CN104943396B - A kind of ink-cases of printers, ink box chip - Google Patents

Abstract

This invention provides an inkjet printer ink cartridge, an ink cartridge chip, and a data processing method. The ink cartridge chip comprises a control unit, a memory, an interface unit, and a memory control unit. The ink cartridge chip contains ink cartridge identification information, ink cartridge model parameters, and multiple maximum ink volume values. The ink cartridge chip selects the corresponding ink cartridge model parameters and maximum ink volume values from the memory based on the ink cartridge identification information. The chip detects when the printer ink is depleted by comparing the ink volume values in the memory with the maximum ink volume values.

Description

A printer ink cartridge, ink cartridge chip

technical field

The invention relates to a printer ink box, an ink box chip and a data processing method.

Background technique

At present, in the ink cartridge for supplying ink to the printer, a light-shielding mechanism is configured, and the mechanism includes a lever, and the lever can rotate around the ink cartridge support platform in the extending direction of the lever. The shade mechanism includes a shade portion at one end of the lever and a float at the other end of the lever. When ink is housed in the ink cartridge, because the density of the float is smaller than that of the ink, the float moves upward due to buoyancy, and the movement of the float drives the lever to rotate. When the cartridge is full of ink, the lever turns so that the shutter sits near the bottom of the recess and blocks light from the light-emitting portion of the optical sensor. As the ink in the cartridge becomes low, the lever turns to move the shutter gradually toward the top of the recess. When the ink in the ink cartridge is exhausted, the shutter turns to near the top of the concave portion and cannot block the light emitted from the light emitting portion. When the optical sensor receives the light emitted from the light emitting part, it is detected that the ink in the ink cartridge has been used up.

Patent CN200910105619.8 discloses an ink cartridge invented by people, and the light-shielding member is arranged on the outside of the ink cartridge. When the ink in the ink cartridge becomes less, the soft support cap is deformed, and the light-shielding component is displaced, thereby achieving the same technical effect. However, when the shading part is not supported by the soft support cap, it moves by its own gravity. When ink is attached or other foreign matter exists on the shading part, due to the ink tension or the adsorption force of the foreign matter, the movement of the lever assembly is deviated and the ink volume detection error occurs. .

Patent CN201010155221.8 discloses another ink cartridge used by people. A tension generating part is arranged outside the ink cartridge, and the tension generating part generates a pulling force that can move the movable rod to the ink cartridge installation scheme. In the patent, the tension generating component is a set of magnets or springs.

The technical scheme of the above-mentioned ink cartridge has the following disadvantages: when the light-shielding member is inside the ink cartridge, the float part of the light-shielding mechanism is easily affected by the air bubbles on the surface of the ink, and the size and shape of the quality of the light-shielding mechanism, the pressure inside the ink cartridge, and the quality of the ink, etc. It is not easy to control, so it is easy to cause inaccurate detection results of the remaining amount of ink. When the light-shielding component is outside the ink cartridge, its structure is complex, and the elasticity of the software support and the tension of the tension generating component are difficult to control, which easily causes errors in the detection of the ink volume of the ink cartridge. More specifically, there may be no ink in the ink cartridge, but the light shielding part is still in the middle of the concave part, which is easy to burn the print head.

Contents of the invention

The invention provides a printer ink box, an ink box chip and a data processing method to solve the technical problem of inaccurate ink remaining detection results caused by the light-shielding components of the existing inkjet printer ink box inside or outside the ink box.

In order to solve the above technical problems, the technical scheme that the present invention takes is:

A printer ink cartridge is used to provide ink to a printer, the printer ink cartridge includes an ink cartridge filled with ink and a chip installed on the ink cartridge, wherein: the chip includes a control unit, a memory for storing ink cartridge data, and a chip for connecting with the printer The interface unit is composed of a memory control unit for controlling the memory. The control unit is connected to the interface unit and the memory control unit. The memory control unit is connected to the memory. The interface unit is connected to the printer interface unit; the ink cartridge is integrated.

The chip's memory includes:

The first memory is a non-volatile memory, which stores the identity information of the ink cartridge;

The second memory is a volatile memory, which stores the changing ink quantity information and the data during the communication process with the printer interface unit.

On-chip memory includes:

The ink cartridge model parameter is related to the capacity of the ink cartridge, and the printer reads the corresponding ink cartridge model parameter according to the different ink cartridge models;

Multiple maximum ink volume values are related to the capacity of the ink volume, and the control unit selects the corresponding maximum ink volume according to the ink cartridge model parameters.

Every time the printer reads the ink volume value, the control unit compares the ink volume value A in the memory with the maximum ink volume value, and if the ink volume value A is smaller than the maximum ink volume value, the control unit sends the ink volume value A to the printer , the ink volume value A is greater than the maximum ink volume value, then the control unit sends the maximum ink volume value to the printer.

Non-volatile memory is one of OTP, FRAM, SRAM

The volatile memory is one of FLASH and EEPROM.

A printer cartridge chip consists of a control unit, a memory for storing ink cartridge data, an interface unit for connecting with a printer, and a memory control unit for controlling the memory, the control unit is connected to the interface unit and the memory control unit, the memory control unit is connected to the memory, and the interface unit is connected to the printer interface unit.

A data processing method for a printer ink cartridge chip, comprising:

Read the ink storage value A1 in the memory;

The ink cartridge chip obtains the ink volume storage value A2 through the internal control unit through algorithmic calculation;

The control unit compares the ink volume value A2 in the memory with the maximum ink volume value, and when the ink volume value A2 is smaller than the maximum ink volume value, the control unit sends the ink volume value A2 to the printer, When the ink volume value A2 is greater than the maximum ink volume value, the control unit sends the maximum ink volume value to the printer and changes the ink volume value to the maximum ink volume value.

The invention discloses an inkjet printer ink box chip and the ink box thereof. The ink box realizes the function of remaining ink volume detection through the chip installed on the ink box, so that the ink box is taken as a whole and there is no need to arrange blocking parts inside or outside the ink box. The ink cartridge has a simple structure and is convenient for production, reduces manufacturing complexity and improves work efficiency.

Description of drawings

Fig. 1 is a schematic diagram of an ink cartridge in which the existing light-shielding component is located inside the ink cartridge;

Fig. 2 is a schematic diagram of an existing ink cartridge in which the light-shielding component is located outside the ink cartridge;

3A, 3B, and 3C are schematic diagrams of the inkjet ink cartridge provided by the first embodiment of the present invention and the supporting chip for the ink cartridge;

Fig. 4 is the internal structural diagram of the ink cartridge chip provided by the embodiment of the present invention;

Figure 5 is a flow chart of on-board authentication of inkjet printer ink cartridges;

FIG. 6 is a flowchart of print determination processing performed by the printer.

Detailed ways

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of an ink cartridge in which a conventional light-shielding component is located inside the ink cartridge. As shown in Fig. 1, the light-shielding component (11) is located inside the ink cartridge, wherein the light-shielding component (11) is an opaque plastic part. When the ink cartridge is installed on the printer, the light-shielding component blocks the detection light emitted by the printer sensor due to the gravity and the buoyancy of the ink in the ink cartridge. The corresponding detection light area on the ink cartridge is a transparent plastic part, which can be disassembled from the ink cartridge body. Fig. 2 is a schematic diagram of a conventional ink cartridge in which the light-shielding component is located outside the ink cartridge. As shown in Fig. 2, a group of tension components are arranged outside the ink cartridge, wherein the tension components rotate the light shielding component (21) through the magnetic force part (22).

3A, 3B, and 3C are schematic diagrams of the inkjet ink cartridge provided by the embodiment of the present invention, and the supporting chip of the ink cartridge. As shown in FIG. 3A, the ink cartridge chip (31) is installed on the ink cartridge body (32) filled with ink. Wherein the ink cartridge body (32) is an integral part, all made of opaque plastics. As shown in Figures 3B and 3C, the ink cartridge chip (31) comprises a PCB circuit board (33), wherein one side of the PCB circuit board (33) contains a plurality of pins (34), and the other side of the PCB circuit board (33) contains the first device (35), the first device (35) is a memory. When the ink cartridge chip is installed on the ink cartridge body (32), the side containing a plurality of pins (34) faces outward. When the ink cartridge is installed on the inkjet printer, the pin (34) serves as an interface unit to receive and transmit data during printer communication.

Fig. 4 is a diagram of the internal structure of the ink cartridge chip provided by the embodiment of the present invention. As shown in the figure, the ink cartridge chip (31) includes an interface unit (41), a control unit (42), a memory control unit (43), and a memory (44). When the ink cartridge is installed on the inkjet printer, the interface unit (41) of the ink cartridge chip (31) is connected to the printer interface unit (45).

When the printer needs to read the information B in the memory (44) in the ink cartridge chip (31), the control circuit in the printer sends the reading command D1 to the interface unit (41) of the ink cartridge chip (31) through the printer interface unit, and receives the read instruction D1. The interface unit (41) of fetching instruction D1 is sent to control unit (42), and control unit (42) carries out arithmetic processing to fetching instruction D1 and obtains instruction D2, and memory control unit (43) receives instruction D2 and memory (44) The information stored in the memory is read to obtain information C, and the memory control unit (43) sends the information C to the control unit (42), and the control unit (42) obtains the required information B through algorithm processing and sends it to the Printer interface unit.

When the printer needs to store information B1 in the ink cartridge chip (31), the control circuit in the printer sends the storage instruction D3 to the interface unit (41) of the ink cartridge chip (31) through the printer interface unit, and the interface unit ( 41) Send to the control unit (42), the control unit (42) performs algorithmic processing on the storage instruction D3 to obtain the instruction D4 and the storage information C1, the memory control unit (43) receives the instruction D4 and stores the information C1 in the memory (44) .

The memory (44) of ink cartridge chip (31) comprises: the first memory is non-volatile memory such as OTP, FRAM, SRAM, stores the identity information of ink cartridge; The second memory is volatile memory such as FLASH, EEPROM, stores the changed Ink level information and data during communication with the printer interface unit. The identity information of the ink cartridge includes the manufacturer, production date, ink cartridge model, ink color, and usage times.

Ink cartridge model parameters and multiple maximum ink volume values are also stored in the first memory. Wherein the ink cartridge model parameter is related to the capacity of the ink cartridge, and the ink cartridge chip reads the corresponding ink cartridge model parameter according to different ink cartridge models; wherein it is stored in the form of two binary numbers in the memory. At present, according to the size of the ink capacity in the ink cartridge, it can be divided into four categories: small, medium, large, and super large. The ink cartridge model parameter is used to uniquely represent each of the four ink container capacity ranges, and the corresponding binary number is the same as that of the ink cartridge. The model correspondence is shown in Table 1:

Table 1

small Medium large oversized 00 01 10 11

Table 2

small Medium large oversized 1B B7 34 73 37 9E 6E DD

The maximum ink volume value is related to the capacity of the ink cartridge, and the ink cartridge chip reads the corresponding maximum ink volume value according to different ink cartridge models, which is stored in the memory in the form of four hexadecimal numbers. According to the size of the ink capacity in the current ink cartridge, there are four maximum ink volume values, and the unique parameter of each ink cartridge model should have a maximum ink volume value. However, due to the model error in the production process of the ink cartridge and the ink volume error during ink filling, the maximum ink volume value of the ink cartridge is not a definite value. The maximum ink volume values of the four ink cartridge signals were obtained through statistical processing of multiple measurement data when the ink cartridge was full of ink. The corresponding relationship between the hexadecimal number and the ink cartridge model is shown in Table 2.

Fig. 5 is a flow chart of on-board authentication of an inkjet printer ink cartridge. As shown in Figure 5, when the ink cartridge is installed on the printer, the printer will automatically start the detection program D when it detects the insertion and extraction of the ink cartridge (S51), and will continue if the printer does not detect the insertion and extraction of the ink cartridge (S51) Execute waiting program E. In the detection program of the printer, read the ink cartridge information in the memory and detect whether the inserted ink cartridge meets the printing requirements of the printer (S52), wherein the ink cartridge information is such as the production date, manufacturer, ink cartridge model, ink cartridge color, usage times, etc. of the ink cartridge. The ink cartridge chip sets the corresponding ink cartridge model parameters in the memory according to the ink cartridge information (S53), and the ink cartridge model parameters need to be reset each time the ink cartridge is inserted or removed. The ink cartridge chip selects the corresponding maximum ink volume according to the obtained information of the ink cartridge (S54), and the printer considers that the installed ink cartridge meets the requirements of the printer, and the process of installing and confirming the ink cartridge ends.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart of print determination processing performed by the printer. As shown in Figure 6, when the user sends a printer instruction, the printer sends an instruction to read the information of the remaining ink in the ink cartridge (S61), and the ink cartridge chip automatically starts to judge whether the remaining ink meets the printing requirement after receiving the reading instruction (S62) . The ink cartridge chip reads the ink storage value A1 in the memory, and the ink cartridge chip obtains the ink storage value A2 through an algorithm operation by the internal control unit; the control unit compares the ink storage value A2 in the memory with the maximum ink value, and when the ink If the quantity value A2 is smaller than the maximum ink quantity value, the control unit sends the ink quantity value A2 to the printer.

If the ink volume data in the memory is greater than the maximum ink volume, update the ink volume data in the chip (S63), and set it as the maximum ink volume. The printer judges whether the ink quantity satisfies the printing requirement (S64) according to the remaining ink quantity information obtained, and if it is satisfied, the printer executes the printing task and increases the current ink quantity count (S65), and stores the ink quantity storage value in the chip storage; if it is not satisfied, then ends print request.

The above embodiments are only used to illustrate the technical solutions of the present invention, and are not limiting; although the present invention has been described in detail with reference to the foregoing embodiments, those of ordinary skill in the art should understand; it can still use the technology described in the embodiments Modifications are made to the scheme, or some or all of the technical features are equivalently replaced; and these modifications or replacements do not make the essence of the corresponding technical solution depart from the scope of the technical solution of the embodiment of the present invention.

Claims (4)

1. A printer ink cartridge is used for printers to provide ink. The printer ink cartridge includes a ink cartridge for filling and discharging ink and a chip installed on the ink cartridge, which is characterized in that: the ink cartridge is an integral part, all of which are made of opaque plastics; It consists of a control unit, a memory for storing ink cartridge data, an interface unit for connecting with a printer, and a memory control unit for controlling the memory. The control unit is connected to the interface unit and the memory control unit. The memory The control unit is connected to the memory, and the interface unit is connected to the printer interface unit; the memory includes: ink cartridge model parameters, which are related to the capacity of the ink cartridge, and the ink cartridge chip reads the corresponding ink cartridge model parameters according to different ink cartridge models; A maximum ink volume value is related to the capacity of the ink cartridge, and the control unit selects the corresponding maximum ink volume according to the ink cartridge model parameter. 2. The ink cartridge for a printer according to claim 1, wherein the memory of the chip comprises: the first memory is a non-volatile memory, which stores the identity information of the ink cartridge; the second memory is a volatile memory, Stores changing ink level information and data during communication with the printer interface unit. 3. A printer cartridge chip, characterized in that it comprises a control unit, a memory for storing ink cartridge data, an interface unit for connecting with a printer, and a memory control unit for controlling the memory, the control unit is connected to the An interface unit and the memory control unit, the memory control unit is connected to the memory, and the interface unit is connected to the printer interface unit; the memory includes: ink cartridge model parameters, which are related to the capacity of the ink cartridge, and the ink cartridge chip is based on different ink cartridge models Read the corresponding ink cartridge model parameters; multiple maximum ink volume values are related to the capacity of the ink volume, and the control unit selects the corresponding maximum ink volume value according to the ink cartridge model parameters; the ink cartridge chip reads the corresponding ink cartridge model according to different ink cartridge models Parameters, read the corresponding maximum ink volume value according to different ink cartridge model parameters. 4. A kind of printer ink cartridge chip as claimed in claim 3, is characterized in that, described memory comprises: the first memory is non-volatile memory, stores the identity information of ink cartridge; The second memory is volatile memory, stores Changing ink level signals and data during communication with the printer interface unit.