有提供光源的光发射器、以及用于将从所述透光器件接收到的透光和不透光信息传送给打印机以反馈耗材状态的光接收器。
作为本发明优选，所述打印机包括解析透光和不透光信息的译码单元。
作为本发明优选，所述打印机包括驱动所述光发射器发射光源的驱动单元。
作为本发明优选，所述光接收器具有多个光接收单元，所述光接收单元的数量与所述透光单元的数量相等。
一种使用所述透光模块进行的耗材状态指示方法，包括
所述透光控制子模块接收耗材芯片存储的耗材状态指示指令；解析所述耗材状态指示指令，并将解析后的耗材状态指示指令发送给透光驱动子模块；其中，所述耗材状态指示指令包括允许透光器件中一个或多个透光单元呈透光状态或不透光状态的指令；
所述透光驱动子模块根据解析后的耗材状态指示指令，切换透光器件中透光单元的透光状态。
作为本发明优选，所述耗材状态指示指令还包括耗材容器标识信息、耗材容器安装信息、耗材余量标识信息、打印量信息、耗材容器类型信息。
作为本发明优选，所述耗材状态指示指令能用于耗材容器安装状态指示、耗材余量状态指示、打印量状态指示、耗材容器类型指示中的任意一个或任意两种组合或任意三种组合或四种。
 有益效果
本发明提供了一种耗材状态指示系统、方法，及其所用模块和耗材容器，其具有以下优点:
1、   通过改写透光器件中多个透光单元的不同透光、不透光组合，方便区分不同类型耗材容器，如墨盒，降低了各种运维成本；
2、   根据不同壳体、填装的耗材量不同，改变耗材芯片内打印量的阈值大小，即可实现不同打印量的控制；
3、   信息反馈扩展方便，可简单的增加透光单元的数量，以一个透光单元代表一种信息提示的方式来方便直接提供多种信息指示的数量；也可使用多个透光单元组合方式进行编码状态表示，如4个透光单元可以传达16种状态；
4、   信息指示方便，可通过透光单元直接示出状态，可进一步由打印机反馈状态；另外由于驱动透光器件所需功耗极低，可实现耗材不加到打印机的情况下，利用耗材芯片上的供电电源实现耗材余量的指示。
 附图说明
图1为现有技术中耗材容器的侧切截面图；
图2为本发明一种透光模块的结构框图；
图3为本发明一种耗材芯片的结构框图；
图4为图3中透光控制子模块的结构框图；
图5为本发明一种耗材状态指示系统的结构框图；
图6为本发明一种耗材状态指示方法一实施方式的流程框图；
图7为本发明一种耗材状态指示方法另一实施方式的流程框图。
 本发明的实施方式
以下是本发明的具体实施例并结合附图，对本发明的技术方案作进一步的描述，但本发明并不限于这些实施例。
为了实现不同容量大小耗材容器、具有不同检测结构耗材容器的耗材容器安装、打印量、耗材余量等的便捷、低成本的指示，本发明提供一种透光模块。所述透光模块用于耗材容器装配于打印机上进行耗材状态指示。本文所指的耗材状态指示包括耗材容器是否有效安装于打印机上的耗材容器安装状态指示、打印机打印量状态指示、耗材容器中耗材余量状态指示、耗材容器类型指示。
如图2，所述透光模块包括透光器件、透光驱动子模块、透光控制子模块。所述透光器件用于接收光源，如装配于打印机上的LED光源，或能产生发射光源的光发射器，所述光源可以为可见或不可见光。所述透光器件包括多个透光单元，seg 1，seg 2，…seg n，n为大于1的自然数。所述透光器件可以为透光屏。优选地，所述透光屏为全透性的LCD屏。所述多个透光单元可以平行的方式依次设置而构成一透光器件，也可以不在同一水平线上设置，以实现光源接收和光源透光效果为准。优选地，在同一水平线上设置可便于排布、装配，减少透光单元数量，节省成本。所述透光驱动子模块控制实现其中一个透光单元透光与不透光状态之间的切换，或控制实现多个透光单元的任意组合透光与不透光状态之间的切换。优选地，所述透光驱动子模块可包括透光驱动电路，如具有多条驱动不同透光单元呈现透光或不透光状态的透光驱动电路，或利用具有不同选通通道或不同控制开关的一条或若干条透光驱动电路，利用不同选通通道或控制开关使不同透光单元呈现透光或不透光状态。所述透光控制子模块与耗材芯片通信连接，用于控制所述透光驱动子模块执行切换操作。在通信过程中，打印机可以通过向通信总线发送指令来获取耗材芯片的信息，从而得知耗材容易是否安装在打印机上，同时还能获知存储于耗材芯片内的耗材信息。打印机根据耗材使用情况，还会将其发送至耗材芯片，并更新耗材芯片内的存储信息。为此，所述透光控制子模块从耗材芯片中的存储信息获得控制所述透光驱动子模块执行切换操作的耗材状态指示指令。
具体地，所述透光控制子模块包括接收单元，用于接收耗材芯片存储的耗材状态指示指令；解析单元，用于解析耗材状态指示指令；发送单元，将解析后的耗材状态指示指令发送给透光驱动子模块。所述耗材芯片存储的耗材状态指示指令可以以映射的方式存储，如大容量耗材容器L对应存储指令“1”，“1”标识为透光单元可透光状态，具体以高电平方式导通驱动透光单元呈可透光状态的驱动电路；或如耗材余量接近满墨FM对应存储指令“11”，耗材余量为70%M1对应存储指令“10”，耗材余量为40%M2对应存储指令“01”，耗材余量接近墨尽M0对应存储指令“00”等多种组合的编码状态指令。解析单元将耗材状态指示指令解析成可执行的指令，如上述电平信号，继而发送给透光驱动子模块，所述透光驱动子模块根据电平信号动作。
当光源照射到透光器件上时，透光控制子模块根据耗材芯片中的耗材状态指示指令，控制透光驱动子模块执行对透光器件中各透光单元的工作状态，例如，控制透光驱动子模块中的驱动电路使得seg 1处于可透光的工作状态，seg 2处于不可透光的状态，此时光源经过seg 1而呈现透光状态，而经过seg 2时呈现不透光状态。
所述耗材状态指示指令包括允许透光器件中一个或多个透光单元呈透光状态或不透光状态的指令。具体有以下几种情况：
在检测耗材容器类型时，设置seg 1来检测墨盒大小容量，设定seg 1透光时表示墨盒为大容量墨盒，当seg 1不透光时表示墨盒为小容量墨盒。检测者在进行检测时，根据seg 1的透光和不透光状态来确定检测的耗材容器为不同容量大小的容器。还可设置两个透光单元seg 1，seg 2，设定seg 1透光时为黑色墨盒，seg 2透光时为彩色墨盒，据此还可设置多个透光单元，形成不同的组合编码状态，实现墨盒类型包括容量、色彩、型号等多方面的指示。
在检测耗材容器安装情况时，设置seg 1来表示安装过程的检测信号，当墨盒未安装时，光源无阻挡的一直发射状态，一旦墨盒安装后，seg 1呈现1秒透光1秒不透光的闪烁状态时，则表示墨盒已安装到位。
在检测耗材余量时，设置seg 1来表示耗材余量，设定seg 1透光时为耗材余量不充足，seg 1不透光时为耗材余量充足。进一步可设置多个透光单元，如两个seg 1和seg 2，当seg 1、seg 2均不透光时为耗材余量充足，接近满墨；当seg 1透光、seg 2不透光时为耗材余量比较充足，约为70%墨量；当seg 1不透光、seg 2透光时为耗材余量一般充足，约为40%墨量；当seg 1和seg 2均透光时，耗材余量不足，少于10%或接近墨尽。
在检测打印量时，耗材芯片预先设定了耗材打印量阈值，当耗材芯片检测到打印机使用的墨量未达到打印量阈值时seg 1设置为不透光状态，而当耗材芯片检测到打印机使用的墨量达到打印量阈值时seg 1设置为透光状态。另外，还可利用多个透光单元和多阶段的多个打印量阈值，实现不同打印状态的指示。
结合上述检测，本发明还可将上述两种指示或三种指示或四种指示方式同时设置在同一个透光模块上实现。例如，seg 1设置用来检测墨盒大小容量，当seg 1透光时为大容量墨盒，否则为小容量墨盒；seg 2设置用来检测墨盒安装状态，seg 2闪烁透光时为安装到位，否则未安装到位；seg 3设置用来检测耗材余量，透光时余量不充足，否则余量充足；seg 4设置用来检测耗材打印量，透光时打印量达到预设阈值，否则仍可继续打印。
耗材状态指示指令还包括耗材容器标识信息、耗材容器安装信息、耗材余量标识信息、打印量信息、耗材容器类型信息，在一台打印机上可同时进行多个耗材容器检测，或分次进行不同耗材容器检测。在进行上述检测时，所述耗材容器标识信息与所述透光状态或不透光状态的指令一同由耗材芯片发送至透光控制子模块上。通过耗材容器标识信息确定检测的是哪一个耗材容器，另外耗材容器安装信息、耗材余量标识信息、打印量信息、耗材容器类型信息也被发送至透光控制子模块，并对特定耗材容器进行上述耗材容器安装、打印量、耗材余量、耗材容器类型等指示。
为便于检测，一实施方式下，所述透光模块可集成为一体设于耗材容器上。其中，透光驱动子模块与耗材芯片通信连接，所述透光模块的供电可由外置电源或耗材芯片提供，如考虑到透光驱动子模块的功耗极低，可在耗材芯片上加入电池供电。另一实施方式下，所述透光模块中的所述透光驱动子模块与所述透光控制子模块集成于耗材芯片上，所述透光器件设于耗材容器上。其中，透光驱动模块与耗材芯片通信连接，所述透光模块的供电可由耗材芯片或外置电源提供，如考虑到透光驱动子模块的功耗极低，可在耗材芯片上加入电池供电。上述实施方式下，当使用设于打印机上的光源或光发射器时，所述透光器件优选设置于耗材观察区域。
本发明还提供一耗材容器，包括耗材容器本体、耗材芯片和上述透光模块。所述透光模块与所述耗材芯片均装配于所述耗材容器本体上。该耗材容器可直接放置于打印机上，进行针对性的耗材状态指示。为了将耗材不加到打印机的情况下也能实现耗材余量、耗材容器类型的指示，所述耗材芯片上设有为透光器件供电的电源单元，如电池。
如图3，本发明还提供一种耗材芯片，包括透光驱动模块,所述透光驱动模块包括透光驱动子模块、透光控制子模块。所述透光驱动子模块用于切换透光器件中透光单元的透光状态，所述透光状态用于指示耗材状态。所述透光控制子模块，与所述透光驱动子模块通信连接,用于控制所述透光驱动子模块执行切换操作。
具体地，如图4，所述透光控制子模块包括接收单元，用于接收耗材芯片存储的耗材状态指示指令；解析单元，用于解析耗材状态指示指令；发送单元，将解析后的耗材状态指示指令发送给透光驱动子模块。所述耗材芯片存储的耗材状态指示指令可以以映射的方式存储，如大容量耗材容器L对应存储指令“1”，“1”标识为透光单元可透光状态，具体以高电平方式导通驱动透光单元呈可透光状态的驱动电路；或如耗材余量接近满墨FM对应存储指令“11”，耗材余量为70%M1对应存储指令“10”，耗材余量为40%M2对应存储指令“01”，耗材余量接近墨尽M0对应存储指令“00”等多种组合的编码状态指令。解析单元将耗材状态指示指令解析成可执行的指令，如上述电平信号，继而发送给透光驱动子模块，所述透光驱动子模块根据电平信号动作。
当光源照射到透光器件上时，透光控制子模块根据耗材芯片中的耗材状态指示指令，控制透光驱动子模块执行对透光器件中各透光单元的工作状态，例如，控制透光驱动子模块中的驱动电路使得seg 1处于可透光的工作状态，seg 2处于不可透光的状态，此时光源经过seg 1而呈现透光状态，而经过seg 2时呈现不透光状态。
所述耗材状态指示指令包括允许透光器件中一个或多个透光单元呈透光状态或不透光状态的指令。具体有以下几种情况：
在检测耗材容器类型时，设置seg 1来检测墨盒大小容量，设定seg 1透光时表示墨盒为大容量墨盒，当seg 1不透光时表示墨盒为小容量墨盒。检测者在进行检测时，根据seg 1的透光和不透光状态来确定检测的耗材容器为不同容量大小的容器。还可设置两个透光单元seg 1，seg 2，设定seg 1透光时为黑色墨盒，seg 2透光时为彩色墨盒，据此还可设置多个透光单元，形成不同的组合编码状态，实现墨盒类型包括容量、色彩、型号等多方面的指示。
在检测耗材容器安装情况时，设置seg 1来表示安装过程的检测信号，当墨盒未安装时，光源无阻挡的一直发射状态，一旦墨盒安装后，seg 1呈现1秒透光1秒不透光的闪烁状态时，则表示墨盒已安装到位。
在检测耗材余量时，设置seg 1来表示耗材余量，设定seg 1透光时为耗材余量不充足，seg 1不透光时为耗材余量充足。进一步可设置多个透光单元，如两个seg 1和seg 2，当seg 1、seg 2均不透光时为耗材余量充足，接近满墨；当seg 1透光、seg 2不透光时为耗材余量比较充足，约为70%墨量；当seg 1不透光、seg 2透光时为耗材余量一般充足，约为40%墨量；当seg 1和seg 2均透光时，耗材余量不足，少于10%或接近墨尽。
在检测打印量时，耗材芯片预先设定了耗材打印量阈值，当耗材芯片检测到打印机使用的墨量未达到打印量阈值时seg 1设置为不透光状态，而当耗材芯片检测到打印机使用的墨量达到打印量阈值时seg 1设置为透光状态。另外，还可利用多个透光单元和多阶段的多个打印量阈值，实现不同打印状态的指示。
结合上述检测，本发明还可将上述两种指示或三种指示或四种指示方式同时设置在同一个透光模块上实现。例如，seg 1设置用来检测墨盒大小容量，当seg 1透光时为大容量墨盒，否则为小容量墨盒；seg 2设置用来检测墨盒安装状态，seg 2闪烁透光时为安装到位，否则未安装到位；seg 3设置用来检测耗材余量，透光时余量不充足，否则余量充足；seg 4设置用来检测耗材打印量，透光时打印量达到预设阈值，否则仍可继续打印。
耗材状态指示指令还包括耗材容器标识信息、耗材容器安装信息、耗材余量标识信息、打印量信息、耗材容器类型信息，在一台打印机上可同时进行多个耗材容器检测，或分次进行不同耗材容器检测。在进行上述检测时，所述耗材容器标识信息与所述透光状态或不透光状态的指令一同由耗材芯片发送至透光控制子模块上。通过耗材容器标识信息确定检测的是哪一个耗材容器，另外耗材容器安装信息、耗材余量标识信息、打印量信息、耗材容器类型信息也被发送至透光控制子模块，并对特定耗材容器进行上述耗材容器安装、打印量、耗材余量、耗材容器类型等指示。
为便于检测，透光驱动子模块与耗材芯片通信连接，所述透光模块的供电可由外置电源或耗材芯片提供，如考虑到透光驱动子模块的功耗极低，可在耗材芯片上加入电池供电。上述实施方式下，当使用设于打印机上的光源或光发射器时，所述透光器件优选设置于耗材观察区域。
本发明还提供一种耗材容器，包括耗材容器本体、设于所述耗材容器本体上如所述的耗材芯片、以及设于耗材容器上的透光器件。该耗材容器可直接放置于打印机上，进行针对性的耗材状态指示。为了将耗材不加到打印机的情况下也能实现耗材余量、耗材容器类型的指示，所述耗材芯片上设有为透光器件供电的电源单元，如电池。
如图6，依据上述透光模块，本发明还提供一种耗材状态指示方法，包括
S11，所述透光控制子模块接收耗材芯片存储的耗材状态指示指令；解析所述耗材状态指示指令，并将解析后的耗材状态指示指令发送给透光驱动子模块；其中所述耗材状态指示指令包括允许透光器件中一个或多个透光单元呈透光状态或不透光状态的指令；
S12，所述透光驱动子模块根据解析后的耗材状态指示指令，切换透光器件中透光单元的透光状态。
上述方法，可在采用上述透光模块在打印机上进行耗材状态指示时采用。通过该方法，利用透光器件接收光源进而呈现透光或不透光的状态来指示耗材状态。检测人员可直接通过呈现在透光器件上的状态来确定耗材状态，也可利用打印机上的光接收器或后期设置于打印机上的光接收器译码获得耗材状态。其中，所述光源不限于已装配于打印机上的光源或光发射器，或后期装配于打印机上的光源或光发射器。
图5示出了本发明一种耗材状态指示系统。该系统包括上述耗材容器、打印机。所述打印机上设有提供光源的光发射器、以及用于将从所述透光器件接收到的透光和不透光信息传送给打印机以反馈耗材状态的光接收器。所述光发射器发射可见或不可见光源，透光模块中的透光器件被控制为可透或不可透状态，以让发射来的光源从其中穿过呈现透光或不透光状态。所述光发射器装设于打印机上，使得装设于打印机上进行检测的耗材容器能接收到光发射器发射的光源。所述光发射器的光源是否发射由打印机控制。在此情况下，检测人员可从透光器件上直接根据显示状态获取检测结果。所述光接收器可采用预先设于打印机上的光接收结构，或根据光发射器结构对应设置的光接收器，其具有与光发射单元数量相同的光接收单元，如IN 1，IN 2，…,IN n, n为大于1的自然数。所述光接收器装设于打印机上，使得装设于打印机上能接收到透光器件透出的光源。所述光接收器与打印机通信连接，用于将从所述透光器件接收到的透光和不透光信息传送给打印机以反馈耗材状态。
其中，所述打印机包括解析透光和不透光信息的译码单元，也就是光接收器接收从透光器件透过的光源后，输出与之对应的高低电平，不同电平定义为1或0两种状态。译码单元将接收到的通断信号组成不同的阵列信号组合传送给打印机控制中心，打印机预先存储与该阵列信号组合或信号相对应的信息表，如“1”标识为打印量达到预设阈值，如“11”标识为耗材余量接近满墨FM，如“00”标识为耗材余量为墨尽。所述打印机还包括驱动所述光发射器发射光源的驱动单元，所述驱动单元为驱动电路，控制打印机在检测时或开机时启动驱动电路来驱动光发射器发射光源，也可控制光源发射为连续发射或间隔时间发射，还可控制发射光源亮度、发射光源颜色等。
图7示出了另一示例下的耗材状态指示方法，该方法依据上述耗材状态指示系统实现。
该方法具体包括：
S21,打印机控制光发射器发射光源；
S22，所述透光控制子模块接收耗材芯片存储的耗材状态指示指令；解析所述耗材状态指示指令，并将解析后的耗材状态指示指令发送给透光驱动子模块；其中，所述耗材状态指示指令包括允许透光器件中一个或多个透光单元呈透光状态或不透光状态的指令；
S23，所述透光驱动子模块根据解析后的耗材状态指示指令，切换透光器件中透光单元的透光状态；
S24,打印机的光接收器接收来自所述透光器件的透光和不透光信息，打印机反馈耗材状态。
该耗材状态指示方法在已建立的耗材状态指示系统下进行。
本文不限于用于耗材容器装配于打印机上的检测，还可扩展至传真机、复印机等。
本领域的技术人员应理解，上述描述及附图中所示的本发明的实施例只作为举例而并不限制本发明。本发明的目的已经完整有效地实现。本发明的功能及结构原理已在实施例中展示和说明，在没有背离所述原理下，本发明的实施方式可以有任何变形或修改。

Claims (23)

  1. 一种透光模块，其特征在于，用于耗材容器装配于打印机上进行耗材状态指示；所述透光模块包括：
    透光器件，用于接收光源；所述透光器件具有多个透光单元；
    透光驱动子模块，用于切换透光器件中透光单元的透光状态；
    透光控制子模块，与耗材芯片通信连接用于控制所述透光驱动子模块执行切换操作。
  2. 根据权利要求1所述的一种透光模块，其特征在于，所述透光器件包括LCD透光屏。
  3. 根据权利要求1所述的一种透光模块，其特征在于，所述透光模块集成为一体设于耗材容器上。
  4. 根据权利要求1所述的一种透光模块，其特征在于，所述透光控制子模块包括接收单元，用于接收耗材芯片存储的耗材状态指示指令；解析单元，用于解析耗材状态指示指令；发送单元，将解析后的耗材状态指示指令发送给透光驱动子模块；耗材状态指示指令包括允许透光器件中一个或多个透光单元呈透光状态或不透光状态的指令。
  5. 根据权利要求4所述的一种透光模块，其特征在于，所述耗材状态指示指令还包括耗材容器标识信息、耗材容器安装信息、耗材余量标识信息、打印量信息、耗材容器类型信息。
  6. 一种耗材容器，其特征在于，包括耗材容器本体、设于所述耗材容器本体上的耗材芯片、以及设于耗材容器上的如上权利要求1-5之一所述的透光模块。
  7. 根据权利要求6所述的一种耗材容器，其特征在于，所述耗材芯片包括为透光器件供电的电源单元。
  8. 一种耗材芯片,其特征在于,包括透光驱动模块,所述透光驱动模块包括:
    透光驱动子模块，用于切换透光器件中透光单元的透光状态；所述透光状态用于指示耗材状态；
    透光控制子模块，与所述透光驱动子模块通信连接,用于控制所述透光驱动子模块执行切换操作。
  9. 根据权利要求8所述的一种耗材芯片，其特征在于，所述透光控制子模块包括接收单元，用于接收耗材芯片存储的耗材状态指示指令；解析单元，用于解析耗材状态指示指令；发送单元，将解析后的耗材状态指示指令发送给透光驱动子模块；耗材状态指示指令包括允许透光器件中一个或多个透光单元呈透光状态或不透光状态的指令。
  10. 根据权利要求9所述的一种耗材芯片，其特征在于，所述耗材状态指示指令还包括耗材容器标识信息、耗材容器安装信息、耗材余量标识信息、打印量信息、耗材容器类型信息。
  11. 根据权利要求9所述的一种耗材芯片，其特征在于，所述耗材芯片还包括为透光器件供电的电源单元。
  12. 一种耗材容器，其特征在于，包括耗材容器本体、设于所述耗材容器本体上如权利要求8-11之一所述的耗材芯片、以及设于耗材容器上的透光器件。
  13. 一种耗材状态指示系统，其特征在于，包括如权利要求6所述的耗材容器、打印机；所述打印机上设有提供光源的光发射器、以及用于将从所述透光器件接收到的透光和不透光信息传送给打印机以反馈耗材状态的光接收器。
  14. 根据权利要求13所述的一种耗材状态指示系统，其特征在于，所述打印机包括解析透光和不透光信息的译码单元。
  15. 根据权利要求13所述的一种耗材状态指示系统，其特征在于，所述打印机包括驱动所述光发射器发射光源的驱动单元。
  16. 根据权利要求13所述的一种耗材状态指示系统，其特征在于，所述光接收器具有多个光接收单元，所述光接收单元的数量与所述透光单元的数量相等。
  17. 一种耗材状态指示系统，其特征在于，包括如权利要求12所述的耗材容器、打印机；所述打印机上设有提供光源的光发射器、以及用于将从所述透光器件接收到的透光和不透光信息传送给打印机以反馈耗材状态的光接收器。
  18. 根据权利要求17所述的一种耗材状态指示系统，其特征在于，所述打印机包括解析透光和不透光信息的译码单元。
  19. 根据权利要求17所述的一种耗材状态指示系统，其特征在于，所述打印机包括驱动所述光发射器发射光源的驱动单元。
  20. 根据权利要求17所述的一种耗材状态指示系统，其特征在于，所述光接收器具有多个光接收单元，所述光接收单元的数量与所述透光单元的数量相等。
  21. 一种使用权利要求1所述透光模块进行的耗材状态指示方法，其特征在于，包括
    所述透光控制子模块接收耗材芯片存储的耗材状态指示指令；解析所述耗材状态指示指令，并将解析后的耗材状态指示指令发送给透光驱动子模块；其中，所述耗材状态指示指令包括允许透光器件中一个或多个透光单元呈透光状态或不透光状态的指令；
    所述透光驱动子模块根据解析后的耗材状态指示指令，切换透光器件中透光单元的透光状态。
  22. 根据权利要求21所述的耗材状态指示方法，其特征在于，所述耗材状态指示指令还包括耗材容器标识信息、耗材容器安装信息、耗材余量标识信息、打印量信息、耗材容器类型信息。
  23. 根据权利要求21所述的耗材状态指示方法，其特征在于，所述耗材状态指示指令能用于耗材容器安装状态指示、耗材余量状态指示、打印量状态指示、耗材容器类型指示中的任意一个或任意两种组合或任意三种组合或四种。
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